Right eye or left big toe?

Both appear in the sources. The right eye is the common later reading; the Shiva Samhita's own wording points to the toe.

Why name a channel after an elephant?

For its shape. Several of the fourteen are named for a form rather than a function, which makes a long list easier to memorise.

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Secondary channel

Hastijihva

Hastijihvā · हस्तिजिह्वा

The elephant's tongue: a channel named for the way it is said to curve, running from the base of the spine and ending at the right eye in the common list.

right eye elephant curving

Side: Right, in the common list
Ends at: The right eye
Carries: Visual perception and light-based prana
Name means: Elephant's tongue, for its curve
Variant termination: The left big toe, in the Shiva Samhita
Group: One of the eleven secondary nadis
Sources: Shiva Samhita, Gheranda Samhita, later commentaries

Where it runs

Hastijihva rises near the central channel and curves toward the face, ending at the right eye in most later lists. The Shiva Samhita sends it to the left big toe, which is a considerable difference and a good illustration of how little the secondary list was standardised.

Where it is paired with gandhari, the two make a set: one eye each.

The name

An elephant's trunk is called its hand, hasta, and the tongue inside the mouth curls in a particular way. The compound describes a shape rather than a function, which is common in this vocabulary: shankhini is named for a conch, kuhu for the new moon.

Naming by shape is how a practice tradition without diagrams keeps a list straight in the memory.

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Its opposite

Gandhari

The channel of the left eye.

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Its side

Pingala

The solar channel on the right.

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Central channel

Sushumna

The axis every other channel is described against.

Frequently asked questions

: Both appear in the sources. The right eye is the common later reading; the Shiva Samhita's own wording points to the toe.
: For its shape. Several of the fourteen are named for a form rather than a function, which makes a long list easier to memorise.