शिवज्ञानबोध (मेय्कण्डार - शैव सिद्धान्त का आधारभूत दार्शनिक सूत्र ग्रन्थ)

SECOND SUTRA. 28
a man's body in his present life and his actions could not have been
got adventitiously. Of course God would not have given it of
His mere will, as opposed to His Law as otherwise he would be
open to the charge of partiality and lacking in Swathanthram.
A being which is at the command of caprice has no control of
itself. This therefore brings out the phrase 'உள்ளதே தோற்ற'
in the original, (What existed before appears now) and which
I have simply translated as 'Previous Karma'. The seed which
one gathers in the previous existence developes and matures in
the soil (Lord's Power) becomes a tree (body) and bears good
or bad fruits (pleasure or pain. Punyam or Papam). Without
the soil the seed will not bear fruit; so without God, the past
Karma will not bear fruit.
I may note here a definition of Punyam and Papam given by
the late Sankara Pandithar of Jaffna. "Punyam" is "உயிர்க்கி
தம் செய்தல்"—acts tending to give pleasure to sentient beings
'Papam' is 'உயிர்க்கசதம்செய்தல்' acts tending to give pain to
sentient beings.
The fruits of previous Karma eaten in this life form Pra-
raptha Karma. In the process of eating, other acts are perform-
ed which form the seed for a future crop. And these acts form
Akamia Karma; the seeds gathered for a future crop when
sown become Sangchitha Karma. What is Akamia in this life
is Sangchitha for the next.
(b.) The last proposition in the last stanza is that the
actions themselves will not bear fruits and make the soul eat
them. The question is now asked why should not the soul
choose its own actions and reap the fruits. This is answered in
this illustration. It has not got the power of taking its body,
whereby the Karma has to be performed. This has to be done
by God. The cultivator (soul) cannot himself produce the tree
(body) however he might try. He requires for this the medium