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of the Vedic statements regarding the mass of consciousness', etc. (see Gātbās 1553, 1588, 1592–94, 1597). Some have said, "The origination of things is not regarded as dependent upon any cause by the Svabhāvavādins. They do not regard even ‘sva' as cause. Who is responsible for the diversity of the tenderness of the lotus and the pricking of the thorn ? We cannot also account for the variegated colours of the feathers of the peacock and the whiteness of the moonlight. Where there is the element of chance, all that is without any cause; e. g. sharpness of thorns and these pleasures and pains”. [ Sarvahetunirāśamsam bhāvānāín janma varnyate;
Svabhāvavadibhis te hi náhuḥ svam api kāraṇam. 1, räjiya-kantakādinām vaicitryam kah karoti hi; mayūracandrikädir vā vicitrah kena nirmitaḥ. 2 kādācitkami yad atrasti niḥseşam tad ahetukam;
yathả kanţaka-taikṣnyādi yathā caite sukhádayaḥ. 3] Agnibhūti admitting this inight say that the variety and manifoldness in the world in due not to karma, but to svabhāva. Lord Mahāvīra inquires if Agnibhūti has a clear idea regarding this svabhāva. Is it a particular thing or is it non-causality or the attribute of a thing? It is not a particular thing for it does not fall within the scope of any of the means of valid knowledge (pramāņa). If in spite of this it is admitted, there is no reason why karma should not be admitted even if, as Agnibhūti has said, it does not fall within the scope of any of the pramāņas. Morever if this svabhāva, a particular thing is regarded as corporeal, it is only another name for ‘karma'. If it is incorporeal, it cannot be the creator of anything as it is incorporeal and has no complement of causal conditions, just as ether cannot create anything. And it does not stand to reason that the effect, the corporeal body, etc., should have an incorporeal cause. If syabhāva means noncausality, it would amount to saying that body, etc. originate without a cause. And if this is true, there is no reason why all bodies should not originate all together. Moreover this means
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