are applied to a particular region of the body, such as the mul ̄ adh ̄ ̄araor
‘root’ cakra, that region is contracted to concentrate energy there. A re-
lated practice is performance of mudras ̄ or ritual gestures, which permit
manipulation of cosmic energy within the body. Woodroffe explains that
these practices “rouse kunÓÓdalin ̄ı so that the pra ̄Óna withdrawn from iÓda ̄
and pi ̇ngala ̄ may by the power of its ́sakti, after entry into the suÓsumna ̄,
or void ( ́sunya ̄ ) go up to the Brahma-randhra(the opening of the
suÓsumÓn ̄a-nad ̄ı at the crown of the head).”^40 The commentary of the ÓSaÓt-
cakra-nirupa ̄ Ónaprovides some sense of how this occurs:
The yogin should sit in proper posture... and steady his mind by the
khechar ̄ı mudra. He should next fill the interior of his body with air
and hold it in with kumbhaka, and contract the heart. By doing so the
escape of upward breath is stopped... he should contract the anus and
stop the downward air... by so doing the fire of kama-v ̄ ayu ̄ there is
kindled, and the kuÓnÓdalin ̄ı gets heated (excited) thereby.
SCN 1 commentaryThe text describes kuÓnÓdalin ̄ı’sascent and piercing of the cakras. Finally
she “drinks the excellent nectar issuing from Param Íiva.” She then re-
turns to her place in the m ̄uladh ̄ ̄araor root cakra: “As she returns she in-
fuses rasa(the ‘juice’ of life) into the various things she had previously ab-
sorbed into herself when going upward” [SCN 53 & commentary].
Samadhi ̄ in Tantra is this mystical union of Íivaand Íakti. KuÓnÓdalin ̄ı
Yoga’s conception of samadhi ̄ is very different from that of classical
Yoga, because on the T ̄antric interpretation, rather than achieving inde-
pendence for the body as classical Yoga intends, the body itself partici-
pates in enlightenment and liberation. One of the ways body participates
in T ̄antric practice is in the use of mantra, the experiencing of sacred
sound.
Mantra Yoga
The idea of mystical sounds has roots in the Vedas. The great seed-sound
Aum (Om) is the source of, and the summation of, all sounds.^41 Aum is
identified in the Yajur-vedawith Brahman, with the Vedas, and with emi-
nent gods. In classical Yoga, Omis the designator of the Lord Î ́svara. The
Brahm ̄ ̄aÓnascontain mantraslater used in Tantra, but it remained for
Buddhist and Íaiva Tantra to accord mantrathe status of a vehicle of sal-
vation, mantrayana ̄.^42 Speech is the mother of creation in the Hindu tradi-
tion. In the ÓRgveda, v ̄ac, the personification of speech, says:
tantra and aesthetic therapeutics 149