  The choice of examples undoubtedly influences one’s causal theory. The Naiyāyikas almost invariably illustrate their discussions with one of the following three examples: (i) The potter-pot example. The effect is the finished pot. Some of its causes are the pot-halves (which the potter joins to form the pot), the potter, his wheel and stick, the contact between each of the pot-halves, and between them and the stick, etc. (ii) The thread-cloth example. Here the effect is the piece of cloth. Among its causes are the threads from which it is woven, the weaver, the shuttle, the loom, various contacts, etc. (iii) The axe-tree example. The effect, i.e. the felling of the tree, is caused by the axe, its contact with the tree, the axeman, etc. Some of the questions we would like to ask here are these. Can all instances of causation be fitted into the general pattern illustrated by these examples (e.g. is there always an ‘agent’)? Do the Naiyāyikas have an adequate account of causation even for these examples (i.e. can they distinguish between those factors which are, and those factors which are not, causes of the effect)? Can both objects and events be causes? Are causal relations singular or based on repeatable regularities? Attempts to answer such questions as these led to increasingly sophisticated accounts of causation as the Nyāya school evolved.