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V. The five Mahâbhutas.
VI. Purusha
AN EPITOME OF JAINISM.
include
-mind the central co-ordinating organ which corresponds to the 'central sense' or common sense' admitted by Aristotle in his 'De Anima'.
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The five Mahabhutas or gross elements viz. earth, water, fire, air and ether, are respectively produced by the corresponding Tanmåtrás or suitable essences, viz. smell, taste, form, touch and sound. The gross elements have each an organ corresponding to it. Thus, earth, water, fire, air and ether have for their organs, nose, tongue, eyes, skin and ear, respectively.
These five Mahabhutas and the eleven organs constitute what the Sânkhyas call the sixteen vikaras-variations.
The five gross elements are the ultimate outward limits of cosmic evolution just as Prakriti is the ultimate limit in the opposite direction.
Last of all, we mention, Purusha, the 25th tattva; we do so, not because Purusha is chronologically the last which it is certainly not, but because it is outside the cosmic evolution and is a distinctly separate principle by itself. It is, as the
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