1.10. Śleṣa (Paronomasia or pun)

The alaṃkāra that generates poetic brilliance by employing words having more than one meaning and bearing one significance then it is called Śleṣa.^[1] For Udbhata, this figure, which is common to all literatures, is of utmost importance. Kṣemendra, in his works employs a number of puns. In the verse, māyā prapañca^[2] …….....etc. of the Kalāvilāsa, it has been stated that people are always destructed by the bureaucrats. They cheat the world by the innumerable tricks and become powerful by way of grasping the village within their reach. In the verse, there is a pun. The verse has also another meaning i.e. men are always destructing by the sense organs and seize various sensual objects and cheat the soul with illusion.

In the Deśopadeśa, In the verse, mandaḥ pāpagrahaḥ^[3] ……………, it is said that the wicked person who is like the evil planet Saturn, on account of cruelty, is not desired by people of virtuous deeds. Though he is equal to Saturn (śani), but is not Saturn to the people (aśani). A pun on the word aśani or ‘not Saturn’ is also a synonym for the thunderbolt of Indra.

In the verse, ākāreṇa gururguruśca vacasā^[4] …………., of the Narmamālā, it has been mentioned that he (the guru) is weighty in size as well as in his speech. He is also heavy in his belly, private parts, facial hair, jaws and rumps. On the other hand, he is also weighty in his idleness and lack of knowledge. He lacks in all the good qualities, but knows well how to extort money from the officials and the lewd people. Thus, he is much heavy in everything, but is lacking in the knowledge given by god Śiva. In the verse, Kṣemendra makes use of the pun on the word guru, which is also used in the sense of ‘profound’ (guru). A few more examples of Śleṣa are found in the works.^[5]