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Elements of Matter colour. Of course, colour which is perceived in a picture is found to be endowed with shape, i. e. in all those cases each and every cognition exists having a support on both colour and shape.
As there is the variety of exhibited rūpas in colour and shape-consciousness (or intimation), twenty kinds of rūpa have been shown by dividing it into three groups in the Vaibhāsika texts. Dharmas (elements) which are known as earth, water, fire and air, in the worldly sense, will be included in the list of the aforesaid rūpa, for these elements also are just like the aggregate of ultimate atoms, having colour and shape. As in earth, there are also colour and shape in water and fire. Therefore, there are also the aggregate of colour and shape-atoms like earth. As no colour nor any shape of air can be perceived, so the question is whether the air-element belongs to rūpa or not. If not, then it will be outside the category of pañcaska If it is, then it has been divided as skandha of Samskrtadharmas (aggregate of non-eternal elements); this view will be affected by the fault of deficiency (nyūnatādosa). Rāhul Sānskrityāyana, while explaining this question in his Vșttigrantha says that air also belongs to rūpa (matter), for black colour and circular shape of air can by perceived.1 Yaśomitra has not said anything clearly about the colour of air. But the physical sciences have demonstrated that air has got fluish colour, if it is cooled down. Jaina philosophy also admits the colour of air like the physical sciences.
Earth is hard (of the nature of hardness or repulsion), water is cohesive (of the nature of attraction, i. e. the producer of lumpness of ground things), fire is of the nature of heat and air is motive (of the nature of motion)2. Earth is repulsive (sandhāraka) because of being of the nature of hardness, water 1. Vāyudhāturapi prthivyādivatvarṇasaṁsthāna rūpaḥ, ata
eva loke krsno vāyuḥ, cakrarüpovāyuriti vyavahāraḥ
–Abh. K., 1.3, Rahulakrtavyakhya. 2. Bhūtāni pệthividhāturaptejo vāyu-dhātavaḥ
-Abh. K., 1.12.
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