Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
## Five Astikayas: The Atom
**219**
**Hin. 0ta. - Uththānika -** After the explanation of the atom, five verses are mentioned in another place. The first verse states that the atom is eternal and possesses other qualities.
**General Meaning with Anvaya:** (Sabdhesi) All (khandhāṇam) of the skandhas (jo anto) which is the ultimate division (tam) that (paramāṇu) atom (viyāṇ) know (so) it (sassado) is imperishable, (aso) soundless, (ekko) one, (avibhāgī) indivisible, and (muttibhavo) material.
**Explanation:** Just as the Supreme Soul, being the knower, the seer, and of one nature, is imperishable from the standpoint of the substance-theory, and is therefore eternal, so also the atom, due to its inherent nature of being a particle, is eternal. Just as the pure soul, being the object of self-awareness, is not the object of sound or sound-like, even though it is the cause of sound, so also the atom, though the cause of sound in its potential form, is not sound in its actual form, and is therefore soundless. Just as the pure soul, being a substance, is said to be one, without any external attributes, so also the atom, being devoid of any external attributes like particles, etc., is one, or one-located. Just as the Supreme Soul, being a substance, is infinite in its locations, like the space of the universe, yet is indivisible due to its being one, undivided substance, so also the atom, being without parts, is indivisible. Further, the atom, being different from the immaterial Supreme Soul, is material, being born from touch, taste, smell, color, and form. This is the meaning.
**77**
This is the nature of the atom, as stated in the first verse in another place.
**Refutation of the Difference in the Nature of Atoms:**
**Ādesa -** Metta-mutto dhādu- chadukkassa kāraṇam jo du. So o paramāṇū pariṇāma- guṇo say-masaddo. **78**
**Translation:** The one who is the cause of the four elements, being only a modification, is to be known as the atom, a modification-quality, itself soundless. **78**