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The Concept of Matter in Jaina Philosophy
smell, taste and touch,1 having kept in view minimum, maximum and neither minimum nor maximum (medium) numbers of them in the light of substance and quality.2
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Besides, there are stated to be infinite modifications of Jaghanya guṇakālaka-paramāņu (ultimate atom having the lowest degree of the quality of blackness). A paramāņu having such quality is equal to another jaghanyaguṇakālakaparamāņu from the points of view of substance, mode, immersion and four sections with regard to duration; it is equal to the latter with regard to the modes of black colour; six sections should be known in the case of smell, taste, and two touches. Thus the accounts of the utkṛṣṭagunakālakaparamāņu (ultimate atom having the highest degree of quality of blackness) and ajaghanya-anutkṛṣṭaguṇakalaka-paramāņu (ultimate atom having neither the lowest nor the highest degree of quality of blackness) should be understood; only the difference is that in their respective categories six sections should be known. In this way infinite modes of jaghanyaguṇakalaka dvipradeśikaskandha (molecule having two units of matter) upto anantapradeśikaskandhas (molecules having infinite units of matter) are explained from various points of view in the case of the remaining colours, taste, smell and touch.
The accounts of these modifications of Matter from the stand-points of substance, mode, immersion, duration and properties-colour, taste, smell and touch, appear to be thoughtprovoking when compared to the modes or relations of Matter as dealt with in the physical sciences. In both physics and chemistry Matter has been conceived to the infinite in number from the aspects of substances, quality and relations (or
modes).
1. See PV., 269-274. 2. Ibid., 275-279.
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