Astral body

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Subtle body (Skt., liṅga śarīra or sūkṣma śarīra). In Indian religions, a non-physical body. It is also called puryaṣṭaka (‘city of eight’). This latter term refers to a classification of the subtle body in accordance with the tattvas, namely the five tanmatras or subtle elements (sound, touch, form, taste, and smell) and the antah kāraṇa or inner instrument (comprising buddhi, ahaṃkāra, and manas). A Vedantic classification, however, says that the subtle body comprises seventeen parts, namely the five prāṇas, ten organs of action and knowledge, manas, and buddhi.

The subtle body is the vehicle in which the soul (jīva) transmigrates through saṃsāra, and the repository of karmic seeds (saṃskāras) which determine the physical body and individual destiny. Beyond the subtle body is the causal (kāraṇa) or highest (parā) body. The causal, subtle, and gross bodies correspond to the states (avasthā) of deep sleep, dreaming, and waking.

The structure of the subtle body as elaborated in Tantrism comprises energy centres (cakras) connected by channels or veins (nāḍīs) through which life-energy (prāṇa) flows, maintaining bodily functions.