etad uktaṃ bhavati yadi pṛthivyādaya uttarasmin sanniveśe vartamānā aparityaktaprāktanasvabhāvā eva vartante, tadā na teṣāṃ pūrvavyūhatyāgo vyūhāntarāpattiścopapadyate tādātmyāt /
This means: If earth and other [elements], while existing in the later arrangement, continue to exist without abandoning their previous nature, then their abandonment of the previous arrangement and assumption of a different arrangement would not be possible, due to [their] identity [remaining the same].