पञ्चमतत्त्वलक्षणम्, पञ्चतत्त्वलक्षणम्The mark of the fifth tattva; the marks of the five tattvas
Verse 109
आद्यतत्त्वं विद्धि तेजो द्वितीयं पवनं प्रिये । अपस्तृतीयं जानीहि चतुर्थं पृथिवीं शिवे ॥ १०९ ॥
ādyatattvaṁ viddhi tējō dvitīyaṁ pavanaṁ priyē | apastṛtīyaṁ jānīhi caturthaṁ pṛthivīṁ śivē || 109 ||
Translation
Know the first tattva to be fire, beloved, the second air; know the third to be water, the fourth earth, Śivā;
Word by word
- ādya
- the first
- tattvaṁ
- tattva
- viddhi
- know
- tējō
- (tejaḥ) fire
- dvitīyaṁ
- the second
- pavanaṁ
- air
- priyē
- beloved
- apas
- (apaḥ) water
- tṛtīyaṁ
- the third
- jānīhi
- know
- caturthaṁ
- the fourth
- pṛthivīṁ
- earth
- śivē
- Śivā
Meaning
Now the five tattvas are mapped onto the five elements, which shows what they are for: wine is fire, meat is air, fish is water, grain is earth. Offering the five tattvas is offering the five elements of which the world and the body are made. The rite is a way of offering the whole of material existence back to the Goddess.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
See the commentary on verse 106.