Pancha Maha Bhuthas & it's significance to human being.

What is pancha bhuta & Its significance to human being..?

Pancha bhoota and signifies the five gross elements that compose the material Cosmos—the mahabhuta or pancha bhuta (pancha means five, Bhuta means ‘material element).

Pancha Bhoota or Pancha Maha-Bhoota (Sanskrit: पञ्चभूत, पञ्चमहाभूत; pañca-mahā-bhūta), 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 five elements which are

Earth or Prithvi;

Water or Jal ;

Fire or Agni;

Air or Vayu and then

Sky or Akasha or Ether.

 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.

These five elements are connected to the five sense organs of human body because panchabhutas are emerged from Pancha Tanmatra namely Shabda (Sound), Sparsha (Touch), Roopa (Vision), Rasa(Taste) and Gandha(Smell). The combination of these five elements in human body is demonstrated as three doshas such as Vata, Kapha and Pitta. Ayurveda explaining that elements of human body is connected with elements of nature

lets  understand each of these Five elements which has its own character and celestial elements

Prithivi

Prithivi, the Earth element, is the grossest of the material elements. It is the element that corresponds to muladhara chakra, “the root support i.e. “ Root chakra” in English . It brings solidity, stability, permanence, patience, fertility, security, and rigidity. The physical body is a direct manifestation of prithivi tattva. In the body, it predominates in the solid structures—the bones, muscles, cartilage, nails, hair, and teeth. At a subtler level, it is where consciousness fully takes form and solidifies. The Earth element is considered to be the foundation of all other elements and of manifestation itself. Its symbol is a yellow (or clay-yellow) square.

 One can touch earth and smell it too ! However, there are two types of earth element one is Eternal or (nitya) which are in the form of atom (Paramanu).The other type is perishable (anitya) which exists in the form of Karya or Work at animate and inanimate levels.Symbolically speaking our body, sense organs are of the earth , which as a whole get the shape of Jiva or life but those are perishable. 

But elements or atoms are eternal as after death, may we bury, or burn the body, all the atoms get disintegrated to come back to its original eternal form.

So our body and its Karya or Work are perishable is as similar to mountain or rock forms but their atom remains are eternal.Tanmatra for prithvi is Gandha

Apas

Water or Jal is the second element which again has two characteristics as in similar to the Earth element i.e. eternal in the shape of an atom and Karya (Work) be it as river, pond or sea  these are perishable form.As from sea or river, water evaporates to be in the sky as cloud then again in the form of rain it comes down to earth.

So the eternal atom is only changing its karya or shape of work and what we see is the perishable form. From the sense organ perspective , we can touch it to feel and taste it as well

Apas, the Water element, is the source of the five bodily liquids: saliva, urine, semen, blood, and perspiration.

 Apas tattva is associated with svadhisthana chakra the Sacral chakra .

Tanmatra for jala is Rasa or flavour, because in our human body sense of taste depends on water in the mouth..

 

Tejas or Agni

Tejas is the Fire element, also called agni. Tejas means “brilliance,” and is known to be the effect of intense sadhana (spiritual practice)—the brilliant countenance of a saint. However, the Tejo Bindu Upanishad (1:41) lists tejas (in the sense of overexcitement) as one of the nine obstacles on the spiritual path. It is associated with manipura chakra i.e. solar plexus or navel chakra.

 Fire or Agni one of the five element of IndianPanchabhuta. ,has eternal and perishable elements .The essential character of Fire is to generate heat. Tanmatra for agni is Rupa or form .Agni is treated as mouth of Gods and Goddess and the main witness for all rituals such as hindu wedding. Agni is existing in earth as fire, in atmosphere as lightning and in sky as sun.According to Hindu Mythology, Agni is one of the Eight guardians who guards our universe and is known as Asta- dik-palakas (Asta-eight, dik--Zone,Palaka-Guardian). The Fire is positioned in the South East of the Universe.However, in Indian mythology there are mentions of various types of fires.

The four important ones are fire of the earth, fire of the sky, fire of the stomach (can mean hunger and digestive power as well) and the fire we commonly use.

 Vayu

Vayu means “air,” “breath,” or “wind,” and refers to the Air element. It is associated with Ananhatha chakra i.e. heart chakra.According to the yogic tradition, there are five vital air elements in the human body that represent five important forms of energy i.e. is called as five pranas

Five Pranas:         Prana(Crystallization),

                     Apana (Elimination),

                     Vyaana (Circulation),

                     Samana (Assimilation),     

                     Udana (Metabalization)

 This energy manifests both in the being and in the entire Universe. These prana vayus govern different areas of the body and various physical and subtle activities. Through the practice of yoga, the subtle aspects of the vayus begin to awaken and we become aware of a wider spectrum of their functions and effects. Although becoming aware of the five vayus can aid our understanding of the physical and subtle realms, we always have to remember that what we are seeking is beyond these levels. The element Air or Vayu.Again has two levels as earth and water i.e.eternal atom and perishable Karya. One can feel air, as we breath in or out.We feel the storm or strong breeze which are temporary but air at atomic level remains around us eternally.In the hindu Puranas there is a mentioning  of 49 types of Maruts or winds.

Seven are important namely

1. Pravaha 2 Avaha; 3,Udvaha 4. Samvaha; 5 Vivaha; 6 Parvaha and 7.Paravaha.

The wind which takes the water from the ocean is called Udvaha.

Tanmatra for vayu is Sparsha or touch. It is unstable and vayu explicits movement.

 

Akasha

Akasha means “radiance”, the most subtle of the five elements. The word derives from the Sanskrit root kas, meaning “to be visible” or “to shine”—akasha shines in all directions. Akasha also signifies Infinite Space, the sky, and infinity. It is associated with Vishudha chakra i.e. throat chakra , Ajna chakra i.e. third eye chakra , Sahasrahara chakra i.e. Crown chakra .

Beyond its physical designations, akasha is another name for Brahman (the Supreme Reality).Akasha is unique as it has only one character i.e. eternal.Akasha or sky is the carrier of sound,  be it man made or otherwise. One can hear it.As akasha is the only eternal element of the five elements it attracted the attention of various hindu sages.The concept of Akashvani or Devine sound which is heard by sages of higher order is related to this akasha element.Shabda is the tanmatra for Akash , it is clear and light. The main peculiarity of Akash is non resistance and it is associated with expansion and vibration. 

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Sahadev