Verse 5.5 - Things which have form constitute the matter (pudgala)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 5.5:

रूपिणः पुद्गलाः ॥ ५.५ ॥

rūpiṇaḥ pudgalāḥ || 5.5 ||

Things which have form–rūpī–constitute the matter (pudgala). (5)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [पुद्गलाः] पुद्गल द्रव्य [रूपिणः] रूपी अर्थात् मूर्तिक /

Anvayartha: [pudgalah] pudgala dravya [rupinah] rupi arthat murtika /

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

As the common marks of eternity (nitya) and fixity in number (avasthita) pertain to all substances, colourlessness or non- materiality–arūpī–would also apply to the matter (pudgala). Hence the exception is mentioned.

‘Rūpa’ means form. What is form? The effect of the aggregation of colour, shape, etc., is form. Things which have form are called ‘rūpī’. Or, ‘rupa’ is a word denoting a specific quality. And things which possess this quality are material–‘rūpī’. It does not however mean that taste, smell, etc., are excluded as colour is inseparably connected with these.

The plural ‘pudgalaḥ’ is used in order to indicate different forms of the matter, such as the atoms and the molecules. These different forms of the matter are described later. If it be contended that the matter is formless and of elemental nature (as in the Sāṃkhya philosophy), it would contradict the manifold effects that are seen in the world.