the encyclopedic entry of Ajna

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Ajna

Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, Ājña, a:ʤɲʌ, meaning 'command') is the sixth primary chakra according to Hindu tradition.

Description

The Ajna chakra is positioned at the eyebrow region and it has two petals, said to represent the psychic channels Ida and Pingala, which meet here with the central Shushumna channel before rising to the crown chakra, Sahasrara. On the left hand petal is the letter 'ham', and on the right the letter 'ksham', the bija mantras for Shiva and Shakti respectively.

Ajna is considered the chakra of the mind. When something is seen in the mind's eye, or in a dream, it is being 'seen' by Ajna.

Residing in the chakra is the deity Ardhanarishvara a hermaphrodite form of Shiva-Shakti, symbolising the primordial duality of subject and object, and the deity Hakini Shakti is also present in this chakra.

In kundalini yoga, different practices are said to stimulate the Ajna chakra, including Trataka (steady gazing), Shambhavi Mudra (gazing at the space between the eyebrows), and some forms of Pranayama (breath exercises).

Ajna is said to contain Mantrika shakti.

Alternative names

In Tantra: Ajita-Patra, Ajna, Ajna-Pura, Ajna-Puri, Ajnamhuja, Ajnapankaja, Bhru-Madhya, Bhru-Madhya-Chakra, Bhru-Madhyaga-Padma, Bhru-Mandala, Bhru-Mula, Bhru-Saroruha, Dwidala, Dwidala-Kamala, Dwidalambuja, Dwipatra, Jnana-Padma, Netra-Padma, Netra-Patra, Shiva-Padma, Triweni-Kamala
In the Vedas, Upanishads: Ajna, Baindawa-Sthana, Bhru Chakra, Bhruyugamadhyabila, Dwidala
In the Puranas: Ajna, Dwidala, Trirasna
In science this place seats the physical location of Pituitary Gland, which is considered as a Master Gland of all endocrine glands. Whose secretion in perfect harmony balances all the other endocrine glands associated with the other Chakras.