The sa@mskaras represent the root impressions by which any habit of life that man has lived through, or any pleasure in which he took delight for some time, or any passions which were

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[Footnote 1:  The word sa@mskara is used by Pa@nini who probably preceded Buddha in three different senses (1) improving a thing as distinguished from generating a new quality (Sata utkar@sadhana@m sa@mskara@h, Kas’ila on Pa@nini, VI. ii. 16), (2) conglomeration or aggregation, and (3) adornment (Pa@nini, VI. i. 137, 138).  In the Pi@takas the word sa@nkhara is used in various senses such as constructing, preparing, perfecting, embellishing, aggregation, matter, karma, the skandhas (collected by Childers).  In fact sa@nkhara stands for almost anything of which impermanence could be predicated.  But in spite of so many diversities of meaning I venture to suggest that the meaning of aggregation (samavaya of Pa@nini) is prominent.  The word sa@mskaroti is used in Kau@sitaki, II. 6, Chandogya IV. xvi. 2, 3, 4, viii. 8, 5, and B@rhadara@nyaka, VI. iii. 1, in the sense of improving.  I have not yet come across any literary use of the second meaning in Sanskrit.  The meaning of sa@mskara in Hindu philosophy is altogether different.  It means the impressions (which exist subconsciously in the mind) of the objects experienced.  All our experiences whether cognitive, emotional or conative exist in subconscious states and may under suitable conditions be reproduced as memory (sm@rti).  The word vasana (Yoga sutra, IV. 24) seems to be a later word.  The earlier Upanis@sads do not mention it and so far as I know it is not mentioned in the Pali pi@takas. Abhidhanappadipika of Moggallana mentions it, and it occurs in the Muktika Upani@sad.  It comes from the root “vas” to stay.  It is often loosely used in the sense of sa@mskara, and in Vyasabha@sya they are identified in IV. 9.  But vasana generally refers to the tendencies of past lives most of which lie dormant in the mind.  Only those appear which can find scope in this life.  But sa@mskaras are the sub-conscious states which are being constantly generated by experience.  Vasanas are innate sa@mskaras not acquired in this life.  See Vyasabha@sya, Tattvavais’aradi and Yogavarttika, II. 13.]

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engrossing to him, tend to be revived, for though these might not now be experienced, yet the fact that they were experienced before has so moulded and given shape to the citta that the citta will try to reproduce them by its own nature even without any such effort on our part.  To safeguard against the revival of any undesirable idea or tendency it is therefore necessary that its roots as already left in the citta in the form of sa@mskaras should be eradicated completely by the formation of the habit of a contrary tendency, which if made sufficiently strong will by its own sa@mskara naturally stop the revival of the previous undesirable sa@mskaras.