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THE JAINA GAZETTE
Gunas of Pudgala.
The Jaina philosophers consider a substance from two view-points viz., of its Qualities and of its Modes. It has already been observed that according to the Jainas, Matter is characterised by four primary attributes,-touch, taste, smell and colour. Of these touch is said to be of eight kinds, soft (Mridu), hard (Kathina), heavy (Guru), light (Laghu), cold (Sita), hot (Ushna), smooth (Snigdha) and rough (Ruksha). Taste is of five varieties,-pungent (Tikta), sour (Katuka), acid (Amla), sweet (Madhura) and astringent (Kashaya). Two kinds of smells are recognised, fragrant (Surabhi) and bad (Asurabhi), Hues are said to be of five kinds; they are blue (Nila), yellow (Pita), white (Sukla), black (Krishna) and red (Lohita). Without entering into finer details, we may say that the thinkers of the other schools of Indian philosophy also,-nay, the philosophers of the ancient schools as a rule- admitted that the attributes of colour, taste, smell and touch inhere in Matter. This doctrine seems to have been a very ancient one and a common conception among the philosophers of old.
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But what about Sound? The thinkers of the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika schools maintained, as we have already noticed, that sound is a quality, inherent in an invisible, all-pervading substance, Akasa. Every sound," says the author of the Bhasha-Parichchheda, "inheres in Akasa; it is perceived by us when it is produced in our ears. According to some, it is produced like a succession of waves while others contend that the phenomenon resembles the Kadamba-bud." The meaning is that a violent contact or separation of hard substances effects a contact or separation in Akasa, pervading those substances. The vibration thus caused in the Akasa in which sound as a quality is inherent makes sound explicit which coming in contact with the Akasa in the hearer's ears, makes itself heard. In sum, the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika theory is that 1. Sound, as we hear it, is carried to our ears as a vibration or an on-coming wave. 2. This vibration is of a rather in an all-pervading substance, called Akasa, of which sound is a quality.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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