Sacred geometry, arts and crafts
Every morning, women across South India draw intricate patterns of rice flour at their doorsteps — patterns mathematicians study. The Sri Yantra's nine interlocking triangles map the universe. Discover the geometry and crafts of the sacred.
The kolam at dawn
[Traditional account]
Before sunrise, in homes across Tamil Nadu (and as rangoli, muggulu, alpana and mandana elsewhere), women sweep the threshold, sprinkle water and draw a kolam — a design of dots and flowing lines in rice flour. It welcomes Lakshmi, marks the home as auspicious, and feeds ants and birds: the day begins with an offering to the smallest beings. And its loops follow rules so precise that computer scientists have studied them…
The journey continues for members
- Kolam and mathematics
- The Sri Yantra
- Living crafts of devotion
- The Shilpa Shastras
- What we can learn
Sources
- Saundarya Lahari — on the Sri Chakra (attributed to Shankara)
- G. Siromoney et al. — kolam picture languages (1970s)
- Mayamata; Manasara
- Vishnudharmottara Purana — Chitrasutra