Pancha Bhoota Stalam

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Pancha Bhoota Stalam or Pancha Bhoota Stala(Tamil:பஞ்ச பூதத்தலம்Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples,[1] dedicated to Shiva, a Hindu god, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature- land, water, air, sky, fire.[2] Pancha indicates Five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at presently called Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams[1] and each of the lingams representing Shiva in the temple have five distant names based on the elements they represent.

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Pancha Bhootam

According to Hinduism, life and the various species originated by the combination of planetary globes and the five manifestations of nature namely air, water, fire, land and sky. Bhoota(Sanskrit:भूत) in Sanskrit means compound and maha bhoota indicates a big compound.[3] According to Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical system, the equilibrium of the body with the ''pancha bhootas'' is governed by the principles of tridoshas -kaph(phlegm), pitta(bile), vayu(gas), dhātu and malas(waste products).[4] Rabindranath Tagore, a nobel lauerate for literature, in his poem, Pancha bhoota, has explained the emotional faculty of the human mind is keenly sensitive to all objects of light, colour, sound, effect of speed, sun, moon and stars.[5]

The Five Temples

In Tiruvannamalai temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of massive column of fire, whose crown and feet could not be found by the Hindu God of creation, Brahma and Hindu God of saving, Vishnu. A celebration of this manifestation is seen even today in the age old traditions observed during the festivals of Sivarathri and Karthigai Deepam.[6] Agni Lingam explains the mythics of life - duty, virtue, self-sacrifice and finally liberation by and through ascetic life -duty, virtue, self-sacrifice and finally liberation by and through ascetic life at the end of Agni kalpa.[7] In Tiruvaniakkoil temple, Shiva represents water element and the appu lingam is submerged in water[1] and a perennial sub terrain spring gushes around the lingam.[8] In Chidambaram, empty space is worshipped as Shiva(akasha lingam) to signify God is beyond human comprehension. It is unusual from the other temples where there is a physical stone lingam present.[9]

Category Lingam Temple Location
Land Prithivi Lingam[10] Ekambareswarar Temple[11] Kanchipuram
Fire Agni Lingam(Jyothi Lingam)[7] Arunachaleshwarar Temple[6][11] Thiruvannamalai
Water Appu Lingam(Jambu Lingam)[1] Thiruvanaikaval[11] [Thiruvanaikkaval, near [Trichy]]
Sky Akasha Lingam[9] Natarajar Temple[11] Chidambaram
Air Vayu Lingam Sri Kalahastheeswara Swami Temple[11][12] Kalahasthi

Gallery

External

Pancha Bhoota stalam Map

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ramaswamy 2007 , pp. 301-302
  2. ↑ A dictionary, Canarese and EnglishWilliam Reeve, Daniel Sanderson
  3. ↑ Daivajña 1996, p. 12
  4. ↑ J. 2008, p. 215
  5. ↑ Tymieniecka 2002, p. 40
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gupta 2006, p. 153
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Blabatsky 1981, p. 176
  8. ↑ Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu.P.76
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 M.K.V 2007, p. 37
  10. ↑ Tirtha: holy pilgrim centres of the Hindus : saptapuri & chaar dhaam, Subhadra Sen Gupta, p. 66
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Knapp 2005, p. 121
  12. ↑ Bajwa 2007, p. 271

References

  • Gupta, Om (2006), Encyclopaedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Delhi: Isha Books, ISBN 81-8205-389-7 .
  • Bajwa, Jagir Singh; Ravinder Kaur (2007), Tourism Management, New Delhi: S.B. Nangia, ISBN 81-313-0047-1  .
  • Knapp, Stephen (2005), The Heart of Hinduism: The Eastern Path to Freedom, Empowerment and Illumination, NE: iUniverse, ISBN 978-0-595-35075-9 .
  • Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2007), Historical dictionary of the Tamils, United States: Scarecrow Press, INC., ISBN 978-0-470-82958-5 
  • Tourist guide to Tamil Nadu (2007), Tourist guide to Tamil Nadu, Chennai: T. Krishna Press, ISBN 81-7478-177-3 .
  • The Theosophical Glossary (1918), The Theosophical Glossary, California: Theosophical Publishing House, ISBN 81-7478-177-3 .
  • [[http://writers.fultus.com/narayan/|M.K.V., Narayan]] (2007), Flipside of Hindu Symbolism: Sociological and Scientific Linkages in Hinduism, California: Fultus Corporation, ISBN 1-59682-117-5 .
  • Daivajña, Veṅkaṭeśa (1996), Sri Sarwarthachintamani: English translation, Volume 1, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, ISBN 81-208-1352-9 .
  • J., Agarwal (2008), I Am Proud to be a Hindu, Delhi: Hindoology Books, ISBN 978-81-223-1022-1 .
  • Tymieniecka, Anna-Teresa (2002), Analecta Huseerliana The Year Book of Phenomenal Research, Volume LXXVI - Life, truth in its various perspectives: cognition, self-knowledge, Creativity, Scientific Research, Sharing-in-Life, Economics..., Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 1-4020-0071-5 .
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