Early Textual References
The earliest occurrence of the term saṃsāra in the vedic scriptures is in the Kaṭhopaniṣad, generally assigned to the period of the 5th to the 4th centuries BCE. In the Kaṭhopaniṣad we find the following:
But the person who lacks discernment, who is unfocused, always impure, does not attain that goal, and passes into saṃsāra (saṃsāram adhigacchati). (KaṭhU. 3.7)
We must remember tha…