Yantras or Mechanical Contrivances in Ancient India c2.150

c2.150

The other story in which yantras figure mainly is in the *Ratnaprabhā-lambaka*, VII. 9, the story of Karpūrikā in the city of Karpūrasambhava, of whom Naravāhanadatta has a dream. The Prince starts out in search of her, in the company of Gomukha. *En route*, they come to a Hemapura, where, as Naravāhanadatta is going along the baźaar street, he comes across everything pertaining to a city, shops, things, servants, men and women, but their speechless movements and activities reveal to him the wondrous fact of their all being robots (10, 11). He then makes his way to the palace where he finds the only sentient being sitting on a throne like a king, and, like the soul presiding over the body and senses, manipulating the mechanical city and being served on all sides by his mechanical servants. On being asked by Naravāhanadatta, the mystery man of this machine city recounts his story: