Mass.: Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies,
Harvard University, 1999); K. P. Sinha, Sri Caitanya’s
Vaisnavism and Its Sources (Kolkata: Punthi Pustak,
2001); Swami Tapasyananda, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta
(Madras: Ramakrishna Math, n.d.).
chakra
Chakra, literally, “wheel” or “discus,” is a term
used in KUNDALINI yoga to designate energy cen-
ters along the spine. These centers do not reside
in the gross body, at the physical level, but in what
is termed the “subtle body.” Though they have a
physical position, they have no definite physical
adjuncts or precise nervous system connections
as in the case of the Chinese system of meridians
in acupuncture. They are instead believed to be
connected to a network of channels in the subtle
body called NADIS.
The chakras are usually visualized as being
lotus flowers with differing numbers of petals.
Each of the chakras is a center of consciousness
of sorts, playing a role in the makeup of the full
human being (including his or her transcendent
aspect).
There are six basic chakras found in almost
every kundalini system with a seventh “highest
chakra” that technically is beyond the chakras,
but is often called “chakras” nonetheless. The
names of these chakras vary in different systems.
The most common system lists the following
chakras, moving from the base of the spine to a
place above the head: MULADHARA, SVADHISHTHANA,
MANIPURA, ANAHATA, VISHUDDHA, AJNA. In this system
the seventh level is usually called SAHASRARA, the
transcendent level, which is not in most systems
actually a chakra, but for convenience is some-
times designated as such.
Some accounts include an additional chakra,
the LALATA or soma chakra, between ajna and sahas-
rara. In kundalini yoga one raises the kundalini,
which is seen to be a coiled serpent, through
breath control and/or MEDITATIONS so that it pierces
in succession each of the chakras, giving the adapt
control or mastery over them. This movement
results in complete personal transformation and,
ultimately, access to the transcendent state.Further reading: Haris Johari, Chakras: Energy Centers
of Transformation (Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books, 2000);
John G. Woodroffe, The Serpent Power, 7th ed. (Madras:
Ganesh, 1964).Chamunda
Chamunda is a fearsome goddess who accepts
human sacrifices and blood offerings. She is
now usually assimilated to KALI, and Chamunda
is an epithet for Kali. The first known historical
mention of Chamunda is in the Sanskrit poet
BHAVABHUTI’s drama Malatimadhava (eighth cen-
tury C.E.), in which the heroine Malati is captured
by a female devotee of Chamunda to be sacrificed
to that goddess. Chamunda’s temple is depicted as
near a cremation ground. That story has the god-
dess dancing so wildly that the world shakes; she
has a gaping mouth and a garland of skulls and is
covered with snakes; flames shoot from her eyes
that could destroy the world, and she is encircled
by goblins.
Another, South Indian description of Cha-
munda has her holding a skull-head mace, a
snake, and a wine cup. She has a third eye, a
jackal chews on a corpse below her, and her eyes
show she has been drinking liquor. Another image
of Chamunda, at Jaipur in Orissa, depicts her as
emaciated; she holds a chopper and a pronged
weapon, a skull begging bowl, and a severed head
in her hands.
Chamunda is sometimes listed among the
matrikas or “Mother Goddesses.” The Markandeya
PURANA has Chamunda emerge from the forehead
of Amba or DURGA to kill two fierce demons,
Chanda and Munda, and her name is explained by
combining the names of these two demons.Further reading: David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988); ———,K 102 chakra