What is saṃsāra, and why would anyone want to escape it?

the cycle of birth, death and rebirth driven by karma and desire; even its joys never fully satisfy.

Saṃsāra literally means “flowing on”. Driven by karma and by desires that seek fulfilment, the soul moves from body to body — as a person discards worn-out clothes and puts on new ones (Gītā 2.22). Life after life we gain and lose, love and part, are born and die.

Why leave it, if life has so much beauty? The tradition's answer is not that the world is bad, but that it is impermanent. Every pleasure ends, every gain must be guarded, every meeting ends in parting. The Upaniṣads notice that the heart wants something infinite and unchanging, which no finite thing can give.

Mokṣa, freedom from saṃsāra, is not escape into nothingness. Advaita describes it as realising one's oneness with Brahman; Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva schools as eternal loving communion with God. Many saints say that even now, in this life, one can live free — in the world but not bound by it.

Source: Bhagavad Gītā 2.22 · Jīvanmukti: freedom while living

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