Pancha Bhoota

Pancha Bhoota or Pancha Maha-Bhoota (Sanskrit: पञ्चभूत, पञ्चमहाभूत), five great elements, also five physical elements, is a group of five basic elements, which, according to Hinduism, is the basis of all cosmic creation.[1] These elements are: Prithvi/Bhudevi (Hindi: पृथ्वी:, Earth), Apas/Varuna/Jal (Hindi: अप:, Water), Agni (Hindi: अग्नि, Fire), Vayu (Hindi: वायु:, Air), Akasha/Dyaus/Ether (Hindi: आकाश, Space ). These elements have different characteristics and these also account for different faculties of human experience. In ayurveda and Indian philosophy, the human body is considered to be made of these five elements.[2] However, Cārvāka did not accept Akash as basic element as it is not tangible and according to him, there are only four basic elements.[3] Buddhism also accepts four basic elements and Akash is left out. These five elements of Indian cosmological system are similar but not identical to five element theory used in East Asia.[4]

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These are also called Pancha Tattva.

Description

The pancha bhoota are associated with a sense which is perceived by sense organ in human being. Below table gives details of associated sense, sense organ, and other attributes of elements.[3]

Bhoota (Element)Associated SenseAssociated Sense OrganPerception modeAssociated FingerAssociated consortAffiliation
Akash/Dyaus (Space)SoundEarHeardMiddle FingerBhumi/PrithviDeva
Vayu (Air)TouchSkinHeard, FeltIndex FingerLehariDeva
Agni (Fire)Sight/ColorEyeHeard, Felt, SeenThumbSwahaDeva
Jal/Varuna (Water)TasteTongueHeard, Felt, Seen, TastedLittle FingerVaruniDeva
Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth)SmellNoseHeard, Felt, seen, Tasted, SmelledRing FingerDyaus/Akasha and VishnuDevi

Ayurveda

According to ayurveda and Yoga, Pancha Bhoota are associated with overall health of human being. Any disorder in human body indicates imbalance of one or more of these elements. Yoga Tattva Mudra Vijnana relates these five elements to five fingers of human being. Different Mudra were developed to balance these[5] in human body which form the Hasta Mudra in yogic tradition and are used in Naturopathy.

The three dosha- three intrinsic tendencies, which, according to ayurveda are intrinsic in every human being, are representation of combination of these five elements in human body. The three Dosha have subtle positive essences which control the mind and body function.[6]

DoshaBhoota CompositionCharacteristic
VataVayu, AkashPrana
PittaAgni, Jal/ApasTejas
KaphaPrithvi, Jal/ApasOjas

Yogic View

According to Yoga, the aim of sadhana is to have mastery over oneself. This mastery can be achieved by mastering all the basic elements. The process of gaining mastery over these elements and purifying them is called Bhuta Shuddhi. Pancha Bhoota Stalam is representation of pancha bhoota for yogic practice. People used to move from one temple to another and do sadhana on particular basic element.[7]

The seven Chakras in the human subtle body are associated with these five elements.[6]

ChakraBhootaCharacteristic
Muladhara ChakraPrithviStability, Support
Swadhishthan ChakraJalJoy, Well-being
Manipura ChakraAgniWisdom, Power
Anahata ChakraVayuCompassion
Vishuddha ChakraAkashTrust, Creativity
Ajna ChakraAkashKnowledge, Intuition, Dignity
Sahasrara ChakraAkashOneness

Hasta Mudras
Further information: List of mudras (yoga)

Hasta Mudra or hand posture is based on the panch bhootas. The basic assumption is that all the five elements can be represented by five different fingers in human body as shown in the table below.[8]

Finger NameBhoota
Kanishthika, Little FingerJal/Apas
Anamika, Ring FingerPrithvi
Madhyama, Middle FingerAkash
Tarjani, Index FingerVayu
Angustha, ThumbAgni

Vastu
Further information: Vastu shastra

Vastu shastra emphasizes on the placement of five elements in specified direction and the balance of these elements determines the condition of the associated structure.[6]

BhootaAssociated DirectionCharacteristics
Akasha/DyausEastExpansion, enhancement
Vayu/PavanNorthMovements, joy, happiness
AgniSouthPower, confidence, fame
Jal/Apas/VarunaWestSpirituality, ideas, thoughts, healing
Prithvi/BhumiCenter, DiagonalStability, peace and harmony

These correlations are used to define an ideal home: The house itself is placed so that maximum load and weight is in the southwest area of the plot. Thus, there is maximum open space in the north and east sides of the plot, satisfying Vayu/air and Akasha/aether. The main gate, the verandah and the main door are in the northeast of the house; south of the verandah the main living room, and south of that one or two bedrooms. The kitchen is placed in the southeast corner of the house, to balance Akasha and Agni.

Taste

Pancha Bhoota is associated with six human tastes as below.[6]

TasteAssociated Bhoota
Sweetjal, prithvi' (Earth and Water)
SourPrithvi, Agni (Earth and Fire)
SaltyJal, Agni (Water and Fire)
PungentVayu, Agni (Air and Fire)
Bitterakash swaraj
Astringentvayu pritvi (Air and Earth)

See also

References
  1. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 79.
  2. Venkatesan, Satish (2013-03-01). Ayurvedic remedies: An introduction. ISBN 978-9881224149. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. Prasad Sinha, Harendra (2006). Bharatiya Darshan Ki Rooprekha. Motilal Banarsidass Publisher. p. 86. ISBN 9788120821446. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. Carroll, Cain (2012). Mudras of India. p. 18. ISBN 978-1848191099. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. " Five Elements
  6. "PANCHA BHOOTAS OR THE FIVE ELEMENTS". indianscriptures.com/. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  7. "pancha-bhutas-the-possibility-of-the-five-elements". ishafoundation.org. 2012-01-23. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  8. Sharma, Shiv (2003). Brilliance of Hinduism. p. 93. ISBN 978-8128800825. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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