Indriyam
By M. A. Alwar
The most popular usage of the word indriya refers to it as ‘sense- organs’. As against English, where the word sense-organ refers only to organs of sensation, the word ‘indriya’ has a wider range of meaning, covering the organs of knowledge, action and decision. Mind is said to control all other indriyas. There are a total of fourteen indriyas:
- Five organs of knowledge (jñānendriyas, including the Eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin)
- Five organs of action (karmendriyas, including the hands, legs, speech-organ, anus and generative organ)
- Four internal organs (mind, intellect, ego and reason)
Contents
Gender
Indriyam is a neutral form.
Origin
General
The word can be derived in three ways on a general note:
- "Indrasyātmano liṅgamanumāpakam" which means 'The aid to inference of Indra i.e. the self'.
- "Indraṇeśvareṇa sṛṣṭam" which means 'Created by Indra, the Lord'
- "Indreṇātmanā mama cakṣurmama śrotramityādi krameṇa jñātam" which means 'Known by Indra, the self, as ‘my eyes, my ears’ etc.'
Grammatical
Grammatically the word is derived from "indra+ghac" by nipātana which means ‘sacrificed by Indra’, etc. It has three different meanings as per the lexica. They are:
- The instrument of knowledge and action.
- Wisdom
- Semen virile[1]
Synonyms
In this sense, its synonyms are
Types of Indriyas
Jñānendriyas
Among these, the jñānendriyas (organs of knowledge) are five:
- Karṇaḥ - Ear
- Tvak - Skin
- Cakṣuh - Eye
- Jihvā - Tongue
- Nāsikā - Nose
Karmendriyas
There are five Karmendriyas (Organs of action):
- Vāk - Organ of Speech, the larynx
- Pāṇiḥ - Hand
- Pādaḥ - Foot
- Pāyuḥ - Anus
- Upasthā - Organ of generation
Internal Organs
The internal organs are four:
- Manaḥ - Mind
- Buddhiḥ - Intellect
- Ahaṅkāraḥ - Ego
- Cittam - Reasoning faculty
Viewpoints on Indriyam in shāstra
Ṛigveda
In the sense of wisdom, Ṛgveda opines that,[4]
“So that we may live (surrounded by) vigorous descendents, such wisdom do you confer upon us for our benefit”.
Vedanta
Mind is the controller of all organs. Fourteen deities govern the fourteen organs. They are:
- Dik - Direction, governs the Ear
- Vāyuḥ - Wind, governs the skin
- Sūryyaḥ - Sun, governs the Eye
- Pracetāḥ - Varuṇa, governs the tongue
- Aśvinau - The twin Aśvinis, govern the Nose
- Vahniḥ - Fire, governs speech
- Indraḥ - Indra, governs the hand
- Viṣṇuḥ - Viṣṇu, governs the foot
- Mitraḥ - Mitra, governs the anus
- Prajāpatiḥ - Prajāpati, governs the generative organ
- Candraḥ - Moon, governs the mind
- Caturmukhaḥ - Brahman, governs the intellect
- Śaṅkaraḥ - śaṅkara, governs the ego
- Acyutaḥ - Acyuta, governs reason
Nyāya
According to Nyāya:
- Nose is the organ of Prithivī (Earth)
- Tongue is the organ of Jala (Water)
- Eye is the organ of Tejas (fire)
- Skin is the organ of Vāyu (Wind)
- Ear is the organ of ākāśa (Space).
Suśruta
Suśruta says:
- Intellect supported by Brahman.
- Ego supported by īśvara.
- Mind supported by candra.
- Ears supported by diś.
- Skin supported by vāyu.
- Eyes supported by Sūrya.
- Tongue supported by Varuṇa.
- Nose supported by Prithivī.
- Speech supported by Fire.
- Hands supported by Indra.
- Feet supported by Viṣṇu.
- Anus supported by Mitra.
- Generative organ supported by Prajāpati.
Manu
In the matter of sense-organs, Manu opined that[5]“As the sense-objects capture the wandering organs…”
Dayānanda Saraswati
Indriya is vijñāna (wisdom), says the commentary of Dayānanda.
References
- Shabdakalpadrumah by Raja Radhakantdev, Varadaprasada Vasu, Haricarana Vasu
