217. Rāsabharaṭita-nyāya
Rāsabharaṭita means the braying of the donkey. The donkey starts on a high decibel. But it keeps diminishing. On the surface if something looks profound but upon a careful second viewing looks trivial, to describe such a thing, this nyāya is used.
218. Rekhāgavaya-nyāya
Gavaya is something which resembles cattle; say a female bison. Someone seeing a drawing might think that it is a cow. Once he sees the real cow he understands that the drawing is not the cow but it helps in understanding how a cow looks like. See citraturaga-nyāya.
219. Vanasiṃha-nyāya
A lion which was chased by hunters entered a dense forest. It was impossible to hunt the lion due to the dense forest. Due to the presence of the lion, people stopped cutting the trees of the forest for firewood and other uses. Thus the lion and the forest mutually benefited from each other and prospered.
When such mutual benefit is described, this nyāya is used.
220. Vadhūhastamāṣamāpana-nyāya
The act of making the daughter-in-law measure the quantity of blackgram. In the house of a brāhmaṇa, there was a tradition of giving a fistful of blackgram to anyone who comes begging. It was the duty of his wife to do it. But the brāhmaṇa was a miser. But he somehow continued it as it was a tradition. His son got married and the daughter-in-law arrived.
A plan clicked in his mind. The daughter-in-law had a small fist. So if she was delegated the duty of giving blackgram, a small quantity would be enough. With this cunning intent he delegated that to his daughter-in-law. But fate had other ideas. His wife was old and ugly. But the daughter-in-law was young and beautiful. So the number of beggars rose exponentially. The loss became more than before. The import here is evident.
221. Varamadya kapotaḥ śvo mayūrāt
A pigeon which we have today is better than the peacock which we might get tomorrow. The import is the same as the next nyāya, ‘varaṃ sāṃśayikānniṣkāt...’.
222. Varaṃ sāṃśayikānniṣkādasāṃśayikaḥ kārṣāpaṇaḥ
Compared to a dubious gold coin, a silver coin of unquestionable origin is better. It is uncertain if the gold coin can be procured, while there is a certainty in getting the silver coin. It is prudent to hold on to the silver coin. A certain thing even though of lower value is better than an uncertain thing of high value. This is similar to the English proverb, ‘A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.’
223. Varāṭikānveṣaṇāya pravṛttaścintāmaṇiṃ labdhavān
Someone got hold of the all-giving gem cintāmaṇi while searching for a cowrie! (a low denomination, typically a shell) When a small effort leads to a huge gain, when the return on investment is exponential this nyāya is used to describe it.
The noun/word is eternal, the division of it as a combination of root word and suffix etc is all artificial. The nature of the word is uncovered by its meaning, how this happens (i.e. prakriyā) comes within the purview of grammar. This has been extensively described by Bhartṛhari in his treatise on grammar, vākyapadīya. It is similar to the prakriyā of the advaita-vedānta. Someone who is exploring the grammatical nuances can rely upon the varāṭikānveṣaṇa-nyāya to understand the prakriyā of the advaita-vedānta is the opinion of Bhartṛhari. Bhaṭṭoji-dīkṣita in his work śabdakaustubha provides this opinion.
224. Vikrīte kariṇi kimaṅkuśe vivādaḥ
The elephant has already been sold, why make a fuss about the goad? The elephant is a highly valuable animal. Someone selling it shouldn’t quibble about giving the goad to the buyer. Once the elephant itself is gone what is the use of the goad?
When you lose a valuable item there is no use fighting for something trivial. After selling the cow it's prudent to let go of the ropes.
225. Vipulakadalīphalalipsayā jihvācchedanaṃ
Cutting one’s tongue to satisfy the desire of getting a bunch of bananas! Someone offered that he would give the full bunch of bananas if one cuts his tongue. That brilliant fellow got ready to cut off his tongue for the bananas! After cutting one’s tongue, how useful is a banana? When the desired object, even though precious, results in the destruction of one’s own survival, it is prudent to let go of that object. This is what this nyāya opines.
226. Viṣakṛmi-nyāya
The worms that grow in a poisonous environment. Poison is something which has the capability of destroying a living being. But isn’t it true that many of the worms thrive in that environment? A poison for one may not be a poison for the other. Same is true for ambrosia. There is an English proverb with a similar import. ‘One man’s food is another man’s poison.’ There is a verse which uses this as follows.
“O brāhmaṇa, who is the most superior in your town?
The palm trees!
Who is the one who indulges in charity?
The washerman! He receives the clothes in the morning and promptly returns them in the evening.
Who is the most capable here?
All are capable of coveting others' wives and property!
Then, how do you make a living?
As described by the viṣakṛmi-nyāya!”
227. Vihaṅgama-nyāya
The bird can swiftly fly and reach the fruits on the tree. It is faster than monkeys. A deserving one will reach the fruits of his efforts swiftly.
See the plavaṅgamagati-nyāya and pipīlikāgati-nyāya.
228. Vīcītaraṅga-nyāya
One wave drives the other wave. Finally the wave at the end of this sequence reaches the shore. How does the sound travel from the source to our ears? Just like the vīcītaraṅga, the oscillations at the source result in other oscillations finally reaching our ears.
229. Vṛkṣaprakampana-nyāya
When one shakes the tree, the branches and the leaves too are shaken. An activity might not affect just one thing but might affect multiple things at once. Everything related to it actually gets affected. That is what is described by this nyāya.
This is the twenty-fifth part of the multi-part translation of the Kannada book "Sandarbha Sukti" by Mahamahopadhyaya Vidwan Dr. N Ranganatha Sharma. Thanks to Dr. Sharada Chaitra for granting us permission to translate this wonderful work. Thanks to Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh for his inputs. The original in Kannada can be read here
