Sanskrit Knowledge · Tantra & Yoga
The Seven Chakras
The seven energy centres of classical Tantric and Yogic tradition — their Sanskrit names, meanings, and what's genuinely ancient versus a later addition.
चक्र (chakra) literally means "wheel" or "circle" in Sanskrit. In Tantric and Yogic anatomy, chakras are described as centres of subtle energy (prana) arranged along the spine, each traditionally visualised as a lotus with a specific number of petals, linked to an element, a sense, and a seed sound (bija mantra).
The seven-chakra system familiar today — Muladhara through Sahasrara — is drawn from medieval Tantric texts, most influentially the Shatchakra Nirupana ("Description of the Six Centres"), a 16th-century Sanskrit work by Purnananda Yati that was translated into English in 1919 by Sir John Woodroffe (writing as Arthur Avalon), which is largely how the system became widely known outside India.
The seven chakras, in detail
From Sahasrara (crown) down to Muladhara (root) — the traditional top-to-bottom order.
1. Muladhara
“Root support”
Location: Base of the spine
Element: Prithvi (earth)
Petals: 4
Bija mantra: लं (Lam)
Considered the foundation of the whole system; associated with the sense of smell.
2. Svadhishthana
“One's own abode”
Location: Below the navel
Element: Apas (water)
Petals: 6
Bija mantra: वं (Vam)
Associated with the sense of taste and with the reproductive organs in classical descriptions.
3. Manipura
“City of jewels”
Location: Navel / upper abdomen
Element: Agni (fire)
Petals: 10
Bija mantra: रं (Ram)
Linked to digestion, transformation and personal will in traditional accounts.
4. Anahata
“Unstruck, unhurt”
Location: Centre of the chest
Element: Vayu (air)
Petals: 12
Bija mantra: यं (Yam)
The name refers to the “unstruck sound” said to arise here without any two things striking together.
5. Vishuddha
“Especially pure”
Location: Throat
Element: Akasha (space / ether)
Petals: 16
Bija mantra: हं (Ham)
Associated with the sense of hearing and the act of speech.
6. Ajna
“Command / perception”
Location: Between the eyebrows
Element: Mind (manas) — beyond the five elements
Petals: 2
Bija mantra: ॐ (Om)
Often called the “third eye” centre; associated with intuition and inner perception rather than a physical sense.
7. Sahasrara
“Thousand-petaled”
Location: Crown of the head
Element: Beyond the five elements
Petals: 1,000 (symbolic)
Bija mantra: Beyond sound (silence)
Traditionally described as the seat of pure consciousness, beyond the reach of the ordinary senses or elements.
What's classical, and what was added later
The chakras themselves, their Sanskrit names, and their placement on the body are genuinely old, described consistently across Tantric sources for centuries. Two extremely popular parts of the modern "chakra system," however, are much more recent:
- The rainbow colour scheme — red for the root chakra rising through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — is not found in the classical Sanskrit texts. It was introduced by the British Theosophist Charles W. Leadbeater in his 1927 book The Chakras, and became popular through 20th-century Western yoga and wellness writing rather than through the original Tantric tradition.
- An exactly fixed count of seven — classical sources don't uniformly agree on this. Some Tantric texts describe six primary centres with Sahasrara treated as a separate, higher goal rather than a seventh chakra in the same series; other traditions describe different numbers and arrangements entirely. The "seven chakra" framework popular today is one systematisation among several historical ones, not the sole classical account.
None of this makes the popular version "wrong" exactly — it's simply a 20th-century synthesis that draws on genuine classical material while adding its own interpretive layer. Knowing which parts are which is useful for anyone going back to read the older Sanskrit sources directly.
Chakras and the Panchanga
Chakras belong to the body of Tantric and Yogic literature rather than to the Panchanga (the calendar system this site mostly covers) — the two are separate branches of the same broader Sanskrit intellectual tradition, not different aspects of the same system. If you came here looking for calendar-related content, see our Panchanga guide or Hindu Calendar 2027.
Related Sanskrit knowledge
See Sanskrit Mantras for more on bija and other seed sounds, or Yantra & Mandala for the sacred geometry tradition that developed alongside chakra visualisation.
Frequently asked questions
Are chakras a scientifically proven concept?
Chakras are a traditional concept from Tantric and Yogic literature, not an anatomical structure recognised in modern medicine. This page describes the classical textual tradition rather than making a scientific claim.
Why do chakra colours vary so much between different charts?
Because the colour scheme itself is a 20th-century addition (see above) rather than a fixed classical standard, different modern authors and schools have proposed varying colour associations — there's no single "correct" version to check against an ancient source.
What is a bija mantra?
A bija ("seed") mantra is a single-syllable sound traditionally associated with a specific chakra or deity, used in meditation and ritual. See our Sanskrit Mantra page for more.
Is the chakra system Hindu or Buddhist?
Both traditions developed their own chakra-related systems, sharing common roots in Tantric practice. The specific seven-chakra system on this page comes from Hindu Tantric sources (the Shatchakra Nirupana).