Yantras or Mechanical Contrivances in Ancient India c2.151

c2.151

He, Rājyadhara by name, and his elder brother Prāṇadhara, were originally residents of Kāñchīpura where King Bāhubala (Mahābala in Kshemendra) was ruling. Both of them were architects and adepts in the manufacture of magic yantras made of wood, etc., and devised originally by Maya. It may be noted in passing that, according to Daṇḍin, Kāñchī had some architects who were adepts in the making of yantras. The elder brother sought the company of courtezans and squandered his as well as his younger brother's property. Reaching the end of his material resources the elder brother thought of theft and harnessed his skill in yantras for that purpose. He devised a pair of wooden swans which could move along a rope-contrivance manipulated from one end. The other end of the rope was tied to the window of the King's treasury into which, night after night, these swans were sent; their beaks,