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CHAPTER FIVE
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possibly be made up of anantānanta pradeśas ?
Answer : The word 'ananta' is of a general significance and can stand for all the types of numbers ananta. Hence it can also yield the meaning anantānanta. 7-11.
A Consideration of the Seat of Occupation in the Case of Substances :
Whatever substances act as occupant they do so in relation to the lokākāśa or ākāśa-portion confined to loka. 12.
The substances dharma and adharma occupy the entire lokākāśa. 13.
The pudgala-substances occupy indefinitely—that is, as might be the case-one pradeśa or more of the lokākāśa. 14.
The jīvas occupy one by asarkhyāta part or more of the lokākāśa. 15.
For a like a lamp their pradeśas undergo contraction and expansion. 16.
The universe is of the form of five astikāyas. So the question arises : what acts as support or seat of occupation in relation to the five astikāyas ? Does some substance other than these act as support for them all or does one of these do so for the rest of them? The question is here answered by maintaining that ākāśa acts as support for the remaining substances which act as occupant. This answer should be understood as given from a practical standpoint, for viewed from a definitive standpoint all substances are verily self-supporting. Fundamentally speaking, it is not possible for one substance to act as support for another. But the question might be asked : Viewed from a practical standpoint ākāśa acts as support for the remaining substances, but what similarly acts as support for ākāśa itself ? The answer would be that ākāśa has got no further support, there being no other verity greater than it or equivalent to it in magnitude. Thus viewed from both a practical standpoint and a definitive standpoint ākāśa is but self-supporting.
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