Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 9
तामसात्पंच जातानि तन्मात्राणि वुदुर्बुधाः । तन्मात्रेभ्यश्च भूतानि वेशेषाः पंच तद्भवाः
tāmasātpaṃca jātāni tanmātrāṇi vudurbudhāḥ | tanmātrebhyaśca bhūtāni veśeṣāḥ paṃca tadbhavāḥ
“From the tāmasa aspect, the wise know that the five subtle elements (tanmātras) were produced. And from those tanmātras arose the five differentiated gross elements (bhūtas) as their effects.”
Nārada
Scene: From a dark, dense tāmasa current emerge five subtle essences as translucent glyphs (sound, touch, form, taste, smell), which then crystallize into five gross elements—ether, air, fire, water, earth—forming a nascent cosmos.
FAQs
The material world is a graded emergence from subtle to gross; recognizing this hierarchy supports detachment and discernment (viveka).
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