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| Home > The Subtle Body > Nadis
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| | Nadis
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 Nadi is the feminine form of "Nada", both terms denoting a tube, stalk or channel. Such channels may include veins, arteries, nerve Fibres and other bodily vessels, but, in the context of yoga physiology, Nadi refers specifically to conduits of prana.
The number of nadis in the subtle matrix permeating the human organism is given variously in the manuals of hatha-yoga ranging averagely on 300,000 to being uncountable, like the veins of an asvattha leaf. Most commonly agreed upon, however, is the figure of 72,000, which is given in Hath Yoga Pradipika and many other treatise. All 72,000 nadis are said to emanate from a central point or subtle organ called the kanda (`bulb`), which, according to Hath Yoya Pradipika is like a soft, white rolled cloth. It is said to be `four angulas in breadth` and situated `twelve angulas above the anus`, an angula being the breadth or width of one finger. Brahmananda adds that Two angulas above the anus (guda) and two below the penis (medhra) is the centre of the body (deha-madhya)... Nine angulas from [i.e. above] the centre of the body is the kanda-thana ("seat of the kanda") in men. It is egg-shaped and enveloped in a membrane (tvag, "skin") .
On this account, the kanda should be located in the region of the subtle body corresponding approximately to the navel, or just below it, a positioning supported by several other texts, including the Shiva-Svarodaya, in which kanda and nabhi-sthanaka (`navel region`) are equivalent terms.
The kanda is sometimes alternatively said to be located in the region corresponding to the perineum.
Sometimes it is assumed that the kanda and muladhara-chakra to be adjacent rather than roughly a hand`s breadth apart. Such confusion is understandable, since in certain Tantric texts the seat of Kundalini-shakti is given as the pericarp of the muladhara-chakra. In many other text works including several hatha treatises, Kundalini is said to `sleep above the kanda`.
Goraksa-Sataka states that, of the seventy-two thousand nadis, only seventy-two are noteworthy and, of these, ten are most important. These ten are named, and their respective locations vis-a-vis gross and subtle aspects of the body given, as follows:
1. Ida situated on the left side of the central spinal channel (sushumna-nadi).
2. Pingala is situated on the right side of Sushumna.
3. Sushumna is situated in the mid-region (between ida and pingala).
4. Gandhari - terminating in the left eye.
5. Hastijihvha terminating in the right eye.
6. Pusa terminating in the right ear.
7. Yasasvini terminating in the left ear.
8. Alambusa terminating in the mouth.
9. Kuhu terminates in the region of the linga (phallus, genital organ).
10. Samkhini the anal region or at the perineum (Mula, `root`).
Apart from these very brief descriptions of location, little else is said about the majority of these nadis in the hatha literature. The exceptions are the first three Ida, Pingala and Sushumna -towards which considerable attention is directed in hatha-yoga practice. These three channels are held to correspond to, or be `presided over by`, the deities Soma (Moon), Surya (Sun), and Agni (Fire) respectively.
In some visual representations of the three main nadis, Ida and Pingala are pictured, respectively, to the left and right of Sushumna all the way from muladhara-chakra at the perineum to Ajna Chakra in the centre of the brow.
Other representations, meanwhile, portray Ida and Pingala as strands that interweave like a double helix around the central column of Sushumna in a way which shows a winged staff enwrapped by a pair of snakes.
Within Sushumna, there are considered to be three main obstructions called granthis (lit. `Knots`). Some commentators assert that the granthis are junctions where Sushumna is crossed by Ida and Pingala. These knots must be `pierced` by Kundalini Shakti as she rises upwards.
The meeting points of the three principal nadis are held to coincide with Muladhara, Anahata and ajna-cakra, and the three knots formed there are commonly referred to as Brahma-granthi (knot of Brahma), Vishnu-granthi (knot of Vishnu) and Rudra-granthi (knot of Rudra Shiva).
It is in the granthi that Maya is particularly strong. Maya is an aspect (or sometimes a synonym) of Shakti, the most effluent power of Brahma. Maya is productive of the phenomenal universe and thus serves to `mask` or `veil` the reality behind the phenomena.
The theory of Nadi also incorporates the conception of `tides` or `currents` of prana. The study of this aspect of vital force is often termed "svara-yoga", svara meaning `sound` and referring both to the subtle sound made by prana as it passes in and out of the body and to the prana it-self.
A major treatise on svara-yoga is the Shiva-Svarodaya, in which there are remarkably detailed accounts of the times of day when the svara is channeled most strongly through Ida and Pingala respectively. The purpose of such information is to assist the yogi in coordinating his or her activities with the alternating current of vital force. It states that, "during the day or night, according to whether one wishes to perform excellent or less excellent (Ashubha) actions, one should observe the flow of the nadis. The predominance of flow in Ida is held to be conducive to `placid work`. When the current is strongest in Pingala, then `difficult work should be done`. The aim of hatha-yoga pranayama and svara-yoga is to first regulate and balance the flow of prana along Ida and Pingala nadis, and then to transfer that flow into the central channel of Sushumna. It is this transference of current that the concentration and purposeful channeling of vital force that is implied when hatha-yoga is said to involve the `union of sun (ha) and moon (Tha). It is this internal `heat` generated by the activity of prana in sushumna-nadi that, in turn, arouses Kundalini from her slumber.
The name of the central channel, Sushumna, means `very gracious or kind`. Its synonyms include:
Shunyapadavi : place of the void.
Brahmarandhra : hollow of (or entrance to) Brahman.
Mahapatha : the great path.
Smasana : the crematorium, or burning ground.
Sambhavi : The consort (Or power) of Shambhu (Siva)
Madhyamarga : The central path.
Several of these terms refer to the effect, which results from prana`s being successfully channeled up through this Nadi. Shunyapadavi, for example, is suggestive of the falling away; Of one`s identification with phenomenal entities, leaving that which is `empty` or `void` phenomenality (i.e. the true Self).
Shmasana relates to the `burning` of Sanskaras (habitual tendencies).
Sushumna is also described as `blazing and shining (jvalant), sound incarnate (Nadarupini) and `The Supporter of the Universe` (Visvadharini...)`
In the Sat-Chakra-Nirupana , susumna-nadi is said to contain within it a more refined channel called vajra- or vajrini-nadi. The term derives from vajra, meaning `thunder-bolt` and, within it is said to be a still more subtle channel known as chitra- or chitrini-nadi. The words chitra and chitrini are both feminine forms of chitra, meaning `brilliant`, `bright`, `clear`, and also `variegated` or `multicoloured`.
The nature of this innermost Nadi is identified with the experience that occurs as the vital force is channeled up through `her` centre. She is characterised as partaking of the nature of the supreme Goddess (Devi), who is experienced as the nada (inner sound). In its highest form, as the seat of one`s identity rises to the force-centre in the region of the brow (ajna-cakra), this sound is heard (internally or `psychically`) as the fundamental and universal vibration, "OM".
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