Śreṇi
Space is a lattice of points, and a row of them in one direction is a śreṇi. Souls and atoms move only along rows: up, down, the four quarters, never on the diagonal. That single rule is why a passage has turns.
Anuśreṇi gatiḥ, 2.27: motion follows the rows. The space-points are laid in straight lines through the loka, and a thing in motion goes from a point to the next point on its row. To reach a place that is not on the row it starts on, it must stop and take another row - and each such taking is a bend, vigraha, and costs a samaya. The freed soul never bends because Siddhaśilā is straight above every place a soul can be freed from; the wandering soul bends because its next body may form anywhere.
The loka's shape adds the third bend. Its waist is one rajju and its corners lie outside the trasanāḍī; a soul in one corner at the foot whose next body is in the far corner at the crown may have to come in along a row, go up, go out, and turn once more - the ox's trail. The atlas draws the lattice flat; the third bend uses the depth it cannot show.
Measurements and counts
| Sūtra | 2.27 - anuśreṇi gatiḥ |
|---|---|
| Directions | 6 - no diagonal |
| A bend | one change of row - one samaya |
| Most bends | 3 |