Anādi — That Which Has No Beginning
Anādi (Sanskrit: an- = not/without + ādi = beginning; 'without a beginning') is a fundamental philosophical term used to describe entities that have no origin in time — they always were, with no first moment of existence.
Anādi Applied to Bhagavān: Bhagavān Śrīman Nārāyaṇa is anādi — He has no cause, no beginning, no prior condition. He is the cause of all but has no cause Himself. 'Asking what existed before Bhagavān is like asking what is north of the North Pole — the question dissolves, because Bhagavān is the frame within which all temporal questions arise.'
Anādi Applied to the Jīva: Each individual soul (jīva) is also anādi — its existence as a distinct conscious entity has no beginning. Souls were not created at any point; they co-exist with Bhagavān eternally as His śarīra (body). However, individual jīvas are sānta (with an end to suffering) in the sense that liberation is possible — even though their existence itself is beginningless.
Anādi Applied to Karma and Saṃsāra: The soul's entanglement in karma is also anādi — there is no first sin, no first life, no moment when the soul was 'pure before karma began.' 'This is not a counsel of despair — it means karma's root is so deep that no amount of personal effort can eradicate it. Only Bhagavān's grace can free a soul from what is beginninglessly entangled.'
Anādi Applied to the Vedas: The Vedas are nityā and anādi — they are not the composition of human authors at any point in time. Each new cycle of creation (kalpa), the Vedas are revealed anew, because they are eternal and not human-created.