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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

PANCHABHUTAM




மரத்தை மறைத்தது மாமதயானை
மரத்தில் மறைந்தது மாமதயானை
பரத்தை மறைத்தது பார்முதல்பூதம்
பரத்தில் மறைந்தது பார்முதல்பூதம்

This is an ancient tamil verse that betrays an important aspect of panchabhutas or what we translate today as 'the five elements'. This verse can be rendered into english as follows:

The collossal elephant hid the wood
The colossal elephant was hidden in the wood
Panchabhutas hid Paramatma
Panchabhutas were hidden in Paramatma

(Please bear with my crude translation)

It is a wonderful simile to illustrate how the gross and the subtle work in the universe. If we are so engrossed in the fact that the wooden elephant is an 'elephant' then we recognise it only as an elephant. However as it dawns upon us that it is in reality just wood, then the 'elephant' that we cognized earlier is sublated by the realization. Similarly, until we are spiritually underdeveloped and just see the world as made of five elements only, then they adumbrate our imagination, effectively screening out the Paramatma from our ambit of cognition.  However, as we progress in our path, we realise that the all these gross elements are indeed the body of Paramatma who is our supreme goal.

The dualism between the Paramatma on one hand and jivatma & prakriti on the other simultaneously is one side of the coin. The other side is the organic whole. We also clearly find references in Veda samhitas as well as later commentaries that each of the elements is an aspect, a manifestation of Paramatma. It is only well suited to see how this obscure boundary , if at all it exists  is illustrated by the wooden elephant.

The concept of 5 bhutas was not of mere textual interest to ancient Indians. They formulated many interesting and useful theories with this concept and put them to practice too. As people with modern education, we tend to think that 5 element theory was a primitive one. However, this view has its origin in the ignorance of this ancient idea. This modeling of the world is at a higher level of abstraction.
Panchajanya shankha of Lord Sriman
Narayana is a symbol of 5 elements

Prakrthi* is the term that is commonly used to club the gross matter in the universe(as opposed to jivatma and paramatma which are non-materialistic in nature). Here we take this word to mean the material cause of the universe. The five bhutas are Akasa(ether) , Vayu(air), agni/tejas(fire), ap(water), prithvi(earth). Some schools of thought like the charvakas admit only 4 elements.

(*Note that the word prakrthi has many different meanings in Indian tradition. Three clusters of meanings can be distinguished: 1. Prakrti  is that which precedes, the first, that which is in its own form. 2. Prakrthi is the material cause, the producer of effects, the innate power of transformation and manifestation. 3. Prakrthi as the principles, constituents, parts or components of a whole.)

Creation is envisioned in the shastras as grosser elements emanating from more subtler elements. The verse "akashat vayu: vayor agni:...." declares that From Akasa comes Vayu. from vayu comes agni. From agni comes ap. From ap comes prithvi. Each element progressively has more tanmatras(or subtle elements). The sense of hearing, touch, vision  , taste and smell constitute the tanmatras. The following image I gathered from the internet depicts this.
It is interesting to note that a similar idea is echoed in sciences, though a strict parallel is difficult to visualise. From the Singularity, Space was created and then it expanded. (This can be compared to akasa). Then all the elementary particles were created and were floating in a plasma-like soup.(Though strictly not air, this is similar to air). Then these particles combined through massive explosive nuclear reactions to form the first known matter (and dark matter probably). This is the agni phase. These slowly formed very hot molten material in galaxies (ap or water phase) which solidified slowly to form rocky worlds(prithvi or earth phase). 

Here we should also understand that the five elements do not signify only the physical elements. They are more subtle than that. Anything solid has prithvi in it. Anything that is flowing and has properties of a liquid is made up of ap element to a large extent. Anything that has hotness(even latent) has agni in it and so on. 

The voluminous project called the Kalatattvakosa by the Indira Gandhi National Center for the arts is rightly called the lexicon of fundamental concepts of Indian arts. Many volumes have been planned out of which six have been published so far to my knowledge. The third volume in this series is titled 'Primal elements-Mahabhutas' and is undoubtedly an encyclopedia on this topic. I have used this work as a major reference for this blog post. However, I am refraining from including information on how the elements are depicted and interpreted in the arts for want of space and time.

To summarise and understand more about individual bhutas, we will consider them one by one.

Akasa(Space)

The permeating space

Space(or ether) is the first element to emanate from the Supreme self, initially as a subtle principle and thereafter a gross matter. Space, abounding in the attributes of sattva, is the subtlest of all elements. Space provides room for all further creation and its specific quality is sound. It is a symbol of the Supreme self(Paramatma). When used as a metaphor, it indicates the supreme self. It is conceived as fullness, filling everything and sometimes as vacuum. The geometric form that represents akasa in the tantras is the circle that symbolises the totality of creation. Akasa has no form and is not an object. Its only similarity with the other four elements is that it has a distinctive quality which is perceptible to one of the senses, that is sound.

There are layers of meaning to all of the panchabhutas. Akasa can mean material space(bhutakasa) or space of the mind(Chittakasa). The adhyatmika meaning of space is the transcendental space of consciousness(chidakasa), the seat of brahman. The Chandogya upanishad (8.1.3) makes it clear:

'This space within the heart is as vast as this space (outside). Within it indeed are included both heaven and earth, as also both fire and air, sun and moon, lightning and stars. Whatever this one has here and whatever he has not, all that is included in that'.

Vayu(Wind)

The detached wind
Air, wind and breath are the same reality of vayu pervading the cosmos and the human body. The macro and microcosmic manifestations of vayu are differentiated  as gross,subtle and subtlest. These are also the adhibhautika, adhidaivika and adhyatmika meanings. They are respectively vaata, vayu and prana. Vayu is the devata who reigns over antariksha(mid-space), who is the life energy and spiritual power. Vayu possesses sound and sensation of touch.


'Pranaad vaayurajaayata..' says Purusha sooktam. Therefore we know that breath of Brahmam gave rise to the cosmic wind. This element is very important as it is intimately tied to 'vac' or divine speech. In Indian tradition, the srutis or the vedas are also called the breath of brahmam. The sound of wind is the primordial sound of nature, Om. Vayu is called 'sabdayogin' the one who produces the seven musical notes. Vayu, is ultimately the same as the Paramatma. This is   because Sriman Narayana, the Paramatma is the antaryami of Vayu and originally has the name vayu(that is later on taken up by the deva). He is addressed as Vayu in the Vishnu sahasranamam also. Vayu plays a very important role in madhva's dvaitam philosophy.

Agni(Fire)


The dazzling fire
As the third element, agni has the properties of sound, form and touch. It is both subtle and gross. The gross form is generated through panchikarana, a process of combination with the other bhutas.

Agni originates from vayu and is understood to have atleast 3 layers of meaning in the vedas. The adhibhautika meaning of agni is the physical fire. In its visible form, agni appears as sun in the sky, lightning in the atmosphere and as fire on earth. (This includes the sacrificial fires of which ahavaniya, garhapatya and dakshinagnis are well-known)


This is called as 'aranikkattai' in Tamilnadu and is
made from agnivriksha. It is used to produce fire for
all vedic karmas


At the adhidaivata level, Agni means the fire-god, the divine agent and the mediator. He is specially churned out and maintained during yajnas and carries the havirbhaga to all the respective devatas. Those who are well-versed in the shastras advise us to give full attention to the agni before looking at laukika karmas during any ceremony.

It is variously conceived as digestive fire, speech and divine will at the adhyatmic level.
Agni is also identified with the brahman itself. It is a symbol of divine splendour and spiritual illumination.

Ap(Water)


The life-giving water
Water or ap is one of the most important bhutas in Indian thought that it has ubiquitous presence in Indian life and rituals. Having born from agni, It has four qualities including taste. The Nighantu, which is a kind of Indian thesaurus, has 101 words for water.

Rains, rivers, sea and all the visible water bodies are the Adhibhautika level of water. At the adhiyajnika level (which may not exist for all elements), its function is purification. Adhidhaivata  meaning is one of the devatas associated with water, Varuna/Apam-napat/Ganga etc. Adhyatmika symbolism of water is inner purification, life and fullness .

The philosophical nature of rivers is more than evident from the following quote :

"The river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth...in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future. It is unchanging and yet it is always changing within, deeper inside beneath the surface. The voice of the river is the one word he had known since childhood that is Om, calling together the unity of all things and people at once."  --Siddhartha by Herman Hesse


Prithvi(Earth)
The animate earth


The last but not the least, our home or Prithvi. She is poornam and has all the five qualities including smell.
Prithvi can mean territory. In this sense it has given rise to the term parthiva, a term for the king. The earth as the bearer of life is regarded as the mother of all beings.

The adhibhautika meaning is of course land/soil. Bhuma devi is not different from earth in the adhidhaivata sense. However, it must be noted that Bhudevi is not a narrow deity just for the earth. She is the life-giving force in the universe and in all universes.

'bhur' the word for earth is derived as follows: "all originates(bhavati) from this hence it is called bhuh, the source. Thus the source or Brahmam is the adhyatmic meaning of bhumi/prithvi.

A very important aspect of the way in which the earth is conceived is as a firm support. She not only supports all created beings but upholds all ritual activities of man. She herself is held up by truth. She was carefully lifted from the cosmic ocean by Lord Varaha, who saved both mankind as well as dharma by saving Bhudevi who is no different than these.

The Ayurveda utilises the panchabhuta concept extensively and I thought it would ease the burden of the reader if I reserve this for another post.

Update Dec 11th 2011: A Good webpage with quality information on panchabhutam here

Jai Sriman Narayana