Question

In India, the Samkhya-karikas by Ishvarakrsna (c. 3rd century AD) proclaims the five gross elements to be ________.

1) Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space
2) Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether
3) Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Wind
4) Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Sky

Answer 1

The five gross elements mentioned in the Samkhya-karikas by Ishvarakrsna are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether (or Space).

Step-by-step explanation:

In India, the Samkhya-karikas by Ishvarakrsna, which dates back to approximately the 3rd century AD, describes the five gross elements. According to this philosophical text, the five gross elements are 1) Earth, 2) Water, 3) Fire, 4) Air, and 5) Ether or Space. This conception of the elements is different from Empedocles' classical four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as well as the atomic theories of later Greek philosophers. Moreover, there's a distinction between the classical Nyāya-VaiśeṢika school, which also identified five elements, and the Samkhya school's approach to the material constituents of the universe, which is deeply rooted in the spiritual and philosophical context of Indian thought.