Navagraha Yantra

This metal sheet, plated with twenty-four karat gold leaves, with such strength as could be embossed for delineating various forms, especially the deity-mantras and other relevant information, contains nine yantras – mystic diagrams, all independently conceived and delineated but grouped together, dedicated to nine planets, namely, the Budha – Mercury, Shukra – Venus, Chandra – Moon, Guru – Jupiter, Surya – Sun, Mangala – Mars, Ketu, Shani – Saturn, and Rahu. Conjointly this group of nine yantras is known in the tradition as Navagraha Yantra – the Yantra of nine planets, the same as the Yantra has inscribed on its top. Quite curiously, the two white motifs, looking like a flower plant in a pot, painted for manipulating the top ends, also consist of nine components ; five dots symbolic of five flowers, two branches, a pot, and its base. Far more strangely, when the eye travels from its base to its top the motif reveals a monstrous look, but when it moves from the top to the base it becomes a flower-plant in a pot. Perhaps in designing a motif in such a way that from one side it assumes ferocious look, and from the other, pleasant, the artist has sought to reveal a planet’s dualistic nature, being sometimes favorable while at the other times, unfavorable or rather disastrous. Seven of these nine planets are hailed alike in world’s astrological systems; Rahu and Ketu, the two notorious ones, are typical of Indian astrology, where they are perceived as two monsters and comprise the themes of several myths.

The entire artifact has been divided into nine compartments, each dedicated to one planet. All nine compartments have been conceived pursuing an identical format. Each of them contains the name of the yantra along with the name of the planet it is dedicated to, figural manifestation of the planet along with its mount, the yantra proper – a magic square consisting of nine rectangular sections, or divisions, each containing a number with no apparent sequence, on the yantra’s right, the number of japas, that is, the number of times the related hymn is required to be recited for propitiating a particular planet, on its left, the name of the stone that enhanced a planet’s positive effect, while mitigated, its adverse, and on the bottom, the mantra of the planet. These yantras are different from the usual deity-yantras – Shaiva, Shakta or Vaishnava. These are without a bhoopura or ground-plan and other components. Such magic squares are found in different cultures of the world, even Islamic.

Except that the colour of the yantras of Shukra and Mangala is common vermilion red, other seven yantras have been rendered in seven different colours, Budha, deep emerald, Chandra, pearl-white, Guru, lemon yellow, Surya, scarlet red, Ketu, deep maroon, Shani, black, and Rahu, blue. Such colour-variations adhere to a planet’s body colour as alluded to in different texts. The figures of the planets have been mainly embossed and outlined in blackish green. Except Ketu that has been portrayed as emerging from the body of a huge fish, all other planets are on their mounts : Budha, lion having elephant trunk as its face, Shukra, galloping horse, Chandra, antelope, Guru, elephant, Surya, chariot driven by seven hoses, Mangala, ram, Shani, bull, and Rahu, cart driven by a lion. Rahu does not have full figure but only the head installed on the crescent. Like most Navagraha Yantras the Sun-Yantra comprises the centre in this Yantra and yantras of other planets circumambulate around it, the usual vision in Indian astrology in regard to planetary position.

The sequences of numbers in all nine yantras are different. Even the sequence of these numbers in the yantra of the same planet is different in one text from that in another. Actually, the basic principle in regard to numbers working in these magic circles is the same but their arrangement sometimes varies. These are essentially the consecutive numbers of nine integers beginning with one for Sun, two for Moon, three for Mars, four for Mercury, five for Jupiter, six for Venus, seven for Saturn, eight for Rahu, and nine for Ketu. In one system this initial number begins from the West, while in another, from the North. In the system that this Yantra has followed, the North is the point of initiation. For example, Sun has 1 in the northern square; 2, in south-west; 3 in the east; 4 in south-east; 5 in the central; 6 in the north-west; 7 in the west; 8 in the north-east; and finally, 9 in the south. In the case of Moon such sequence begins with 2, in case of Mars, with 3, and so on. The numbers of Sun are from 1 to 9; those of Moon, from 2 to 10; those of Mars, from 3 to 11, and the like. Counted from any side, horizontally, vertically, or even from corner to corner, the total of three squares is always the same, as 15 in the Sun-Yantra, 18, in Moon-Yantra, 21, in Mars-Yantra, and the like.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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