The 38 Tattwas in Shivaism: A Complete Map of Consciousness According to the Natha Tradition

If you want to understand Hatha Yoga at its root, you must go beyond postures. You must go beyond techniques. You must go beyond the surface.

At the foundation of the Shivaist vision preserved in the Natha Sampradaya, there is a precise map of reality known as the 38 Tattwas. This is not philosophy for intellectual entertainment. It is a structural diagram of existence, from the highest dimension of pure consciousness to the densest material experience.

To study the Tattwas is to study how consciousness becomes the world, and how the world can be transcended.

The Three Worlds of the Tattwas

The Shivaist Tattwas are divided into three great dimensions:

1. Shuddha Maya Loka – The totally pure world

2. Shuddha Ashuddha Maya Loka – The intermediate world (semi-pure, semi-impure)

3. Ashuddha Maya Loka – The totally impure world of gross, impermanent things

“Shuddha” means purity. “Ashuddha” means impurity. These are not moral judgments; they describe degrees of subtlety and limitation.

From pure consciousness to material density, reality unfolds step by step.

The Five Pure Tattwas (Shuddha Maya Loka)

In the dimension of total purity, we find the five supreme Tattwas:

1. Shiva Tattwa

2. Shakti Tattwa

3. Sadashiva Tattwa

4. Ishwara Tattwa

5. Satvidya Tattwa

These are not psychological states. They are ontological principles; foundational layers of pure existence before limitation appears.

This is the level where consciousness exists in its essential, luminous nature.

To understand these five Tattwas is to approach the metaphysical core of Hatha Yoga.

The Seven Intermediate Tattwas (Shuddha Ashuddha Maya Loka)

As consciousness moves toward limitation, seven intermediate Tattwas arise:

6. Maya Tattwa

7. Kalaa Tattwa

8. Vidya Tattwa

9. Raaga Tattwa

10. Kaala Tattwa

11. Niyati Tattwa

12. Purusha Tattwa

Here, individuality begins to take shape. Limitations begin to appear. The sense of separation becomes possible.

This is the bridge between pure consciousness and embodied existence.

The World of Gross Reality (Ashuddha Maya Loka)

Now we enter the dimension of impermanence and material experience.

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14. Pradhana Tattwa

After Pradhana, we enter one of the most powerful concepts in Shivaism:

Antahkarana - The Inner Cage

In Samkhya philosophy, three “monkeys” live in the inner cage. In Shivaism, there are five, and each one is pregnant with five more.

Antahkarana is the inner mechanism of experience. It is not called “Chitta” as a synonym for cage in Shivaism. Here, Antahkarana is the term, and Chitta is one of the inner principles within it.

Let us examine these inner forces.

Buddhi Tattwa (14)

Buddhi carries five capacities:

• Viveka (discernment)

• Vairagya (detachment)

• Shanti (peace)

• Santosha (satisfaction)

• Kshama (forgiveness)

This is the faculty of clarity and discrimination.

Ahamkara Tattwa (15)

The principle of “I-ness,” giving rise to:

• Abhimana (pride)

• Madiya (possession)

• Mama-sukha (happiness is mine)

• Mama-dukha (sadness is mine)

• Mama-idam (I am the center of the world)

This is the root of egoic identification.

Manas Tattwa (16)

The discursive mind, responsible for:

• Sankalpa (desire)

• Vikalpa (thought)

• Murccha (unconsciousness)

• Jadata (consciousness in its dull state)

• Manana (mental dwelling)

This is the movement of thought itself.

Chitta Tattwa (17)

Responsible for:

• Mati (insight)

• Dhriti (stability of consciousness)

• Smriti (memory)

• Tyaga (renunciation)

• Svikara (understanding)

Chaitanya Tattwa (18)

Often translated as full and pure consciousness, governing:

• Vimarsha (reflection)

• Shilana (self-discipline)

• Dhairya (mental immobility)

• Chintana (contemplation)

• Nishprihatva (lightness without ego)

Here, we approach refined awareness within embodied life.

The Senses of Perception (Jñanendryas)

The next five Tattwas govern perception:

19. Srotra (hearing)

20. Tvak (touch)

21. Chakshu (sight)

22. Rasana (taste)

23. Ghrana (smell)

These are the instruments through which the world is experienced.

The Senses of Action (Karmendryas)

The organs of interaction:

24. Vak (speech)

25. Pani (grasping with hands)

26. Pada (walking with feet)

27. Payu (excretion)

28. Upastha (procreation)

“Karma” means action. These are the mechanisms of engagement with reality.

The Tanmatras — Subtle Qualities of Objects

29. Sabdha (sound)

30. Sparsha (tact)

31. Rupa (form)

32. Rasa (taste)

33. Gandha (odor)

These are not the senses — they are the capacities of objects to be perceived.

The Five Elements (Pancha Maha Bhutas)

Finally, we arrive at the elements:

• Akasha (space)

• Vayu (wind)

• Tejas (fire)

• Apas / Jala (water)

• Prithivi (earth)

This is the densest level of manifestation — the physical world you inhabit.

Why This Matters for Hatha Yoga

Most people practice Hatha Yoga as movement.

But the Tattwas reveal something radical: Hatha Yoga is rooted in a complete metaphysical architecture of reality.

When you understand the 38 Tattwas, you are no longer practicing blindly. You begin to see how:

• Consciousness descends into limitation

• The ego structure is formed

• Perception is constructed

• Matter arises from subtle principles

And more importantly, how the path of Yoga reverses this process.

This knowledge is not abstract. It transforms how you see yourself.

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What you have just read is only a structured overview.

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