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hindu-cosmosfeatured in 2 works

The Coiled Power (Kuṇḍalinī)

A serpent of energy asleep at the base of the spine — wake it, and it rises toward the infinite.

Kuṇḍalinī is the 'coiled' power: a vast spiritual energy imagined as a serpent asleep at the base of the spine. The haṭha-yoga texts teach that awakening it and guiding it upward through the body's central channel, piercing the subtle centers along the way, is the engine of liberation. When it reaches the crown, the individual is said to merge with the absolute. It is the master-key of the tantric yoga of the body.

How it traveled

  1. Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā
    Kāśī (Varanasi) · 1450
    applies
  2. Gheraṇḍa-saṃhitā
    Kāśī (Varanasi) · 1700
    explains

Key passages(6)

Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā · Svātmārāma

Very high

Gheraṇḍa-saṃhitā · (attributed to Gheraṇḍa)

Very high

Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā · Svātmārāma

Very high

Gheraṇḍa-saṃhitā · (attributed to Gheraṇḍa)

Very high

Tantrasāra · Abhinavagupta

Very high

Vijñāna-bhairava · Anonymous (Bhairava Āgama / Tantra)

High