Grammatical Riddles from Jain Works

Author(s): Nalini Balbir
Publisher: Z_Nirgranth_Aetihasik_Lekh_Samucchay_Part_1_002105.pdf and Nirgranth_Aetihasik_Lekh_Samucchay_Part_2

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Nalini Balbir
Jambū-jyoti
navaram vinnāyam imam mai-sāyara-santiyam na kenāvi panhottara-gaya-suttam muniyam kumarena tam tu imam (vs. 245)
The solution then comes as ahimsarthānām ajvaren, a sequence which is not part of the verse and which is arrived at as follows:
What is the only basis for happiness in the three worlds ?
-Non violence ahimsa What are the things one is very proud of ?-Richesarthanam
A man keeping good health says : "Who is the fundamental enemy of a human being ?- you who have no fever, it is love ajvara, Ih
Who is the one that the mungoose hates ?—The snake ahim
A group of people says: "Tell, in the hands of which beings is Sudarśana carried) ?"-O group, (in) Vişnu's hands sārtha, Anām → sārthānām
The best vowel said: "Which phoneme acts with regard to n?"
- best vowel, (it is) i aj-vara (voc.), ih39
And then, once the privative a standing in front is removed what is the sütra? himsārthānām ajvareh
The process to be applied in order to come to the solution is identical to what was seen in the VMM or in Jinavallabha's riddles. Like in the preceding case (8 11.2), the sūtra represents a sort of climax of the riddle but is not the only grammatical item to discover. Here, the question just before the last one is rather technical and refers to Pān 7.1.58 : id-ito num dhātoh, "n is inserted after the last vowel of a root ending with mute i (in the Dhātupātha)".
As to the final answer which forms a sütra, the difference is that here no hint is given about the grammatical text where it can be traced. Yet the source can be identified as Katantra 2.4.4040, a sūtra concerning the use of the genitive for referring to the object : sasthi is implied and forms a recurrent term to be taken from 2.4.37, karmani comes from 2.4.38: "(The genitive is used for the object) in roots meaning to 'inflict pain', (but) not for the root jvar in the causative.” Examples given in the commentaries*l show that the genitive can alternate with the accusative and is not compulsory (anityam, Durgasimha) except for jvar. Verbs chosen are (caurasya/cauram) prahanti, nihanti, pranihanti, utkrāthayati, pinasti, rujati, āmayati, ujjāsayati, unnātayati. This shows that Kätantra's sūtra is in fact a blend of two sutras which are kept independent by Pānini : rujārthanam