Manipura — Solar Plexus Chakra, Fire of Will

Manipura (mani = jewel, pura = city) is the third chakra, the 'city of jewels' located at the navel center (nabhi-sthana). The Sat-Cakra-Nirupana depicts it as a ten-petaled lotus of brilliant blue, associated with the agni tattva (fire element) and the bija mantra RAM. It governs tejas (radiance), iccha-shakti (willpower), and the digestive fire (jatharagni) that transforms food and experience alike. Its presiding deity is Rudra, and its challenge — articulated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali through the niyama of tapas — is the right governance of personal power: agency without ahamkara (ego-inflation).