Answer

In Jain Dharma, there is no “first birth” of a new soul, because a soul is beginningless and eternal.

Jainism teaches that jīva — the soul — was never newly created. It has existed from beginningless time and has been taking births in different forms according to its own karma.

Explanation

According to Jain philosophy:

• Souls are eternal.
• Souls are not created by God or by any outside power.
• Every worldly soul has been in saṃsāra — the cycle of birth and death — from beginningless time.
• Birth is determined by karma, especially lifespan-determining karma, body-making karma, status karma, and feeling-producing karma.

So the question “How is the first birth determined?” does not arise in Jainism, because there was never a first birth.

Each birth is the result of previously bound karma. That karma determines:

• the realm of birth — human, heavenly, hellish, animal, plant, or other life-forms,
• the type of body,
• lifespan,
• family or environment,
• pleasures and pains experienced.

Spiritual Understanding

Jain Dharma does not focus on finding a first beginning of the soul. Instead, it teaches us to understand the present bondage and work toward liberation.

The soul has wandered in saṃsāra because of karma, passions, attachment, and ignorance. Through right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, the soul can stop new karma, shed old karma, and attain moksha.

Takeaway

In Jainism, the soul is not new and has no first birth. It is eternal and beginningless. Every birth is determined by karma, and liberation comes by ending karmic bondage.