Nārada and Asita-Devala

In the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, the devarshi (divine ṛshi) Nārada goes to the elder ṛshi Asita-Devala and asks him where the whole universe comes from and where it goes at the end. Asita-Devala answers that everything is made of the five great elements and kāla (time) as the sixth. The account is in the Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275.

The question

Nārada finds Asita-Devala, an elder and learned ṛshi, seated in meditation. He asks the question that begins all enquiry into creation and into moksha (liberation):

Kutaḥ sṛshṭam idaṃ viśvaṃ brahman sthāvara-jaṅgamam
Pralaye ca kam abhyeti

Nārada asks: “Brāhmaṇa, from where was this whole universe of moving and unmoving beings created? And at the time of pralaya (the dissolution), into what does it return? Please explain this to me.”

The question has two parts. One is the source of creation. The other is the place where creation goes at its end. (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275)

Asita-Devala’s answer: six elements

Asita-Devala says that the universe is made of the pañca mahābhūtas (the five great elements):

  1. Āp: water, the first liquid substance.
  2. Antariksha or Ākāśa: space, ether.
  3. Pṛthivī: earth, the solid.
  4. Vāyu: wind, the airy.
  5. Pāvaka or Agni: fire, the shining.

To these five he adds a sixth, Kāla (time). Kāla moves the elements from what is possible to what is real. Creation takes place when kāla moves the bhūtas (elements). Pralaya takes place when kāla withdraws and the elements return to their base.

He calls these six śāśvata (eternal), acala (unchanging) and dhruva (fixed). (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275)

The body and the six

Asita-Devala tells how the six appear in each living being:

  • The body itself is made mainly from pṛthivī (earth), the solid and heavy part.
  • The śrotra (hearing, the ear) comes from ākāśa. Space is the ground of the hearing of sound.
  • The cakshus (sight, the eyes) comes from Sūrya, the sun, which is the great form of the fire element.
  • The prāṇa (vital breath) comes from vāyu, the wind.
  • The śoṇita (blood, the fluids of the body) comes from jala or āp, the water element.

The five jñānendriyas (organs of knowledge) are the eyes, nose, ears, skin (touch) and tongue (taste). Each one takes in its own vishaya (object of sense) in this way.

At death each element goes back to its source. The earth part of the body returns to pṛthivī. The water part returns to the waters. The fire part returns to Agni. The being “is divided into five parts” (pañcadhā vibhajyate). The elements are returned, not destroyed. (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275)

Nothing beyond the six

Asita-Devala says plainly that there is nothing beyond these six, the five great elements and kāla. He says this is beyond doubt (asaṃśayam). (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275)

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 275