- Author : Smt. Radhika Upadhyaya
- Translator : Smt. Vaishnavi Kulkarni Bankalgi
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Mundiges in Sanskrit literature
In Sanskrit literature too, many enigmatic verses are seen. These are called Chatushloka or Samasya which means riddle.
Some of them seem to have contradictory meanings when viewed superficially. However, upon correctly inspecting the constituent words, the conflict is resolved.
tātēna kathitaṁ putra lēkhaṁ likha mamājñayā |
na tēna likhitō lēkhaḥ piturājñā na lōpitā ||
The above mentioned verse is an example for this. The superficial meaning is, the father (tāta) tells his son, “Write a letter in accordance with my order”. The son neither wrote the letter nor did he disobey his father’s order. This seems contradictory. However, it can be resolved when the words are correctly combined. The words na tēna reads as “neither did he”, but it is actually a single word “natēna” which means “respectfully”. Since, the son respectfully wrote the letter, he did not disobey his father.
Here is another such instance:
ēkōnā vinśatiḥ strīṇāṁ snānārthaṁ sarayū gatā |
vinśatiḥ punarāyātā ēkō vyāghrēṇa bhakṣitaḥ ||
The superficial meaning of this verse is as follows: Nineteen women went to bathe in the Sarayu River. Twenty people returned. One was eaten by a tiger. This is a mathematical puzzle. However, when the word play is resolved, ēkōnā vinśatiḥ is not to be deciphered as one less than twenty, i.e. nineteen women. It must be deciphered as ēkō+nā+ vinśatiḥ+ strīṇāṁ. nā means nārā or man. Thus, it may be inferred that one man and twenty women went to bathe in the Sarayu River. The man was devoured by the tiger. Twenty people returned.
Software Engineer by profession and a learner of Madhwa Siddhanta by passion.
ब्रह्मान्ता गुरवः साक्षात् इष्टं दैवं श्रियःपतिः |
आचार्या श्रीमदाचार्या सन्तु मे जन्मजन्मनि ||