Pancha Bhoota Stalam

Pancha Bhoota Stalam or Pancha Bhoota Stala (Tamil: பஞ்ச பூதத்தலம், Telugu: పంచ భూతస్థలం, Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples,[1] dedicated to Shiva, 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 in Tamil Nadu and one in present-day 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 distinct names based on the elements they represent.

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 bhoota 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 preservation (or maintainer) Vishnu. A celebration of this manifestation is seen even today in the age old traditions observed during the festivals of Sivarathri and Karthigai Deepam. 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.[6]

In Thiruvanaikaval temple, Shiva represents water element where the appu lingam is submerged in water[1] and a perennial sub terrain spring gushes around the lingam.[7]

In Chidambaram, empty space is worshiped as Shiva (akasha lingam) to signify God is beyond human comprehension. It is unusual where there is no physical stone lingam present, unlike other temples of Shiva.[8]

Category Lingam Temple Location Coordinates
Earth Prithivi Lingam[9] Ekambareswarar Temple [10][11] Kanchipuram 12.847604, 79.699798
Water Appu Lingam (Jambu Lingam)[1] Jambukeshwarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval[10] Thiruvanaikaval, near Trichy 10.853383, 78.705455
Fire Agni Lingam (Jyothi Lingam)[6] Arunachaleswara Temple[10] Thiruvannamalai 12.231942, 79.067694
Air Vayu Lingam Sri Kalahastheeswara Temple[10][12] Kalahasthi, Andhra Pradesh 13.749802, 79.698410
Space Aagaya Lingam (Akasha Lingam)[8] Thillai Natarajar Temple[10] Chidambaram 11.399596, 79.693559

Gallery

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 Blabatsky 1981, p. 176
  7. ↑ Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu.P.76
  8. 1 2 M.K.V 2007, p. 37
  9. ↑ Tirtha: holy pilgrim centres of the Hindus : saptapuri & chaar dhaam, Subhadra Sen Gupta, p. 66
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Knapp 2005, p. 121
  11. ↑ http://www.templeadvisor.com/temples/info/10190
  12. ↑ Bajwa 2007, p. 271

References

  • Bajwa, Jagir Singh; Ravinder Kaur (2007), Tourism Management, New Delhi: S.B. Nangia, ISBN 81-313-0047-1  Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help).
  • 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 .
  • 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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