Upayoga: 19 definitions
Introduction:
Upayoga means something in Jainism, Prakrit, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Upyog.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: archive.org: TrisastisalakapurusacaritraUpayoga (उपयोग) or “concentrated attention” refers to a technical term meaning the expression of the activity of the soul through jñāna and darśana, knowledge and perception.—(cf. ‘The Jaina Gazette’ Vol. 21, p. 251. Tattvārthādhigamasūtra 2.8 ff.).
According to chapter 1.1 of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra:
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra“Employing concentrated attention [viz., upayoga], then from clairvoyant knowledge he recalled his former birth like a day that occurred yesterday as follows: ‘I was a king of the Vidyādharas [i.e., named Mahābala] and was instructed in the religion of the Jinas by my minister, Svayambuddha, my friend in religion [...]’”.
Upayoga (उपयोग, “manifestation”).—What is meant by consciousness? To know, to feel misery and pleasure, to see and to hear are some of the manifestations (upayoga) of consciousness.
Source: Encyclopedia of Jainism: Tattvartha Sutra 2: the Category of the living1) Upayoga (उपयोग, “sentience”).—according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 2.8-9, “functional consciousness/ sentience (upayoga) is the differentia (distinguishing characteristic) of the soul”.—What is the meaning of upayoga (sentience or functional consciousness)? The disposition due to which the soul sees and knows is called upayoga. What is the difference between sentience and soul? Sentience is an attribute and soul is the owner of the attribute. Who can have sentience? Only jīva, which is sentient, can have sentience.
There are two types of sentience namely knowledge (jñāna) and intuition (darśana). Why there is no ‘telepathic-intuition’? This is so as telepathy is preceded by mind-based knowledge and mind based knowledge is its intuition.
2) Upayoga (उपयोग, “manifestation”) refers to a defining factor of “psychic sense” (bhāvendriya), according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 2.18. Activities of the soul involved in cognizing an object of knowledge are called manifestation (upayoga). Attaining completion (labdhi) and its manifestation (upayoga) is called psychic sense organ (bhāvendriya).
What is the difference between attainment (labdhi) and manifestation (upayoga)? Attainment is the capability to cognize and manifestation is the use of that capability to cognize the object. What is the difference between manifestation and yoga (activities of mind, body and speech)? Manifestation is the inclination of knowledge while yoga is the tendency of mind, body and speech.
How many types of manifestation (upayoga) are there? There are three types of manifestation namely inauspicious, auspicious and pure.
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve ReflectionsUpayoga (उपयोग) refers to “enjoyment”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “This corporeal body is produced from a mass of atoms. An embodied soul has the nature of enjoyment (upayoga-ātmaka), is beyond the senses [and] consists of knowing. Why do the stupid, afflicted by the planet of [their] birth, not perceive the difference [between the body and the self] which is recognised everywhere in the occurrence of birth and death.”.

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionaryupayoga : (m.) connection; employment; application.
Source: Sutta: The Pali Text Society's Pali-English DictionaryUpayoga, (fr. upa + yuj) connection, combination; employment, application J. VI, 432 (nagare upayogaṃ netvā for use in the town? v. l. upabhogaṃ). Usually in cpd. °vacana as tt. g. meaning either combined or condensed expression, ellipsis SnA 386; KhA 236; PvA. 73, 135; or the Acc. case, which is frequently substituted for the foll. cases: sāmi-vacana SnA 127; PvA. 102; bhumma° SnA 140; KhA 116; karaṇa° SnA 148; sampadāna° J. V, 214; SnA 317; itthambhūta° SnA 441; nissakka° J. V, 498. (Page 145)

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryupayōga (उपयोग).—m (S) Use or usefulness; adaptedness or helpfulness to any end or purpose. 2 Need of; demand or occasion for.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishupayōga (उपयोग).—m Use. Demand for. Need of.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग).—
1) Employment, use, application, service; ओषधान्नविहाराणामुपयोगः सुखावहः (oṣadhānnavihārāṇāmupayogaḥ sukhāvahaḥ) Madh. N. उपयोगं गम् (upayogaṃ gam) or व्रज् (vraj) to be used or employed, serve; व्रजन्ति (vrajanti) ... अनङ्गलेखक्रिययोपयोगम् (anaṅgalekhakriyayopayogam) Kumārasambhava 1.7.
2) Administration of medicines, or their preparation.
3) Fitness, suitableness, propriety.
4) Contact, proximity.
5) Any act contributing to the fulfilment of a desired object.
6) Good conduct, observing established customs.
7) Food; गते च दुर्वाससि सोऽम्बरीषो द्विजोपयोगातिपवित्रमाहरत् (gate ca durvāsasi so'mbarīṣo dvijopayogātipavitramāharat) Bhāgavata 9.5.24.
Derivable forms: upayogaḥ (उपयोगः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग).—m.
(-gaḥ) 1. Good conduct, observing established practices. 2. Any act tending to effect a desired object. 3. Fitness, suitableness. 4. Service, utility. 5. Use, application. 6. Contact, proximity. 7. Adminstration of medicines. 8. Preparation of them. E. upa before yuj to join, ghañ aff.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग).—i. e. upa-yuj + a, m. Employment, use, [Kumārasaṃbhava, (ed. Stenzler.)] 1, 7.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग).—[masculine] employment, application; use, enjoyment.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Upayoga (उपयोग):—[=upa-yoga] [from upa-yuj] m. employment, use, application, [Mahābhārata; Suśruta; Prabodha-candrodaya]
2) [v.s. ...] (upayogaṃ-√gam or √vraj, to be employed, [Kumāra-sambhava; Śārṅgadhara])
3) [v.s. ...] enjoyment, consuming, taking, [Suśruta]
4) [v.s. ...] any act tending to a desired object
5) [v.s. ...] an engagement, compact, agreement, [Pāṇini 1-4, 29]
6) [v.s. ...] use, fitness
7) [v.s. ...] acquisition (of knowledge), [Gautama-dharma-śāstra vii, 1]
8) [v.s. ...] good conduct, observing established practices, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
9) [v.s. ...] calculation (°gaṃ √kṛ ‘to calculate’), [Hemacandra’s Pariśiṣṭaparvan]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग):—[upa-yoga] (gaḥ) 1. m. Good conduct; fitness, use, application.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Upayoga (उपयोग) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Uvaoga.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryUpayoga (उपयोग) [Also spelled upyog]:—(nm) use, utilisation/utility; exploitation; ~[karttā] a usufructuary; consumer.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusUpayōga (ಉಪಯೋಗ):—
1) [noun] the act of using or the state of being used; use; utilisation.
2) [noun] the quality or property of being useful; usefulness; utility.
3) [noun] benefit derived from using a thing.
4) [noun] a way of applying or method of applying or using; specific use; application.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Upayogasamstha, Upayogastra, Upayogatmaka.
Ends with: Anupayoga, Ashtapadikritadhupayoga, Darshanopayoga, Dhupayoga, Durupayoga, Jnanopayoga, Nirupayoga, Sadupayoga.
Full-text: Anupayoga, Upayogin, Aupayaugika, Yathopayogam, Upega, Darshanopayoga, Nirupayoga, Uvaoga, Jnanopayoga, Upyog, Jnanendriya, Aharavidhivisheshayatana, Samivacana, Labdhi, Pancendriya, Pannavana, Bhavendriya, Upagraha.
Relevant text
Search found 16 books and stories containing Upayoga, Upayōga, Upa-yoga; (plurals include: Upayogas, Upayōgas, yogas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
A study of the philosophy of Jainism (by Deepa Baruah)
Chapter IV.a - The nature of the Self (Jīva) in Jaina philosophy < [Chapter IV - The concept of Self]
Chapter III.a - The Nature Of Substance (Dravya) < [Chapter III - Categories]
Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary) (by Vijay K. Jain)
Verse 2.9 - Two kinds of cognition (upayoga) < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]
Verse 2.18 - The psychical-sense (bhāvendriya) < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]
Verse 2.8 - Cognition is the mark of the soul < [Chapter 2 - Category of the Living]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 2.16.69 < [Chapter 16 - The Lord’s Acceptance of Śuklāmbara’s Rice]
Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra (by Helen M. Johnson)
Part 13: Siṃhakeśarin < [Chapter III - Vasudeva’s Marriage with Kanakavatī and her Former Incarnations]
Part 13: Fifth incarnation as the Īśāna god < [Chapter I]
Appendix 1.6: New and rare words < [Appendices]
Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti) (by K. C. Lalwani)
Chapter 5: On birds < [Book 7]
Part 3 - On the state of pregnancy < [Chapter 7]
Part 4 - On tinge, outlook, etc., of infernals < [Chapter 5]
A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 4 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)
Part 3 - Tarka (ratiocination) < [Chapter XXVIII - Madhva Logic]