Scientific Vision of Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Chaitanyapragyashreeji
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 77

Space and Time in the Bh.S
Accommodation: A Characteristic
17 There
The Bh.S regards accommodation as a specific attribute of space. is no other substance except space in transcosinos yet, it is space because it possesses the quality of accommodation. The text refers to this functional feature of space through a dialogue between Lord Mahāvīra and Gautama. The dialogue goes on as follows:18
"Gautama: what is the use of space for living and non-living? Mahāvīra: space provides place to sentients and insentients. Single space point can contain one, two, hundred, crorer or even-more atoms in itself.
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To provide room or interpenetrability is the characteristic of space".
Here, one thing is certainly true that which provides room to the things in the universe is space. In this sense, cosmic space is really space. But the limitless space beyond the universe and which is known as transcosmic space does not accommodate anything; then why is it still recognized as space? The fact is that due to the absence of the medium of motion and the medium of rest, substances are limited up to the cosmos only, that is why transcosmos does not accommodate them but it does not mean that it loses its capacity of accommodation. It always possesses the power of accommodation.
It may also be questioned why some other substances do not accommodate space itself? The answer is that space is more extensive than all other substances; so there is no question of any other substance which can contain it in itself.19 Secondly, in fact, space itself needs not such matrix due to its self-supporting capacity. According to the Bh.S, water is the support of the earth. Air is the support of water and space is the support of air. But space has no support outside itself. It is self-supporting and selfexistent.20 If we accept any other supporting substance, it would inevitably lead to an infinite regress.
So far as the power of accommodation is concerned, the cosmic space accommodates infinite sentiments and insentients in its finite points. The Bh.S2 is emphatic obvious in this connection that even one space-point can provide room to infinite material objects. Depending on its contracted or expanded condition, a cluster of one, two, three or more atoms occupies at least one space unit and, at most, as many space-units as there are atoms in the cluster. Even though the maximum expansion of the biggest cluster would not be more than innumerable space-points. If the Cluster is of infinite atoms, it cannot occupy infinite space points because of the limitation of cosmic space. Thus, the cosmic space is densely packed with infinite diverse atoms, subtle and gross clusters of matter and, infinite sentients.22
The commentary Sarvarthasiddhi explains that infinite atoms and