yadi yattajjanmacittamādyatayā mataṃ nirhetukaṃ vā syāt nityavijñāneśvarādihetusamudbhūtaṃ vā yadvā svata eva nityaṃ bhūtamātrād utpannaṃ vā anyasantānavartijñānahetukaṃ veti pañca pakṣāḥ
If [the chain has a beginning, then] that first cognition at birth would be either: [1] without cause, or [2] produced by an eternal cause like eternal consciousness or God, or [3] itself eternal by nature, or [4] produced from mere elements, or [5] produced by a cognition occurring in another chain - these are the five alternatives