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In Indian literature, one word can often mean several things. Nadi is one such word. It
represents a tube with a hole in the middle. Siddha medicine and Ayurveda claim that the
human body has three types of nadi, vata, pitta and sleshma or kapha. Jyothisham or
astrology says that a nadi is 24 minutes or 360 breaths. One breath is the time taken to
utter ten long vowels. This is one-sixtieth of a day and the time taken by the earth to cross
6 out of the 360 degrees in the universe. This is how the macrocosm and the microcosm
are related to each other.
In yoga, nadi represents the path of kundalini Sakthi. It is indicated as a jivanadi or the
river of life. Human body is said to have 72,000 nadis. These are not physical tubes.
They are present in the subtle body. Siddhas call their place of origin as kanda moolam.
Agatthiyar calls this as Pothigai malai. The Thamraparani river that descends from the
Pothigai hill are the nadis. Just as how a river splits into several branches the nadi branch
throughout the body. The kanda moolam is represents as a tortoise, four inches wide and
two inches tall. It lies horizontally. From the mouth of the tortoise emerge two nadi,
from its tail two and five from each of its feet. Thus, twenty four nadi emerge from the
tortoise that branch throught the body.
Among the twenty four nadi, five are considered important for spiritual realization. They
are ida, pingala, sushumna, bala and subhala. These are called sutra panchakam. Bala
and subhala run towards the lower part of the body. Ayurveda says that the nadi are
concentric tubes one within the other. For example the nadi vajrini, chitrini and brahma
nadi are present within the sushumna nadi. Among these sushumna nadi represents tamo
guna, vajrini the rajo guna, chitrini the satva guna and brahma nadi the pure
consciousness. Prana travels in the brahma nadi, with the help of kundalini agni. It
meets the chakra or energy centers on its way. Among these centers the six, muladhara,
svadhistana, manipurakam, anahatam, vishuddhi, ajna and sahasrara are considered the
primary centers. The chakra are generally represented in the form of a down turned lotus
bud that has not bloomed yet. When kundalini sakthi travels through them, the chakras
turn up and bloom.
Agatthiyar talks about the secret of nadi in the first song of jnanam 2.
The Supreme Being, is an entity that is not controlled by time, space and causality. Even
Vedas cannot describe the Supreme consciousness. One can achieve this supreme
consciousness through kundalini yoga. When consciousness is raised, with the help of
2
The three letters of omkara, a, u and ma represent the three nadi. Among these akara
represents the sushumna. Ukara and makara represent the ida and pingala. Maha meru
represents the spinal chord the path of kundalini. It also represents the sahasrara. The
hair bridge or nadi end there. Thus it is at the base of the Mahameru which is the
muladhara chakra.
Agatthiyar says that Vedantic texts describe this. Chandogya Upanishad says that there
are 101 nadi in the heart. One among them travels towards the head. Those who travel
through that will not have another birth (8.6.6). Mundaka Upanishad, Prashna Upanishad
and Maithri Upanishad have details about the nadi. However, none of these details will
grant a person supreme consciousness. They are only textual knowledge. Only kundalini
yoga will grant the experience.
AdiSankara talks about kundalini yoga in Saundarya Lahari. The ninth sloka,
Piercing the muladhara, manipuraka, svadhishtana where the principles, earth, water and
fire are placed, the anahata where air is placed, the vishuddhi where the akasha principle
is placed and the ajna where the manas principle is placed you reach the lotus in the
sahasrara and remain there with your consort.
In the tenth sloka that begins as “sudha dharasarai” it talks about how Devi drenches the
body with the divine nectar that ensues from her sacred feet, upon reaching the sahasrara.
Then, she returns to the muladhara taking the form of a snake and sleeps there in
kulakundam. These two verses describe the ascent and descent of kundalini, its
arohanam and avarohanam. The kundalini reaching the sahasrara after crossing the six
chakras is called “shat chakra nivedana” and “antharyaga”.
Human body is divided into three realms or zones, the agni mandala, surya mandala and
chandra mandala. The agni mandala spans the zone up to the navel. The surya mandala
exists from the navel to the throat. The chandra mandala exists from the throat to the
ajna. The agni mandala terminates in brahma granti or the knot of brahma. It includes
the muladhara and svadhistana. The manipuraka and anahata belong to the surya
mandala the terminus of which is the bishnu granti. The vishuddhi and ajna belong to the
chandra mandala and the rudra grati is present in the ajna.
3
The kundalini sakthi that reaches the sahasrara thus turns the chakras up. The place
where it meets the sahasrara is the meeting place of Sakti and Siva. It is called chidagni
or triangle of Sakti. Saundarya lahari sloka 33 explains this. Agatthiyar talks about this
in the verse 2. He says that
Sambu or Hara stands in this triangle with his foot lifted up. Agatthiyar calls this
“paraveli” or the space of param.
Nataraja’s dance represents his five actions. He is the Hara or destroyer of sins. He is the
auspicious one, Sabhu who performs creation, sustenance, dissolution, bestowing of
grace and concealment. His form is that of bliss, it is the light that spreads to a great
distance. The term Sat-chit- Ananda that represents the Lord means existence-awareness
and bliss. Sath is existence the state of “being”. Chith is being consciousness of himself,
Self-consciousness. Ananda is bliss. The external manifestation of this bliss is
Nataraja’s dance which appears as the universe.
He plants the lives, souls in this world which is a solidification of his bliss. He places the
souls in this world due to his love so that they can rid themselves of their karma. Only
when these souls forget their original nature, being supreme consciousness, can they
function in this world. Thus, his power of concealment is essential for the souls to
perform their action. The tirodana sakthi or power of concealment transforms into grace
and the souls merge in him. Even after their physical death, before they attain realization,
souls rest in him between births. He grants them this reprieve so that they will lose their
fatigue and get ready for the next birth. Thus, the Lord’s love is the basis for everything.
Hence, Tirumular says, “anbe sivam” or Love is God. The second verse describes this
idea.
Tirumular says
The om, the singular, primary letter dances as everything. It can also be the akara. The
dance is the action of anugraha. The tatparam that dances so is the singularity that
remains as the great “alone”. The dance of thandava kootthu happens in the dhamani or
nadi.
யோகத்தில் நாடி என்பது பிராண சக்தி, குண்டலினி சக்தி, பயணிக்கும் ஒரு ஜீவநதியாக
உருவகப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. மனித உடலில் 72,000 நாடிகள் உள்ளன. இவை கண்ணால்
காணக்கூடிய குழாய்கள் அல்ல. இவை சூட்சும நிலையில் உள்ளவை. இந்த நாடிகள் உடலில்
நாபிக்கு நான்கு இஞ்சுக்கள் கீழே தொடங்குகின்றன. இதைக் கண்ட மூலம் என்று சித்தர்கள்
அழைக்கின்றனர். இதையே அகத்தியர் பொதிகை மலை என்கிறார். இங்கிருந்து கீழே
இறங்கும் தாமிரபரணி ஆறு என்பது இந்த நாடிகளாகும். இவை ஒரு ஆறு பல கிளைகளாகப்
பிரிந்து ஓடுவதைப் போல உடல் முழுவதும் விரவியுள்ளன. இந்த கண்டமூலம் ஒரு
ஆமையைப் போல நான்கு இன்ச் அகலமும் இரண்டு இன்ச் உயரமும் கொண்டதாக உடலின்
குறுக்கே உள்ளது என்று ஆயுர்வேத நூல்கள் குறிப்பிடுகின்றன. இந்த ஆமையின்
வாயிலிருந்து இரண்டு, வாலிலிருந்து இரண்டு, ஒவ்வொரு காலிலிருந்து ஐந்து என்று மொத்தம்
இருபத்து நான்கு நாடிகளாகத் தொடங்கி பலவாக விரிகின்றன.
அகத்தியர் ஞானம் 2 என்ற பாடல் தொகுப்பின் முதல் பாட்டில் இந்த சூட்சுமமாக உள்ள
நாடிகளைப் பற்றி அகத்தியர் பேசுகிறார்.
இதைத் திருமூலர்
“தாண்டவமான தனி எழுத்து ஓர் எழுத்து
தாண்டவமானது அனுக்கிரகத் தொழில்
தாண்டவம் கூத்துத் தனி நின்ற தற்பரம்
தாண்டவம் கூத்துத் தமனியந்தானே”
என்கிறார்.