In Hinduism, it is avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self, that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world. This grounds one in desire and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation. The state of illusion is known as Maya.

In Buddhism, samsara is believed to be perpetuated by one's desires alone.

In Jainism, karma, anuva (ego) and the veil of maya are central.

Hinduism had many terms for the state of liberation like moksha, mukti, nirvana, and mahasamadhi. Buddhism teaches that when one frees from samsara he reaches nirvana; in Jainism, liberation from samsara is called moksha or mukti.

The possible means of achieving enlightenment differ from tradition to tradition, and generally involve austerities and the renunciation of all worldly desires.

The Hindu Yoga traditions hold various beliefs. Moksha may be achieved by love of Ishwar/God (see bhakti movement), by psycho-physical meditation (Raja Yoga), by discrimination of what is real and unreal through intense contemplation (Jnana Yoga) and through Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action that subverts the ego and enforces understanding of the unity of all. Advaita Vedanta, which heavily influenced Hindu Yoga, believes that Brahman, the ultimate Truth-Consciousness-Bliss, is the infinite, impersonal reality (as contrasted to the Buddhist concept of shunyata) and that through realization of it, all temporal states like deities, the cosmos and samsara itself are revealed to be nothing but manifestations of Brahman.

The Mahayana Buddhist tradition teaches in the Heart Sutra that samsara and nirvana are dual aspects of the same ultimate reality. Because they are relative to each other, they are, each of them, ultimately unreal and empty, as contrasted to the Hindu concept of Brahman.

Etymology

Sanskrit: sam—together; sarati—it flows. While the term is sometimes translated as "course of life", a more accurate picture is that of shipwrecked sailors drifting aimlessly at the mercy of the sea.

One who is subject to samsara is called a samsari.