'Fire' or energy. One of the five gross elements, from which the sthul body of Virãt-Purush, i.e., the physical world, is formed. By nature, it is luminous, causes the digestion of food, absorbs liquids, eliminates cold, dries, creates hunger and thirst, and burns wood, ghee and other sacrificial offerings {Gadh I-12.21}. See also: mahãbhuts.

Tej is a mead or honey wine brewed and consumed in Ethiopia. It is flavored with the powdered leaves and bark of gesho, a hops-like bittering agent which is a species of buckthorn.