Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.69
॥
Devanāgarī
भ्रुवोर्मध्ये तु संभिद्य याति शीतांशुमण्डलम् । अनाहताख्यं यच्चक्रं दलैः षोडशभिर्युतम्
Transliteration (IAST)
bhruvormadhye tu saṃbhidya yāti śītāṃśumaṇḍalam | anāhatākhyaṃ yaccakraṃ dalaiḥ ṣoḍaśabhiryutam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भ्रुवोः मध्ये तु संभिद्यbhruvoḥ madhye tu saṃbhidyabetween the brows, indeed, having pierced
याति शीत-अंशु-मण्डलम्yāti śīta-aṃśu-maṇḍalamit goes to the circle of the cool-rayed one
अनाहत-आख्यं यत् चक्रंanāhata-ākhyaṃ yat cakraṃthat circle, called "unstruck"
दलैः षोडशभिः युतम्dalaiḥ ṣoḍaśabhiḥ yutamendowed with sixteen petals
Translation
"Having pierced between the brows, it goes to the circle of the cool-rayed one — that circle called "unstruck", endowed with sixteen petals".
Version
bfc520ba5483 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Anahata, "unstruck," is named, and this word deserves unpacking, for it is among the most beautiful in this literature. A-nahata means "un-struck, not produced by a blow." So is called a sound that is not from a strike: every sound we hear arises from a collision — of string with finger, of air with throat, of thing with thing; but this one, they say, sounds without a blow.
This concept is elaborated in detail in the science of sound: a distinction is drawn between ahata, "struck," that is, heard by the ordinary ear, and anahata, heard within. Let me speak of this with the usual caution. That people, in prolonged concentration, hear inner sounds is a concordant and, it seems, genuine testimony; the third chapter of this book will speak of it at length. That these sounds are something higher is already interpretation.
The Vaishnava side treats this subject reservedly, and its argument here is constant: the Name is spoken aloud. It is an ahata, "struck," sound, produced by tongue and lips; and this is not its deficiency but its very substance — for one calls with the voice, not with an inner rumble. It is worth adding that "sixteen petals" here are assigned to anahata, whereas in the usual scheme it has twelve, and sixteen belongs to the throat circle. This discrepancy is universal in books on the chakras, and there is no agreement here; it is worth noting every time such a scheme is passed off as an exact description.