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A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
the root causes of the diversity in the world. Some others maintain, that Prajapati Brahman is the ultimate source of this variety in this world. In this way, the cause has been referred as some divine destiny and we find the development of the thought in the Rgveda has been from polytheism, mono-theism and monism. But all of them looked outward to seek the causes of the complexity in the universe. Many gods like Mitra, Varuņa were worshiped and invoked to give them happiness in this world. Yajña were performed and oblations like material objects and the living animals were offered in the yajñas. This stream of thought could be traced in the age of the samhita and the Brahmanas.1
But in the age of Aranyakas and Upanisads there is a shift in the emphasis in the philosophical speculation. The invocation to gods and the performance in the yajña become secondary. It is true that there is less discussion of karmavāda in the Vedic literature before upanișads. But it is also true that the upaniṣads were not agreeing regarding the diversity in the world. Some accepted kāla and others rārabaha, and some others mentioned the view of svabhāva and niyativāda. The emphasis on karma casually gains ground.
The second view emphasised that although there is no specific and detailed discussion about the karma theory in the Vedic samhitas, there are mentions of the karma thory in the Vedas. In the Ṛgveda we get the following mantras: Subhaspatih (the protector of the subha karmas), Dhiyaspatiḥ (the protector of good karmas), vicarşaṇiḥ and viśvacarşaṇiḥ (the seer of the good and bad karmas) and visvasya karmano dhartà (the basis of all karmas). These mantras show that there is mention of the karmic theory although in a brief way. The karma theory in its real form can be traced to Ṛgveda, although the development of the theory is to be found later. In the Rgveda it has also been suggested that one who does auspicions karma attains immortality (amaratva). Jiva continually takes birth and it dies in this world. Vamadeva has given a description of many of his previ
1
(a) Ātmumīmē ṁsā Dalsukh Malvaṇiā p 78-79-80 (b) Jaina Dharma aur Darśana, Mohanlal Mehtā
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