Justification for postulating Viśeṣa

[Full title: 2. The concept of Viśeṣa (2): Justification for postulating Viśeṣa]

Now a question may arise thus: what is the justification of postulating viśeṣa for the purpose of differentiation of the atoms. For just as viśeṣas are self-distinguishing, so also instead of accepted a new category of viśeṣa, it is possible to assume that this differentiating property remains in the atoms themselves. To this it can be replied that any category which possesses a sāmānya or jāti cannot be self-differentiating. The atoms possess sattā and dravyatva. Hence, they are not selfdistinguishing. Praśastapāda also says that any category which is not of the nature of viśeṣa requires a viśeṣa for its differentiation from others. But viśeṣa does not require any other viśeṣa for its differentiation from others. He compares this with a lamp. A lamp illuminates objects like jar etc., but it does not require any other jar for its manifestation. It is self-illuminating. Same is the case with viśeṣa. Just as the flesh of a cow and of a horse are not clean by themselves and their contact makes other things also impure, similarly the viśeṣas being of the nature of differentiation, they are differentiated by themselves and by their contact atoms are also differentiated.^[1]