Text 24

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 24:

आकाशकालदिगात्मनां सर्वगतत्वं परममहत्त्वं सर्वसम्योगिसमानद्सत्वम् च ॥ २४ ॥

ākāśakāladigātmanāṃ sarvagatatvaṃ paramamahattvaṃ sarvasamyogisamānadsatvam ca || 24 ||

Text (24):—To Ākāśa, Time and Space, belong the characters of—being all-pervasive, having the largest dimensions, and being the common receptacle of all corporeal things.—(VII-i-22, 24, 25.)

Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.

(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)

The context shows that by ‘all’ in all-pervasive are Meant all composite material substances, mentioned above. Hence ‘all-pervasive’ would mean that Ākāśa etc., have connection with all composite material substances, and not that they ‘go’ everywhere; because these are devoid of ail motion.

‘Largest dimensions’ i.e., they have dimensions that cannot be measured; i.e., they are illimitable.

‘Being the common receptacle of all corporeal things,’ that is to say, Ākāśa is the one receptacle or substratum of all composite material substances.

The same explanation will apply to the case of Space and the rest.

Though as a matter of fact Ākāśa, etc., do not actually appear as the receptacle of material things, yet, being the receptacle of all conjunction, they are figuratively spoken of as the receptacle also of all conjunct (material, composite) things’ It is on this account that this qualification differs from ‘all-pervasiveness’—which means that they have a connection with all things; while what the last expression means is that they are the receptacle etc.

Note:

The Kirāṇavalī says that ‘ca’ indicates the absence of Action, Distance, Proximity and Speed.