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Nalini Balbir
*adivārī-sabdo vā kais tyaktaḥ praha gṛha-deśam? (yaih; JP 52)
Of which elements should the word adivārī be deprived to denote a part of a house? Of i, i and a (i-i-a in the instrumental plural > yaih): adivari →dvar, 'a door'.
*
When the synonyms which are to be found out are not ordinary words, but typical ekākṣaras, the effect of surprise and the pleasure of the discovery are even greater :
asumeti-padam kīdṛk Kāmaṁ Lakṣmïm ca bodhayati ? (avatamasam;
Jambu-jyoti
JP 7)
How does the sequence asumeti refer to Kāma and Lakṣmi in the vocative? - Once it is deprived of the letters va (i.e. u and a), ta, ma and sa (a-v-a-ta-ma-sam): asumeti → E, vocative of I, a frequent synonym of Kama, and I, vocative of I, a frequent synonym of Lakṣmi. Both these monosyllables are well recorded in Ekākṣarakoṣas and widely used by Jinavallabha in his Praśnottara.
On the other hand, there are riddles of this type implying two types of modifications, an addition combined with a suppression, in which case the answer can be expressed through two bahuvrīhi-compounds :
* Hara-nikara-patha-svah-sṛṣṭi-vāci narnaga-padaṁ kidṛg? (bhavamāsvasādiśastanam; JP 16)
How does the word narnaga designate 'Śiva', 'a collection', 'a path', 'the sky', 'creation' ?-Once it starts (respectively) with bha, va, mā, sva or sa and is deprived of na (bha-va-ma-sva-sādi śasta-nam) : narnaga→→ Bharga, varga, marga, svarga and sarga.
* vadati javina-śabdaḥ kīdṛśaḥ sat-kavīndrāḥ
kathayata jana-śūnyaṁ kajjalaṁ bhartsanam ca? (vyantarādivyastaḥ; JP 27)
Good poets tell : how does the word javina denote 'deserted by people', 'collyrium' and 'threat' ?-Once it starts with vi, am or tar, and once vi has been thrown away (vy-am-tar-ādi-vy-astaḥ): javina→ vijana, añjana, tarjana.
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kīdṛk / pūta-vāta-paritāpa-mlecchopāsti-nuti-gṛha-krīḍā homa-viśva-vegavato jalpati pavadanada-padam? (papadayasestabhadehabhujādivipadam; JP 34).
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