Tarka-Saṃgraha / 3. Nine substances
3
तत्र द्रव्याणि पृथिव्यप्तेजोवाय्वाकाशकालदिगात्ममनांसि नवैव tatra dravyāṇi pṛthivyaptejovāyvākāśakāladigātmamanāṃsi navaiva
The line
Among the categories, the substances are just these nine: earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, direction, self, and mind.
नेपालीमा
पदार्थहरूमध्ये द्रव्य यी नौ नै हुन्, पृथ्वी, जल, तेज, वायु, आकाश, काल, दिशा, आत्मा र मन।
Where it sits
Vaiśeṣika (वैशेषिक) 1.1.5 names the same nine. The definitions are 10 through 18. Qualities are next, at 4, before any substance is defined. The primer lists every heading, and then goes back to fill them.
Split: tatra (तत्र) + dravyāṇi (द्रव्याणि) + pṛthivī (पृथिवी) + ap (अप्) + tejas (तेज) + vāyu (वायु) + ākāśa (आकाश) + kāla (काल) + dik (दिक्) + ātman (आत्मन्) + manāṃsi (मनांसि) + nava (नव) + eva (एव)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| tatra (तत्र) | indeclinable | Among those. Dravya (द्रव्य) from 2 is the one being opened. |
| dravyāṇi (द्रव्याणि) | nominative plural, neuter | The substances. |
| pṛthivī (पृथिवी) | stem | Earth. |
| ap (अप्) | stem | Water. The stem is ap (अप्). The plural āpaḥ (आपः) comes at 11. |
| tejas (तेज) | stem | Fire, light, heat. |
| vāyu (वायु) | stem | Wind, air. |
| ākāśa (आकाश) | stem | Ether, the substance whose quality is sound. |
| kāla (काल) | stem | Time. |
| dik (दिक्) | stem | Direction, space as the quarters. |
| ātman (आत्मन्) | stem | The self. |
| manāṃsi (मनांसि) | nominative plural, neuter | Minds. The last member wears the neuter plural, and it agrees with dravyāṇi (द्रव्याणि). |
| nava eva (नव एव) | numeral, with eva (एव) | Nine, just nine. |
The phrases
The first four are the ones you meet by touch and by the other outer senses.
Ether, time, and direction have no atom. Self and mind close the nine.
Sanskrit in this line
Tejas (तेज) plus vāyu (वायु) is tejo-vāyu (तेजो-वायु). A stem in -as (-अस्) before a voiced sound is heard as -o (-ओ).
Vāyu (वायु) plus ākāśa (आकाश) is vāyv-ākāśa (वाय्व्-आकाश). Dik (दिक्) plus ātman (आत्मन्) is dig-ātma (दिग्-आत्म): k (क्) before a vowel is heard as g (ग्).
Nava (नव) plus eva (एव) is navaiva (नवैव). Short a (अ) plus short e (ए) is ai (ऐ).
Say it back
Count the nine on your fingers, in this order.