A Guide to Sanskrit Names in Ayurveda

Why names matter

Ayurveda was written down in Sanskrit, and many Ayurvedic words appear on product labels, websites and clinic menus. The names are not just labels: a name can point to a plant, a text, a treatment or an idea. Getting the name right matters most when it affects safety, such as knowing which plant is in a product.

This page explains how the names work. It does not give phonetic respellings. Pronunciation varies by region, language and speaker, and we have not found a source we could read to support one correct way for English readers. A practitioner or a trusted dictionary from India is a better guide.

Names of the system and its texts

• Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word meaning "science of life" or "knowledge of life." [1]
• Samhita appears in the names of the two best-known classical texts, the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita. The first is described as covering all aspects of Ayurvedic medicine, the second as the science of surgery. [2]
• Spellings vary between websites and books, because English letters only approximate Sanskrit sounds. See the classical texts page.

Names of ideas and treatments

Many treatment names are built from two parts, such as pancha (five) and karma (action), giving panchakarma, which one review describes as five actions. [2] The words for the three stages of panchakarma follow the same pattern: preparation, main process and after-care. [2] The glossary explains each term in plain language.

Plant names: many names for one plant, and the reverse

Herbs are usually known in English by one common name, in Sanskrit by another, and in science by a Latin botanical name. For example, bacopa is called brahmi in Ayurveda, and the site covers it on the bacopa (brahmi) page.

This is not always simple. A review of classical literature reports more than 12,000 distinct Sanskrit plant names across more than 200 texts, with overlaps between texts. [3] The same review says the old descriptions of plant form are sketchy and inadequate for establishing botanical identity, which has led to controversial identities for some medicinal plants. [3]

What this means for you:

• The same Sanskrit name may refer to different plants in different regions or texts.


• A product that lists only a Sanskrit name may not tell you which species is inside.


• Look for the Latin name and the plant part on the label. See reading an Ayurvedic product label.

Reading the herb and formula lists on this site

Our herb index and formulation index pair each Sanskrit or common name with its guide.