anyonya

 

In Sanskrit, anyonya means “mutual,” “reciprocal,”

or “one another.”

Core meaning

The primary definition of anyonya (अन्योन्य) is “one another / each other / 

mutual”, functioning like a reciprocal pronoun in English

Sanskrit Dictionary+1

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It is formed by reduplication of anya (“other”).

How it is used

• It often appears in sentences where two subjects act upon each 
• other, e.g., anyonyaṃ tāḍayataḥ — “they strike each other”

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• It can be used adverbially as anyonyaṃ, meaning “mutually”

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• In compounds, it conveys the sense of reciprocal, mutual, or
• interdependent, such as anyonya‑śobhā (“mutual beauty”) or
• anyonya‑kalaha (“mutual quarrel”)

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Extended meanings in different traditions

The term appears widely across Indian philosophical and literary traditions, 

always retaining the sense of reciprocity:

• Vedānta & Upaniṣads — “mutual objects,” as in anyonya‑dṛśya 
• (“mutually perceived”) when comparing dream and waking states

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• Kāvya (poetics) — a rhetorical figure (alaṅkāra) where two things
• enhance or act upon each other

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• Śaiva philosophy — “mutual immersion,” describing reciprocal 
• interaction of entities

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• Jyotiṣa (astrology) — “mutual liking” between planets in conjunction

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• Purāṇas — “vying with each other” in battle scenes

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• Kāmaśāstra — “harmoniously together,” as in dharma, artha, and
• kāma supporting one another

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Summary

Across all contexts, anyonya consistently expresses reciprocity—actions, 

qualities, or states that occur between two or more entities in a mutual way.