________________
ETERNITY OR OTHERWISE OF A WORD
161
Nyāya-Vaiseșika thesis of a word-sound being a quality of the sky; the former now first assails the alternative Mīmāṁsā thesis of an airmass making manifest an eternally existing word and then defends the Nyāya-Vaisesika thesis in question. The following difficulties have been urged against the Mīmāṁsā thesis :
(1) Air moves exclusively in a horizontal direction, but a word can be heard as coming from any direction whatsoever.84
(2) Even when one's face is tightly covered from all sides so that no air coming out of the mouth leaks away, a hearer can well hear what one says.85
(3) Within the stomach of a man with weak digestion there is produced a gurgling sound which an outside hearer can hear; in this case no air comes out of the body-except that coming out through the body-pores which must be too weak to stir the outside air.86 .
(4) Since even a weak Outside air must be stronger than that coming out of the body, no word should be heard when even a weak air is blowing there; it will be unwarranted to say that another sort of air conceals the word existing there, and even if that be so this air must be weaker than the ordinary air which should always be in a position to displace this weak air and thus uncover the underlying word.87
Then follows a positive defence of the Nyāya-Vaiseșika thesis that word-sound is a quality of sky. The Mimāṁsaka has argued that an intangible entity like sound cannot produce another sound with the process proceeding on in a wavelike fashion; Jayanta points out that a colour is an intangible entity and yet produces another colour, a cognition is an intangible entity and yet produces another cognition—in the latter case a new cognition arising at a new place if the person concerned happens to be walking.88 Then the Mīmāṁsaka has contended that a sound-series thus conceived should never come to an end nor even slow down; Jayanta pleads that such a cessation or slowing down is well possible when due 'unseen factors cease to operate.89 In this connection Jayanta offers the clarification that to say that a sound-series proceeds in a wave-like fashion does not mean that this series exhibits all the features of a water-wave or the like.” Lastly, the Mīmāṁsaka has contended that a sound-series thus conceived should not be checked by an obstacle like a wall etc; Jayanta pleads
