anyathā bhāva

 In Sanskrit, anyathābhāva means change, alteration, or being otherwise, often with the sense of difference or transformation.

Core meaning in Sanskrit sources

• The Sanskrit dictionaries define anyathābhāva (अन्यथाभाव) as “alteration, change, being otherwise, difference”

  1

  .
• It is glossed simply as “change” or “difference” in multiple entries

  3

  .
• The term is treated as a tatpuruṣa compound: anyathā (“otherwise, differently”) + bhāva (“state, condition, being”)

  1

  .
• 

  

  3 Sources

Examples and grammatical context

• Pāṇini’s grammar uses the term in the sense of alteration or modification: ekasyā vyakteḥ … anyathābhāvaḥ (“a change of a single entity by delimiting all its parts”)

  1

  .
• Classical literature also uses it to mean change of state or difference from a previous condition

  1

  .
• 

  1 Source

Meaning in related Indian languages

• In Marathi, anyathābhāva means “change, deterioration, vitiation”

  1

  . This reflects a similar but sometimes more negative nuance (“change for the worse”).
• 

  1 Source

Philosophical and general usage

• In philosophical or logical contexts, the term can indicate a shift in view, a change of mind, or a state becoming otherwise

  1

  .
• In general Sanskrit usage, it simply denotes a state of being different from before or a deviation from an expected condition.
• 

  1 Source

Summary

anyathābhāva = anyathā (“otherwise”) + bhāva (“state, condition”).
Across Sanskrit sources, it consistently means change, alteration, or difference, sometimes extending to change of mind or deterioration depending on context.