Indian Philosophy (sarva darshana saamkathya)

[Hauma Hamiddha]

The foundations of sAmkhya atomism of the tantras
“मनोरूपेक्षु कोदण्डा पञ्च तन्मात्र सायका”
[manorUpekShu kodaNDA pa~ncha tanmAtra sAyakA]

1. In the original prakR^iti there is an equilibrium of tamas, rajas and sattva. The in-equilibrium in prakR^iti results in the separation of the three components. Of these the tamas separates out as infinitesimal units of mass or inertia. These may be acted upon by rajas, which is work or energy. These infinitesimals are known as bhUtAdi.

2. Then the infra-atomic unit potentials, the tanmAtras form. There are 5 of these: shabda: a vibratory potential; sparsha: impact/pressure potential; auShNya rUpa: heat and light potential; rasa: viscosity potential; gandha: cohesion potential.

3. Then the sthUlabhUta paramANu that comprise the bhUtas or the elemental Atoms emerge.

Now three 3 principal schemes for the emergence of the tanmAtras and paramANus are provided in the Hindu works:
1) The viShNu purANa preserves an ancient idea attributed to nArada:
-First the action of rajas on bhUtAdi causes it to disintegrate and emanate a particle that combines with the surrounding medium mahat to form the shabda tanmAtra.
-this shabda tanmAtra combines with the bhUtAdi to form the atom of AkAsha
-this atom then disintegrates due to rajas and combining with mahat forms a sparsha tanmAtra. This tanmAtra then combines with the bhUtAdi to form the vAyu atom.
-this process continues giving rise to the 5 tanmAtras and atoms. This is detailed in the ancient vyAsa bhAShya 14.4.
2) The tantric author of several gaNapatya works, kR^ishNapAda, in his tattvatrayavivaraNa describes an alternative theory attributed to an ancient parAshara.
-First the bhutAdi under the action of rajas gives rise to a shabda tanmAtra, this then gives rise to sparsha, which in turn to auShNya rUpa and thus in linear series up to gandha tanmAtra.
-The shabda tanmAtra surrounded by the bhutAdi particles in the medium of mahat gives rise to the AkAsha atom.
-The sparsha tanmAtra surrounded by the shabda tanmAtra in the medium of AkAsha atoms forms the vAyu atom.
-The rUpa tanmAtra surrounded by the sparsha tanmAtra in the medium of a vAyu atoms form a heat or light corpuscle. This continues on till the pR^ithivi atom is formed.

3) pata~njali provides another theory that is explained in the commentary, the yogavArttika.
-First the action of rajas on the bhutAdi infinitesimal gives rise to the shabda tanmAtra.
-This tanmAtra collocates and conjoins with bhutAdi and is acted upon by rajas to give rise to the sparsha tanmAtra.
-This then collocates and conjoins with bhutAdi and is acted upon by rajas to give the rasa tanmAtra. This process continues till the gandha tanmAtra emerges.
-the shabda tanmAtra then combines with bhUtAdi to form the AkAsha atom. Then the sparsha and shabda tanmAtras combine to form the vAyu atom. Then the shabda, sparsha and auShNya-rUpa tanmAtras combine to form the tejas atom. This continues till the pR^ithivi atom is formed.
Then in a master-stroke attributed to vyAsa himself, we are informed that even though the tanmAtra are only 5 their combinations, collocations and numbers as well as the combinations of the bhutAdi (tamas) and rajas components in an atom may differ from substance to substance. This results in the almost infinite molecular diversity seen in the universe as stated by vyAsa <one of the most important developments of the Hindu atomic theories>:
अयुत सिद्धावयवः संघातः परमाणुरिति | परमाणुः सामान्य विशेषात्मा अयुतसिद्धावयवभेधानुगतः समुदायः |
[ayuta siddhAvayavaH saMghAtaH paramANuriti | paramANuH sAmAnya visheShAtmA ayutasiddhAvayavabhedhAnugataH samudAyaH | sutras 44.3-4 of the bhAShya]

This lore was said to be taught by pa~nchashika asurAyana of the clan of the bharadvAjas. In his wanderings he lived with a woman kapilA to whom he imparted this lore. She had a disciple whom she named kapilaH. He embodied the work in his sutras, which inspired pata~njala and parAshara the vasiShTha. From the latter vyAsa acquired the lore.