Lakṣaṇa

Lakṣaṇa is what characterizes and distinguishes something from what it is not. In Vedānta, Brahman is defined by two types of lakṣaṇa: svarūpa-lakṣaṇa (its essential nature — sat-cit-ānanda) and taṭastha-lakṣaṇa (indirect characteristic, by effect — 'that from whom beings are born'). It also means 'secondary meaning' (as opposed to abhidhā, primary meaning): 'the village on the Ganges' uses lakṣaṇā, since villages are not in the river, but on its bank.