Nadis
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2009-06-05 08:14
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The word nadi is derived from the Sanskrit root nad, which means to flow.
There are differing opinions regarding the number of nadis in the body:
The Nadi Vijnana mentions that there are 30.5 million, the Shiva Samhita mentions 350000, and the Satchakranirupana states that there are 72,000 nadis in the body.
Most of the tantric texts accept that there are 72,000 nadis in the body.
According to the Shiva Samhita, there are 14 important nadis.
They are:
- Sushumna
- Pingala
- Ida
- Kuhu
- Gandhari
- Hastijihva
- Saraswati
- Pusha
- Paysvini
- Sankhini
- Yasavini
- Varuna
- Visodhara
- Alambasu
Among the nadis, three are essential: sushumna, ida and pingala. Among these three, sushumna is the most important; situated in the merudanda (spinal column), it extends from the muladhara chakra to the sahasrara chakra. Within sushumna, there is a subtle nadi called vajrini and inside this, the chitrini nadi is present. The interior of chitrini is called brahma nadi. It is not a separate nadi in the usual sense, but a hallow passage.
The opening of the chitrini nadi is the opening of the door known as Brahma Dvara, through which kundalini enters the Kula Marga (royal road) on its way to the Lord. Ida and pingala are present to the left and right of the sushumna nadi. The ida and pingala nadis are also known as chandra (moon) and surya (sun) nadis, representing the negative and positive phases of activity. The three nadis meeting at the muladhara chakra is called yukta triveni, and when they meet again at the ajna chakra this is called mukta triveni. Thereafter the nadis separate, flow independently and each proceed to a different nostril.
