________________
302 : Scientific Contents in Prākrta Canons
energy with corpuscular nature. Its atomic nature is confirmed from the fact that when a stone or iron mass is heated in fire, fire atoms enter into them making them hot, though the process of heat transfer has not been mentioned in canons before. The earth and fire are opponents of each other24. Its material nature is proved by three facts : (i) it gives heat (ii) it lets sweat and (iii) it is hot by itself.
Actually, it is not really atomic but atomic aggregate or skandha, of course, an invisible one. Its size varies between infinite atomic variforms and sound variforms according to homologous grouping or variform classification25. This will contain at least infinite times infinite homologous atoms. When converted into practical atomic dimensions, the heat corpuscles will be somewhat less than 10-13 cm. in size and about 10-40g. in weight as per current Einstein's eqation though not actually applicable to microparticles like heat26. This means that heat particles should be invisible occupying finer microbodies. It is because of this ultra-fineness that these corpuscles enter other bodies in direct or indirect contact elastically or collidingly. In contrast with this, the earlier canon, Bhagavati27 mentions that heat particles are finer than earth and water particles while they are grosser than plant and air particles. This seems to be highly gross statement and the later canons seem to have improved upon it.
The atomic material nature of heat envisages that heat particles must have qualities of colour ( white or black), touch (hot), taste and smell, though the later two qualities may be commonly non-manifest or indistinct28. The atomic variforms of heat corpuscles may be fine or gross29. The fine corpuscles are found everywhere while the gross heat particles are found in part of the world. It is these later which are classified into innumerable varieties. Both types of these heat particles are sense-imperceptible. The intensity and nature of their hotness varies with respect to many of their qualities. These corpuscles may be hot at the base and/or throughout their mass30.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
