Three Principal Nāḍīs (suṣumṇā / iḍā / piṅgalā)

Three Principal Nāḍīs (suṣumṇā / iḍā / piṅgalā) is a Hindu / Tantric — Haṭha Yoga body system as transmitted through the lineage Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa, as transmitted via Woodroffe (Avalon), The Serpent Power (1919). This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.

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Primary sources

Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa (manuscript tradition, 16th c.) — Six-chakra source; describes iḍā/piṅgalā as flanking suṣumṇā with convergence at ājñā via the inverted triangle.
Woodroffe (Avalon), The Serpent Power (1919) — Most influential English transmission of Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa; provides the triangle-at-ājñā exegesis used by this primitive.

Known lineage variants

Śiva Saṃhitā 2.13–2.15 — iḍā coiling around suṣumṇā with cross-side nostril endpoints (iḍā→right, piṅgalā→left); not adopted
Modern caduceus depiction — crossing at every chakra with same-side nostril endpoints; popular in 20th-c. yoga literature; not a primary-text claim
Goraksha-Sataka enumeration of 72,000 nāḍīs with the three principals foregrounded; consistent with this projection but adds non-rendered detail

Points

Suṣumṇā — Central channel (Meru-daṇḍa)
Iḍā — Lunar channel (left)
Piṅgalā — Solar channel (right)

Frequently asked

What is Suṣumṇā?

Central nāḍī running from the kanda (perineal region) to brahma-randhra at the crown. Sat-Chakra-Nirūpaṇa describes its inner structure as three nested tubes (suṣumṇā / vajra / citrinī); kuṇḍalinī rises through citrinī. The point shown here is the channel's mid-axis representative; the diagram overlay renders the full path.

What is Iḍā?

Lunar nāḍī flanking suṣumṇā on the left. Pale, cooling, associated with the moon and the descending vital breath. Per Avalon's reading of the inverted ājñā triangle, iḍā curves to meet suṣumṇā at the brow centre, then terminates at the left nostril.

What is Piṅgalā?

Solar nāḍī flanking suṣumṇā on the right. Red, heating, associated with the sun and the ascending vital breath. Mirrors iḍā: curves to meet suṣumṇā at ājñā and terminates at the right nostril.