History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c40.s3.33

c40.s3.33

The question as to the existence of a triad, a tetrad, a pentad, etc. of atoms is one of the moot points of the Nyaya-Vaiseshika. The orthodox view is that the primordial infinitesimal particles (atoms) start with an incessant vibratory motion, and an inherent impulse that drives them to unite in pairs—a sort of ‘monovalency’, as it were, exhausted with the formation of a binary molecule. The binary molecules now combine by threes, fours, fives, etc. to form larger aggregates as the variety of elementary substances, the particular collocation in any case being not only determined by physical causes, but also serving to satisfy the ends of the moral law in creation.