Triśarīra Philosophy and the Pañcakośa

Triśarīra Philosophy and the Pañcakośa

Traditional Āyurveda utilized a three-embodiment (tri-śārīra) theory for examination/diagnosis (parīkṣa) and treatment (chikitsā). I recommend that yoga therapists have a firm foundation in both triśarīra and pañcakośa theories and their interaction. There are two different views of how these two systems interact. One system associates three kośa with one śārīra while the other uses the extra kośa as intermediaries.

Kośā	Śarīra
annamaya kośa	physical body (sthūla śarīra)
prāṇa-maya kośa manomaya kośa vijñānamaya kośa	subtle body (sukṣama śarīra)
ānandamaya kośa	causal body (kāraṇa śarīra)

The first approach that correlates the pañcakośa and the triśārīra philosophy is found in the Paiṅgala Upaniṣad which is a later (medieval) text that presents a fusion of Sāṁkhya-Yoga and Vedānta. The physical body (sthūla śarīra) is associated with the annamaya kośa. The subtle body (sukṣama śarīra) is associated with the prāṇamaya, manomaya, and vijñānamaya kośa. The causal body (kāraṇa śarīra) is associated with the ānandamaya kośa. The Paiṅgala Upaniṣad (II.4) states, 

“The annamaya kośa is made of the digested nourishment (anna-rasa), develops by nourishment (anna-rasa), and returns back to nourishment as it is made primarily of earth (pṛthvī). That is the physical body (sthūla-śarīra). The prāṇamaya kośa is made of the five prāṇas and the organs of action (karmendriya). The organs of knowing (jñānendriya) and the buddhi compose the vijñānamaya kośa. These three (kośa-traya) are considered to be the subtle body (liṅga-śarīra). The ānandamaya kośa is the knowledge of one’s own form (svarūpā-jñāna), which relates to the causal body (kāraṇa śarīra).”

The second approach of correlating the two systems uses the two extra kośa as intermediaries. The prāṇa-maya kośa is seen as the energetic field of prāṇa which works between the physical (sthūla śarīra/anna-maya kośa) and the mental body (sukṣma śarīra). The mano-maya kośa is the mind field which holds the cognitive energies to create the mental body (śūkṣma śarīra). Prāṇa motivates the body and controls all its functions, while the mind controls the movement of prāṇa (consciously or subconsciously). Prāṇa moves within the body according to the mental condition and the focus and awareness. One controls the movement of prāṇa by controlling the mind and placement of awareness. 

Kośā	Śarīra
annamaya kośa	physical body (sthūla śarīra)
prāṇa-maya kośa
manomaya kośa	subtle body (sukṣama śarīra)
vijñānamaya kośa
ānandamaya kośa	causal body (kāraṇa śarīra)

The vijñāna-maya kośa is seens as the field of knowing which works between the subtle body (sūkṣma śarīra) and the causal body (kāraṇa śarīra). The ānanda-maya kośa is the aspect of you which gives you individuality from the Supreme. At this level of your being there is awareness of all lives, it is your ‘individual’ essence (ātman) which some define as the soul. This individual soul (jīvātman) is the cause of your individual nature and composes the causal body. The causal body has tendencies (saṁskāras) which generates the knowing-body and decisions which then govern the mental processes. If one’s causal body has the tendency to be an atheist, then when they hear about the soul or god they ‘know’ that it is too religious and have emotions of dislike in the subtle body. In this way, the tendencies of the ānanda-maya kośa manifest through the vijñāna-maya kośa to give the mind the nature of its thoughts.

A study the five platonic solids and their interaction gives deeper insight into this understanding of the nature of the interaction between the triśarīra and the pañcakośa. Three solids are independent and two are created by interlinking the other three. Their evolution also relates to the manifestation of the ākāśa to the pṛthvī and the soul to the material body.

           

Yoga focuses on the intricacies of the five kośa. Āyurveda focuses on treatment through the view of the three śarīra. There is potential in both views, and also the greater potential in understanding the different cohesiveness of each model on its own. The stronger the understanding on each of these systems the better a practitioner’s discrimination (viveka) for the purpose of treatment. Therefore, we explore the level of the five layered human being more deeply. Next, we look at a model similar to the five kośa in Śaiva Tāntra and then another variant in Buddhism to have a larger view of the system of seeing the human being in five levels.