Is the universe and the consciousness beginningless i.e. there is no beginning?

This arose from [a comment](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/50712/how-did-the-original-mental-event-arise-according-to-dharmak%c4%abrtis-argument-for#comment84533_50721) that the Buddhist position on the beginning of such unanswerables is that they are beginningless. Incidentally, in [this answer](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/24173/understanding-beginningless/24175#24175) , it was pointed out that the Pali terms “without discoverable” and “without knowable” were used to indicate that there were no definitive answers instead. My questions are as below: 1. Was this beginningless position a later creation and posited as a response to the question on how it all started? Any reference, if any, is appreciated. 2. Could this position be the result of a desire to defend why the Buddha did not give definitive answers and instead ended up in a pickle too (as pointed out by the linked answer above)? Whether it is *beginningless* or *without discoverable/knowable beginning*, the fact is there is **no definitive answers**. Thus, the same criticism would be leveraged against Buddhism. Some may argue that since Buddhism is not strictly a religion or ideology, such criticisms are irrelevant. However, as a Buddhist, I can’t help but wonder if there is a tenable/reasonable argument that I can adopt when pressed on these matters by outsiders?