being (bhava) indicates continuity only and is hence only a genus.  The universals of substance, quality and action maybe both genus and species, but visesa as constituting the ultimate differences (of atoms) exists (independent of any percipient).  In connection with this he says that the ultimate genus is being (satta) in virtue of which things appear as existent, all other genera may only relatively be regarded as relative genera or species.  Being must be regarded as a separate category, since it is different from dravya, gu@na and karma, and yet exists in them, and has no genus or species.  It gives us the notion that something is and must be regarded as a category existing as one identical entity in all dravya, gu@na, and karma, for in its universal nature as being it has no special characteristics in the different objects in which it inheres.  The specific universals of thingness (dravyatva) qualitiness (gu@natva) or actionness (karmatva) are also categories which are separate from universal being (bhava or satta) for they also have no separate genus or species and yet may be distinguished from one another, but bhava or being was the same in all.

In the first chapter of the second book Ka@nada deals with substances.  Earth possesses colour, taste, smell, and touch, water, colour, taste, touch, liquidity, and smoothness (snigdha), fire, colour and touch, air, touch, but none of these qualities can be found in ether (akas’a).  Liquidity is a special quality of water because butter, lac, wax, lead, iron, silver, gold, become liquids only when they are heated, while water is naturally liquid itself [Footnote ref 1].  Though air cannot be seen, yet its existence can be inferred by touch, just as the existence of the genus of cows may be inferred from the characteristics of horns, tails, etc.  Since this thing inferred from touch possesses motion and quality, and does not itself inhere in any other substance, it is a substance (dravya) and is eternal [Footnote ref 2].  The inference of air is of the type of inference of imperceptible things from certain known characteristics called samanyato d@r@s@ta.  The name of air “vayu” is derived from the scriptures.  The existence of others different from us has (asmadvis’i@s@tana@m) to be admitted for accounting for the

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[Footnote 1:  It should be noted that mercury is not mentioned.  This is important for mercury was known at a time later than Caraka.]

[Footnote 2:  Substance is that which possesses quality and motion.  It should be noted that the word “adravyatvena” in II. i. 13 has been interpreted by me as “adravyavattvena.”]

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