Lakshana ( sa, लक्षण ') – derived from the combination of words ''lakshya'' and ''kshana'' – means 'indication' or 'symptom'. It also means 'an auspicious mark', 'attribute' or 'quality'. In Tamil language, Lakshanam means "features". Sulakshana means good features.

Grammatical implication

Varadarāja Varadarāja was a 17th-century Hindu Sanskrit grammarian. He compiled an abridgement of the work of his master, the ''Siddhānta Kaumudī'' of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita, in three versions, referred to as ''madhya'' "middle", ''laghu'' "short" and ...

's ''Laghukaumudi'' (St.210), on the following ''Paniniya Sukta'' I.i.62 on

Sanskrit grammar The grammar of the Sanskrit language has a complex verbal system, rich nominal declension, and extensive use of compound nouns. It was studied and codified by Sanskrit grammarians from the later Vedic period (roughly 8th century BCE), culminating ...

, which reads: :प्रत्ययलोपे प्रत्ययलक्षणम् , states that when

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...

(''lopa'') of an

affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

has taken place, the affix shall still exert its influence, and the operations dependent upon it will take place as if it were present. He explains that the word, ''Lakshana'', signifies that by which a thing is recognized, and the word, ''Lopa'' signifies the elision i.e. substitution of a blank, in which regard Sakalya had suggested certain optional substitutions as stated in Sukta VIII.iii.19. Vardaraja draws attention to Panini’s statement referred to at St.152 to the effect that after whatsoever there is an affix (pratyaya) enjoined, let what begins therewith, in the form in which it appears when the affix follows it, be called an inflective base (anga) e.g. in the case of addressing two or more persons of the same name, say - Rama, the Ramas need not be addressed as ''Oh two Ramas'' but the '' -s'' is to be dropped without change in meaning (intention) and addressed as ''Oh Rama'' which would suffice the intended purpose.

Religious and ethical implication

''Vyasa-bhashya'' (VIII.13) explains that in the smallest particle of time or ''kshana'' the whole universe undergoes a change. Each moment or particle of time is only the manifestation of that change, and time does not have a separate existence. Appearance is called

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

, and the arrangement of objects or qualities is called ''Dharmin''; the change of appearance is called ''Dharma-parinama'' which has two aspects – ''Lakshana-parinama'' and ''Avastha-parinama'', which are not intrinsically different. ''Lakshana-parinama'' considers three stages of an appearance viz. a) the unmanifested when it exists in the future, b) the manifested moment of the present and c) the past when it has been manifested, lost to view but preserved and retained in all the onwards stages of evolution. ''Avastha-parinama'' is change of condition which is not materially different from ''Lakshana-parinama'' and hence its mode; it is on account of this that an object is called new or old, grown or decayed. It is the nature of the

Guṇa ( sa, गुण) is a concept in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, which can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".Vacaspati in his ''Tattva–vaivasaradi'' (III.15). Dharma, which provides security, peace and well-being, is concerned equally to the individual and his other worldly interests and to the worldly interest of the individual, family and society. Dharma embraces man’s life as a whole. The two goals of man’s individual and collective existence signified by the words ''abhyudaya'' ('prosperity') and ''nihsreyasa'' ('necessaries') are attained by following a two-fold dharma – 1) ''Pravritti Lakshana Dharma'' ('religion of action') that is characterized by action and 2) ''Nivritti Lakshana Dharma'' ('religion of renunciation') which is characterized by freedom from action.

Philosophical implication

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...

refers to the three meanings that all words and sentences carry – the primary or direct meaning, the implied meaning and the suggested meaning. The implied meaning, known as ''Lakshana'', is of three kinds – ''Jahallakshana'' which consists in discarding the direct meaning in favour of the indirect or implied meaning, ''Ajahallakshana'' in which the direct meaning is not completely given up and the real meaning is hinted, and ''Jahadjahallakshana'' which consists in giving up a part of the direct meaning and retaining the other part. Thus, the word "that" of the mahavakya –

tat tvam asi Tat or TAT may refer to: Geography *Tát, a Hungarian village *Tat Ali, an Ethiopian volcano People *Tat, a son and disciple of Hermes Trismegistus * Tiffani Amber Thiessen, initials T.A.T. * Tat Wood, a British author Arts, entertainment, and ...

(that thou art) primarily refers to the Saguna Brahman or

Ishvara ''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism.Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of H ...

, and the word "thou" primarily to the

Jiva ''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jīva (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. ...

, the individual soul. The direct sense points to the identity of between

and

. The implied meaning reveals that Ishvara and Jiva are the result of ignorance and the imposition of the unreal on the real when "that" refers to the

Nirguna Brahman ''Para Brahman'' ( sa, परब्रह्म, translit=parabrahma, translit-std=IAST) in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as the formless (in the sense th ...

, the pure consciousness who is absolute and without attributes and "thou" refers to self or

atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...

, the pure consciousness which is the reality underlying the mind-body complex. It is according to the third ''Lakshana'' that the identity of Brahman and Atman is established, that these two words in their implicit sense point to the same reality, that ''Brahma-anubhava'' is the non-dual experience of the sole reality.

Lakshana Jnanam of classical music

The student of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

– after faithfully evaluating the effect of listening and observation as aids for sadhana – strives to study the role of acquiring ''Lakshana Jnanam'' ('theoretical knowledge') as an aid to ''Lakshya Sadhana'' ('practical attainment') in order to uplift knowledge of music gained and realizing its practical utilities/applications. Mere theoretical knowledge, the ''arohana'' and ''avarohana'' of a

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

is not ''Lakshana Jnanam'', for the body is first formed and only thereafter infused with life. Lakshya (target or aim to be accomplished) is based on '' Kalpana'' ('imagination','inspiration') and ''Lakshana'' is like

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

, the former is not clear without the latter. The knowledge of ''Lakshana'' is essential for ''Lakshya sadhana''.

Prognostic implication

In matters pertaining to the prediction of future events, the word, ''Lakshana'', means a mark or an

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

. In this system, eight different methods are employed: * ''Anga'' ('Limbs') (''Anga

Shastra ''Shastra'' (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The wo ...

''), which takes into account different parts of the body, * ''Svapna'' ('Dream'), by which ones press dreams, * ''Swar'' ('Sound') attaches importance to utterances by birds and animals, * ''Bhomi'' ('Attitude') refers to one’s behaviour, walk, posture etc.; * ''Vyanjana'' ('Birth-marks') refers to

birthmarks A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

such as moles, spots etc.; * ''Lakshana'' ('Omen'), * ''Utpath'' ('Catastrophe') refers to phenomena such as earth-quake, volcanic eruption etc.; and * ''Antariksha'' ('Heavenly'), on the appearance of comets, circle round the Moon, etc. According to

numerology Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

, numbers pregnant with more than one meaning and significance, indicate the course of future events. According to ''Anga Ranga'', a very ancient method, women are divided into four distinct classes of temperament that correspond to the four phases of liberation (''

moksa ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologica ...

'').

References

External links

Diction of a Play (lakṣaṇa)
Chapter XVII of the Nāṭyaśāstra {{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed Hindu philosophical concepts Buddhist philosophical concepts Sanskrit words and phrases Vedanta Yoga concepts