Jala-tattva

Jala-tattva

जल-तत्त्व, jala-tattva

Water, one of the five primary elements, or mahabhutas. At the level of bhuta-pinda (individual body), water manifests in the liquid environments of the body, such as: lala (saliva), mutra (urine), shukra (semen), shonita (blood), sveda (sweat).

Jala-tattva is mentioned in “Siddha-siddhanta paddhati” as mahasalila, the great water, whose five qualities are great flow, fusion, fluidity, taste and white color:

- Mahapravaha (great stream) – the uninterrupted flow of water in the streams of rivers, or rain streams. In India, they believe in sacred waters that move in the sky (antariksha), for example, the Ganges.
- Apyayana (fusion) – the ability to fill everything with oneself, absorb and dissolve in oneself.
- Drava (fluidity) – water usually has flexibility and at the same time a state of massiveness.
- Rasa (taste) – means that water can be perceived through taste.
- Shveta-varnatva (white color) – indicates that water is able to reflect light in itself.

Sri Yogi Matsyendranath Maharaj's Commentary on “Siddha-siddhanta paddhati”