Adarshanam (Sanskrit: अदर्शनम्) is a multi-layered term in Sanskrit and Ayurveda denoting “not seeing,” “disappearance,” or “invisibility.” In medical and philosophical literature, its meanings range from the literal absence of sight (blindness or impaired visual perception) to the disappearance or non-appearance of any phenomenon, symptom, or substance.

In classical Ayurvedic pathology, adarshanam is used as a symptom descriptor for various conditions. For example, in the context of disease, it may refer to the inability to see (blindness or vision impairment), the disappearance of menstrual bleeding (as in amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea), or the absence of other natural phenomena or clinical signs.

Philosophically, adarshanam can indicate a latent or unmanifest state—something not currently seen or manifested, whether in body, mind, or the environment.

Ayurvedic texts describe adarshanam as an important diagnostic or descriptive term. For instance, the absence of menstrual blood at the expected time is termed adarshanam, and the appearance or disappearance of symptoms is tracked as a measure of treatment progress. Some texts also use the word in a metaphysical sense, such as the invisibility of certain dosha imbalances or the disappearance of disease after effective therapy.

In summary, adarshanam in Ayurveda is a flexible term that links observable medical phenomena (“not seeing,” “loss,” “absence”) with broader concepts of presence and manifestation in health and disease.