अनाहतanāhata · unstruck
Anāhata, the unstruck
2 min read · Updated October 16, 2026 · sources checked October 16, 2026
In short
Anāhata, the heart chakra, is the fourth centre of the subtle body. Its name means unstruck, for the inner sound heard without anything striking. In the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa it is a lotus of twelve deep red petals holding the smoky hexagon of air, the seed syllable YAṂ, the god Īśa, the goddess Kākinī and the individual self, steady as a lamp flame.
The fourth of the chakras is at the heart, and of all the centres it has the oldest roots. Long before any chakra system, the Upanishads made the heart the seat of the self: the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (6.16) counts a hundred and one channels of the heart, one of which rises to the crown (the nāḍīs).
The name: the unstruck sound
अनाहत (anāhata) means "unstruck". Every ordinary sound is made by two things striking each other. The yogis speak of an inner sound, nāda, heard in deep meditation without anything being struck. The Haṭhapradīpikā describes its stages in its fourth chapter: at the first, "the unstruck sound is heard in the body" (4.70, GRETIL numbering), a sound tradition places in the heart.
According to the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa
| Feature | Description (verses 22-27, tr. Avalon 1919) |
|---|---|
| Place | the heart |
| Petals | twelve, the colour of the bandhūka flower, a deep red |
| Letters | कं खं गं घं ङं चं छं जं झं ञं टं ठं (kaṃ to ṭhaṃ), vermilion |
| Element | air, वायु (vāyu) |
| Yantra | the hexagonal region of air, smoky; within it a triangle "lustrous as ten million flashes of lightning" |
| Bīja | यं YAṂ, the seed of air, smoky, seated on a black antelope |
| Deity | Īśa, three-eyed, his hands granting boons and dispelling fear |
| Śakti | Kākinī, golden, dressed in yellow, four-armed |
In the triangle stands the Bāṇa-liṅga, golden, and the individual self, jīvātman, in the form of haṃsa, "like the steady tapering flame of a lamp".
The small lotus below the heart
The commentary translated by Avalon describes, just below the heart lotus, a small red lotus of eight petals, its head turned upward, holding the wish-fulfilling tree (kalpa-taru) and a jewelled altar: "the place of mental worship". This is where the devotee installs and worships the chosen deity in meditation.
In other texts
- Gorakṣaśataka (verse 82): the heart lotus is to be visualised "with the radiance of lightning", the gaze at the tip of the nose.
- Kubjikāmata Tantra (11.34-11.36): anāhata "is in the heart", with ten divisions, not twelve.
- Bhagavad Gītā (18.61): the Lord "dwells in the heart of all beings", one of many texts that make the heart the place of the divine within.
What modern books added
Modern charts make anāhata green (sometimes pink), link it to the thymus, to "love and compassion", to rose quartz and to the note F. In the Sanskrit texts the heart lotus is red, its hexagon smoky, and its meaning is the unstruck sound, the self as a steady flame, and the inner altar of worship. Love and devotion do belong to the heart in Indian devotional traditions, but not as a chakra "function" to be balanced.
A simple meditation on anāhata
- Sit upright, breathe naturally, and rest a hand on the centre of the chest if it helps.
- Picture a lotus of twelve deep red petals, and in its centre a smoky hexagon.
- Silently repeat YAṂ a few times with the out-breath.
- Within, picture a small steady flame, as the text describes the self: "like the steady tapering flame of a lamp".
- Then listen inwardly, without effort, to the silence. Stay a few minutes and let go.
Below is maṇipūra, above is viśuddha; the full system is on the chakras from the sources.
Questions people ask
What does anahata mean?
Unstruck: an-āhata, not struck. It refers to the inner sound (nāda) heard in meditation without any two things striking together.
Is the heart chakra green?
Green comes from the modern rainbow sequence. The Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa gives petals the colour of the bandhūka flower, a deep red, and a smoky hexagon; the Gorakṣaśataka sees the heart lotus shining like lightning.
What is the heart chakra mantra?
Its seed syllable is YAṂ, the seed of air, pronounced close to yum with the u of but.
Sources
- Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power (1919): Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, verses 22-27, online edition (Wisdom Library) checked October 16, 2026
- Gorakṣaśataka, edition Kuvalayananda and Shukla, verse 82, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026
- Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026
- Haṭhayogapradīpikā of Svātmārāma, chapter 4, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026