Lakshana ( ') – derived from the combination of words ''lakshya'' and ''kshana'' – means 'indication' or 'symptom'. It also means 'an auspicious mark', 'attribute' or 'quality'.

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" an ...

'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), culminatin ...

, 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 to ...

(''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. The main two categories are Morphological derivation, derivational and inflectional affixes. Derivational affixes, such as ''un-'', ''-ation' ...

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 (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

, 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 () is a concept in Hinduism, 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 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 *Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean country People *Tat, a son and disciple of Hermes Trismegistus * Tiffani Amber Thiessen, initials T.A.T. * Tat Wood, ...

(that thou art) primarily refers to the

Saguna Brahman ''Saguna brahman'' ( 'The Absolute with qualities'; from Sanskrit ' 'with qualities', ''guṇa'' 'quality', and ''Brahman'' 'the Absolute') is a concept of ultimate reality in Hinduism, close to the concept of immanence, the manifested divine ...

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 ...

, and the word "thou" primarily to the

Jiva ''Jiva'' (, IAST: ), also referred as ''Jivātman,'' 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 br ...

, 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'' or ''Param Brahman'' () in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as beyond the form or the formlessness (in the sense that it is devoid of May ...

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

atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Religion * ''Ātman'' (Hinduism), meaning "Self", a philosophical concept common to all schools of Hindu philosophy * ''Ātman'' (Buddhism), ''attā'' or ''attan'', a reference to the essential self ** ''Anattā'' ...

, 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 #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

– 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 ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

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 Kalpana may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalpana'' (1948 film), an Indian Hindi-language dance film * ''Kalpana'' (1960 film), a romantic Bollywood film * ''Kalpana'' (1970 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Kalpana'' (2012 film), an I ...

'' ('imagination','inspiration') and ''Lakshana'' is like

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, 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 history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages ...

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

Shastra ''Śāstra'' ( ) 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 word is ge ...

''), which takes into account different parts of the body, * ''Svapna'' ('Dream'), by which ones press dreams, * ''Svara'' ('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. Birthmarks can occur anywhere on the skin. They are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

such as moles, spots etc.; * ''Lakshana'' ('Omen'), * ''Utpatha'' ('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 (known before the 20th century 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, ...

, 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'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, ''nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologica ...

'').

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