Panch Tattva
The Five Elements
Earth, water, fire, air and space in the Ayurvedic reading of the body.
The panch tattva - prithvi, jal, agni, vayu and akash; earth, water, fire, air and space - are the organising idea beneath Ayurveda and a good deal of Indian thought. They are presented here as what they are: a traditional framework, described accurately.
The framework
The five elements combine into the three doshas. Vata from air and space, associated with movement and the nervous system. Pitta from fire and water, associated with transformation and digestion. Kapha from earth and water, associated with structure and cohesion. Each person is held to have a characteristic balance, and illness to arise when it is disturbed.
How to hold it
This is a system of correspondence and metaphor, developed long before anatomy or physiology as we now understand them. It is not a description of biochemistry and it does not map onto one. Read as a framework for thinking about constitution, temperament and routine, it has genuine coherence and has guided practice for millennia.
A framework can be meaningful without being mechanistic. Confusing the two is where the trouble usually starts.
What survives translation
Much of the practical guidance that falls out of it is sound by any standard: eat according to the season, keep regular hours, respect digestion, rest properly, and pay attention to how a particular body responds rather than assuming everyone is the same. That last point is one modern medicine has been rediscovering under the name of personalised care.
Worth having
Picked to go with what you have just read. We only list ordinary, widely available things.