anyonya saṁśraya

 The correct Devanagari form is अन्योन्यसंश्रय, meaning “mutual dependence” or a circular, reciprocal dependence considered a logical fault in Sanskrit philosophy.

✅ Devanagari form

अन्योन्यसंश्रय
This matches the dictionary entry describing anyonya saṃśraya as “reciprocally dependent and hence serving no purpose”

Sanskrit Dictionary

.

✅ Meaning and philosophical context

• Anyonya (अन्योन्य) means mutual, reciprocal, one another

  2

  .
• Saṃśraya (संश्रय) means dependence, reliance.
• Together, anyonya-saṃśraya refers to mutual dependence, especially when two things depend on each other in a way that prevents proper logical grounding.
• 

  

  2 Sources

In Sanskrit logic (Nyāya), anyonya-saṃśraya is a type of hetvābhāsa (fallacy), where a claim and its proof depend on each other circularly. The dictionary explicitly notes:

“anyonya saṃśraya — reciprocally dependent and hence serving no purpose; same as itaretarāśraya, considered a fault.”

Read more on Sanskrit Dictionary

✅ Transliteration (IAST)

anyonya-saṃśraya

✅ Pronunciation guide

• anyonya → uhn-YO-nya
• saṃśraya → sum-SHRA-ya

✅ Related terms

• अन्योन्याश्रय (anyonya-āśraya) — mutual dependence (general term)

  1
• इतरेतराश्रय (itaretara-āśraya) — reciprocal dependence (another Nyāya fallacy)
• 

  1 Source

Anyonya saṁśraya means mutual dependence, especially the fallacy 

of circular dependence in Indian philosophy, where two things are said

to depend on each other for their proof.

Meaning of the components

• Anyonya — “mutual, reciprocal, one another”

  1

  .
  It appears across Sanskrit literature, from poetry to philosophy, always 
• conveying reciprocity.
• Āśraya / Saṁśraya — “support, dependence, resting upon”

  1

  .
• 

  

  2 Sources
• 
  

Together, anyonya‑āśraya / anyonya‑saṁśraya means mutual support or

reciprocal dependence.

Technical philosophical meaning (Nyāya)

The most important usage is in Nyāya logic, where anyonyāśraya is a

tarka‑doṣa (fault of reasoning).

According to the Sanskrit dictionary entry

Wisdom Library

, it is:

• “mutual or reciprocal dependence, support, or connection,”
• specifically, a fallacy where two things are each proven only by 
• assuming the other.

Nyāya classifies it as one of the five classic defects of reasoning

(along with ātmāśraya, cakraka, anavasthā, etc.).
Example (from the definition):

“Seed and sprout depend on each other” —

 

vījāṅkurāv anyonyāśrayaḥ

Read more on Wisdom Library

.

This illustrates the impossibility of establishing A by B when B itself requires A.

Usage in other traditions

The term appears in several philosophical systems:

• Sāṅkhya — the three guṇas are said to rest on one another
• (anyonya‑āśraya)

  1

  .
• General Sanskrit usage — “mutual relation,” “reciprocal support,” 
• or “interdependence”

  1

  .
• 

  1 Source

Distinction from anyonya alone

The supplied results show that anyonya by itself simply means “mutual,

reciprocal” and is used widely in poetry, philosophy, and grammar

Wisdom Library

.

Examples include:

• mutual benefit in alaṅkāra theory (“knowledge shines with modesty; 
• modesty shines with knowledge”)

  1
• mutual liking of planets in Jyotiṣa

  1
• vying with each other in Purāṇic battle scenes

  1
• 

  1 Source
• 
  

But anyonya‑āśraya is specifically mutual dependence, often with the 

connotation of a logical flaw.

Usage in modern Indian languages

Marathi and Hindi dictionaries preserve the same meaning:

• Marathi: “mutual support or protection; reciprocal illustration and
• confirmation”

  1

  .
• Hindi: “interdependence, reciprocity”

  1

  .
• 

  1 Source

When to use anyonya saṁśraya

Use it when describing:

• circular dependence (“A depends on B, and B depends on A”),
• interdependent systems,
• logical fallacies in Indian philosophical argumentation,
• mutual support structures in a neutral or descriptive sense.