जैन ग्रंथों एवं विज्ञान में पुद् गल

Summary

The article examines **pudgala** (matter) in Jain philosophy and its relation to scientific concepts, presenting it as one of the **six fundamental substances (dravya)** and the principal form of non-living (*ajīva*) reality. Defined by the qualities of **colour (varṇa), touch (sparśa), smell (gandha), and taste (rasa)**, pudgala corresponds broadly to physical matter and includes forms of energy because of its material basis. The article explains that the smallest indivisible unit of pudgala is the **paramāṇu (atom)**, while combinations of atoms form **skandhas (aggregates)**. Pudgala is described as infinite in number, spatially extended across the universe (*lokākāśa*), beginningless and endless in time, non-conscious, material, and subject to transformation through combination and separation. The term **pudgala** is interpreted etymologically as **“pud” (integration/addition)** and **“gala” (disintegration/separation)**, emphasizing its defining capacity for **fusion and fission**. According to the article, only pudgala among the six substances undergoes joining, breaking, recombination, and transformation. Its perceptibility arises from its four inherent qualities, which remain present either manifestly or latently in all forms of matter. The article classifies colour into **five types** (black, blue, red, yellow, white), smell into **two** (fragrant and foul), taste into **five**, and touch into **eight forms**, including hot, cold, smooth, rough, heavy, light, soft, and hard. A major section explains **sound (śabda)** as a modification of pudgala rather than a quality of space. Sound is categorized into **natural (vaistrasika)** and **intentional/produced (prayogika)** forms, with further divisions into linguistic and non-linguistic sound, and instrumental categories generated through percussion, strings, impact, or air vibration. The article links such explanations to observable acoustic phenomena and technological instruments. The article discusses **bandha (fusion)** and **bheda (fission)** as essential processes governing material transformation. Fusion involves the joining of atoms or aggregates while retaining distinct existence, whereas fission refers to fragmentation caused by internal or external conditions. Jain explanations of material combination through **snigdha (cohesive)** and **rukṣa (non-cohesive/rough)** qualities are compared with scientific understandings of **positive and negative electrical charge**, and the article argues that material change occurs through such interactions. Examples include pottery formation, chemical combinations, and fragmentation processes such as grinding or splitting. Further discussion concerns **subtlety and grossness**, forms and structure (*saṃsthāna*), **light, darkness, heat, shadow, electricity, and radioactivity**, all interpreted as states or modifications of pudgala. Light and darkness are treated as material transformations rather than mere absence or presence, while heat is explained through motion among particles. The article describes electricity in terms of positive and negative forms and interprets radioactivity, atomic energy, and radiation as illustrations of pudgala’s transformative potential. Nuclear fission and fusion, including atomic and hydrogen bombs, are presented as scientific examples analogous to Jain ideas of separation and combination. The article further states that pudgala is **astikāya** (extended substance), eternally existent yet continuously changing through internal transformation (*artha-paryāya*) and external manifestation (*vyañjana-paryāya*). Although non-conscious and incapable of cognition, pudgala remains continuously active and dynamic. The discussion extends to motion, rest, interaction with living beings, karmic matter, bodily formation, and the binding of matter only to worldly beings, not liberated souls. Pudgala is finally classified into **eight vargaṇās**—**audārika, vaikriya, āhārika, taijasa, kārmaṇa, respiration, speech, and mind-related forms**—to demonstrate the systematic treatment of matter in Jain thought. The article concludes that many scientific concepts can be interpreted through Jain philosophical descriptions of pudgala and its transformations.