Śivasaṃhitā 5.55

The fourteen principal nāḍī of the Śivasaṃhitā constitute the most elaborate cartography of the subtle body in medieval yogic texts. The best known are suṣumnā (central channel), iḍā (left lunar channel), piṅgalā (right solar channel), and gāndhārī, hastijihvā, kuhū, sarasvatī, pūṣā, śaṅkhinī, payasvinī, varūṇī, alambuṣā, viśvodarī, and yaśasvinī. Each has its specific physiological and spiritual function in the economy of prāṇa.

Nāḍī—from root nad (to flow, to sound)—are literally “flow channels.” The distinction between strong and weak nāḍīs (balavatī/durvala) has direct practical implication: prāṇāyāma techniques can strengthen weak channels and balance strong ones. Yogacikitsā—the medicine of yoga—was based precisely on this understanding: disease is imbalance in the nāḍī system and yogic practice restores balance.

The number fourteen—among the 72,000 or 350,000 nāḍīs texts mention—reflects the most functionally important classification for yogic practice. In the Āyurvedic tradition, these principal nāḍīs partly correspond to the srotas (bodily channels). The difference is that the Āyurvedic perspective is more somatic and the yogic more subtle: both recognize that life is flow and that health and illumination depend on the freedom and balance of that flow.