Vigrahagati
The passage of a soul from one body to the next. It takes between one and four samaya, and no more.
A soul leaving a body travels to its next one along the lattice of space-points. If the new body lies straight ahead the journey is ṛju gati, a straight line, and it takes exactly one Samaya. If the soul must turn, each turn costs one more samaya, and because the lattice allows at most three turns the journey can never exceed four.
During the samaya in which it is turning, the soul is anāhāraka: it takes in no matter at all, neither food nor body-making particles. This is one of the very few conditions in which an embodied soul is momentarily taking nothing in.
The same straight-line rule governs the last journey of all. A soul freed of karma rises to Siddhaśilā without turning, so liberation takes exactly one samaya, the shortest journey in the universe and the only one that is never repeated.
Measurements and counts
| Shortest | 1 samaya — straight |
|---|---|
| Longest | 4 samaya — three turns |
| During a turn | anāhāraka, taking nothing in |
| Liberation | 1 samaya, never turning |
| Travels along | the lattice of space-points |