As per
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...
philosophies in Hinduism, there exist psychic
Chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
's in human body. There are believed to be seven major Chakras, which are arranged vertically along the axial channel (
sushumna nadi). They begin from
Muladhara
Muladhara ( sa, मूलाधार or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is s ...
to
Sahasrara
Sahasrara ( sa, सहस्रार, IAST: , en, "thousand-petalled", with many alternative names and spellings) or the crown chakra is considered the seventh primary chakra in some yoga traditions.
Hatha yoga
The Sahasrara is described ...
. Each of these Chakras are presided over by six Yoginis. Lakini is the Yogini or Devi who presides over
Manipura
Manipura ( sa, मणिपूर, IAST: ) is the third primary chakra according to Vedic tradition.
Description
Location
Located above the navel, Manipura translates from Sanskrit as "city of jewels" alternatively translated as "resplendent ...
Chakra. She is referred to as the Benefactress of All.
Manipura Chakra
Manipura
Manipura ( sa, मणिपूर, IAST: ) is the third primary chakra according to Vedic tradition.
Description
Location
Located above the navel, Manipura translates from Sanskrit as "city of jewels" alternatively translated as "resplendent ...
or solar plexus/navel Chakra is symbolized by a downward pointing triangle with ten petals, along with the color yellow. The seed syllable is Ram, and the presiding deity is Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti or power behind this Chakra. Corresponding deity for material element of this Chakra is
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
.
Manipura is related to the metabolic and digestive systems. Manipura is believed to correspond to
Islets of Langerhans
The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of ...
, which are groups of cells in the pancreas, as well as the outer
adrenal glands
The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex which ...
and the adrenal cortex. These play a valuable role in
digestion
Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...
, the conversion of food matter into energy for the body. The colour that corresponds to Manipura is yellow. Key issues governed by Manipura are issues of personal power, fear, anxiety, opinion-formation, introversion, and transition from simple or base emotions to complex. Physically, Manipura governs digestion, mentally it governs personal power, emotionally it governs expansiveness, and spiritually, all matters of growth.
Description
From the book Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon, Devi Lakini is described as,
''She is four-armed, of radiant body, is dark
hyaamaof complexion, clothed in yellow raiment and decked with various ornaments, and exalted with the drinking of ambrosia
.e. She drinks the nectar dripping down from the Sahasrara and is exalted by the Divine Energy that infuses Her In one of her four hands she holds the thunderbolt or Vajra. In her second hand, she holds the arrow that is shot from the bow of Kama, the Lord of Sex, in the second chakra. Her third hand holds fire. With the fourth hand Lakini Shakti forms the mudra (hand gesture) of granting boons and dispelling fear.''
''On a red lotus in the pericarp of this Lotus is the Shakti Lakini. She is blue, has three faces with three eyes in each, is four-armed, and with Her hands holds the vajra and the Shakti weapon, and makes the signs of dispelling fear and granting boons. She has fierce projecting teeth, and is fond of eating rice and dhal, cooked and mixed with meat and blood.''
From the Sat Chakra Nirupana, Devi Lakini is described as,
''Here abides Lakini, the benefactress of all. She is four-armed, of radiant body, is dark
hyaamaof complexion, clothed in yellow raiment and decked with various ornaments, and exalted with the drinking of ambrosia
.e. She drinks the nectar dripping down from the Sahasraara, and is exalted by the Divine Energy that infuses Her By meditating on this Navel Lotus
aabhi-padma the power to destroy and create the world is acquired. Vaanii
.e. Saraswatiwith all the wealth of knowledge ever abides in the lotus of the meditator's face.''
In a description about Manipura Chakara, Devi Lakini is the wife of Lord Rudra and
''The seed mantra is the syllable 'ram'. Within the bindu or dot above this mantra resides the deity Rudra, who is red or white, with three eyes, of ancient aspect with a silver beard, and smeared with white ashes. He makes the gestures of granting boons and dispelling fear. He is either seated upon a tiger skin, or upon a bull. His Shakti is the goddess Lakini. She has a black or dark-blue vermilion color; three faces, each with three eyes; is four-armed; holds a thunderbolt, the arrow shot from the bow of Kama, fire and makes the gesture of granting boons and dispelling fear. She is seated upon a red lotus.''
The name Lakini also appears in
Lalita Sahasranama
''Lalita Sahasranama'' (IAST: lalitāsahasranāma; Sanskrit: ललिता सहस्रनाम) is a sacred Hindu text from the Brahmanda Purana which lists the thousand names of the Hindu mother goddess Lalita Devi, a manifestation of t ...
, name 503 as ''Lakinyambha swaroopini (She who is famous in the name of “Lakini”)'', meaning
Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi m ...
appears as Lakini in
Manipura
Manipura ( sa, मणिपूर, IAST: ) is the third primary chakra according to Vedic tradition.
Description
Location
Located above the navel, Manipura translates from Sanskrit as "city of jewels" alternatively translated as "resplendent ...
Chakra.
Association with other Yoginis
There are seven psychic Chakras of human body begin from
Muladhara
Muladhara ( sa, मूलाधार or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is s ...
to
Sahasrara
Sahasrara ( sa, सहस्रार, IAST: , en, "thousand-petalled", with many alternative names and spellings) or the crown chakra is considered the seventh primary chakra in some yoga traditions.
Hatha yoga
The Sahasrara is described ...
Chakra. Each of these Chakras are presided over by yoginis.
In addition to that,
Kundalini
In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...
is the source power in
Muladhara
Muladhara ( sa, मूलाधार or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is s ...
Chakra.
These yoginis are,
References
{{reflist
External links
Description of Manipura Chakra from Kheper.netManipura - The Power Chakra by Anodea Judith
Chakras