saṁyoga: what the term means and how it is translated
saṁyoga संयोग is an Ayurvedic technical term. It is rendered into English in 5 different ways across 6 sources, which is the reason this page exists: the renderings do not agree, and the difference between them changes what the term is taken to mean.
| Transliteration | saṁyoga |
|---|---|
| Devanagari | संयोग |
| Also written | saṃyoga, samyoga, sanyoga, saṁyoga viruddha (the incompatibility type) |
| Category, as gathered | dravyaguna-3 |
| Grouped here under | Pharmacology and the action of substances |
| Classical citations | 2 |
| 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.
Combination
WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022), PDF mirror · ITA-1.9.4.4.5 description 'A combination or amalgam of two or more substances.' saṃyogaḥ (parādi guṇa) · comparator
Follows Ca.Vi.1.22 closely.
Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda, which is what that licence permits. It is deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is offered under CC BY 4.0 and invites the modification a NoDerivs licence forbids.
Artificial poison (kṛtrimaviṣam / saṁyogajaviṣam)
WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda (2022) · ITA-9.7.13 description 'A poison made artificially or a modified combination of various poisons.' · comparator
Compound use; shows saṁyoga = combination in toxicology.
Reproduced unaltered and attributed from the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Ayurveda, which is what that licence permits. It is deliberately absent from the downloadable dataset, which is offered under CC BY 4.0 and invites the modification a NoDerivs licence forbids.
Admixture or combination; 'the state of union of two or more articles'
Charaka Samhita tr. A. C. Kaviratna, public domain · Su.26 his 47 'Admixture or combination is Samyoga'; Vi.1 'Samyoga is the state of union of two or more articles'; Vi.1 list 'Samyoga (combination)' · public-domain translation
Stable. His Vi.1 footnote warns the English equivalents 'are not to be taken as exact renderings'.
union
Charaka Samhita tr. A. C. Kaviratna, public domain (translator's note) · footnote at OCR line 42422: 'is not 'samyoga' or union. It is only 'sannikarsha'' · public-domain translation
Translator's note distinguishing saṁyoga from mere proximity (sannikarṣa).
combination (Samyoga Viruddha, combination incompatibility)
Sabnis, AYU 2012 (PMID 23723637); Sirdeshpande & Kashikar, AYU 2017 (PMID 30254386) · titles and abstracts · modern literature
Uniform in the research literature.
combination
carakasamhitaonline.com translation of Vi.1.21-22 (CC BY-NC-SA, in copyright) · the source's own wording is not reproduced here: "carakasamhitaonline.com translation of Vi.1.21-22 (CC BY-NC-SA, in copyright)" is not a source this project has cleared for quotation · modern edition
Recorded as a rendering only.
The classical passages
Each citation gives its address so a reader can check it in a printed edition, our account of what the passage establishes, and the result of reading it against its source.
Charaka SamhitaVimanasthana 1:Standard 1.22 (saṁyoga clause); Kaviratna's printed number OCR-damaged ('t^') · checked against the source
Samyoga is the state of union of two or more articles. This produces especial consequences which the articles, existing separately, do not produce. As examples may be cited the union of honey and ghee, or of honey, fish, and milk.
Definition (saṁhatībhāva of two or more dravyas) plus the doctrine that combination produces a viśeṣa the components lack, with the honey-ghee and honey-fish-milk examples. Sanskrit as retrieved: संयोगः पुनर्द्वयोर्बहूनां वा द्रव्याणां संहतीभावः|| (within ||२२||, https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Rasa_Vimana). The examples' Sanskrit was not.
Charaka SamhitaSutrasthana 26:Standard 26.32; Kaviratna prints 47 · checked against the source
Admixture or combination is Samyoga. Samyoga may be of three kinds : the combination which arises from the union of the operation or effects of two hostile objects ; that which arises from the union of the operation or effects of many objects ; and that which arises from the union of the operation or effects of two separate objects (not particularly related to each other). Such combinations are not enduring.
Saṁyoga as a parādi guṇa, threefold (dvandva-, sarva-, eka-karmaja) and anitya (impermanent). Sanskrit as retrieved: सङ्ख्या स्याद्गणितं, योगः सह संयोग उच्यते| द्रव्याणां द्वन्द्वसर्वैककर्मजोऽनित्य एव च||३२|| (https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php/Atreyabhadrakapyiya_Adhyaya). Kaviratna's 'hostile' for dvandva and 'operation or effects' for karma are interpretive.
Not to be confused with
- saṁskāra
- Processing of one substance vs combination of several (both are Vi.1 āyatanas and parādi guṇas).
- sannikarṣa
- Mere proximity/contact; Kaviratna's note at OCR line 42422 says a case 'is not samyoga or union. It is only sannikarsha'.
- samavāya (inherence)
- WHO ITA-1.9.6.1 'Inherence ... an intimate and constant relation'; saṁyoga is by definition anitya (Ca.Su.26.32).
- saṁyoga viruddha
- The harmful subtype in viruddha-āhāra doctrine; saṁyoga itself is neutral and can be beneficial (honey + ghee in unequal measure).
- yoga / ayoga / atiyoga / mithyāyoga
- Kaviratna's note (OCR 44337-44339) on 'ashtmyarthasamyogah' shows saṁyoga also means sense-object contact in the trividha-hetu context (asātmyendriyārtha-saṁyoga).
- vibhāga
- Division/disjunction, its listed counterpart in the parādi series (Ca.Su.26.33).
Renderings that do not hold
- synergy. Modern pharmacology term; Ca.Vi.1.22 says only that combination yields a viśeṣa, which may be harmful (fish + milk) as well as helpful.
- mixture. Suggests a physical blend; saṁyoga covers co-ingestion and sense-object contact too (asātmyendriyārtha-saṁyoga).
- hostile objects (for dvandva). Kaviratna at Su.26 his 47; dvandva is 'pair', not 'enemies'.
Open questions
Recorded rather than resolved. Each one is something this entry cannot currently settle.
- Retrieve the Sanskrit of the honey-ghee and honey-fish-milk examples in Vi.1.22.
- Kaviratna's printed verse numbers in Vi.1 need reading from the scan.
How to cite this entry
Age Ayurveda Nighantu, saṁyoga
, https://nighantu.ageayurveda.com/lexicon/samyoga/, CC BY 4.0.
The whole lexicon is downloadable from the index.
Machine-readable source: Markdown.
Data exported 2026-10-08.
Educational reference only. A term entry explains what a word means and how it has been translated. Nothing here is advice, and nothing here describes how any condition should be treated.