03 / Contemplation · Chakra
A map for
contemplation.
Seven familiar centers. More than one tradition. Explore the symbols with their sources in view.
A reference to traditional subtle-body teachings, not a map of physical organs or a diagnostic tool.
Colors follow the modern rainbow convention. Classical descriptions differ.
Mūlādhāra
Root
Classical: below the genitals and above the anus, at the base of the central channel. Approximate landmark: perineum and base of the spine.
- Petals
- 4
- Element
- Earthpṛthivī
- Seed sound
- laṃ
Classical description
Crimson petals with golden letters; a shining yellow earth square in the center.
Form: yellow square
Deity: Brahmā
Traditional: this is the support lotus at the root of the central channel and the resting place from which the ascent practice begins.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use red and connect the root center with stability, security, and groundedness.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center in the physical and subconscient zone and associates it with physical vitality or inertia. The Auroville summary gives its color as red.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
Remember only the red and you lose the yellow square at the center. Read the color of the petals and the color of the element mandala as two separate things; one picture can hold both at once.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 4 to 13; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Svādhiṣṭhāna
One's own abode / Sacral
Classical: at the root of the genitals within the central channel. Approximate landmark: low pelvis, in front of the sacrum.
- Petals
- 6
- Element
- Waterap
- Seed sound
- vaṃ
Classical description
Vermilion lotus with lightning-bright letters; a white water region and white crescent in the center.
Form: white crescent
Deity: Viṣṇu
Traditional: the text places the water region and its seed sound within this six-petalled lotus. Contemplation is described within a larger process of refining attention through the subtle centers.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use orange and connect the sacral center with creativity, emotion, and relationships.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center in the lower vital zone and relates it to creative expression and lower vital impulses. The Auroville summary gives its color as deep purple-red.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
As you read Svadhishthana, watch where each of the three readings comes to rest: the classical text on the water mandala, the modern one on emotional life, Integral Yoga on the pranic zone. The words may match while the ground beneath them differs.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 14 to 18; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Maṇipūra
City of jewels / Navel
Classical: at the root of the navel. Approximate landmark: the navel region along the central axis.
- Petals
- 10
- Element
- Fireagni; tejas
- Seed sound
- raṃ
Classical description
Lotus the color of a heavy rain cloud, with blue-lotus letters; a red fire triangle shines like the rising sun.
Form: rising-sun red triangle
Deity: Rudra
Traditional: this center is the region of fire and the navel lotus. Rudra presides within the fire region in the classical source.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use yellow and connect the navel center with personal power, confidence, and purposeful action.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center in the vital zone and relates it to ambition, possession, and conquest, together with joy and generosity. The Auroville summary gives its color as violet.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
Fire does not mean the same thing in every setting. Take in the text’s fire mandala first, and only then read the modern interpretation built around confidence. The symbol and its later application will then show as two separate things.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 19 to 21; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Anāhata
Unstruck / Heart
Classical: in the heart region above the navel lotus. Approximate landmark: center of the chest along the spine.
- Petals
- 12
- Element
- Airvāyu
- Seed sound
- yaṃ
Classical description
Lotus bright like the deep-red bandhūka flower, with vermilion letters; a smoke-colored six-cornered air region in the center.
Form: smoke-colored six-pointed figure
Deity: Īśa (Īśāna Rudra)
Traditional: the heart lotus is compared with a celestial wish-fulfilling tree and is a seat for meditation on the inner self.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use green and connect the heart center with love, compassion, and emotional balance.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center in the vital zone and associates it with the emotional being, with the psychic being described behind it. The Auroville summary gives its color as golden-pink.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
Say “heart” and you can be reaching for the organ, for feeling, or for the innermost self. As you read, notice which of the three a given paragraph is using. Blend all three everywhere and the fine distinction between them is lost.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 22 to 27; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Viśuddha
Purification / Throat
Classical: at the base of the throat. Approximate landmark: throat center near the lower cervical spine.
- Petals
- 16
- Element
- Spaceākāśa
- Seed sound
- haṃ
Classical description
Smoky-purple lotus with crimson vowels; a spotless white circular space region in the center.
Form: white circle
Deity: Sadāśiva
Traditional: this center is associated with space and sound in the text's subtle-body sequence. The lunar region in its center is presented as a gateway used in advanced contemplation.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use blue and connect the throat center with communication and expression.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center among the mind centers and associates it with mental expression and the externalizing mind. The Auroville summary gives its color as grey.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
The link between the throat and speech feels obvious. Even so, read the classical vowel letters, the modern skill of communication and Integral Yoga’s mental expression each in its own setting. A plain resemblance is no complete interpretation.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 28 to 31; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Ājñā
Command / Brow
Classical: between the eyebrows. Approximate landmark: the brow center, with the visualization oriented along the central axis.
- Petals
- 2
- Element
- MindmanasBeyond the five gross elements
- Seed sound
- oṃ
Classical description
Moon-white lotus with two white letters; the inner forms are described through luminous, moonlike, and lightning-like imagery.
Form: luminous inner triangle
Deity: Paramaśiva, often represented as Ardhanārīśvara
Traditional: the text calls this the command center and locates subtle mind within its two-petalled lotus. Meditation here belongs to an advanced sequence directed by a teacher.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use indigo and connect the brow center with intuition, wisdom, and insight.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center among the mind centers and associates it with will, mental dynamism, knowledge, and awareness. The Auroville summary gives its color as white.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
Pause at the word manas in the line for the element. The map at this point is no longer a sequence of physical substances. That difference is why reading the five entries below and Ajna as members of one category can mislead.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 32 to 38; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Sahasrāra
Thousand-petalled / Crown
Classical: above the other centers at the crown. Approximate landmark: the top of the head and the space immediately above it.
- Petals
- 1,000
- Element
- NoneTranscends the gross elements
- Seed sound
- silence; all bījas
Classical description
Lotus whiter than the full moon, with filaments tinged like the young sun and white letters repeated across the petals.
Form: downward-facing lotus with an inner lunar region
Deity: Paramaśiva in union with divine power; the source mapping records infinite bliss without a separate deity
Traditional: Sahasrara stands above the six centers and is described as a field of complete bliss and dissolution into the highest reality.
Modern interpretation
Modern teaching sources use violet or white and connect the crown center with spiritual awareness and expanded consciousness.
Integral Yoga interpretation
Integral Yoga places this center in the superconscient zone and describes it as communicating with higher consciousness. The Auroville summary gives its color as blue with golden light.
Secondary summary: Auroville Adventure. This is a distinct interpretive tradition.
Where to pause in the text
The count of a thousand petals and the similes of light change the scale of the description. After the orderly list of six centers, this is the picture of culmination. Read that shift in the text first, and then compare it with the modern summary of a seventh chakra.
Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verse 40 and verses 41 to 49; translated with commentary in The Serpent Power. The linked compilation also contains later commentary.
Sources & teaching context
Exercise guidance and traditional references serve different purposes. Traditional descriptions are not clinical evidence.
- The Serpent Power / Shat-chakra-nirupana
Pūrṇānanda; translated with commentary by John Woodroffe. The linked compilation includes subsequent additions by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj. Classical entries reference verses 4 to 49.
- Integral Yoga interpretation
Auroville Adventure, An Introduction to the Chakras in Integral Yoga, 2021. A secondary summary, identified separately from the classical text.
- Modern chakra interpretation
Anodea Judith, Wheels of Life. A modern interpretive source; publisher information.