238. Śākhācandra-nyāya
The moon is shown to the kids by pointing it out amidst some branches. If the kid sees through the gaps in between the branches he sees the moon. But the moon actually doesn’t reside between those gaps. But as it seems to be very near to the branches it is easy to point towards it. Without this reference it would be tricky to show. Though the branches and the moon are unrelated, we impose a relation on them. The branches serve as a reference using which the moon can be shown with ease. We often use an auxiliary reference to show or point the main target or aim. This nyāya is used to describe such situations. See ‘arundhatīpradarśana-nyāya’.
239. Śānte karmaṇi vetālodayaḥ
After performing all the śānti-karmas (set of karmas to pacify future impediments) the vetāla appeared! When an arduous task is being done with great effort, taking utmost care and is about to be completed, some insurmountable trouble strikes, this nyāya is used to describe such situations.
240. Śiroveṣṭanena nāsikāsparśa nyāya
Touching one’s nose in a roundabout way, by bringing the hand around one’s head. While one can touch the nose directly, why bring it around the head! This is also called ‘drāviḍaprāṇāyāma’. When one performs ‘prāṇāyāma’ one should hold his nose and control his breathing pattern, is what is prescribed. Bringing the hand around the head is the ‘drāviḍa’ method. This nyāya opines that it's foolish to do something which can be easily done in the most circuitous way. This is similar to the Kannada proverb ‘ಕೊಂಕಣ ಸುತ್ತಿ ಮೈಲಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದ ಹಾಗೆ’. Instead of going directly to Mailara which is nearby, one goes to the farther palace Konkana, i.e. Goa and then visits Mailara.
241. Śīrṣe sarpo deśāntare vaidyaḥ
The snake is on the head, the doctor meanwhile is on a foreign trip! The solution to a problem should be within one’s reach. It is futile if it is available after a long time. Like the pickle which is available after the meal. Like digging a well when one’s house is on fire. There is a verse in the brilliant play ‘mudrārākṣasam’ of Viśākhadatta, its import is as follows.
“The clouds thunder, but alas the beloved is so far. The divine cure is in the himālaya; but the snake is already on my head!”
242. Śukanalikā-nyāya
Śuka means parrot, nalikā means a hollow log or reed. Birdcatchers sometimes anoint a sticky substance to reeds. The parrot when it comes and sits on it is stuck and cannot fly, thus it is caught. After this whenever it sees such a reed it is frightened and it screams. It would never sit on it as it's frightened from the previous experience.
If one recalls some experience in the past and is frightened without reason, this nyāya is used to describe such situations.
In the gograhaṇa episode of the virāṭa-parva, Arjuna releases the sammohanāstra (the arrow which makes everyone unconscious) on the kauravas, some of the soldiers are needlessly frightened and they hide. One type of sammohanāstra even goes by the name śuka. This nyāya might be the reason why it is named so.
243. Śūrpa-nyāya
Śūrpa means winnow. Using it one can separate the grain from the chaff. This nyāya is used to describe such a process where the thing required is stored and the useless stuff is discarded. This is similar to cālanī-nyāya.
244. Śṛṅgagrāhikā-nyāya
When someone asked a cowherd, “Which are your cows? Which amongst them gives the highest quantity of milk?”The cowherd held the horn of one of the cows and said, “This is my cow, this is the one which yields the highest quantity of milk.” If he had pointed to one of the cows from afar, “You see! That reddish cow there! That's the one which gives a lot of milk!” .etc. Sometimes it won’t be clear. To provide utmost clarity it needs precise direction. This nyāya is used to describe such situations.
245. Śyālaśunaka-nyāya
Śyala is the brother of one’s wife, i.e. brother-in-law. A newly wed youth wanted to tease his wife. So names his dog after his brother-in-law. He calls the dog and makes fun of it. The wife thinks that her husband is making fun of her brother and gets angry. She can’t hear the taunts, she also can’t keep quiet. The husband finds it funny. This is the śyalaśunaka-nyāya.
Here the husband has no intention to express his anger on the brother-in-law, he just wants feign anger on the dog. But the wife doesn’t know that and is thus angered. In the śaiva-purāṇas we see that Viṣnu is being ridiculed, likewise in the vaiṣṇava-purāṇas we see the same treatment meted out to Śiva. The authors have no intention to disparage anyone. The ultimate truth is one. One should worship that. The authors want to drive home the truth that people worshiping other deities who are capable of providing temporary relief are fools. So to achieve this they ridicule other deities. We should understand that reality. Just like the dog is named after the brother-in-law, these other deities are named Viṣnu or Śiva and ridiculed. One should see the preface of the commentary to the Mahābhārata by Nīlakaṇṭha to understand this in the right spirit.
246. Śyenakapotīya-nyāya
Śyena is eagle, kapota is pigeon. A pigeon flew around as usual and sat on a branch. All of a sudden an eagle flew down and picked it up. It's just fate. When one gets into a dangerous situation unexpectedly, this nyāya can be used to explain such a situation.
247. Śvapucchonnāma-nyāya
The dog’s tail is always crooked. It's futile to try and straighten it. Likewise it is futile to provide good counsel to a fool.. He would never change his ways. That’s the import of this nyāya.
This is the twenty-seventh 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
