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214 : Scientific Contents in Prākrta Canons
( Carbon Di-oxide, Cooking gas etc. ). They could be liquefied and solidified. They could be put to a large number of uses including medicines, pesticides and polymers.
The Vaišeşikas? have obliquely moving air recognised by touch and inferred by a-hot-a-cold touch, production of sound and vibrations and by causing lighter bodies to float in the sky. Despite mentioning of innumerable varieties, they have pointed only inhaling and exhaling airs present in all parts of the body. Its obstruction has also been mentioned to show material aggregatal nature of general air. It is said that it causes bio-chemical processes to proceed and the body to run — a fact mentioned by the Jainas due to fires. The Buddhists have air as primary matter with not much details about it. The Fire or Energy or Taijasa ( Caloric ) Aggregates
The fire or Taijasa aggregates represent various types of energy particles. Some of them like light are visible by sense of sight while others are perceived by senses other than sight ( Heat ). Basically sunrays or fires are called Taijasas. They are hot by nature — a point not mentioned in canons but observed physically. That is why sound energy is not called so. The Prajñāpanā?2 classifies these aggregates in two forms --- fine and gross. It is the gross variety which has been classified in canons and shown in table 8. The flames ( with or without light) are known forms of fires. Daśavaikālika mentions seven forms while Prajñāpanā points atleast twelve forms. Others mention their own numbers. Jivābhigama follows Prajñāpanā and mentions its shape as needle type. If one takes pure fire as fire produced from non-traditional fuels or without fuels ( striking stones, bamboos and gems, fire burning through glass or gems) and star burnings, electric lightnings etc. are all included in Ulkā variety, then there is not much difference in the varieties of fires by different authors. It may be guessed that those mentioned ones are not the only fire aggregates but there may be many more as the authors use the word etc. They have done so in the case of waters and earths too.
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