Granthi: The Three Knots in Yoga Explained

Granthi (Sanskrit: ग्रन्थि) means "knot". In Hatha and Tantric yoga it names three knots in the subtle body, Brahma granthi, Vishnu granthi and Rudra granthi, that are said to block prana on its way up the central channel. The practices of Hatha yoga, above all the bandhas, breath retention and concentration on inner sound, are described as the way to loosen them.

What does granthi mean?

The word comes from the Sanskrit root granth (also grath): to tie, to bind, to string together. The same root gives grantha, a book, originally palm leaves strung together on a cord. A granthi is the place where something is tied: a knot, a joint in a stem, a hard lump.

In yoga texts the word is used in two ways. The older one is a figure of speech for the knots of the mind. The later one is a map of the body that you cannot see: three fixed points along sushumna nadi, the central channel that runs along the spine.

The knot of the heart in the Upanishads

Long before anyone placed the knots in chakras, the Upanishads spoke of hridaya granthi, the knot of the heart. The Mundaka Upanishad says that when the self is seen, the knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are resolved and the effects of action fall away. The Katha Upanishad uses the same image. Here the knot is ignorance: the habit of taking yourself to be only body and personality. That is why older translations also give "doubt" as a meaning of granthi. It is a knot in understanding more than in the body.

The three granthis

Hatha and Tantric texts turned the image into three specific knots, named after the three gods of the Hindu trinity. Where each one sits depends on the source (see below). The version most modern teachers use comes from the Bihar School of Yoga and Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

Brahma granthi

The lowest knot, placed around Muladhara (root) and Svadhisthana (sacral) chakra. Brahma is the creator, so this knot is linked to the body and to survival: food, safety, sleep, the fear of losing what keeps you alive. In modern teaching it stands for attachment to physical comfort and to the body itself. The practice most often paired with it is Mula Bandha (Root Lock), a lift of the pelvic floor.

Vishnu granthi

The middle knot, placed around Manipura chakra at the navel and Anahata at the heart. Some teachers extend it up to the throat. Vishnu is the sustainer, and this knot is linked to holding on: to power, to possessions, to people and to your own opinions. The practice paired with it is Uddiyana Bandha, the upward pull of the belly on an empty exhale.

Rudra granthi

The highest knot, placed at Ajna chakra between the eyebrows, sometimes up toward Sahasrara at the crown. Rudra, an older name for Shiva, is the one who dissolves. This knot is linked to the last attachment: to insight, special experiences and a separate sense of "I". The practice paired with it is Jalandhara Bandha, the chin lock, together with concentration on the space between the eyebrows.

For an overview of the centres the knots are mapped onto, see the seven chakras, a beginner's guide.

How the granthis are worked with in practice

No text tells you to untie a knot by thinking about it. The work is physical and slow, and it is the ordinary material of a Hatha practice:

• The three bandhas. Mula, Uddiyana and Jalandhara Bandha, held one at a time or together as Maha Bandha. What you feel on the mat: the pelvic floor lifting, the belly drawing in and up, the back of the neck lengthening as the chin drops.
• Breath retention. The Hatha texts pair the bandhas with Kumbhaka, holding the breath in or out. The locks keep the held breath steady.
• Cleaning the channels first. The texts ask for Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) and a calm, regular practice before any of this. Our guide to the nadis explains the channels themselves.
• Inner sound. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika the knots are pierced during nada meditation, listening to sounds heard inside with the ears closed.

A practical note. Breath retention with locks is strong practice. Learn it from a teacher, keep the holds short, and skip it if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, heart problems or glaucoma. Stop if you feel dizzy.

Where the sources disagree

Granthis are a traditional teaching, not an anatomical fact. There is no knot in the spine that an MRI would show. It helps to know where the different versions come from.

Where the knots sit. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century), chapter 4, the Brahma knot is pierced when a sound is heard at the heart, the Vishnu knot in the throat, and the Rudra knot at the eyebrow centre. That places all three higher than the modern chakra version, which starts the Brahma knot at the root. Both are in use today. Neither is a mistake. They come from different stages of the tradition.

Which bandha opens which knot. The neat pairing of one bandha to one knot is a modern teaching aid, most of all from the Bihar School. The older Hatha texts present the bandhas as working together to move prana up the central channel, not as three separate keys.

What the knots are. One reading takes them as energetic blocks you can feel as tension. Another, closer to the Upanishads, takes them as knots of the mind: attachment to the body, to what you own, to who you think you are. Many teachers hold both. The psychological reading is easier to work with, because you can notice it without special experiences.

Claims to be careful with. You will read that granthis cause illness, or that unlocking them brings enlightenment in a set number of weeks. No study backs either. What holds up is smaller: slow breathing and a long exhale calm the nervous system, and bandha work trains muscles you rarely use on purpose, the pelvic floor and the deep abdominal wall.

Granthi outside yoga

You may meet the word in two other places. In Sikhism a granthi is the person who reads from and looks after the Guru Granth Sahib in the gurdwara, from the same root as grantha, book. In Ayurveda granthi is a term for a lump, cyst or swelling. Both are separate from the three knots of yoga.

More Sanskrit words from class are collected in 50 Sanskrit yoga terms.

If you want to work with the breath and the locks under guidance, the Pranayama Level 1 program starts at the beginning, and our yoga philosophy classes cover the ideas behind them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the three granthis?

Brahma granthi, Vishnu granthi and Rudra granthi. In the common modern version they sit at the root and sacral area, at the navel and heart, and between the eyebrows. Each is described as a knot that stops prana from rising along the central channel.

What does granthi mean in Sanskrit?

Granthi means knot, from the root granth, to tie or bind. The Upanishads use it for the knot of the heart, the ignorance that hides the true self, which is why "doubt" is sometimes given as a second meaning.

How do you open the granthis?

In the Hatha tradition, through the bandhas (Mula, Uddiyana and Jalandhara), breath retention, alternate nostril breathing and concentration on inner sound, practised over a long time. Modern teachers add the psychological work of noticing what you cling to.

Which bandha is for which granthi?

The usual modern pairing is Mula Bandha for Brahma granthi, Uddiyana Bandha for Vishnu granthi and Jalandhara Bandha for Rudra granthi. The older Hatha texts use the three locks together rather than as one key per knot.

Are granthis real?

They are part of the yogic model of the subtle body, a map for practice and not an anatomical structure. There is no physical knot to find in the spine. Many practitioners use the model to describe what they feel and what they hold on to.

What is a granthi in Sikhism?

In Sikhism a granthi is the reader and caretaker of the Guru Granth Sahib in a gurdwara. The word shares the root granth with the yogic term, but the meaning is different.