World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Tembhare. World Journal of Pharmaceutical

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Volume 12, Issue 11, 359-365. Review Article ISSN 2277– 7105

SHABDA AS VISHESH GUNA OF AKASHA MAHABHUTA -A

CRITICAL REVIEW

Dr. Trupti Tembhare*

India.

ABSTRACT
Article Received on
09 May 2023, Ayusha veda is Ayurveda i. e. knowledge of life or science of life. To
Revised on 30 May 2023, get knowledge of this science one need to understand Shadpadartha.
Accepted on 19 June 2023
DOI: 10.20959/wjpr202311-28754 Shadpadartha deals with six facets of material existence, by which they
are perceived and utilised This includes Dravya, Guna, Karma,

*Corresponding Author
Samanya, Vishesh, Samavaya. Guna is one among the Shadpadartha
Dr. Trupti Tembhare accepted by Ayurveda which are essential to bring dhatu samyata in
India. body. Shabda (Sound), Sparsha (touch), Rupa (sight), Rasa (taste),
Gandha (smell) are five vishesh guna of Pancha mahabhuta i.e.
Akasha (ether element), Vayu (air element), Agni (fire element), jala (water element), Prithvi
(earth element) respectively. When we correlate these gunas with modern science, Shabda
(Sound) guna which is vishesh guna of Akasha gives us contradictory picture in our mind as
Sound doesn’t travel in vacumm. This review article is small effort to understand why shabda
guna is vishesh guna of Akasha mahabhuta.

KEYWORDS: Shabda, shabda bhed, Akash Mahabhut, Vishesh guna, Vaisheshik guna,
Samanya guna.

INTRODUCTION
The word guna literally translates to values, virtues, qualities etc. In Ayurveda, guna is one
among the 6 Padartha accepted by Ayurveda which are essential to bring dhatu samyata in
our body.
‘Guna amantrane' which translates to attract or to invite. Guna is the criteria for selection of
any Dravya for use to get desired action and result.
Guna resides in Dravya with eternal relation (Samavaya – sambandha)and it is different from
Karma (Nishchesta).[1]

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Broadly gunas mentioned in Ayurveda are classified into two categories:-

1) Adhibhautik guna
2) Adhyatmik guna.
Adhibhautik gunas further classified into.
A)Samanya guna--these are set of general qualities. these are further classified into i)Gurvadi
Guna -Guru, Laghu etc. 20 gunas. ii) Paradi Guna – Para-Apara etc. 10 gunas. these total
30 gunas are general qualities of substances.
B)Vishesh Guna or vishishta Gunas or Vaisheshik Gunas -these are special qualities of
Pancha mahabhuta i.e.
1)Shabda (sound)- Akasha mahabhuta
2)Sparsha (touch)-vayu Mahabhuta
3)Rupa (sight)- Agni Mahabhut
4)Rasa (taste)- Jala Mahabhut
5)Gandha (smell) -Prithvi Mahabhut.

Adhyatmik Gunas.
Adhyatmik means pertaining to soul. these gunas are related to the soul i. e. life elements.
these are 6 in numbers.
Buddhi- intellect
Sukha – pleasure
Dukkha – pain
Iccha -desire
Dwesh – hatred
Prayatna – effort.[2]

SHABDA BHED
Shabd also means words, the nature of words is of two types.
1) Dwanyatmak shabd – these are different instrumental sound produced by samyoga and
vibhaga. Instruments like bheri, mridanga, shankha etc.
2) Varnatmak Shabd –
Atma + buddhi+Manas+kayagni get stimulated and propagation of Vayu in urah pradesha
produces vocal sound with the help of following 8 parts.
Uras, kantha, shira, jihwamula, danta, nasika, oshtha, talu.

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The varnatmaka shabd is of two types

1)Sarthaka-Sarthaka-these are words when combine together form some meaning.
2)Nirarthaka- these are words without any meaning.[3]

Sound according to modern science.

Sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy travelling
through a medium (such as air, water or any other liquid or solid matter)as it propagates away
from the source of the sound. Sound waves are created by object vibrations and produce
pressure waves for example a ringing cellphone. The pressure wave disturbs the particle in
the surrounding medium and those particles disturbs other next to them and so on.

The pattern of the disturbance creates outward movement in a wave pattern, like sea water in
the ocean. The wave carries the sound energy through the medium usually in all directions
and less intensely as it moves farther from the source.

Phenomenon of hearing sound According to modern science.

when sound waves reach the outer ear, the auricle or pinna collects and channels them
through the ear canal, amplifying the sound. The incoming sound waves travel to an oval
shaped membrane at the end of the ear canal known as the eardrum.

When the sound waves reach the eardrum they cause the eardrum to vibrate. The vibrations
are sent to three tiny bones called the incus, malleus and stapes. it send sound vibrations to
the cochlea, a snail shaped structure filled with fluid in the inner ear, once the vibrations
cause the fluid inside cochlea to ripple, a traveling wave forms along the basilar membrane.
hair cells -sensory cells sitting on top of basilar membrane ride the wave.

As the hair cells move up and down microscopic hair like projections(stereocilia)that perch
on top of hair cells bump against an overlying structure and bend . Bending causes pore like
channels which are at the tips of stereocilia to open up. when that happens, chemicals rush
into the cells, creating an electrical signal. The Auditory nerve carries this electrical signal to
the brain, which turns it into sound that we recognise and understand.[4]

According to Ayurveda - Sound reach the ear of listener by the phenomenon called “vichi
tarang nyaya”. the word 'vichi'and 'tarang'’tarang’means wave and phenomenon
respectively, by this phenomenon it is proposed that sound originating from one point doesn’t
travel to listener’s Ears directly but through a series of origination and destruction.

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The original sound gives birth to another sound and then dies, this second sound gives birth
to the third and too dies, this process goes on untill it reaches the ear of the listener. What the
listener hear is the last sound and so isn’t the actual sound which had originated.

According to “vichitarang nyaya” when a rock hits water, waves spread in circles, exactly the
same way a sound source creates waves or pressure variations in the air.

These pressure variations are perceived by the ear as sound.[5]

OBSERVATION
As it already mentioned that shabd is the vishesh guna of Akasha i.e. ether Mahabhuta.

The origin of Akasha (ether) is shabd, shabd is the tanmatra of sound, meaning that shabd is
sound in its primordial, unmanifested form. Shabd is the primordial space from which
vibration emerges long before it takes the form of sound in the ear.

Sound and ether (Akash)are inseparable. Because of their intimate relationship, the ear is
considered the associated sense organ of element ether or Akasha and voice (mouth)is it’s
organ of action.

Hearing loss and loss of voice are difficulties that are often due to vitiation of Akasha or ether
element in the body.

Ayurvedic principles state that the cosmos are compiled of pancha mahabhutas also known as
five great elements.

These elements originates from the ‘pancha tanmatra'tanmatra’known as sound (shabd),

touch (sparsha), vision (Rupa), Taste (rasa) and smell (gandha). Although each element is a
combination of all five tanmatras each shows predominance of only one.

In these five elements Akasha (ether) element is present in the body as the empty space
between cells, hollowness of the empty intestines, bladder, blood vessels and lungs are filled
with ether. An ethernic person demonstrates qualities of imagination, expansion, subtleness
and dreaminess. they can also be elusive and passive at times.

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Akasha (ether) provides prithvi (earth)with the space to exist, Vayu(air)provides prithvi with
subtle movements, Agni(fire)is latent within the earth bound by chemical bonds and Jala
(water)is inherent within the earth as a bridge between gaseous and solid matter.[6]

CONCLUSION
Ayurvedic principles states that a sequential ordering of five great elements i. e.
panchamahabhuta on their decreasing subtlety namely Space, air, fire, water and earth is
stated in Narayanopanishad in Atharva veda.

The Akasha (space) is an element (bhuta) is qualified by sound as it’s descriptor (tanmatra). it
possesses the qualities of pravesha (entry)and Nishkramana (exit), it gives avakasha i. e.
space for others hence called Akasha.[7]

Akasha is absolute space not vacuum as vacuum means emptiness, however on contrary
absolute space (ether or Akasha)does not means emptiness. The word' Akasha’refers to
‘Avakasharupa' which refers to the substance or element that is spread in all corporeal space
meaning the space capable of containing other elements and bodies.[8]

It is important to note that shashtra says that sound is not property of air but it is carrier of
sound waves.

In modern scientific view also, air is essential for sound waves to propagates. It is said as an
observation in vakyapadiya.[9]

Shabd (sound) is specific (vishesh) guna of Akasha. all large and small spaces in the body can
be considered as Akasha. They are actually formed by Akasha mahabhuta during developed
of foetus in mother’s womb.

Akasha takes its birth from shabda tanmatra (the microscopic form of Shabda or sound
which later manifests as the quality of Akasha as per srishti uttpattikrama (origin of creation)
of Sankhya darshan.

We get knowledge of Akasha even if we can not see it through its shabd guna or sound
quality. The sound in Akasha helps us to Perceive the knowledge. example when we blow
into the conch, we get a sound. if the conch naturally had sound in it, it would have produced

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sound at all times, when we blow air into the space within the conch, the sound is produced
not otherwise.

This shows that when air is blown into the space (Akasha) it produces sound. since the
Akasha is all pervading the sound wave produced in the space of conch moves in the open
space and carried to our ears through the larger Akasha (space).

Shravanendriya is an organ belonging to Akasha mahabhuta.

The bottom line is that, shabd or sound is naturally present in Akasha or space or ether.

Sound can be produced if any disturbance is produced in the ether elements. therefore Akasha
and shabd guna have an inseparable relationship. so, inference is that, whenever sound is
produced the Akasha definitely exists. (the converse is also true).[10]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Umesh Arya sir, Vd. Usha Singh for their
suggestions to the evolution of ideas on completion of this article.

REFERENCE
1. Charaka Samhita (English translation of the text along with commentary of cakrapani
datta) Vol. I by translator Prof. K. R. Srikantha Murthy, Chowkhamba orientalia,
Varanasi, Reprint edition, 2017; verse 51 pg. 30.
2. Sachitra Padartha vigyan evam Ayurveda Itihas (text book with applied aspects of ancient
science) by Dr. Prabodh Yerrawar, Chowkhamba surbharti prakashan 1st edition, 2019; 71.
3. A textbook of Padartha vigyan evam Ayurveda Itihas by Dr Dingari Lakshmana Chary,
Chowkhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, Delhi, Reprint edition, 2021; pg. 204.
4. https://www. nidcd. nih. gov>health.
5. Sachitra Ayurvedic Padartha vigyan by Dr. smt. Shailja Shrivastava, Chowkhamba
orientalia Varanasi reedition, 2014; pg 114.
6. Akasha (space) and Shabd (sound)-vedic and acoustical perspective review article by M.
G. Prasad(dept. of mechanical engineering Stevens institute of technology, Hoboken, New
Jersey).
7. A textbook of Padartha vigyan evam Ayurveda Itihas by Dr. Dingari Lakshmana Chary,
Chowkhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan Delhi Reprint edition, 2021; pg. 94.

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Tembhare. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

8. The positive sciences of Ancient Hindus by Brajendranath Seal, Motilal Banarasidas,

Delhi, 1985.
9. The Indian theory of five elements in studies in Hinduism by I. K. Watson, Navarag,
Delhi, 1985.
10. https://www. easyayurveda. com by Raghuram Y. S.

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