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86
TATTVÄRTHA SUTRA
Paramänu occupies is known as Pradesh. Paramänus can, however, be bound together and binding of two or more Paramänus is termed as Skandha. A Skandha may thus consist of 2, 3, 4 H n. Paramänus. Such Skandhas can stay within one or more Pradeshas depending upon the kind of Paramänus of which they are composed.
The size of an object can therefore be specified in terms of the number of Pradeshas it occupies. However, the size of every object cannot be laid in numerical terms. There are substances, whose sizes are too big to be described by any known number. Those sizes are termed as consisting of innumerable Pradeshas. That term gives some idea of the size of the object concerned. Moreover, the size of Äkäsh cannot be described even by the term 'innumerable', because its size is endless. Thus we have to use three terms: numerable, innumerable and endless. In the description below, where the size can be laid in numerical figures, it is termed as Sankhyät (numerable); where it is beyond any conceivable number, it is termed as Asankhyät (innumerable); while if it is endless, it is termed as Anant.
These sutras state that every Jeev as well as Dharma and Adharma occupies innumerable Pradeshas, Äkäsh occupies the endless number of Pradeshas; while a Skandha can occupy numerable or innumerable Pradeshas depending upon its composition. All of them, except Äkäsh, stay within Äkäsh, while Äkäsh stays by itself. In other words, it does not need any other substance to hold it.
In terms of size, Pudgal forms a class by itself. From the definition of Pradesh, it would be obvious that the size of one Paramänu is equal to one Pradesh. But a Paramänu is too
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