# pariṇāma (परिणाम) > Canonical version of this page: https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon/parinama/ An Ayurvedic technical term, rendered into English in 10 different ways. The renderings do not agree, and the difference between them changes what the term is taken to mean. ## Identification | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Transliteration | pariṇāma | | Devanagari | परिणाम | | Also written | parinama, kāla-pariṇāma, kalaparinama, pariṇāmaḥ, Ratinanta (OCR corruption in Kaviratna scan) | | Category, as gathered | manas-2 | | Grouped under | Mind | | Classical citations | 5 | | 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. ### Course of development, transformation WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022) · ITA-4.4.12 pariṇāmaḥ परिणामः; description: "One of the three primary causes of a disease owing to the transformative impact of the flow of time." · comparator-standard WHO keeps 'transformation' as the head and puts time in the description. 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. ### transformation under the effect of time WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022) · ITA-4.4.9 trividhahetuḥ description · comparator-standard Rendering inside the three-cause definition. 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. ### seasonal variation as a cause of disease NAMASTE portal, Standardised Ayurveda Terminologies (SAT) · SAT-C.77 परिणामः pariṇāmaḥ; long definition: "the negative impact of the season; included as one of the three prime causes of a disease" · comparator-standard NAMASTE narrows pariṇāma to season, dropping age/lifespan, which Charaka (Sa.1.115, jarā-mṛtyu) and Kaviratna's notes include. Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the Government of India NAMASTE terminology, which is what that licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0. ### transformation attributed to time NAMASTE portal, Standardised Ayurveda Terminologies (SAT) · SAT-C.74 trividhahetuḥ long definition: "...and parinama (transformation attributed to time)" · comparator-standard NAMASTE's own two entries disagree in breadth (season vs. transformation by time). Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the Government of India NAMASTE terminology, which is what that licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0. ### theory of transformation NAMASTE portal, Standardised Ayurveda Terminologies (SAT) · SAT-A.111 परिणामवादः pariṇāmavādaḥ: "doctrine of transformation which states that all the substances get changes continuously" · comparator-standard Philosophical sense (pariṇāmavāda), not the etiological sense; recorded for disambiguation. Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the Government of India NAMASTE terminology, which is what that licence permits, and deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is CC BY 4.0. ### Time or Parinama Charaka Samhita tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna (1896-1913), public domain · Sutrasthana Lesson XI his 42 (p.126): "...faults of the Understanding, and Time or Parinama.42"; preceding sentence (his 41-42) "Time has another name, viz., Ratinanta" where 'Ratinanta' is an OCR corruption of 'Parinama' · public-domain-translation Kaviratna consistently renders pariṇāma as 'Time' (capitalised), keeping the Sanskrit in apposition once. ### Time (season and age) Charaka Samhita tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna, translator's footnotes · Nidanasthana Lesson I footnote: "By 'Parinama' is meant Time." Chikitsasthana Lesson XVII footnote to his aphorism 3: "3. Parinama, i.e., time, in the sense of both the season and age or years." Sarirasthana footnote: "'Kalaparinama' is effect or ripeness of time." · public-domain-translation (footnote) These are translator's notes, not text. 'Ripeness of time' is Kaviratna's gloss of kāla-pariṇāma. ### development of Time Charaka Samhita tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna · Sarirasthana Lesson I his 122 (p.680-681): "With the development of Time, decrepitude, death and such diseases as are not due to known and defined causes, are seen to come naturally." · public-domain-translation His rendering of kālasya pariṇāmena (standard Sa.1.115). ### kala or time factor; consequence Charak Samhita New Edition (carakasamhitaonline.com), glossary page 'Parinama' · https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Parinama · textbook/online Gives both the etiological sense and the general sense 'consequence'. ### seasonal effects Charak Samhita New Edition (carakasamhitaonline.com), 'Prajnaparadha' page · https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Prajnaparadha (three-cause framework) · textbook/online Same narrowing to season as NAMASTE SAT-C.77. ## The classical passages ### Charaka Samhita Sutrasthana 11 (Tistraiṣaṇīya):Standard 42 (carakasamhitaonline). Kaviratna prints 41-42 for this block (his 41 closes the prajñāparādha sentence; the Time sentence runs to his 42)., checked against the source > Sanskrit (numbered 42, two fragments as retrieved, ellipsis is the retrieval's): "शीतोष्णवर्षलक्षणाः पुनर्हेमन्तग्रीष्मवर्षाः संवत्सरः, स कालः ... कालः पुनः परिणाम उच्यते". Kaviratna (pp.125-126): "Heat, cold, and rain, or autumn, summer, and rain, constitute the indications of the year. That is also called Time. When the particular indication of a particular period of Time manifests itself in excess, that is called excess of correlation in respect of Time, (as excess of cold in winter or excess of heat in summer, or excess of rain in the rainy season). When such indication manifests itself in a measure less than normal, that is called want or absence of correlation ... When indications, that are the reverse of those which are normal, are manifested, that is called improper correlation (such as heat in winter or cold in summer). Time has another name, viz., Ratinanta [OCR: Parinama]. Thus are the three subjects treated of, viz., the improper contact of objects of sense with the Mind, faults of the Understanding, and Time or Parinama.42" tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna; Sanskrit from carakasamhitaonline.com · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt ; https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Tistraishaniya_Adhyaya The defining statement: the year, marked by cold, heat and rain, is kāla; kāla 'is again called pariṇāma'; its ati-, a- and mithyā-yoga are the third cause of disease. Note Kaviratna's parenthetical examples are his own insertions (printed in parentheses). ### Charaka Samhita Sutrasthana 1 (Dīrghañjīvitīya):Standard 54; Kaviratna prints 53., checked against the source > Sanskrit: "कालबुद्धीन्द्रियार्थानां योगो मिथ्या न चाति च| द्वयाश्रयाणां व्याधीनां त्रिविधो हेतुसङ्ग्रहः||५४||". Kaviratna: "Of all diseases, physical and mental, the causes in brief are of three kinds, viz., adverse or excessive correlation or want of correlation of time, mind, and the objects of the senses.*53" tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt ; https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Deerghanjiviteeya_Adhyaya Kāla (which Su.11.42 equates with pariṇāma) as first-named of the three causes. Kaviratna's footnote (his own): "Time is of two kinds, viz., (1) that portion of eternity with which human life is concerned and which goes on ceaselessly, and (2) the age of man, that is, his infancy, youth, manhood, and decrepitude." ### Charaka Samhita Sarirasthana 1 (Katidhāpuruṣīya):Standard 115 (carakasamhitaonline). Kaviratna prints 122., checked against the source > Sanskrit: "कालस्य परिणामेन जरामृत्युनिमित्तजाः। रोगाः स्वाभाविका दृष्टाः स्वभावो निष्प्रतिक्रियः॥११५॥". Kaviratna (pp.680-681): "With the development of Time, decrepitude, death and such diseases as are not due to known and defined causes, are seen to come naturally. That which is brought about by Nature has no remedy.122" tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt ; https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Katidhapurusha_Sharira Pariṇāma of kāla produces the 'natural' (svābhāvika) disorders of ageing and death, which have no counter-measure. Shows pariṇāma covers lifespan/age, not only season. Kaviratna's footnote on his 117-120 ('kalasamprapti') is a translator's exposition and should not be quoted as text. ### Charaka Samhita Vimanasthana 6 (Roganika Vimana):Standard Vimanasthana 6.6 (carakasamhitaonline Roganika_Vimana, unit closing ||६||); Kaviratna Vimanasthanam Lesson VI, his printed 10, p. 515, which merges standard 6 to 9 into one numbered paragraph., checked against the source > Kaviratna: "there are three kinds of exciting causes, viz., union with disagreeing objects of sense, faults of understanding, and Time." Footnote (translator's note): "By 'Parinama' is meant Time." tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna · https://archive.org/download/BIUSante_47357/BIUSante_47357_djvu.txt Vi. 6.6 names the three prakopana (exciting causes) of both classes of dosha as asātmyendriyārtha-saṁyoga, prajñāparādha and pariṇāma (असात्म्येन्द्रियार्थसंयोगः, प्रज्ञापराधः परिणामश्चेति). Kaviratna renders pariṇāma as "Time", and his footnote on the same page states the equation outright. The footnote is the translator's voice, so what it establishes is how he read the term, not what the Samhita says. ### Charaka Samhita Nidanasthana 1 (Jvara Nidana):Standard Nidanasthana 1.3 (carakasamhitaonline Jwara_Nidana, unit closing ||३||). Kaviratna Nidanasthanam Lesson I, printed p. 928, inside the unit his printed number 2 closes (the 2 is printed on p. 929). Measured mapping for this chapter: Kav 1 = Std 1-2, Kav 2 = Std 3-4., checked against the source > Kaviratna (inside his aphorism 2, printed p. 928): "Nidana' is of three kinds, viz., union with such objects of the senses as are not assimilable, faults of judgment, and the developments in course of time, of evil acts (done in this life or previous ones)." Translator's footnote on the same page: "The three general causes of disease, viz., 'asatmasamyoga', 'prajnaparardha', and 'parinama' have been fully explained in the previous divisions of the work." Sanskrit (standard Ni. 1.3): "इह खलु हेतुर्निमित्तमायतनं कर्ता कारणं प्रत्ययः समुत्थानं निदानमित्यनर्थान्तरम् तत्त्रिविधम्- असात्म्येन्द्रियार्थसंयोगः, प्रज्ञापराधः, परिणामश्चेति||३||" tr. Avinash Chandra Kaviratna · https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_47357 (page image leaf1191 = printed p. 928) ; https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php?title=Jwara_Nidana&action=raw Ni. 1.3 names the same three nidanas as Vi. 6.6, and Kaviratna's footnote at Nidana I names parinama in so many words, so the lexicon can carry a Nidana citation for parinama on its own retrieval. Worth recording as a divergence in the same translator: at Vi. 6 he renders parinama flatly as 'Time', but at Ni. 1.3 he renders it 'the developments in course of time, of evil acts (done in this life or previous ones)', importing karma that the Sanskrit परिणाम does not carry, a translator's expansion, not a variant reading, since the mula word is the same in both places. ## Where this term does work in the theory One concept record names this term as one of its components, and glosses it there as follows. - **[Kala-parinama (time, season and ripening as causes of disease)](https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/concept/kala-parinama/)** (as parinama): Literally ripening or transformation; Charaka states explicitly that this is another name for kala in the etiological triad ## Not to be confused with - **kāla.** Charaka equates them ('kālaḥ punaḥ pariṇāma ucyate', Su.11.42), but kāla is the broader word (time as such, also time of dosing, time of day); pariṇāma names time in its transforming/ageing aspect as a disease cause. - **ṛtu / seasonal variation.** NAMASTE SAT-C.77 reduces pariṇāma to season; Ca.Sa.1.115 and Kaviratna's notes include age and lifespan (jarā, mṛtyu). Season is one face of it. - **āhāra-pariṇāma / pariṇāmakara bhāva.** Transformation of food (digestion); NAMASTE SAT-J.63 āhārapariṇāmakara-bhāvaḥ 'factors responsible for proper digestion'. Same word, metabolic not etiological sense. - **pariṇāmaśūla.** A named disease (NAMASTE EB-10.10 'duodenal ulcer'; WHO ITA-5.34.9), pain arising during the pariṇāma (digestion) of food. Unrelated to the three-cause doctrine. - **pariṇāmavāda.** Sāṃkhya doctrine of real transformation (NAMASTE SAT-A.111 'theory of transformation'), a philosophical position, not an etiological factor. - **daiva / karma of past lives.** Kaviratna's Sa.1 block (his 123-124) treats diseases from past deeds separately from those from pariṇāma of Time; both are 'kālasamprāpti' topics in his footnote but distinct in the text. ## Renderings that do not hold - seasonal effects / seasonal variation (as the whole meaning). Drops age and lifespan, which Ca.Sa.1.115 explicitly brings under kālasya pariṇāmena (jarā-mṛtyu). NAMASTE SAT-C.77 does this; its own SAT-C.74 does not. - consequence (as the etiological sense). Lexically valid for pariṇāma in general Sanskrit, but in the three-cause context the texts define it as kāla; 'consequence' would make the third cause tautological. - Ratinanta. Not a rendering: an OCR corruption of 'Parinama' in the archive.org text of Kaviratna (p.126). Anyone grepping the scan will miss the passage. ## Open questions Recorded rather than resolved. - Standard verse number for the Nidanasthana 1 statement (listed 1/3) not verified against Sanskrit. - Whether WHO ISTA has any separate entry for kāla as a cause (only pariṇāmaḥ ITA-4.4.12 and doṣahetuḥ ITA-4.4.13 'seasonal variations leading to natural accumulation' were read). - Ashtanga Hridaya Su.1/19 'kālārthakarmaṇāṃ yogo...' (seen only on Dharmawiki) replaces buddhi with karma; worth recording as a parallel once a Sanskrit edition is checked. ## Citation Age Ayurveda Nighantu, "pariṇāma", https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon/parinama/, 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.