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The Organisation of the Human Body
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The Tactile Senses (Sparśanendriya )
The skin contains several different types of simple sense-organs, as they are indicated by the eight kinds of touch of matter 25 and their further divisions as felt by the skin when it comes into contact with them. According to modern Biology, "each muscle, tendon and joint is equipsed wi:i nerve endings, called proprioceptors, which resemble certain sense-organs of the skin." These are sensitive to changes in the tension of the muscle or fendon and initiate impulses to the brain which are responsible for our awareness of the position and movement of the various parts of the body, the sense referred to as kinesthesis."'26
The Chemical Senses of Taste and Smell :
The statement in Jaina Biology that the tongue tastes the touched and entered objects in the mouth and the nose smells the touched and entered particles of attenuated matter 27 suggests that “the sensation of tasies and smell result from the stimulation of chemoreceptor cells in the tongue, and nose respectively by specific substances' 28. The tongue taste the material objects which come into contact with it and the nose smells the thing when it comes into contact with the former.29 How is it possible ? Modern Biology explains that "embedded in the mucous membrances of the tougue and soft palate are special sense-organs known as taste buds, each of which consists of a few sensitive cells surrounded by supporting cells. **30 In Jain Biology it it stated that there are five basic taste-sensations. viz. tikta (bitter ), katu (pungent ) kaşāya (astringent ), amla (sour ) and madhura ( sweet ),31 each due to a difierent kind of taste bud as explained by modern Biology. "The buds are distributed unevenly over the surface of the tougue so that certain parts are especially sensitive to sweet things, others to sour things, and 80 on". 32
The flavour of a substance depends only partly on the sense of taste (rasanendriya ), according to Biology, “the rest is due to the 25. Tattvarthadhigama Sūtra, Bhaşya V. 23, p. 356. 24. Biology, p. 375 27. Pannavana Sutta, 15. Indriva padam, Puthadaram, p. 243. 28. Biology, p. 376 29. l'annavaņā 15, Indriyapadam, pūķhadāram, p. 243. 30. Biology, p. 376. 31. Tattvärthādhigama sutra, V. 23 ( Bhāşya 32. Biology, p. 376 JB-27
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