CONCEPT OF INDRIYA PANCHA PANCHAK WITH REFERENCE TO SENSATION AND PERCEPTION: A REVIEW

Abstract

Acharya Charaka introduced the concept of Indriya pancha panchak to explore the physiology of sense organs. Indriya pancha panchaka assembles twenty-five structural and functional components related to the Indriya (sense faculty). It consists of five sense faculties (pancha janendriyas), five sense materials (pancha indriya dravya), five seats of sense organs (pancha indriya adhisthana), five objects of sense faculties (pancha indriya artha) and five sense perceptions (pancha indriya buddhi). Five sense perceptions result from conjugating the soul, mind, sense organs and their respective objects. In light of modern science, sense organs are the specialised units of the human body that can transform information about the external environment and inside environment into a form suitable for processing by the central nervous system. Sensory organs are equipped with specialised receptors that get stimulated by light, sound waves, mechanical deformation, temperature change or certain chemicals. The information is transformed through a series of propagated nerve impulses. These neural impulses get transmitted as action potentials via specialised sensory nerves towards the central nervous system that finally arrive at the sensory cortices in the brain. At this site, sensory signals are processed and interpreted. The processes through which we experience and interpret the stimuli are known as sensation and perception. The present paper aims to explore the concept of Indriya pancha panchak critically and highlight its significance in sensation and perception.