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are of the same size, they cover different durations of time. An atom can have various durations, viz, duration of one samaya upto the duration of asamkhyāta samayas. (paramāņoḥ samayad ārabhya utkarsato' samkhyeyakalam avasthanam Projñāpanātikā folio 202 B). No atom taken independently has the duration of ananta samayas. Hence any one atom is either equivalent or superior or inferior to another in respect of duration. When it is superior or inferior to another atom (say x), then it is SO by one part of samkhyāta or asamkhyāta equal parts of x's duration, or samkhyāta times or asamkhyāta times x's duration. But the modes of atoms from the standpoint of property (rather degree-of-property) are ananta. Hence one atom is either equal, superior or inferior to another from this standpoint. The concerned superiority or inferiority, that is, difference can exhibit the four above-enumerated ways and two more. The two more ways involve the number ananta (504). The modes of atoms are considered to be ananta because it is proved that from the standpoint of property their modes are ananta.
In connection with aggregates of two atoms upto ananta atoms it is necessary to note that though all the aggregates of two (or three upto ananta) atoms are equal from the standpoint of the number of the constituent atoms they differ from the standpoint of the spacepoints they occupy. An aggregate of two atoms can occupy either one space-point or two (505); an aggregate of three atoms can occupy one space-point or two or three (506); and so on. This rule applies to all aggregates except those made of ananta atoms (507510). That is, an aggregate of ananta atoms can occupy one or two or three upto asamkhyāta space-points but never ananta spacepoints. The reason for this is that no substance except Space is found outside Lokākāśa which has asamkhyāta space-points. Hence an aggregate of ananta atoms has to accommodate itself in the asakyāta (or less) space points of Lokākāśa. This has been explained by the instance of a lamp.9
Like atoms, aggregates have different durations from one samaya upto asamkhyāta samayas. Again, like atoms they too have ananta modes of properties (505-510).
Thus in this Pada first of all the paryayas (modes) of atoms as well as of different aggregates are considered. From this exposition it naturally follows that forms of matter occupy one spacepoint or two space-points upto asamkhyāta space-points. Similarly, they have duration of either one samaya or two samayas upto
9. For the argument and instance of a lamp one may refer to Prajñāpanā
tikā folio 242 A.
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