# kāraṇa (कारण)

> Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon/karana/

An Ayurvedic technical term, rendered into English in 7 different ways.
The renderings do not agree, and the difference between them changes what the term is taken
to mean.

## Identification

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Transliteration | kāraṇa |
| Devanagari | कारण |
| Also written | kāraṇam, karaṇa (करण, instrument; a DIFFERENT word often written identically in roman script), hetu, kartā, samavāyi-kāraṇa / asamavāyi-kāraṇa / nimitta-kāraṇa |
| Category, as gathered | padartha |
| Grouped under | Foundations and categories |
| Classical citations | 4 |
| Citations checked | 2026-10-07 |

## How it is translated, and whether the translation holds

Each rendering is given with the source that uses it. The assessment is ours.

### Causative agent

WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022) · ITA-1.8.2.29 'kāraṇam': 'The agent which initiates action independently; also denoted as cause (hetu) or doer (karma). It may be of three types: inherent cause (samavayikarana), non-inherent cause (asamavayi-karaṇa) and efficient cause (nimitta-karana).'; ITA-1.8.2.30 samavāyikāraṇam 'Inherent cause'; ITA-1.8.2.31 asamavāyi-kāraṇam 'Non-inherent cause'; ITA-1.8.2.32 nimitta-kāraṇam 'Efficient cause ... This resembles the cause of the same name in Aristotelianism.' · comparator

Note WHO's 'doer (karma)' where the Sanskrit of Ca.Vi.8.69 has kartā; this looks like an error in WHO (karma for kartā).

Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda, which is what that
licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0.

### Principal agent

WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022) · ITA-1.11.2 'kāraṇam': 'The means by which an action is effectuated, the idea expressed by instrumental cause: in the medical context may often refer to the physician, who is instrumental in maintaining fundamental bodily equilibrium.'; ITA-1.11.3 'karaṇam': 'Tool, instrument: The tool or instrument used for treatment, i.e. a medicine or procedure.'; ITA-1.11.1 daśavidhaparīkṣyabhāvaḥ lists 'principal agent (karana); tool, instrument (karana)' · comparator

WHO has two separate kāraṇa headwords (epistemology section and ten-factors section) and renders them differently ('Causative agent' vs 'Principal agent'). In ITA-1.11.1 both kāraṇa and karaṇa appear as 'karana' in the English column, which is exactly the confusion this entry exists to prevent.

Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda, which is what that
licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0.

### Ayurveda uses the term Karana (cause) for Padartha

National Institute of Ayurveda, WHO-APW 'Standardization of Non-Clinical Terminologies of Ayurveda' · BP0178 'padārthaḥ' (within its definition); DG0102 'kāraṇa dravya': 'Causative substances that are said to be the cause of manifestation of all other substances; nine in number.'; DG0277 'samavāyi kāraṇa': 'inherent cause;'; BP0128 'karaṇam': '1. Subordinate cause 2. Sensory and motor organ 3. medicines'; SK0099 'karaṇa': 'The means or instrument by which an action is effected , the idea expressed by the instrumental cause, instrumentality' · comparator

The NIA glossary has no standalone kāraṇa headword that I found; it covers the compounds and treats karaṇa (instrument) separately.

Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda, which is what that
licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0.

### Kārana (cause); 'that which does an act. That, again, is (otherwise) called Hetu, as also Actor'

Charaka Samhita tr. A. C. Kaviratna, public domain · Vi.8 his printed 80 (enumeration) and the following aphorism (his number OCR-garbled; by sequence 81) · public-domain translation

Kaviratna keeps the Sanskrit and glosses in brackets. He consistently distinguishes Kārana (cause) from Karana (means/instrument).

### Cause (in 'Thus is explained Cause as also Action or Effect')

Charaka Samhita tr. A. C. Kaviratna, public domain · Su.1 his printed 52 (= standard 1.53 'ityuktaṁ kāraṇaṁ kāryaṁ') · public-domain translation

Here kāraṇa sums up the six categories just defined (dravya, guna, karma, samavāya etc. as the causes) and kārya is dhātusāmya.

### cause or doer

carakasamhitaonline.com section heading at Vi.8.69 ('Karana (cause or doer)') and translation body · https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php?title=Rogabhishagjitiya_Vimana&action=raw · modern online edition (CC BY-NC-SA)

Heading only quoted.

### Samavayi-Karana (rendered 'by way of cause and effect' / 'inseparable inherence')

Sushruta Samhita tr. K. L. Bhishagratna, public domain · Su.Su.40 (Bhishagratna's chapter XL): 'these attributes have an inseparable inherence in and are intimately associated with the substance by way of cause and effect (Samavayi-Karana)' · public-domain translation

Bhishagratna paraphrases rather than translating the compound.

## The classical passages

### Charaka Samhita Vimanasthana 8:Standard 8.69 (carakasamhitaonline numbering); Kaviratna's printed number OCR-garbled ('*1'), by sequence 81 between his legible 80 and 87, checked against the source

> Amongst these, Kārana is that which does an act. That, again, is (otherwise) called Hetu, as also Actor.

tr. A. C. Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt

The definition of kāraṇa in the ten factors to be examined before action: the agent, identified with hetu and kartā. Sanskrit as retrieved from https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php?title=Rogabhishagjitiya_Vimana&action=raw : तत्र कारणं नाम तद्यत्करोति, स एव हेतुः, स कर्ता||६९||. OCR 'Kdrana' corrected to Kārana.

### Charaka Samhita Vimanasthana 8:Standard 8.68; Kaviratna prints 80, checked against the source

> The actor, with unsurpassable intensity of resolution, should, for accomplishing it, set himself to achieve an act that is fraught with desirable results, being deeply engaged on it, and after having properly ascertained (Kārana) cause, (Karana) means, (Kāryya-yoni) springs of actions, (Kāryya) action, (Kāryya-phala) fruits of action, (Anubandha) adjuncts, (Deśa) place, (Kāla) time, (Pravritti) exertion and (Upāya) instruments.

tr. A. C. Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt

The enumeration of the ten factors, with Kaviratna's bracketed renderings. Sanskrit: ज्ञात्वा हि कारण-करण-कार्ययोनि-कार्य-कार्यफलानुबन्ध-देश-काल-प्रवृत्त्युपायान् सम्यगभिनिर्वर्तमानः...||६८||. Kaviratna's printed 80 is twelve ahead of the standard 68 in this block (read, not computed; his legible 87 and 88 fall on standard 75 and 76 by content).

### Charaka Samhita Vimanasthana 8:Standard 8.84; Kaviratna's printed number illegible in OCR, checked against the source

> In this connection, the Kārana (cause) for the accomplishment of action is the physician. The Karana (or instrument) is medicine. The Kāryya-yoni (material cause) is absence of harmony, among the dhātus or constituent elements of the body. The Kāryya (action, or, rather, result of energy spent) is restoration of harmony among the dhātus.

tr. A. C. Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt

The medical application: kāraṇa = physician, karaṇa = medicine, kāryayoni = dhātuvaiṣamya, kārya = dhātusāmya. Sanskrit: इह कार्यप्राप्तौ कारणं भिषक्, करणं पुनर्भेषजं, कार्ययोनिर्धातुवैषम्यं, कार्यं धातुसाम्यं, कार्यफलं सुखावाप्तिः...||८४||. Kaviratna's '(material cause)' and 'or, rather, result of energy spent' are his glosses.

### Charaka Samhita Sutrasthana 1:Standard 1.53; Kaviratna prints 52, checked against the source

> Thus is explained Cause as also Action or Effect. The restoration of the ingredient humours (of the human body) to their normal state will now be explained.

tr. A. C. Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt

That Charaka sums up the six categories as kāraṇa (cause) and names dhātusāmya as the kārya. Sanskrit: इत्युक्तं कारणं कार्यं धातुसाम्यमिहोच्यते| धातुसाम्यक्रिया चोक्ता तन्त्रस्यास्य प्रयोजनम्||५३||. This is the textual basis for the NIA BP0178 remark that Ayurveda calls the padārthas 'kāraṇa'.

## Not to be confused with

- **karaṇa (करण, instrument).** A different word with a short first vowel. Ca.Vi.8.70 defines karaṇa as what serves as upakaraṇa (means) for the agent; Vi.8.84 makes it the medicine while kāraṇa is the physician. Kaviratna: 'Kārana (cause)' vs 'Karana (means)'. WHO ITA-1.11.1 prints both as 'karana' in English. Roman-script sources without diacritics merge them.
- **hetu.** Ca.Vi.8.69 identifies them ('sa eva hetuḥ'), but hetu is also the nidāna-sense cause of disease and the 'reason' in a syllogism (Vi.8.33 hetur nāmopalabdhikāraṇaṁ). Kaviratna elsewhere (Nidanasthana) lists 'Hetu, Nimitta, Āyatana, Kartri, Kārana, Pratyaya, Samutthāna' as synonyms of disease-cause.
- **kārya.** Effect versus cause: Vi.8.72 kārya is what the agent sets out to accomplish; Su.1.53 kārya = dhātusāmya, kāraṇa = the six categories.
- **the six padārthas.** Su.1.53 and NIA BP0178 show Ayurveda calling the six categories collectively 'kāraṇa' (causes of dhātusāmya). So 'kāraṇa' can mean either the whole set of six or the agent/physician in the ten-factor list.
- **samavāyi / asamavāyi / nimitta kāraṇa.** The Vaiśeṣika threefold analysis (WHO ITA-1.8.2.30-32). Ca.Su.1.51 uses only samavāyi: dravya is the samavāyi-kāraṇa. The three-fold scheme is not stated in the Charaka verses read.

## Renderings that do not hold

- instrument / means / tool (for kāraṇa). Those render karaṇa. WHO ITA-1.11.2's 'the idea expressed by instrumental cause' for kāraṇa imports the karaṇa sense into the kāraṇa headword.
- doer (karma). WHO ITA-1.8.2.29 writes 'doer (karma)'; the Sanskrit (Vi.8.69) has kartā. Karma is action, kartā is doer.
- reason (as in 'the reason why'). Kaviratna renders hetu as 'reason' in the debate context (Vi.8); kāraṇa in Vi.8.69 is the agent that acts, not an argument.

## Open questions

Recorded rather than resolved.

- The task listed 'karana' without diacritics. This record treats it as kāraṇa and records karaṇa under distinguishFrom; if the lexicon wants a separate karaṇa entry, Ca.Vi.8.70 and 8.84, WHO ITA-1.11.3 and NIA BP0128/SK0099 are the anchors already retrieved.
- Kaviratna's printed numbers for Vi.8.69-73 and 8.84 are OCR-garbled; a human should read the page images to confirm 81-85.
- Chakrapāṇi on 'sa eva hetuḥ, sa kartā' not retrieved.

## Citation

Age Ayurveda Nighantu, "kāraṇa", https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon/karana/, CC BY 4.0.
Whole lexicon: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon.json and https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon.csv.

Educational reference only. A term entry explains what a word means and how it has been
translated. Nothing here is advice.