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112 ) SANMATI-TARKA
[ 111. 3-4 or in future still the truth is that the present change 'has definitely a relation with the past and future changes of that thing,
Those words that give a correct idea of a thing are technically called in Jain sastras “Pratītya-vacana.” The same words are otherwise said to be the words of a reliable person (Apta-vacana).
If we want to change a gold ear-ring into a necklace and if that gold ear-ring was formerly a bracelet it is obvious that all these three varieties or transformations of gold are different from one another. They are however, identical from the standpoint of gold which is the original or underlying substance in all transformations. From this illustration we can lay down the general proposition that though the particulars of a certain thing (at different times) are different from one another looking. at them from the standpoint of a particular, they are at the same identical with one another for the substance underlying all these particulars is one and the same. This being the truth, words that denote the relation of a certain change in the present with another change in the past or the future must be regarded as reliable words for they give the most correct idea of a substance and its various particulars.
What is true about the changes of a thing at all times is also true of the changes at all places. For instance, a black cow at a particular place appears to be different from a white cow at another place. But in truth both
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