History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c95.249

v7.c95.249

The reasoning is; just as we cannot decide which comes first, the seed or sprouting plant, so it is impossible to say which comes first (body or Karma), since no body is possible without Karma (deeds) and no deeds are possible without a body. The Chān. Up. (VI.3.2) states 'that Being (deity) that had produced fire, water, and earth thought 'let me enter those three beings (fire, water and earth) with this living self and then develop names and forms.' That shows that Jīva (the self) was there at the time of creation and thereby indicates that saṁsāra is beginningless. The Ṛgveda in X. 190.3, expressly says 'the creator arranged (or created) as before.'2542a Similarly, the Gītā (15.3) states 'the real form of it (of the tree of saṁsāra) is not thus perceived, nor its end nor beginning nor its support; having cut off this deeply rooted Aśvattha (pippala) tree with the powerful sword of non-attachment, that place must be sought for from which those who have reached it do not again return'. The Smṛti verses relied upon by Śaṅkarācārya on V. S. I.3.30 are noted below.²⁵⁴³