Samkhya Karika 9

असदकरणादुपादानग्रहणात्, सर्वसम्भवाभावात् ।
शक्तस्य शक्यकरणात्, कारणभावाच्च, सत्कार्यम् ॥९ ॥

asadakaraṇādupādānagrahaṇāt, sarvasambhavābhāvāt ।
śaktasya śakyakaraṇāt, kāraṇabhāvācca, satkāryam ॥9 ॥

Asat=non-existent; akaraṇāt=due to non-materialization; upādāna=material cause; grahaṇāt=selection of; sarvasambhava=production of everything; abhāvāt=due to absence; śaktasya=of the competent; śakya=possible; karaṇāt=through materialization; kāraṇabhāvāt=effects being of the same essence as the cause; ca=and; satkāryam=the effects pre-exist

The effect is always existent (in the cause), because (1) what is non-existent cannot be brought into existence; (2) effects need appropriate material cause; (3) all effects are not producible from all causes; (4) an efficient cause can produce only that for which it has capability; (5) effect is of the same essence as the cause.

satkāryavāda (सत्कार्यवाद्) is one of the main concepts presented in the Samkhya philosophy. According to this theory, the effect is already pre-existent in the cause. For example, milk being the cause, its effect yogurt pre-exists in the milk. Based on a certain specific trigger, the effect gets manifested from the cause. The philosophy of evolution of all aspects of this material universe as given in Samkhya is based on this principle. There are other systems of thought, for example Buddhism, which do not subscribe to this ideology.

In the present karika, several reasons are provided that establish the concept of satkāryavāda.

• asadakaraṇāt – non-existent cannot be brought into existence. For example, oil, which is non-existent in sand cannot be produced by pressing sand. Sesame oil can only be produced from sesame seeds.
• upādānagrahaṇāt – An appropriate cause is needed to bring about an effect. For example, yogurt can only be produced from milk, not water. There is a definite relationship that exists between the cause (milk) and effect (yogurt).
• sarvasambhavābhāvāt – Everything cannot be produced from everything or everywhere. Clay cannot produce gold.
• śaktasya śakyakaraṇāt – An entity can produce something only when it is competent to do so. A competent potter can produce a jug only through the use of clay.
• kāraṇabhāvāt – the effect is of the nature of the cause. Cloth and the thread that it is made from are of the same nature.

The main theme in Samkhya is that the manifestation of the material entities happens because the effect is inherent in the cause. So, manifestation of the 23 elements starting with Mahat (buddhi/intellect) etc. is possible because these are inherent in the cause, the Mula Prakriti (unmanifest Prakriti) which is the root cause of all creation.

In the Bhagavad Gita also, the same theme is presented in verse 2.16.

nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayorapi dṛiṣhṭo ’nta stvanayos tattva-darśhibhiḥ (Gita 2.16)

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This Seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.”