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Reals in the Jaina Metaphysics colour and touch, Ap, those of taste, colour and touch, Tejas, those of colour and touch and Vāyu that of touch: (3-1-62-63 Nyāya Sūtra's). The Buddhists, it is true, attributed a distinct characteristic to each of the four Bhūta's viz:Khara i.e. roughness or solidity to Pșthvī, Sneha or liquidness to Ap, Uşņa or heat to Agni and Irana or movement to Vāyu. तृथिव्यादि परमाणवः खरस्ने होष्णेरणस्वभावाः। शारीरकभाष्यम्।
on 2.2.18. Vedānta Sūtra. But the passages from the Buddhist texts which we have quoted in our discourse on Space go to show that there is at least a relationship of dependance among the four elements. As a matter of fact, the Buddhist position on this point is exactly similar to that of the Nyāya-Vaišeşika, as will appear from Rāmānuja's comment on the Vedānta Sūtra, referred to above. ama ya FTTHETETTFETET HTET: पार्थिवाः परमाणवः रूपरस-स्पर्शस्वभावा श्याप्याः रूपस्पर्शस्वभावास्तैजसाः स्पर्श द्वभावाश्च वायवीयाः।' The Vedānta goes a step further and brings Ākāśa also within the scope of assimilation. According to it, sound is the attribute of Ākāśa, sound and touch are the attributes of Vāyu; sound, touch and colour, of Tejas; sound, touch, colour and taste, of Ap; and these four with smell are the properties of Pșthvi. The Vedānta takes the final step in the assimilation of elements, when it says that Vāyu comes out of Ākāśa, Tejas out of Vāyu, Ap out of Tejas and Pșthvi out of Ap. The Sāmkhya philosophy attributes one particular quality to one particular Bhūta e.g. sound to Ākāśa, touch to Vāyu, colour to Tejas, taste to Ap and smell to Prthvi. But the mutual independence of the Bhūta's is nullified when it is said that the five Tanmātrās or subtle causes of the Bhūta's evolve from the unitary principle of Ahankāra. It seems to us that the Sāṁkhya theory of evolution gives us an insight into the nature of the ultimate material principle as conceived by the Indians. The gross bodies evolve from the fine bodies or Bhūta's, these from subtler principles, the Tanmātrās. Underlying the Tan
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