Yantras or Mechanical Contrivances in Ancient India c2.166

c2.166

After a lavish encomium on the comfort and advantages to be enjoyed through the machines, Bhoja proceeds to describe the constituent elements called Bījas of each variety, the *Pārthiva*, *Taijasa*, etc.; while all the elements may be used for a single yantra, it is to be named after the dominant constituent (21-25, 42). Then are mentioned the materials: metals—tin, iron, copper and silver—and wood, hide and textiles; the parts and the principles: the wheels and the rotation; the suspenders and the hangings; the rods, the shafts and the caps; the tools; and the work: measuring, cutting etc.—all these are also to be included under the Bījas of a *Pārthiva-yantra* (25-27). The application of fire-bijas on earth-machines comprises heating and boiling; of water, mixing and dissolving, pouring of and filling with water, and providing a belt of water. Height, size, closeness and motion towards a higher plane are spatial features in *Pārthiva-yantras*. The element of air is to be applied through bellows, fans, flaps, etc. (28-32). Similarly in machines which are mainly *jala-yantras* the use of timber, hide and metal forms the *Pārthiva* element and so on. (33-41). As, however, machines have to take some shape and possess a body, the *Pārthiva* is an important constitutent (43-44).