Chapter 184

“Bharadwaja said, ‘When the high-souled Brahman has created thousands ofcreatures, why is it that only these five elements which he createdfirst, which pervade all the universe and which are great creatures, havecome to have the name of creatures applied to them exclusively?'[554]

“Bhrigu said, ‘All things that belong to the category of the Infinite orthe Vast receive the appellation of Great. It is for this reason thatthese five elements have come to be called Great creatures. Activity iswind. The sound that is heard is space. The heat that is within it isfire. The liquid juices occurring in it are water. The solidified matter,viz., flesh and bones, are earth. The bodies (of living creatures) arethus made of the five (primeval) elements. All mobile and immobileobjects are made of these five elements. The five senses also of livingcreatures partake of the five elements. The ear partakes of theproperties of space, the nose of earth; the tongue of water; touch ofwind; and the eyes of light (of fire).’

“Bharadwaja said, ‘If all mobile and immobile objects be composed ofthese five elements, why is it that in all immobile objects thoseelements are not visible? Trees do not appear to have any heat. They donot seem to have any motion. They are again made up of dense particles.The five elements are not noticeable in them. Trees do not hear: they donot see; they are not capable of the perceptions of scent or taste. Theyhave not also the perception of touch. How then can they be regarded ascomposed of the five (primeval) elements? It seems to me that inconsequence of the absence of any liquid material in them, of any heat,of any earth, of any wind, and of any empty space, trees cannot beregarded as compounds of the five (primeval) elements.’

“Bhrigu said, ‘Without doubt, though possessed of density, trees havespace within them. The putting forth of flowers and fruits is alwaystaking place in them. They have heat within them in consequence of whichleaf, bark, fruit, and flower, are seen to droop. They sicken and dry up.That shows they have perception of touch. Through sound of wind and fireand thunder, their fruits and flowers drop down. Sound is perceivedthrough the ear. Trees have, therefore, ears and do hear. A creeper windsround a tree and goes about all its sides. A blind thing cannot find itsway. For this reason it is evident that trees have vision. Then againtrees recover vigour and put forth flowers in consequence of odours, goodand bad, of the sacred perfume of diverse kinds of dhupas. It is plainthat trees have scent.[555] They drink water by their roots. They catchdiseases of diverse kinds. Those diseases again are cured by differentoperations. From this it is evident that trees have perceptions of taste.As one can suck up water through a bent lotus-stalk, trees also, with theaid of the wind, drink through their roots. They are susceptible ofpleasure and pain, and grow when cut or lopped off. From thesecircumstances I see that trees have life. They are not inanimate. Fireand wind cause the water thus sucked up to be digested. According, again,to the quantity of the water taken up, the tree advances in growth andbecomes humid. In the bodies of all mobile things the five elementsoccur. In each the proportions are different. It is in consequence ofthese five elements that mobile objects can move their bodies. Skin,flesh, bones, marrow, and arteries and veins, that exist together in thebody are made of earth. Energy, wrath, eyes, internal heat, and thatother heat which digest the food that is taken, these five, constitutethe fire that occurs in all embodied creatures.[556] The ears, nostrils,mouth, heart, and stomach, these five, constitute the element of spacethat occurs in the bodies of living creatures. Phlegm, bile, sweat, fat,blood, are the five kinds of water that occur in mobile bodies. Throughthe breath called Prana a living creature is enabled to move. Throughthat called Vyana, they put forth strength for action. That called Apanamoves downwards. That called Samana resides within the heart. Throughthat called Udana one eructates and is enabled to speak in consequence ofits piercing through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth). These arethe five kinds of wind that cause an embodied creature to live and move.The properties of scent an embodied creature knows through theearth-element in him. From the water-element he perceives taste. From thefire-element represented by the eyes, he perceives forms, and from thewind-element he obtains the perception of touch. Scent, touch, taste,vision, and sound, are regarded as the (general) properties of everymobile and immobile object. I shall first speak of the several kinds ofscent. They are agreeable, disagreeable, sweet, pungent, far-going,varied, dry, indifferent. All these nine kinds of scent are founded uponthe earth-element. Light is seen by the eyes and touch through thewind-element. Sound, touch, vision and taste are the properties of water.I shall speak (in detail) now of the perception of taste. Listen to me.High-souled Rishis have spoken of diverse kinds of taste. They are sweet,saltish, bitter, astringent, sour, and pungent. These are the six kindsof taste appertaining to the water-element. Light contributes to thevision of form. Form is of diverse kinds. Short, tall, thick,four-cornered, round, white, black, red, blue, yellow, reddish, hard,bright, smooth, oily, soft, and terrible. These are the sixteen differentkinds of form which constitute the property of light or vision. Theproperty of the wind-element is touch. Touch is of various kinds: warm,cold, agreeable.. disagreeable, indifferent, burning, mild, soft, light,and heavy. Both sound and touch are the two properties of thewind-element. These are the eleven properties that appertain to the wind.Space has only one property. It is called sound. I shall now tell theethe different kinds of sound. They are the seven original notes calledShadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Mahdhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada.These are the seven kinds of the property that appertains to space. Soundinheres like the Supreme Being in all space though attached especially todrums and other instruments. Whatever sound is heard from drums small andlarge, and conchs, and clouds, and cars, and animate and inanimatecreatures, are all included in these seven kinds of sound alreadyenumerated. Thus sound, which is the property of space, is of variouskinds. The learned have said sound to be born of space. When raised bythe different kinds of touch, which is the property of the wind, it maybe heard. It cannot however, be heard, when the different kinds of touchare inceptive. The elements, mingling with their counterparts in thebody, increase and grow. Water, fire, wind are always awake in the bodiesof living creatures. They are the roots of the body. Pervading the fivelife-breaths (already mentioned) they reside in the body.'”