Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa · The Six Centres
The Serpent Power
A contemplative journey upward through the body’s subtle centres, after Arthur Avalon’s classic translation of two works on Laya-yoga.
“May She, Kuṇḍalinī, who quickly goes to and returns from Śiva, grant us the fruit of Yoga.”Śāradā Tilaka, xxv. 70
She who sleeps
Kuṇḍalinī, coiled at the root
“Over it shines the sleeping Kuṇḍalinī, fine as the fibre of the lotus-stalk… Like the spiral of the conch-shell, Her shining snake-like form goes three and a half times round Śiva, and her lustre is as that of a strong flash of young lightning. Her sweet murmur is like the indistinct hum of swarms of love-mad bees.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 10–11
In the Tantra, Kuṇḍalinī is the Śakti by which the world exists: the Word (Śabdabrahman) in bodies. She sleeps because the self is turned outward to the world. When she wakes and rises, the world falls away and the self turns inward to divine experience.
The path
Three channels in one
Within the spinal axis runs Suṣumnā, fiery red, from the root to the crown. Within it is the lustrous Vajriṇī, sun-like; within that the pale, nectar-dropping Citriṇī, moon-like; and within that the Brahma-nāḍī. The opening at its foot is the door of Brahman, through which the Devī enters to ascend.
On either side, Iḍā (the moon) and Piṅgalā (the sun) wind around the central channel, crossing at each centre.
“Her body, a string of blooming dhustūra flowers, extends from the middle of the Kanda to the Head.”v. 1, of Suṣumnā
“She is as subtle as a spider’s thread, and pierces all the lotuses which are placed within the backbone… She is beautiful by reason of these lotuses which are strung on her.”v. 2, of Citriṇī
The awakening
How the serpent is roused
In the book’s account of practice, breath held still and the “air of Kandarpa” kindle the fire of Kāma in the root. The fire encircles and arouses the slumbering serpent Kuṇḍalinī, who, in the language of the Śāstra, is seized with longing for her Lord, Paramaśiva.
The commentary on the Ānandalaharī tells it another way: the moon in Iḍā bedews the body with nectar and the sun in Piṅgalā dries it. When both are held still, the place of nectar dries, and Kuṇḍalinī wakes for want of food, and hisses like a serpent.
“She is led upwards as a rider guides a trained mare by the reins, through the aperture hitherto closed by Her own coils… She then pierces each of the lotuses, which turn their heads upwards as She passes through them.”The Serpent Power, Chapter VI
The lotuses hang head-downward until she rises through them. Watch the line at the left edge of the page: it climbs with you.
1 · Root support
Mūlādhāra मूलाधार
Between the genitals and the anus, at the root of the spine
The crimson root lotus of four petals, whose qualities are four forms of bliss. In its pericarp shines the soft, lightning-like triangle called Traipura, filled with the air of Kandarpa, “of a deeper red than the bandhujīva flower”. Inside it is Svayambhu in his Liṅga form, “beautiful like molten gold”. Around him, coiled three and a half times and covering the door of Brahman with her head, Kuṇḍalinī sleeps.
- Petals
- 4
- Element
- Earth (Pṛthivī) · yellow square
- Seed
- Laṃ, seated on the elephant Airāvata
- Presiding
- Brahmā, with the Śakti Ḍākinī
- Sense · action
- Smell · the feet
- As She passes
- Earth, with smell and the feet, dissolves into the subtle essence of smell.
She shines in the cavity of the root lotus like a chain of brilliant lights.
Fruit of contemplation
“By meditating thus on Her who shines within the Mūla Chakra, with the lustre of ten million suns, a man becomes Lord of speech and King among men, and an adept in all kinds of learning… and his inmost spirit becomes full of great gladness.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 13
2 · Her own abode
Svādhiṣṭhāna स्वाधिष्ठान
At the root of the genitals
A vermilion lotus of six petals, on which the letters shine “like lightning”. This is the white region of Varuṇa, lord of the waters.
- Petals
- 6
- Element
- Water (Ap) · white crescent moon
- Seed
- Vaṃ, seated on the white Makara
- Presiding
- Viṣṇu (Hari), with the Śakti Rākiṇī
- Sense · action
- Taste · the hands
- As She passes
- Water, with taste and the hands, dissolves into the subtle essence of taste.
Its maṇḍala is in the shape of a crescent moon.
Fruit of contemplation
“He who meditates upon this stainless lotus is freed immediately from all his enemies, such as the fault of egoism. He becomes a lord among Yogis, and is like the sun illumining the dense darkness of ignorance.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 18
3 · City of the jewel
Maṇipūra मणिपूर
At the navel
A lotus of ten petals “of the colour of heavy-laden rain-clouds”, so named because, by the presence of fire, it is lustrous as a gem.
- Petals
- 10
- Element
- Fire (Tejas) · red triangle
- Seed
- Raṃ, seated on a ram, carrier of Agni
- Presiding
- Rudra, smeared with white ashes, with the Śakti Lākinī
- Sense · action
- Sight · the anus
- As She passes
- Fire, with sight and the organ of excretion, dissolves into the subtle essence of form.
The triangular region of fire, with its three svastikas.
Fruit of contemplation
“By meditating on this Navel Lotus the power to destroy and create the world is acquired. Vāṇī, with all the wealth of knowledge, ever abides in the lotus of his face.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 21
4 · Unstruck
Anāhata अनाहत
In the region of the heart
Red as the bandhūka flower, so called because here the sages hear the sound that comes “without the striking of any two things together”, the pulse of life. Here dwells the individual self.
- Petals
- 12
- Element
- Air (Vāyu) · smoke-coloured six-pointed star
- Seed
- Yaṃ, seated on a swift black antelope
- Presiding
- Īśa, with the Śakti Kākinī
- Sense · action
- Touch · the organ of generation
- As She passes
- Air, with touch and the organ of generation, dissolves into the subtle essence of touch.
Like the steady flame of a lamp in a windless place.
Fruit of contemplation
“His inspired speech flows like a stream of clear water. His senses are completely under control, and his mind in its intense concentration is engrossed in thoughts of the Brahman.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 27
5 · Purified
Viśuddha विशुद्ध
At the base of the throat
A lotus of sixteen petals of a smoky purple hue, bearing the sixteen vowels. The self is made pure here by seeing the Haṃsa. This is the lunar region, “the gateway of the great liberation”.
- Petals
- 16
- Element
- Ether (Ākāśa) · white circle
- Seed
- Haṃ, dressed in white, on a white elephant
- Presiding
- Sadāśiva, half white and half gold, with the Śakti Śākinī
- Sense · action
- Hearing · the mouth
- As She passes
- Ether, with hearing and the mouth, dissolves into the subtle essence of sound.
The knower sees the three forms of time.
Fruit of contemplation
“He sees the three periods of time, is free from disease and sorrow, and long-lived; like the Haṃsa, he is the destroyer of endless dangers.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 31
6 · Command
Ājñā आज्ञा
Between the eyebrows
Two white petals between the eyebrows complete the fifty letters. Here the self shines like a flame, and its light makes visible all that lies between the root and the crown.
- Petals
- 2
- Element
- Mind (Manas) and its source
- Seed
- Oṃ, the great mantra
- Presiding
- Paramaśiva as Haṃsa, with the white Śakti Hākinī
- Sense · action
- Mind (Manas)
- As She passes
- Sound and mind dissolve into Mahat, Mahat into subtle Prakṛti, and that is united with the supreme Bindu.
Above the Ājñā the relationship of Guru and disciple ceases.
Fruit of contemplation
“He realises his unity with the Brahman and acquires excellent and unknown powers… and becomes all-knowing and all-seeing.”Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, v. 34
Three knots, four voices
Where Māyā is strongest
Three Liṅgas stand on the path. At each, the force of Māyā is great, and each must be pierced. As she passes, Kuṇḍalinī takes on a subtler form of sound, from spoken word to the supreme.
- I
Brahma-granthi
Mūlādhāra · Svayambhu Liṅga
She bewitches the first Liṅga as Vaikharī, sound as spoken.
- II
Viṣṇu-granthi
Anāhata · Bāṇa Liṅga
In the heart she is Madhyamā, the middle sound of thought.
- III
Rudra-granthi
Ājñā · Itara Liṅga
Between the eyebrows she is Paśyantī, sound as it is first seen.
- ∞
Parabindu
Sahasrāra
Reaching the supreme point, she attains Parā, the transcendent.
She is the Śakti of the gross body in the root, of the subtle body at the Ājñā, and of the spiritual plane in the Sahasrāra.
Above the six · the causal region
Sahasrāra सहस्रार
The lotus of a thousand petals, above the end of Suṣumnā
“It is white and has its head downward turned; its filaments are red. The fifty letters of the alphabet, which are also white, go round and round its thousand petals twenty times. On its pericarp is Haṃsa, and above it is the Guru who is Paramaśiva Himself.”Summary of verses 41–49
Within its moon is Nirvāṇa-kalā, “as subtle as the thousandth part of the end of a hair”, and within her the supreme Nirvāṇa-śakti, “lustrous like ten million suns, the Mother of the three worlds… She graciously carries the knowledge of the Truth to the mind of the sages” (v. 48).
“Thereafter in Her subtle state, lustrous like lightning and fine like the lotus fibre, She goes to the gleaming flame-like Śiva, the supreme Bliss, and of a sudden produces the bliss of Liberation.”v. 51
The garland of letters
Fifty petals, fifty letters
Each lotus has either two or four more petals than the one below it, and the petals of the throat lotus equal the sum of all the differences beneath. Together the six centres carry fifty petals, and on them the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. Each letter is a mantra; in their totality they are the body of Kuṇḍalinī as sound.
Other texts place qualities on the petals. Those of the second and third lotuses are all unwholesome, those of the heart are mixed, those of the secret Lalanā lotus above the throat are mostly good, and those of the Soma lotus above the Ājñā wholly so. The ascent is also a moral one: the bad qualities of the lower centres pass away in the Yogī who raises Kuṇḍalī above them.
- 4Mūlādhāra
- 6Svādhiṣṭhāna
- 10Maṇipūra
- 12Anāhata
- 16Viśuddha
- 2Ājñā
- 50letters
The return
Dissolution, and creation again
As she rises, each centre dissolves into the one above it: earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into ether, and ether into mind. The grosser is merged into the more subtle.
“Having pierced the knots, and having drunk of the nectar which issues from Paramaśiva, She returns along the path whence She came to Her own abode. As She returns She pours from Herself into the Chakras all that She had previously absorbed therefrom.”The Serpent Power, Chapter VI
“The beautiful Kuṇḍalī drinks the excellent red nectar issuing from Paraśiva, and returns from there where shines Eternal and Transcendent Bliss in all its glory, along the path of Kula, and again enters the Mūlādhāra.”v. 53
Her ascent is the path of dissolution (laya-krama); her descent is the path of creation (sṛṣṭi-krama), in which the world reappears as it was before her awakening.
A question
Do the chakras move?
In this book, they do not wander. Each is a subtle centre fixed in Suṣumnā at its own level: root, genitals, navel, heart, throat, brow. It is Kuṇḍalinī who moves, and the lotuses respond to her.
- They hang head-downward until she rises through them.
- They turn upward as she passes, and their element dissolves into the next, subtler one.
- They reappear as she returns, “in the positions which they occupied before Her awakening”.
Some traditions place the centres differently or add minor ones. “Spinning” or “blocked” chakras are modern ideas, not found in this text.
The body and the subtle body
Do the chakras match our anatomy?
Partly, by place. The book records attempts by Woodroffe’s contemporaries to match each centre with a nerve plexus. Woodroffe accepts some of these as correspondences and rejects others, and he is clear that a chakra is not the plexus itself.
Suṣumnā ≈ spinal axis Iḍā Piṅgalā ≈ left and right sympathetic chains (Seal)
| Centre | Region | Suggested correspondence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mūlādhāra | Between genitals and anus | Sacro-coccygeal plexus | Woodroffe notes the spinal cord ends “blindly” in the filum terminale, as Suṣumnā is closed at its base until Kuṇḍalinī opens it. |
| 2Svādhiṣṭhāna | Root of the genitals | Sacral plexus | Another author suggests the prostatic plexus. |
| 3Maṇipūra | Navel | Lumbar plexus, joined to the solar plexus | Seal calls the solar plexus the great junction of the two sympathetic chains with the spinal axis. |
| 4Anāhata | Heart | “Possibly” the cardiac plexus | Seal’s own hedge. |
| 5Viśuddha | Base of the throat | Junction of spinal cord and medulla; nerves such as the vagus (pneumogastric) serving the larynx | Others suggest the laryngeal or pharyngeal plexus. Fits its role as the seat of speech. |
| 6Ājñā | Between the eyebrows | Behind it: pineal gland, pituitary body, top of the cerebellum | Woodroffe’s own placement. Seal links it to the cerebellum as the centre of command over movement; another author to the cavernous plexus. |
| 7Sahasrāra | Crown of the head | Upper cerebrum | Seal and Woodroffe agree. Woodroffe rejects the suggestion that it is the medulla, which lies below the Ājñā. |
Woodroffe’s position
The chakras are subtle “centres of consciousness” working through the vital force. The gross regions of the body that they govern, and with which they are sometimes identified, are their physical counterparts, not the chakras themselves. Kuṇḍalinī, he insists, “is not, according to the Shāstra, mere electricity”.
“I cannot too strongly protest against attempts to represent Indian Shāstra, not as it actually is, but what some who are concerned with it would like it to be.”The Serpent Power, Ch. V
What modern science says
Anatomy has found no structures that correspond to chakras, nāḍīs or Kuṇḍalinī. The matches above are about location: the centres sit at the levels of major nerve plexuses and organs of the autonomic nervous system.
Slow breathing and meditation do measurably affect that system, for example heart rate variability and vagal activity. That shows the practices act on the body. It does not show that chakras exist as physical things.
The popular chart pairing each chakra with an endocrine gland (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, pineal and so on) is a 20th-century addition. It is not in this book.
“That brilliant Energy which glitters with the lustre of ten million lightnings.”