Yantras or Mechanical Contrivances in Ancient India c2.149

c2.149

Somaprabhā says that, just as the universe is made up of five elements, yantras are also based on the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. The yantra based on earth-materials (*pṛthvī-pradhāna*) undertakes activities like shutting doors; a *water-based yantra* will be as lively as a living organism; a *fire-yantra* emits flames; an *air-yantra* moves to and fro; and the element of *ether* serves to convey the sound generated by these yantras. Somaprabhā adds that there is a *super-yantra* called *Cakra-yantra* with miraculous powers which her father did not teach her, but in the description of this there is an obvious mix-up of mythology. Then, with the parents' permission, Somaprabhā takes Madanamañcukā in an aerial car (49) to her own father's place, where her sister Svayamprabhā is living, and returns to Takshaśilā. Kshemendra's account of this episode is brief, comprising about a dozen verses in his *Bṛhatkathāmañjarī* (VII. 195-207).