 Śubhagupta (Bāhyārthasiddhikārikā, 56–58), a later Vaibhāṣika, offers an alternative account of the combination of atoms. According to him, two atoms come close to each other because of their inherent potency (dravyaśakti), though they are not actually conjoined. Like a mantra drawing out a snake and keeping it immobile by its inherent potency, two atoms are drawn towards each other and form an aggregate by their natural inherent potency. The accumulated atoms combine again to give rise to varied composite objects of the world. However not all atoms are equally potent, and some never become a part of an aggregate because of their insufficient bonding power. Atoms when bonded together undergo a transformation because of mutual influence and novel properties emerge in the aggregate which were not present in the single atoms. For example, carbon compounds when transformed into diamonds become too hard to be disintegrated.