In
South Indian Carnatic music, a
chakra is a sublevel of classification within the
Melakartha ragas. There are 12 chakras; each chakra corresponds to a
purvanga (the first four notes of a
raga). The chakras are:
- Indu - Moon
- Netra - Eyes
- Agni - Fire
- Veda - Hindu Scriptures
- Bana - Arrow
- Rutu - Seasons
- Rishi - Sage
- Vasu - A group of devas (celestial beings)
- Brahma - Hindu God
- Dishi - Direction
- Rudra - Another group of devas
- Aditya - Yet another group of devas
It's worth noting that like almost everything in Carnatic music and Indian culture in general, the names are anything but arbitrary: each name is designed to help remember its number (and, from the number, one can figure out what the first half of the raga is). The earth has one moon; humans have two eyes; there are three fires maintined in the Vedic ritual; there are four Vedas; Kama (the Indian Cupid) carries five arrows; there are six seasons in India; there are seven famous sages; there are eight Vasus; Brahma presides over nine cycles of the universe; there are ten directions including up and down; there are eleven Rudras; there are twelve Adityas.
See The Melakartha ragas for more information on chakras and how they fit into the Carnatic system.