Lakshanam

Lakshanam, also transliterated lakṣaṇa or lakshana, is a Sanskrit-based term used across Indian languages to denote a sign, mark, feature, or attribute. Etymologically, it derives from lakṣaṇa, meaning an identifying characteristic that marks or distinguishes a thing. In modern usage, lakshanam can refer to any characteristic feature of a person, object, concept, or phenomenon.

In medicine and Ayurveda, lakshanam denotes signs and symptoms used to diagnose a condition. Descriptions of diseases often begin with their lakṣaṇā, the observable indicators that point to a particular disorder. The term thus functions as part of diagnostic language, linking clinical presentation to a broader understanding of health and illness.

In philosophy and logic, lakṣaṇa designates a defining characteristic or the attribute by which a category or proposition is recognized. It is employed in debates about essence, genus-differentia structures, and the criteria by which terms are applied to objects. In Indian linguistic tradition, lakṣaṇa also appears as a technical notion in grammar and semantics, where it can mean a defining trait of a word or a rule that characterizes a linguistic unit.

In everyday usage, lakshanam is a general term for features, traits, or indicators of any kind. It appears in educational, scientific, and cultural texts to express the idea of distinguishing characteristics or observable signs. Variants in transliteration include lakṣaṇa and lakshanam, reflecting phonetic differences across languages that borrow the term.