Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 7

Author(s): Nand Kishor Prasad
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin No. 7
seven varieties excluding mouth air. All these categories do not include air from nose without which our life would be in danger. Perchance, this could be taken as included in mouth air though it is compositionally different. Of course, if the concept of Pranas as substances is taken, respiration may include it.
Some properties of air find mention in cannons. It has been said that air helps combustion while whirlwind obstructs it. It is inhaled and exhaled by the body. Its material or molecular nature can be proved by its obstruction or subjugation.s? Bhagwati mentions its property of expansion and contraction. There are many types of micro-organisms in air. Their properties have come to science quite late in Pasteur's time.
Though air is skandha, but there is no mention whether it is a mixture or compound. The cannons contain meagre physical or chemical properties of it. It is now known that there are many gases besides air--- some coloured and others colourless. They could be liquefied and solidified. They could be put to large number of uses.
The Vaisheshikas3 also have obliquely moving air which is recognised by touch and inferred by a-hot-a-cold touch, production of sound and vibrations and by causing lighter bodies to float in sky. Despite mentioning its innumerable varieties, they have pointed only inhaling and exhaling air present in all parts of the body. Its obstruction has also been mentioned. It is said that it causes biochemical processes to proceed and the body to run--a fact not mentioned by the Jainas. The Buddhas have air as a primary matter with not much details about it.
The Fire or Taijasa Skandhas
The fire or taijasa skandhas 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. Basically suprays or fires are called taijasa. They are hot by nature--a point not mentioned in literature but observed physically. That is why sound energy has not been called taijasa. The Pragyapana 89 classifies these skandhas in two-fine and gross forms. It is the gross variety that has been classified in cannons are shown in Table 5. The flames (with or without light) are the known forms of gross fires. Dashvaikalika 41 gives seven forms of fires while Pragyapana describes at least twelve forms. Others mention their own numbers. But if one takes pure fire as fire produced without fuels i. e. by striking stones, rods or bamboos and gem fire-burning through glass or gems) and star burning, electric lightning etc. are all included in the Ulka variety, then there is not much difference in the varieties of