Visual and Material Culture of Yogis and Mantra

Although the early corpus of Sanskrit texts on Haṭhayoga (c. 11-15th centuries) make little mention of mantra, and some texts appear to even disdain or criticize Mantrayoga as an inferior practice for the feeble or weak-minded aspirant, the visual and material record regularly depict yogis and ascetics with akṣamālās (“rosaries”), and in the act of mantra-japa (“repetition of mantra”)—sometimes while simultaneously performing complex yogic postures (āsana). This paper will analyze a sampling of visual and material evidence of yogis—as displayed in premodern Indian sculptures and paintings—where the akṣamālā is featured. I argue that there is a long-standing artistic tradition of displaying the akṣamālā as one of the key visual markers of the ascetic yogi, often featured alongside other accoutrements such as: matted hair (jaṭā), beard, loin cloth, water bowl, yoga strap (yogapaṭṭa), staff (daṇḍa), and others. When this visual and material evidence is “read” alongside the textual record, it further nuances and complicates the more pejorative view of mantra praxis as derived solely from the Haṭha corpus.