The Bondages of Samsaaram and Karma

vidhai muLayin nyAyatthAl adi illA vinai adaivE

sathai udala nAlvahaikkum saraNamaLIppAn yenat-thihazndhu

padhavi aRiyAthu pazham pAzhil uzhalhinRArkku

sithaivu ill aruL tarum Thiru AtthinaharAnE … 6

Meaning:

The Lord protects and blesses all jeevaathmas, showing them ways of redemption, leading them to moksham and freedom from being reborn as either Deva, Manushya, Thiyak, and Sthavara. He showers his grace eternally, leading it to moksham. vidhai muLayin nyAyam refers to an age-old debate/question. What came first, the seed or the plant? This is hard to tell.

Similarly, our Āchāryas raised the question of what came first, the body or the karma-phalam? The answer that was decided was that both karma and the body are intertwined, as whatever karma the previous vessel of the aathma performed, so that it would reap the karma-phalam leading into the next vessel. Thus, both karma and body are timeless and ancient. This was the conclusion that our Āchāryas arrived at.