In Indian philosophy, the name for an
instrumental cause, or the cause by
which another thing is accomplished.
An example often given by the Nyaya
philosophical school states that when
a potter connects two pot-halves using
a stick, the stick is the instrumental
cause for the creation of the pot. In
Sanskrit grammar, the word karana has
a parallel sense; it designates the word
in a sentence that shows how the
action is accomplished.