parinamavada

Parinamavada, or parināma-vāda, is a classical Indian philosophical theory of change that holds that the effect is a real transformation of the cause. According to this view, change occurs through a genuine alteration of the substrate, with the underlying substance persisting in the new form. The term derives from Sanskrit parināma, meaning transformation, and vāda, meaning doctrine or theory.

Historically, parinamavada is associated with orthodox schools such as Nyaya and Vaisheshika, which argue that causal processes involve real modifications of substances. It is often set in contrast to vivartavada, the theory of apparent or superimposed transformation, famously discussed in the context of Advaita Vedanta’s account of the relationship between Brahman and the world. While parinamavada emphasizes continuity of the substrate through change, vivartavada permits the appearance of transformation without a corresponding real alteration in the substrate.

Core tenets include: (1) change is real and detectable in the nature of the substrate; (2) the cause and its transformation share a common basis, with the effect emerging as a new configuration rather than as something wholly different; (3) no creation ex nihilo is required in the process of natural transformation. A common example used in discussions is clay becoming a pot: under parinamavada, the pot is a real transformation of the clay, with the clay remaining as the underlying substance albeit reorganized.

Critics argue that parinamavada faces challenges accounting for emergent properties or novel characteristics that do not seem to be straightforward consequences of the substrate. The theory remains a central reference point in debates on causation and perception within Indian philosophy. See also vivartavada, satkaryavada, and Nyaya-Vaisheshika.