Shloka 60
Matsya Purana — Description of Gomedaka and Puṣkara Dvīpas; the Lokāloka Boundary; Ocean Tide...
जन्तूनामिह संस्कारो भूतेष्वन्तर्गतेषु वै प्रत्याख्यायेह भूतानि कार्योत्पत्तिर् न विद्यते //
jantūnāmiha saṃskāro bhūteṣvantargateṣu vai pratyākhyāyeha bhūtāni kāryotpattir na vidyate //
Here, the formative conditioning (saṃskāra) of living beings indeed lies latent within the elements; if the elements are denied here as causal reality, then the arising of any effect is not possible.
FAQs
It states a causation principle: effects arise because potentials (saṃskāras) remain latent within the elements; if one rejects the reality/causal role of the elements, creation (manifest effects) becomes impossible—implying that even across dissolution, causal seeds must persist in some form.
It supports the ethical idea of saṃskāra as real conditioning: a king or householder must cultivate good impressions through conduct, rites, and discipline, because future outcomes arise from stored dispositions rather than from chance.
Ritually, it underlines why saṃskāras and consecrations are meaningful: rites are understood to implant or awaken latent potency; by analogy, temple/installation procedures work because subtle “impressions” are believed to inhere in material substances and can be activated through proper ritual.