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The Nervous System of the Tantras 353 the neck. In the passage inside this spinal column there is a nerve (nādi), called suşumņā, which is again in reality made up of three nādīs, suşumņā, vajrā and citriņīl. All nādīs start from the root at the end of the vertebral column, called kāņda, and they proceed upwards to the highest cerebral nerve-plexus, called sahasrāra, and are seventy-two thousand in number. The place of the root of these nādīs (kānda) is an inch above the anus and an inch below the root of the penis. If suşumņā is the central nerve of the spinal cord, then on its extreme right side is the idā, and then parallel to it towards the sușumņā are the gāndhārī, stretching from the corner of the left eye to the left leg, hasti-jihvā, stretching from the left eye to the left foot, sankhini, branching on the left, kuhū (the pubic nerve on the left) and also the viśvodarā, the lumbar nerves. On the extreme left of it is the piñgalā, and between it and the suşumnā are the pūķā, stretching from below the corner of the right eye to the abdomen, pasyanti, the auricular branch or the cervical plexus, sarasvati and vāranā (the sacral nerve). The sarkhini (the auricular branch or the cervical plexus on the left) goes parallel to the suşumņā, but takes a turn in the region of the neck and passes on to the root of the left ear-holes; in another branch it passes through the inner side of the region of the forehead, where it gets joined with the citriņī nāļi and enters into the cerebral region. The suşumņā nādi is a sort of duct inside the spine, which encases within it the vajrā nāļi, and that again encases within it the citriņi nādi, which has within it a fine aperture running all through it, which is the fine aperture running through the spinal cord?. This inner passage
1 But according to the Tanira-cūdāmani, suşumnā is not inside the spinal column but outside it. Thus it says, "tad-bāhye tu tayor madhye suşumņā vahnisamyuta."This, however, is against the view of the Sat-cakra-nirūpana, which takes suşumnā to be inside the passage of the spine. According to the Nigama-tattvasāra-tantra, idā and pingalā are both inside the spine, but this is entirely against the accepted vicw. Dr Sir B. N. Seal thinks that suşumnā is the central passage or channel of the spinal cord and not a separate nāļi (The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus, pp. 219, 226, 227). Mr Rele in his The Mysterious Kundalini (pp.35,36) thinks that it is anādi which is situated centrally and passes through the spinal column (meru-danda); but, judging from the fact that it is said to originate in the sacrum, from which it goes upwards to the base of the skull, where it joins with the plexus of a thousand nerves called brahma-cakra (cerebrum in the vault of the skull) and is divided at the level of the larynx (kantha) into anterior and posterior parts between the two eyebrows (ājñā-cakra) and the cavity in the brain (brairma-randhra) respectively, Rele thinks that this suşumnā nādi is nothing but the spinal cord.
2 Nādiis derived by Pūrņānanda Yati, in his commentaryon the Sat-cakra-nirupana, from the root nad, to go, as a passage or duct (nada gatau iti dhātor nadyate gamyate 'nayā padavya iti nāļi). Mahāmahopadhyāya Gananātha Sen makes a
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