संजय उवाच
पञ्चेमानि महाराज महाभूतानि संग्रहात् ॥
जगत् स्थितानि सर्वाणि समान्य् आहुर् मनीषिणः ॥
भूमिर् आपस् तथा वायुर् अग्निर् आकाशम् एव च ॥
गुणोत्तराणि सर्वाणि तेषां भूमिः प्रधानतः ॥
शब्दः स्पर्शश् च रूपं च रसो गन्धश् च पञ्चमः ॥
भूमेर् एते गुणाः प्रोक्ता ऋषिभिस् तत्त्ववेदिभिः ॥
चत्वारो ऽप्सु गुणा राजन् गन्धस् तत्र न विद्यते ॥
शब्दः स्पर्शश् च रूपं च तेजसो ऽथ गुणास् त्रयः ॥
शब्दः स्पर्शश् च वायोस् तु आकाशे शब्द एव च ॥
एते पञ्च गुणा राजन् महाभूतेषु पञ्चसु ॥
वर्तन्ते सर्वलोकेषु येषु लोकाः प्रतिष्ठिताः ॥
अन्योन्यं नाभिवर्तन्ते साम्यं भवति वै यदा ॥
यदा तु विषमीभावम् आविशन्ति परस्परम् ॥
तदा देहैर् देहवन्तो व्यतिरोहन्ति नान्यथा ॥
आनुपूर्व्याद् विनश्यन्ति जायन्ते चानुपूर्वशः ॥
सर्वाण्य् अपरिमेयानि तद् एषां रूपम् ऐश्वरम् ॥
तत्र तत्र हि दृश्यन्ते धातवः पाञ्चभौतिकाः ॥
तेषां मनुष्यास् तर्केण प्रमाणानि प्रचक्षते ॥
अचिन्त्याः खलु ये भावा न तांस् तर्केण साधयेत् ॥
प्रकृतिभ्यः परं यत् तु तद् अचिन्त्यस्य लक्षणम् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
pañcemāni mahārāja mahābhūtāni saṃgrahāt ||
jagat sthitāni sarvāṇi samāny āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
bhūmir āpas tathā vāyur agnir ākāśam eva ca ||
guṇottarāṇi sarvāṇi teṣāṃ bhūmiḥ pradhānataḥ ||
śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaś ca pañcamaḥ ||
bhūmer ete guṇāḥ proktā ṛṣibhis tattvavedibhiḥ ||
catvāro 'psu guṇā rājan gandhas tatra na vidyate ||
śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca tejaso 'tha guṇās trayaḥ ||
śabdaḥ sparśaś ca vāyos tu ākāśe śabda eva ca ||
ete pañca guṇā rājan mahābhūteṣu pañcasu ||
vartante sarvalokeṣu yeṣu lokāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ||
anyonyaṃ nābhivartante sāmyaṃ bhavati vai yadā ||
yadā tu viṣamībhāvam āviśanti parasparam ||
tadā dehair dehavanto vyatirohanti nānyathā ||
ānupūrvyād vinaśyanti jāyante cānupūrvaśaḥ ||
sarvāṇy aparimeyāni tad eṣāṃ rūpam aiśvaram ||
tatra tatra hi dṛśyante dhātavaḥ pāñcabhautikāḥ ||
teṣāṃ manuṣyās tarkeṇa pramāṇāni pracakṣate ||
acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṃs tarkeṇa sādhayet ||
prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṃ yat tu tad acintyasya lakṣaṇam ||
Sanjaya said: ‘O great king, sages briefly call the five great elements the common foundations on which the whole world stands: earth, water, wind, fire, and space. All of them successively increase in qualities, and among them the element of earth is foremost. Sound, touch, form, taste, and fifth, smell — these qualities of earth have been declared by the rishis who know the truth. In water, O king, there are four qualities; smell is not found there. Fire has three qualities: sound, touch, and form; wind has two: sound and touch; in space there is only sound. O king, these five qualities abide in the five great elements throughout all the worlds upon which the worlds are established. When they do not overpower one another, equilibrium arises. But when they fall into mutual imbalance, then embodied beings vanish through their bodies, and in no other way. All of them perish in due order and are born in due order; they are immeasurable, and such is their divine form. Everywhere are seen the constituents composed of the five elements; men explain their measures by reasoning. But realities that are inconceivable should not be established by logic alone. That which is beyond the material natures — that is the mark of the inconceivable.’
8f4a003f0cf7 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:37:17 PM UTC
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Sanjaya begins his geography with ontology: the earth is understood through the five elements and their qualities. This matters for everything that follows in the description of the world. The earth is not merely a surface for royal dominion; it is bound up with the body, with perception, with the balance of the elements, and with what lies beyond ordinary reasoning.