Sanskrit similies used by Adishankara

Courtesy:Sri.Arvind Kolhatkar

Col George Adolphus Jacob (1849-1918), for some time Director of Public Instruction Bombay Presidency, was a Sanskrit scholar and author. (Names of some of his books may be seen here.)  Among his books are three volumes of लौकिकन्यायाञ्जलि, a collection of often-met maxims in philosophy and literature.  (All three volumes are available at archive.org .)  The maxims are explained by citing their use in various works, principally commentaries by Adi Shankara.

I mention here a few of them by way of illustrations.

अन्तर्दीपिकान्याय and देहलीदीपन्याय -  A lamp placed between two rooms lights both.  A lamp placed on the threshold lights the interior and the exterior.

अन्धगजन्याय - The popular story of blind men describing an elephant.

अन्धगोलाङ्गूलन्याय - A blind man holds the tail of a cow but she cannot lead him to where he wants to go.

अरुन्धतीप्रदर्शनन्याय - The faint star अरुन्धती is pointed out first by showing the brighter star near it in the constellation of सप्तर्षि.

अहिकुण्डलन्याय - The relation of the highest Self and the soul is like that of the snake and its coils.

आकाशमुष्टिहननन्याय - The futility of hitting the sky with one's fist.

उष्ट्रकण्टकभक्षणन्याय - The camel, while eating the leaves of the शमी tree, does not mind the pain caused by the thorns.

कदम्बकोरकन्याय - The buds of the कदम्ब tree bloom all at once.

कफोणिगुडन्याय - Something that is seemingly within reach but still inaccessible like treacle गुड on the elbow कफोणि.

काकतालीयन्याय - A crow alights on the ताल tree and, at that very moment, a fruit of the tree falls on his head, killing him.  A purely accidental yet startling occurrence.

काकदन्तपरीक्षान्याय - A meaningless and futile activity.

कूपमण्डूकन्याय - An ignorant person who has not seen the world cannot understand anything beyond his surroundings.

कूपयन्त्रघटिकान्याय - कस्यात्यन्तं सुखमुपगतं दु:खमेकान्ततो वा । नीचैर्गच्छत्युपरि च दशा चक्रनेमिक्रमेण ॥ उत्तरमेघ ४६.

गगनरोमन्थन्याय - A ruminant animal ruminating on empty air.

घुणाक्षरन्याय - A hole made by termite in a paper accidentally resembles a letter, an occurrence by pure accident.

छत्रिन्याय - In a crowd most persons are holding open umbrellas but some are not.  Yet, to the onlooker it seems as though all have open umbrellas.

तमोदीपन्याय - It is futile to search for darkness by using a lamp.

दग्धपटन्याय - The burnt fabric leaves behind in the ashes its pattern.

नष्टाश्वदग्धरथन्याय - Two friends are travelling in two chariots.  They rest in a village for the night.  There is a fire in the village. It burns down the chariot of one of them and kills the horses of the other.  The friends continue on the journey by yoking the surviving horses to the other chariot.

पङ्वन्धन्याय - The person unable to walk rides on the shoulder of the one who cannot see.

पिष्टपेषणन्याय - Fruitless reiteration and unproductive repetition.

बीजाङ्कुरन्याय - Each is the cause and effect of the other.

मण्डूकप्लुतिन्याय - Jumping from one rule to another over the intervening ones.

याचितकमण्डनन्याय - Adorning oneself with borrowed ornaments.

वरमद्य कपोत: श्वो मयूरात् -  A pigeon today is preferable to a peacock tomorrow.