Pancha Bhuta or Pancha Maha-Bhuta ( sa, पञ्चभूत, ; ), five great elements, also five physical elements, is a group of five basic elements, which, according to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, is the basis of all cosmic creation. These elements are: ''

Prithvi Prithvi or Prithvi Mata (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her cons ...

Bhudevi Bhumi ( sa, भूमि, Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi and Vasundhara, is a Hindu goddess who is the personification of the Earth. She is a consort of the god Vishnu. According to Vaishnava tradition, she is the second aspect of Vishnu's cons ...

'' (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी:,

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

), '' Apas/

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

/ Jala'' (Sanskrit: आपः,

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

), ''

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

'' (Sanskrit: अग्नि,

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

), ''

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

'' (Sanskrit: वायु:,

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

), '' Akasha/ Dyaus'' (Sanskrit: आकाश, Space/Atmosphere/Ether). These elements have different characteristics and these also account for different faculties of human experience. In ''

ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

'' and Indian philosophy, the human body is considered to be made of these five elements. However, Cārvāka did not accept ''Akasha'' as basic element as it is not tangible and according to them, there are only four basic elements. Hinduism influenced

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

, which accepts only four

Mahābhūta ''Mahābhūta'' is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element". However, very few scholars define the four mahābhūtas in a broader sense as the four fundamental aspects of physical reality. Hinduism In Hinduism's sacred literature, the "great" ...

s, viewing ''Akasha'' as a derived (upādā) element. These five elements of Indian cosmological system are similar but not identical to five element theory used in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

Description

The ''Pancha Bhuta'' are the basic elements that make up any living organism on Earth or anywhere else in the Universe. Below table gives a reference on what component of the human body is associated with these elements. Each of the five finger in human beings is also associated with a particular element, so this means the energy associated with the appropriate element can be channelized through various hand mudras.

Ayurveda

According to

and

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

, ''Pancha Bhuta'' 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 in human body which form the ''Hasta Mudra'' in yogic tradition and are used in

naturopathy Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as natur ...

. The three ''dosha''- three intrinsic tendencies, which, according to

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.

Yogic view

According to ''

'', 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 Bhuta Stalam'' is representation of ''Pancha Bhuta'' for yogic practice. People used to move from one temple to another and do ''sadhana'' on particular basic element. The seven '' Chakras'' in the human subtle body are associated with these five elements.

Hasta Mudras

''Hasta Mudra'' or hand posture is based on the ''panch Bhutas''. 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.

Vastu

Vastu shastra ''Vastu shastra'' ( hi, वास्तु शास्त्र, ' – literally "science of architecture") is a traditional Indian system of architecture based on ancient texts that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, groun ...

emphasizes on the placement of five elements in specified direction and the balance of these elements determines the condition of the associated structure. 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 Bhuta is associated with six human tastes/Rasas as below.

References

{{reflist Hindu philosophical concepts Hindu iconography Classical elements Ayurveda Yoga concepts