‘great elements’, the four substances or elemental forces which constitute the material world: (earth, solidity), āpas (water, fluidity), vāyu (air, vibration) and agni (fire, warmth, light), with ākāśa (ether,...

Mahābhūta is Pāli for the "Great Elements."[1] The four Great Elements (Pali: cattāro mahābhūtāni) are earth, water, fire and air. Mahābhūta is generally synonymous with catudhātu, which is Pāli for the "Four Elements."[2] In early Buddhism,...