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to produce a new body or several karmas. On the other hand whether multiple karmas give rise to one birth or they generate a number of births or bodies. The commentator Vyāsadeva says that one karma cannot produce one body only, for in that case there would be no certainty regarding the order of the remaining karmas which are innumerable and accumulated for the time without beginning and the present karma.
It cannot also be held that a single karma produces many births, for in that case when a single karma causes many births, there would be a lack of fructification of the other karma 2
The third alternative view is that multiple karmas give rise to manifold births. This also is not possible, for in that event in so far as the many births cannot be simultaneous they will have to be successive. In that case the absurdity shown about will follow. Finding fault with this view as untenable, Vyasadeva expresses his own view. This means that the varied series of Karmāśayas ( bright and dark ) accumulated in the course of one's life between birth and death and arranged in order of prominence (pradhāna ) and subsordinate ( Visarjana ) combine together under a single effort ( mona ) and causes death and being held together ( Samssstatā ) give rise to one birth only. This birth is the assumption of a body of which the term of existence (Āyu ) is determined by the same karma and the experience of pleasure and pain (Bhoga ) is also based on the same karina. It is for this reason that this aforesaid karma is called Trivipāka. Here karmāśaya is Ekabhāvika.
Now this Ekabhāvika karmāśaya may be dřstajanmavedaniya that is to be performed in the present life or adsstajanmavedanrya i. e. to be experienced in the former life. In the former case the karmāśaya may produce one vipaka namely bhoga or two vipākas namely Ayu and 'Bhoga. These are 1. Vyāsabhāşya II. 13 2 अनेकेष कर्मस 3. Vyasa Bbaşya III. 13.
