Question
What is the meaning of five elements(Pancha Bhootas) in Hinduism?
Answer
The five elements you referred to are together called the "Pancha Bhootas".
Now,The Pancha Karmendriyas(Indriyas=Senses,Karma=Activity/Work,Jnana=Knowledge)are related to excretion,reproduction,& the acts of grasping,moving & speaking.
Where as, the "Pancha Jnanendriyas" are related to the acts of smelling,tasting,seeing,touching & hearing.
In the context of "Srishti Karma"(the proccess of creation by the Almighty) the Aiteraya Upanishad describes (as quoted below)how the Pancha Bhootas and Dasa indriyas are inter-connected and how they are created from Him :
I.i.4) Taam abhyatapat, Tasyaabhitaptasya mukham nirabhidyataptasya mukham nirabhidyayata yathaandam: mukhaad vaah, Vaachognir naashike nirabhidyetaam naasikaabhyaam praanah, pranaad vaayuh, akshini nirabhidyetaam, akshibhyaam chakshuhu, chakshusa aadityah, karnou nirabhidyetaam, karnaabhyaam shrotram, shrotaad dishaa, twan nirabhidyata, tvaacho lomaani lomaabhya oushadhivanaspatayah, hridayam nirabhidyata, hridayaan manah, manasa chandramaah, naabhir nirabhidyata, naabhyaa apaanah, apaanaan mrityuh, shishnaam nirabhidyata, shishnaad retah, retasaa aapah/
( The Supreme Self designed the process of creation as follows: from his ‘Mukha’ (face), the mouth surfaced ‘vaak’ the vocal chord from which emerged sound and speech; from the faculty of speech materialised Fire; as the Supreme Self’s nostrils parted, the sense of smell and the resultant Vayu or Air got generated. Similarly His ‘Akshini’ or two eyes turned up vision and eye sight; from the latter emerged Surya or the Sun; from the ears generated sound and the faculty of hearing and the sense of Dishas or directions. From the skin came the sense of touch, herbs and trees. From the heart the mind and Chandra or the Moon. The navel of the Supreme’s physique the organ of outbreath and resultant death to the Beings; The Lord’s seat of generative organ came procreation and semen which materialised water). This was how the cycle of Panchendriyas of the Supreme Self caused Pancha Karmendriyas, Pancha Jnanendriyas and Pancha Bhutas viz. the Body Parts of Deed, Sense and Elements in their respective Places!
I hope these informations help your cause.
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