The Goddess of a Thousand Petals: How Lalitā Sahasranāma Maps Our Chakras

“Every petal of the chakras is a syllable of Her name;every dhātu in the body is a drop of Her own blood.”

The Lalitā Sahasranāma is widely known as a devotional hymn to Śrī Lalitā Tripurasundarī, the radiant Queen of Śrīcakra. Yet hidden within the thousand names is a level of yogic, anatomical, and esoteric precision that is rarely spoken about—especially in modern teachings.

Between nāmās 475 and 534, the Sahasranāma gives one of the most accurate inner maps of the kuṇḍalinī-chakra system and connects it directly with:

• The seven Yoginīs

• The five elements and sense principles

• Foetal development month-by-month

• Ayurveda’s Sapta Dhātus (seven bodily tissues)

• The journey of consciousness from descent to ascent

  
  

This section is a masterpiece of symbolic anatomy—a bridge between Ayurveda, Tantra, embryology, and spirituality.

This article presents the complete overview of this profound system.Subsequent articles will unpack each chakra in depth.

1. The Chakra Section of the Sahasranāma (475–534)

This portion describes:

Six subtle chakras in the spine:

Mūlādhāra → Svādhiṣṭhāna → Maṇipūra → Anāhata → Viśuddhi → Ājñā

Seven Yoginīs presiding over them:

Sākinī, Kākinī, Lākinī, Rākinī, Dākinī, Hākinī, Yākinī

Elements & Sense-qualities:

Each chakra corresponds to a tattva (earth → water → fire → air → space → mind)and a tanmātra (smell → taste → sight → touch → sound → mind).

The Crown Centre (Sahasrāra)

Not counted among the six chakras, yet presided over by Yākinī,representing the state beyond elements and senses.

2. The Yoginī Map — Cakra, Bīja, Element

Table 1 — Cakra • Bīja • Yoginī • Element • Tanmātra

Cakra (order in this narration*)	Bīja	Yoginī	Element	Tanmātra
Mūlādhāra (5th)	laṁ	Sākinī	Earth	Smell
Svādhiṣṭhāna (4th)	vaṁ	Kākinī	Water	Taste
Maṇipūra (3rd)	raṁ	Lākinī	Fire	Sight
Anāhata (2nd)	yaṁ	Rākinī	Air	Touch
Viśuddhi (1st)	haṁ	Dākinī	Space	Sound
Ājñā (6th)	haṁ, kṣaṁ	Hākinī	Mind	—
Sahasrāra	—	Yākinī	Beyond	—

*Order here follows the Sahasranāma’s face-count sequence (1 to 6 faces), not the usual anatomical base-to-crown order.

This is an insight of the ancient ṛṣis—a meditative, not anatomical, sequencing.

3. Yoginī and Body: Dhātus from Skin to Śukra

Each Yoginī governs a bodily substance, forming an ascending ladder from outermost to innermost:

Table 2 — Yoginī • Brief Description • Bodily Substance

Yoginī	Description	Bodily Substance
Dākinī (Viśuddhi)	Mild-red, one-faced, 3-eyed; khaṭvāṅga; pāyasa-loving	Skin / Rasa interface
Rākinī (Anāhata)	Two-faced, tusked (Vārāhī element); ghee-rice loving	Blood (Rakta)
Lākinī (Maṇipūra)	Three-faced, vajra-wielding; jaggery-rice loving	Flesh (Māṃsa)
Kākinī (Svādhiṣṭhāna)	Four-faced; trident, noose; honey & curd-rice	Fat (Meda)
Sākinī (Mūlādhāra)	Five-faced; with Varadā, Śrī, Sarasvatī; green-gram rice	Bone (Asthi)
Hākinī (Ājñā)	Six-faced, fair; rosary, skull, book; turmeric rice	Marrow / Nerve (Majjā)
Yākinī (Sahasrāra)	All colours; all weapons; all foods	Reproductive Essence (Śukra)

This already reveals an extraordinary alignment with Ayurveda. But the real beauty comes next

4. Ayurveda’s Sapta Dhātus and the Sahasranāma — A Perfect Correspondence

According to Ayurveda, the seven dhātus form sequentially from digested food (āhāra rasa):

1. Rasa → plasma/lymph

2. Rakta → blood

3. Māṃsa → muscle

4. Meda → fat

5. Asthi → bone

6. Majjā → marrow/nervous tissue

7. Śukra → reproductive essence, vitality, ojas

Each dhātu nourishes the next.

And here is the astonishing insight:

The exact sequence of Yoginīs in Lalitā Sahasranāma matches the exact Ayurvedic order of the Sapta Dhātus.

• Dākinī → Rasa

• Rākinī → Rakta

• Lākinī → Māṃsa

• Kākinī → Meda

• Sākinī → Asthi

• Hākinī → Majjā

• Yākinī → Śukra

This is not poetry. It is physiology encoded as tantra, or tantra encoded as physiology.

Lalitā Sahasranāma begins with Viśuddhi because it governs Rasa Dhātu,and ends in Sahasrāra because it governs Śukra Dhātu.**

The journey of dhātus is the journey of consciousness.

• Food becomes plasma → blood → muscle → fat → bone → marrow → reproductive essence.

• Consciousness becomes form → emotion → power → flow → stability → insight → radiance.

Ayurveda and Śrīvidyā are two languages describing the same reality.

5. Why the Sahasranāma Begins Its Chakra Journey at Viśuddhi

Modern chakra systems start from Mūlādhāra.Lalitā Sahasranāma starts at Viśuddhi.\

Why?

Because Viśuddhi is where:

• Prāṇa first touches the body

• Sound (śabda) enters

• The foetus receives its earliest nourishment

• Rasa Dhātu is activated

• The Yoginī-sequence must begin where dhātu-creation begins

Thus the Sahasranāma silently teaches:

The true spiritual journey doesn’t begin at the root—it begins at nourishment. Without Rasa (fluid, emotion, love), nothing can rise.

Just as the foetus becomes visible from Rasa,so the sādhaka becomes spiritually alive from Viśuddhi.

6. Foetal Development & the Chakras — Another Layer of Precision

The Sahasranāma mirrors foetal formation:

• Viśuddhi (Dākinī) → embryo colour, first drop

• Anāhata (Rākinī) → formation of blood

• Maṇipūra (Lākinī) → limbs & muscles develop

• Svādhiṣṭhāna (Kākinī) → lower body development, fat/meda

• Mūlādhāra (Sākinī) → spine & bones crystallise

• Ājñā (Hākinī) → marrow, brain, nervous system

• Sahasrāra (Yākinī) → sentience, ojas, consciousness, kicks, thought

  
  

In other words:

The womb is the first chakra system.The embryo is the first Śrīcakra.Maa Lalitā is the obstetrician of the soul.

I am trying to research further on embryology and sequencing of chakras in Lalitha Sahashranamam.

7. Food as Chakra Practice — Yoginī Naivedya

One of the most beautiful—and surprisingly practical—dimensions of the Sahasranāma’s Yoginī teachings is the mention of specific foods that please each Yoginī.These are not merely symbolic offerings; they mirror the Ayurvedic nourishment of the seven dhātus, giving us a profound insight into how diet, meditation, and subtle-body practice can work hand-in-hand.

The Yoginī–Food–Dhātu Link

Food Offering	Dhātu	Chakra	Yoginī
Pāyasa (sweet milk-rice)	Rasa	Viśuddhi	Dākinī
Ghee rice (snigdha-odana)	Rakta	Anāhata	Rākinī
Jaggery rice (guḍānna)	Māṃsa	Maṇipūra	Lākinī
Honey & curd rice	Meda	Svādhiṣṭhāna	Kākinī
Green gram rice (mudgānna)	Asthi	Mūlādhāra	Sākinī
Turmeric rice (haridrā-anna)	Majjā / Nerve tissue	Ājñā	Hākinī
All pure foods (sarv-odana)	Śukra / Ojas	Sahasrāra	Yākinī

Traditionally, Yoginī-worshippers would prepare the food as naivedya, offer it inwardly during meditation, and then consume a small portion as prasāda, allowing the teaching to enter the physical body.

Food as Sādhana, Food as Physiology

In this model:

• Food becomes chakra-sādhana

• Naivedya becomes inner alchemy

• Eating becomes a dhātu-building ritual

• Digestion becomes yajña, the sacred fire of transformation

The act of offering food is no longer just external ritual but:

a conscious nourishment of the tissue that each Yoginī governs.

A Note for Modern Research

While the symbolic alignment between Yoginī-offerings and dhātu-function is ancient, elegant, and consistent within traditional texts (Sahasranāma, Tantra, and Ayurveda), its biomedical underpinning has not yet been fully explored.

More research is needed to:

• scientifically evaluate whether these specific foodstruly influence the corresponding dhātus,

• investigate potential physiological correlations,

• and explore how dietary rituals may impactsubtle nervous, hormonal, and energetic states described in yoga and tantra.

This opens a fascinating interdisciplinary field where Ayurveda, embryology, nutrition science, neuroscience, and tantra may converge.

The Inner Meaning

Beyond the physical, these foods also represent:

• the texture of each chakra,

• the psychological nourishment required at that stage,

• and the emotional flavour that supports the Yoginī’s blessing.

Thus, eating becomes an act of devotion —a reminder that your body is a temple,its dhātus are the seven altar-lamps,and the Goddess is the priestess tending them from within.

The interpretations shared here are simply my personal reflections on the subtle teachings of the Lalitā Sahasranāma. They are not to be taken as final or definitive. I encourage every reader to pause, reflect, and draw insights that resonate with their own spiritual experience. I welcome your comments and guidance with gratitude. Please email me on drananthkb@hotmail.com