If a particular cause is to be a prior determinant of a particular effect, then there must be an appropriate relation between cause and effect. That means, a cause produces an effect only being related to it. But no such relation can obtain, if the effect were non-existent. For, a relation to obtain requires at least two relata. Hence an effect must pre-exist in its cause. Moreover, on the Sāṃkhya view the relation between cause and effect is one of identity (tādātmya), and it is obvious that an existent cause cannot be identical to a non-existent effect.