Nidana is a Sanskrit word (from ni = down, into + the verbal root da = to bind). It means 'chain of causation,' and is attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha. It has two specific meanings within Buddhism. The commonest use refers to the Twelve nidanas or "a concatenation of cause and effect", which is the cycle of rebirth as described by Gautama upon which a re-becoming is thought by Buddhists to rest, which is also called the twelve links of 'dependent origination'.