"Bharadwaja said, 'When the high-souled Brahman has created thousands of
creatures, why is it that only these five elements which he created
first, which pervade all the universe and which are great creatures, have
come to have the name of creatures applied to them exclusively?'
"Bhrigu said, 'All things that belong to the category of the Infinite or
the Vast receive the appellation of Great. It is for this reason that
these five elements have come to be called Great creatures. Activity is
wind. The sound that is heard is space. The heat that is within it is
fire. The liquid juices occurring in it are water. The solidified matter,
viz., flesh and bones, are earth. The bodies (of living creatures) are
thus made of the five (primeval) elements. All mobile and immobile
objects are made of these five elements. The five senses also of living
creatures partake of the five elements. The ear partakes of the
properties of space, the nose of earth; the tongue of water; touch of
wind; and the eyes of light (of fire).'
"Bharadwaja said, 'If all mobile and immobile objects be composed of
these five elements, why is it that in all immobile objects those
elements are not visible? Trees do not appear to have any heat. They do
not 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 do
not see; they are not capable of the perceptions of scent or taste. They
have not also the perception of touch. How then can they be regarded as
composed of the five (primeval) elements? It seems to me that in
consequence 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 be
regarded as compounds of the five (primeval) elements.'
"Bhrigu said, 'Without doubt, though possessed of density, trees have
space within them. The putting forth of flowers and fruits is always
taking place in them. They have heat within them in consequence of which
leaf, 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 fire
and thunder, their fruits and flowers drop down. Sound is perceived
through the ear. Trees have, therefore, ears and do hear. A creeper winds
round a tree and goes about all its sides. A blind thing cannot find its
way. For this reason it is evident that trees have vision. Then again
trees recover vigour and put forth flowers in consequence of odours, good
and bad, of the sacred perfume of diverse kinds of dhupas. It is plain
that trees have scent. They drink water by their roots. They catch
diseases of diverse kinds. Those diseases again are cured by different
operations. 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 the
aid of the wind, drink through their roots. They are susceptible of
pleasure and pain, and grow when cut or lopped off. From these
circumstances I see that trees have life. They are not inanimate. Fire
and 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 and
becomes humid. In the bodies of all mobile things the five elements
occur. In each the proportions are different. It is in consequence of
these five elements that mobile objects can move their bodies. Skin,
flesh, bones, marrow, and arteries and veins, that exist together in the
body are made of earth. Energy, wrath, eyes, internal heat, and that
other heat which digest the food that is taken, these five, constitute
the fire that occurs in all embodied creatures. The ears, nostrils,
mouth, heart, and stomach, these five, constitute the element of space
that occurs in the bodies of living creatures. Phlegm, bile, sweat, fat,
blood, are the five kinds of water that occur in mobile bodies. Through
the breath called Prana a living creature is enabled to move. Through
that called Vyana, they put forth strength for action. That called Apana
moves downwards. That called Samana resides within the heart. Through
that called Udana one eructates and is enabled to speak in consequence of
its piercing through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth). These are
the five kinds of wind that cause an embodied creature to live and move.
The properties of scent an embodied creature knows through the
earth-element in him. From the water-element he perceives taste. From the
fire-element represented by the eyes, he perceives forms, and from the
wind-element he obtains the perception of touch. Scent, touch, taste,
vision, and sound, are regarded as the (general) properties of every
mobile and immobile object. I shall first speak of the several kinds of
scent. They are agreeable, disagreeable, sweet, pungent, far-going,
varied, dry, indifferent. All these nine kinds of scent are founded upon
the earth-element. Light is seen by the eyes and touch through the
wind-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 kinds
of taste appertaining to the water-element. Light contributes to the
vision 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 different
kinds of form which constitute the property of light or vision. The
property 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 the
wind-element. These are the eleven properties that appertain to the wind.
Space has only one property. It is called sound. I shall now tell thee
the different kinds of sound. They are the seven original notes called
Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Mahdhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada.
These are the seven kinds of the property that appertains to space. Sound
inheres like the Supreme Being in all space though attached especially to
drums and other instruments. Whatever sound is heard from drums small and
large, and conchs, and clouds, and cars, and animate and inanimate
creatures, are all included in these seven kinds of sound already
enumerated. Thus sound, which is the property of space, is of various
kinds. The learned have said sound to be born of space. When raised by
the different 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 inceptive. The elements, mingling with their counterparts in the
body, increase and grow. Water, fire, wind are always awake in the bodies
of living creatures. They are the roots of the body. Pervading the five
life-breaths (already mentioned) they reside in the body.'"
