Sahasrara

Sahastrāra (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, IAST: Sahastrāra, English: "thousand-petalled", with many alternative names and spellings) or the Crown Chakra is considered the seventh primary chakra in Indian spiritualistic yoga traditions. The chakra is represented by the colour violet.

The Sahastrāra is described in a few medieval hatha yoga texts including the Śivasaṃhitā and the Tirumantiram, but not within the Paścimāmnāya and Nath traditions; the Kubjikamatatantra describes only the six lower chakras. The scriptures vary in the position of the Sahastrāra; the Shiva Samhita states that it is beyond the body, whereas others place it at the fontanelle or brahmarandhra on the top of the head where the soul leaves the body at death.

Sahastrāra is located at the top of the cranium.

Sahastrāra is described as a lotus flower with 1,000 petals of different colors. These are arranged in 20 layers, each with approximately 50 petals. The pericarp is golden and within it a circular moon region is inscribed with a luminous triangle, which can be either upward- or downward-pointing.

According to some Tantra traditions Sahastrāra chakra has no seed syllable, but rather silence, because it is perceived as beyond audible sound. Some take this to mean Visarga, the sound following the utterance of a sound, but not the sound itself. Others connect it to Om, like Ajñā Chakra.

Compared to the other chakras, due to the quantity of the petals, there are no Sanskrit syllables inscribed.

Often referred to as a thousand-petaled lotus, it is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate. When a yogi is able to raise their kundalini (energy of consciousness) up to this point, the state of Nirvikalpa Samādhi is experienced.

Exercises for the Sahastrāra Chakra are: