Mokshadharma Parva — The five elements

When the great Brahman has created thousands of creatures why is it that only these five elements which he created first, which permeate the entire universe and which are great creatures.

Bhrigu said All things which belong to the Infinite or the Vast are known by the name of Great. Therefore these five clements are called Great creatures.

Activity is wind. The sound is space. The heat that lives within it is fire. The liquid juices cc:itained in it are water. The solidified matter, viz., flesh and bones from the Earth. The bodies are thus made of the five elements.

All mobile and immobile objects are formed of these five elements. The five senses also made of the give clements. The car is formed of the properties of space. The nose of earth; the tongue of water; touch of wind; and eyes of tire.

Bharadwaja said If all mobile and immobile objects be made of these five elements, why is it that in all immobile objects those elements are not seen.

Trees do not appear to have possessed any heat. They appear to have no motion. They are again formed of thick particles. The five elements are not seen in them.

Trees do not hear; they do not sec; they cannot smell or taste. They cannot touch. How then can they be regarded as formed of the five elements.

It appears to me that for the absence of any liquid matter in them, of any heat, of any earth, of any wind, and of any empty space, trees cannot be considered as compounds of the five primary elements.

Bhrigu said Forsooth, though possessed of density, trees have space within them. They always bear flowers and fruits.

They have heat within them for which leaf, bark, fruit, and flower are seen to fall off. They sicken and dry up. This indicates that they have perception of touch.

By sound of wind and fire and thunder, their fruits and flowers fall down. Sound is perceived through the ear. Trees have, therefore, ears and do hear.

A creeper entwines a tree all around. A blind thing cannot see its way. Therefore it is evident that trees have vision.

Again trees regain vigour and put forth flowers for good and bad smell, of the sacred incense of all sorts. It is evident that trees have scent.

They draw water by their roots. They catch all sorts of diseases. Those diseases again are cured by various operations. From this it is clear that trees have perception of taste.

As one can draw water through the hole of a lotus-stalk, trees also, with the help of wind, drink through their roots.

They are subject to pleasure and pain, and grow when cut or lopped off. These facts clearly prove that trees have life. They are not manimate.

Fire and wind cause the water thus drawn up to be digested. The tree grows and becomes humid proportionate to the quantity of the water taken up.

In the bodies of all mobile things the five elements reside. The proportions are different in each. Mobile objects can move for these five elements.

Skin, fresh, bones, marrow, and arteries and veins, that exist together in the body are formed of earth.

Energy, anger, eyes, internal heat, and the heat which digests the good taken, these five, form the fire that exists in all embodied creatures.

The cars, nostrils, mouth, heart, and Stomach, these five, form the element of space that exists in the bodies of living creatures.

Phlegm, bile, sweat, fat, blood are the five kinds of water that exist in inobile bodies.

Through the vital breath called Prana, a living creature is capable of moving about. Through that called Vyana they act. That called Apana goes downward. That called Samana lives within the heart.

Through that called Udana one passes exertion and is enabled to speak by virtue of its going through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth). These are the five sorts of vital airs that cause an embodied creature to live and Imove.

Through the earth-element an embodied creature perceives the properties of scent. From the water-element he perceives taste. From the fire-element as represented by the eyes, he perceives forms, and from the wind-element he perceives touch.

Scent, touch, taste, vision and sound, are considered as the common properties of all mobile and immobile objects. I shall first describe the several sorts of scent.

They are pleasant, unpleasant, sweet, pungent, far-reaching, varied, dry, indifferent.

Scent which is formed of the earth element, consists of these nine sorts. Light is seen by the eyes, and touch through the wind-clement.

Sound, touch, vision and taste are the properties of water. I shall describe fully that now the perception of taste. Listen to me.

Great Rishis have mentioned various sorts of taste. They are sweet, saltish, bitter, astringent, sour, and pungent.

These are the six sorts of taste belonging to the water-element. The light is the combind result of sound, touch and forin

Through light one perceives forins. Form is of various kinds, Short, tall, thick square, round, white, black, red, blue, yellow, reddish, hard, bright, smooth, oily, soft and terrible.

These are the sixteen sorts of forin which forms the property of light or vision. The property of the wind element is touch. Touch is of various sorts; warm, cold, agreeable and disagrecable, indifferent, burning, mild, soft, light and heavy.

Both sound and touch form the two properties of the wind-element. These are the eleven properties which belong to the wind.

Space has only one property, namely sound. I shall now describe to you the different sorts of sound.

They are the seven original notes called Shadaja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Maddhyaina, Dhaivata, Panchama, and Nishada.

These are the seven sorts of the property which belongs to space. Sound pervades like the Supreme Being the entire space though attached especially to drums drums and other instruments.

Whatever sound is heard from small and large drums and conch-shells, and cloucis, and cars, and animate and inanimates creatures, are all contained in these seven sorts of sound already mentioned.

Thus sound, which is the property of space, is of various sorts. The learned have described sound to be born of space. When created by the various kinds of touch, which is the property of the wind, it may be heard. It cannot, however, be heard, when the different kinds of touch are not used. Mixed with their counter parts in the body, the elements increase and grow.

Water, fire, wind, always live in the bodies of living creatures. They form the roots of the body. Pervading the five vital airs they live in the body.