Now turning towards the further evolution of the grosser elements from the tanmātras, we see that there are great divergences of view here also, some of which are shown below. Thus Vācaspati says: “The earth atom is produced from the five tanmātras with a predominance of the smell tanmātra, the water atom from the four tanmātras excepting the smell tanmātra with a preponderance of the taste tanmātra, and so on” (I. 44).
Thus here we find that the ākāśa atom (aṇu) has been generated simply by the ākāśa tanmātra; the vāyu atom has been generated by two tanmātras, śabda and sparśa, of which the sparśa appears there as the chief. The tejas atom has been developed from the śabda, sparśa and rûpa tanmātras, though the rûpa is predominant in the group. The ap atom has been developed from the four tanmātras, śabda, sparśa, rûpa and rasa, though rasa is predominant in the group, and the earth or kshiti atom has been developed from the five tanmātras, though the gandha tanmātra is predominant in the group.
Now the Yoga-vārttika agrees with Vācaspati in all these details, but differs from him only in maintaining that the ākāśa atom has been generated from the śabda tanmātra with an accretion from bhūtādi, whereas Vācaspati says that the ākāśa atom is generated simply by the ākāśa tanmātra.[[30]]
Nāgeśa, however, takes a slightly different view and says that to produce the gross atoms from the tanmātras, an accretion of bhūtādi as an accompanying agent is necessary at every step; so that we see that the vāyu atom is produced from these three: śabda + sparśa + accretion from bhūtādi. Tejas atom = śabda + śparśa + rūpa + accretion from bhūtādi. Ap atom = śabda + śparśa + rūpa + rasa + accretion from bhūtādi. Kshiti atom = śabda + śparśa + rūpa + rasa + gandha + accretion from bhūtādi.
I refrain from giving the Vishṇu Purāṇa view which has also been quoted in the Yoga-vārttika, and the view of a certain school of Vedāntists mentioned in the Tattva-nirūpaṇa and referred to and described in the Tattvatraya, as Dr. B. N. Seal has already described them in his article.
We see thus that from bhūtādi come the five tanmātras which can be compared to the Vaiśeshika atoms as they have no parts and neither grossness nor visible differentiation.[[31]] Some differentiation has of course already begun in the tanmātras, as they are called śabda, śparśa, rūpa, rasa and gandha, which therefore may be said to belong to a class akin to the grosser elements of ākāśa, vāyu, tejas, ap and kshiti.[[32]]
The next one, the paramāṇu (atom), which is gross in its nature and is generated from the tanmātras which exist in it as parts (tanmātrāvayava) may be compared with the trasareṇu of the Vaiśeshikas. Thus the Yoga-vārttika says: “this is called paramāṇu by the Vaiśeshikas. We however call the subtlest part of the visible earth, earth atoms” (IV. 14). The doctrine of atoms is recognised both in the Yoga-sūtrās (I. 46) and the Bhāshya (III. 52, IV. 14, etc.).
Whether Sāṃkhya admitted the paramāṇus (atoms) or not cannot be definitely settled. The Sāṃkhya-kārikā does not mention the paramāṇus, but Vijñāna Bhikshu thinks that the word “sūkshma” in Kārikā, 39, means paramāṇus (Yoga-vārttika, IV. 14). Though the word paramāṇu is not mentioned in the Kārikā, I can hardly suppose that Sāṃkhya did not admit it in the sense in which Yoga did. For it does not seem probable that Sāṃkhya should think that by the combination of the subtle tanmātras we could all at once have the bigger lumps of bhūta without there being any particles. Moreover, since the Yoga paramāṇus are the finest visible particles of matter it could not have been denied by Sāṃkhya. The supposition of some German scholars that Sāṃkhya did not admit the paramāṇus does not seem very plausible. Bhikshu in Yoga-vārttika, III. 52, says that the guṇas are in reality Vaiśeshika atoms.
The third form is gross air, fire, water, etc., which is said to belong to the mahat (gross) class. I cannot express it better than by quoting a passage from Yoga-vārttika, IV. 4: “The Bhāshya holds that in the tanmātras there exists the specific differentiation that constitutes the five tanmātras, the kshiti atom is generated and by the conglomeration of these gross atoms gross earth is formed. So again by the combination of the four tanmātras the water atom is formed and the conglomeration of these water atoms makes gross water.”
“It should be noted here: since the Bhāshya holds that the tanmātras of sound, etc., are of the same class as the corresponding gross elements it may be assumed that the combining tanmātras possess the class characteristics which are made manifest in gross elements by hardness, smoothness, etc.” Bhikshu holds that since Sāṃkhya and Yoga are similar (samānatantra) this is to be regarded as being also the Sāṃkhya view.