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
Jambu-jyoti
the three illustrative verses available both in the VMM (2 verses) and in the AC (1 verse) shows that it is actually the case :
Metre of VMM 2.35 śikharini / Answer to the riddle : śikharini (< śikharini + 1)
Metre of VMM 2.36 mâlini / Answer to the riddle : mālini (< mă + alini) 51
Metre of AC 2.54 indramālā (see below) / Answer to the riddle : indramālā.
But Ajitasena's definition has the advantage of making this feature a structural element specific to the variety and not a matter of chance. It is both an additional challenge for the one who asks the riddle and a hint for the one who is to answer it, provided he is decently trained in recognizing the metre of a stanza read to him.
Ajitasena's example reads :
sambodhanam kim suralokanāthe ? bhramad-dvirephā surabhi-sphuta kā ?
Kā yäti nākāj Jinapujanartham ? vrttam kim ābrūhy upajāti-laksma? Which word is used to address the lord of the world of gods ? Indra ! What is it that is famous for its fragrance, where bees turn around ?
A garland of flowers-mālā
Who comes from the sky to worship the Jinas?.--A line of Indras Indramålā
What is the metre that has the characteristic of an upajāti? indramālā
The pattern of the riddle-verse agrees with what we find in the VMM : in the vrttanāmajāti, the first two or three questions can relate to any topic, but the last one always gives an indication about the structural pattern of the metre to be guessed (... a metre having nine light and eight heavy syllables for the śikharini in VMM 2.35, ... a metre having the same number of light syllables as the number of mountains [ = 8 ) and the same number of heavy syllables as the number of oceans [ = 7 ] for the mâlini in VMM 2.36). Here also the metrical pattern of the stanza fits with the hint given about the metre : three indravajrapadas (a, cand d) and one upendravajrāpada (b) makes an upajāti, since this syllabic metre of 11 syllables is precisely made of the combinations of these two varieties, in any