Śivasaṃhitā 2.19

This verse describes citrā, the innermost channel within suṣumṇā, distinguished by two essential qualities: its five-colored radiance (pañcavarṇojjvalā) and its inherent purity (śuddhā). Far from being merely a subtle anatomical conduit, it represents the most refined pathway within the nāḍī system, whose multicolored luminosity evokes the totality of elements and principles constituting existence.

The term madhyacāriṇī — ‘she who moves through the center’ — emphasizes the concentric structure of the central channel: suṣumṇā contains vajriṇī, which in turn contains citrā, also known as brahmanāḍī. The five colors (pañcavarṇa) correspond symbolically to either the five tanmātras or the five prāṇas, depending on the commentarial tradition consulted.

In advanced meditative practice, visualizing citrā as a luminous, multicolored channel is not merely decorative but functional: directing awareness to this inner axis facilitates the ascent of kuṇḍalinī and the dissolution of the granthis, or energetic knots. The purity (śuddha) invoked here is simultaneously an ontological description and the aspirational goal toward which all sādhana is oriented.