Mandalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions English 2007

My interest in mandalas goes back to a period in the 1980s when I conductedResearch in Pune, Maharastra.The Plan to publish a book on Mandalas and yantras in the Hindu traditions took shape over time as I observed the growing popular interest in Tibetan Buddhist mandalas. Unlike the many Tibetan mandalas which include pictorial representations of multiple deities, most published mandalas in the Hindu traditions appear to be simpler and more abstract in design. However, Hindu mandalas, especially from Nepal and Rajasthan, often include painted images of deities. Complex mandalas are also described in texts, and the practitioner is instructed to visualize multiple deities in the mandalas, although these deities may not be represented. This volume reproduces several mandala designs, some of which have been reconstructed from texts. Since texts often do not specify all details of the mandalas, such reconstructions necessarily remain tentative. With the exception of the sricakra, which as attracted considerable interest, adequate attention has not been devoted to mandalas and yantras in the Hindu traditions and tier multiple uses. Unlike the approaches of earlier books, which often arrive at generalized conclusions, this book attempts to clarify important aspects of mandalas and yantras in specific Hindu traditions through investigations by specialists. In the present state of research it is best to avoid generalizations and broad comparisons across traditions that rarely take into account exiting differences, and often turn out on closer examination to be inaccurate. The complex Buddhist mandalas for their part merit a separate study. Nevertheless I hope that this book will indirectly contribute to a better understan