Photo exhibition of Yantras

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ‘straight-from-the-sorcerer’s-cave’ displayed at the Museum Auditorium can give goose bumps to unsuspecting visitors. The hall has been transformed into an ethereal abode of  tantric ‘yantras’, the photographs of which, documented on palm leaves, would leave you awe-struck. And it is Harsha Kumar who is the proud owner of these rare photographs.Yantra is the esoteric science of giving graphic representation to mantras which are evocative of cosmic powers, and little of it has been passed down in its totality, even to direct descendants of families which were traditional custodians of the knowledge. Harsha Kumar, who belongs to one such family in Venjarammodu, Thiruvananthapuram, knows that he has only been able to access a filtered repository. But when he decided to devote his heart and soul to it, he also decided that the knowledge deserved to be shared and popularised. “There could be many families which are in the possession of rare palm leaf documents containing yantras. They might be keeping it as a secret for fear of the authorities claiming ownership of the ancient documents or there might not be anyone left in the family who is interested in learning or preserving them. Either way, this rich stream of knowledge is lost to the world. That is precisely the reason why I agreed to hold this exhibition so that the public will get a glimpse of the vastness of the science,” says Harsha Kumar. Explaining the relevance of yantras, Harsha Kumar says, “If a land is guarded by a ‘devata’ (deity), a person or body can be presided over by yantras which are ‘thought forms’ representing divinities or cosmic powers. They can cast their spell over a particular time length which will vary according to mantras and the agent on which the mantra is inscribed. For instance, a yantra made in gold will have its power for as long as 12 years, one in silver for 5 years, copper for 6 months, zinc/lead for 3 months, and palm leaf for 1 month.” Among the yantras displayed, there are rare ones like the variations of the more widely known ‘Sudarasana yantram’ - Maha sudarsanam, Bhoomi Sudarsanam, Brahma Sudarsanam and Surya Sudarsanam.There are yantras that can contain diseases like small pox to schizophrenia and common flu, some even help as a preventive against the attack of small pox. Also there are yantras like the ones that are to be worn in each month of pregnancy to ensure a normal delivery, the much sought-after ones like ‘Madana Mohini yantram, ‘Stree vaseekarana yantram’ and so on. The language in which the mantras are written corresponds to ‘Malayma’, a mixture of old Malayalam and Tamil’. Harsha Kumar considers his proficiency in reading the script one of his important achievements and travels widely to read palm leaf documents that are made available for consultation by families or collectors. None of the yantras displayed are complete. “Each part of the yantra is written down in separate palm leaves. Maybe, it was a step against the knowledge falling into wrong hands. Even if one leaf is stolen, the bearer cannot activate the power of the yantra,” says Harsha Kumar. The exhibition will end on July 16.