The tattvas — how existence is layered
तत्त्व
Also written: tattva · 25 tattvas · 36 tattvas · kanchukas · elements hinduism · pancha mahabhuta · तत्त्व
Tattva means 'that-ness' — a principle, a level of reality. The tattva schemes are maps of the descent from pure consciousness to solid matter, and because piṇḍa and brahmāṇḍa share one pattern, the same map reads as cosmology and as anatomy.
Sāṅkhya's twenty-five
| Group | Tattvas |
|---|---|
| Consciousness | Puruṣa |
| Root of nature | Prakṛti |
| Inner instrument | Buddhi (mahat), ahaṅkāra, manas |
| Five jñānendriyas | Ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose |
| Five karmendriyas | Speech, hands, feet, elimination, generation |
| Five tanmātras | Sound, touch, form, taste, smell |
| Five mahābhūtas | Ākāśa, vāyu, agni, jala, pṛthivī |
The five elements and their signatures
| Element | Tanmātra | Sense | Organ of action | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ākāśa — space | Sound | Ear | Speech | Unobstructing; gives room |
| Vāyu — air | Touch | Skin | Hands | Movement |
| Agni — fire | Form | Eye | Feet | Transformation |
| Jala — water | Taste | Tongue | Generation | Cohesion |
| Pṛthivī — earth | Smell | Nose | Elimination | Solidity |
Kashmir Śaivism's thirty-six
Trika accepts Sāṅkhya's twenty-five and adds eleven above them, because it holds that puruṣa and prakṛti are not the top of the ladder.
| Band | Tattvas | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Śuddha — pure (1–5) | Śiva, Śakti, Sadāśiva, Īśvara, Sadvidyā | Undivided consciousness; 'I am this' with no separation yet |
| Śuddhāśuddha — pure-impure (6–11) | Māyā and the five kañcukas: kalā, vidyā, rāga, kāla, niyati | The limiting sheaths by which the unlimited appears limited |
| Aśuddha — impure (12–36) | Puruṣa, prakṛti and the remaining twenty-three of Sāṅkhya | The world of experience as ordinarily known |
| Kañcuka | Limits | So the infinite appears as |
|---|---|---|
| Kalā | Omnipotence | A being who can do some things |
| Vidyā | Omniscience | A being who knows some things |
| Rāga | Completeness | A being who wants something |
| Kāla | Eternity | A being in time, with a before and after |
| Niyati | Freedom and pervasion | A being in one place, bound by cause |
Time — the yugas, kalpas and cycles
Cyclical time on an enormous scale: the four yugas and their lengths, the manvantaras, a day of Brahmā, and wh…
Karma and rebirth
The three kinds of karma, what free will means inside it, the subtle body that carries it, and why the doctrin…
The lokas — the planes of existence
The fourteen worlds, the three-world formula of daily invocation, and how the lokas are read as states rather …
Pañcāṅga — the reckoning of time
The five limbs of the Indian calendar, the lunisolar year, the two ayanas and six ṛtus, and how a muhūrta is c…
Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.