Śivasaṃhitā 1.95

The cycle of saṃsāra described in its most concrete mechanism: birth from the father’s body, enchainment by karma, and repeated return to the world. This cycle is not a punishment but the automatic functioning of causal law. The jīva who has not yet realized its true nature continues bound to this circular movement. Yogic practice is the only way out.

Annamayātkośāt (from the kośa made of food, from the physical body) indicates that incarnation is through the densest plane of existence. Pūrvakarmaṇaḥ (from past karma) establishes the cause: it is not chance or free choice but the weight of previous actions. Nānātvam (multiplicity of names, diversity) describes how the jīva adopts different forms and identities throughout its incarnations, losing sight of its essential nature.

The doctrine of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) is shared by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, though each tradition interprets it differently. For the Śivasaṃhitā, saṃsāra is not an eternal condemnation but an opportunity: the human body, as difficult as it is to obtain, is the only vehicle in which liberating jñāna can arise. This idea—the preciousness of human birth—is the foundation of all urgency in practice.