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OUTLINES OF JAINA PHILOSOPHY
theory of sound that the system regards an individual atom as unsounding by itself. The atom is defined as having a fine form, the cause of elements like earth, fire, water, and air and unsounding. The cause of sound has been pointed out to be the striking of molecules against one another.
The scientists also regard sound as a product of matter. Experiments in the sphere of science have shown that 'sound does not travel in vacuum.' If sound were generated by the ether as is supposed by other schools, it should be heard in the vacuous space also, for the ether is present everywhere. In the opinion of a scientist, it is a common experience that a source of sound is in a state of vibration. For example, the prongs of a tuningfork, a bell, the strings of a piano, and the air in an organ pipe are all in a state of vibration when they are producing sound.'?
Sound is classified into two chief divisions : sound incorporated in languages and sound which does not find place in any language. The former is further divided into two categories : articulate utterance or speech and sounds made by creatures, etc. The latter, i.e., the sound which does not find place in any language, is further classified into two sub-divisions : sounds produced by human beings with the help of musical instruments and natural sounds such as the roar of the thunder or the rippling of water, and the like. Musical sound is further classified into four categories : musical sound of a stretched instrument such as a drum, musical sound of a stringed instrument such as a violin, musical sound of a reed instrument such as a bell, and sound produced from a wind instrument such as an organ pipe. The next table will show the scheme of the classification in a lucid manner.
1 Pañcâstikāya-sāra, 85-6. 2 Text-book of Physics, p. 219.
