Pancha Mahabhutas means the great five elements.
What are these five elements?
They Are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky.
Elements in the universe
From the visible universe we observe many characteristcs ranging from gross to subtle and very subtle.
Depending on subtleness they divided attributes in creation into 5 sets. These are Prithvi, Jala, Agni, Vayu and Akasa which literally means Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Sky. These are also named as five elements of creation as ‘panch bhutas’ or panch mahabhutas.
Pancha Mahabhutas
What does this means?
Do these names represent the literal meaning of these words?
No. They do not represent literal meaning. These names are indicative of special attributes/ characteristics
Pancha Mahabhutas possess distinctly different characteristics.
Manifested from tanmatras?
Which are manifested from 5 tanmatras?
Pancha Mahabhutas = 5 Maha Bhutas are manifested from 5 tanmatras.
PANCHAMAHABHUTAS AND BRAHMANDAS
BRAHMANDAS=UNIVERSES
Cosmos are out of Pancha Mahabhutas.
Panchamahabhutas appear in various proportions in the universe. Some of constituents of the universe may be out of one of panchamahabhutas or combination of these.
Explanation:
Combination of five elements
Some of the celestial bodies may be only with Akasa element, some may be with fire element and some may be with different permutations and combinations of Pancha Bhutas as already discussed.