Text 11.40 [Parikarāṅkura]

72. Parikarāṅkura

साभिप्रायं विशेष्यं चेद् भवेत् परिकराङ्कुरः ॥ ११.९cd ॥

sābhiprāyaṃ viśeṣyaṃ ced bhavet parikarāṅkuraḥ || 11.9cd ||

If the substantive has a hidden purpose, that is parikarāṅkura (highly significant noun).

udāharaṇam, caturṇāṃ puruṣārthānāṃ dātā devaś caturbhujaḥ.

For example: Lord Caturbhuja bestows the four goals of human life. (Candrāloka 5.40)

Commentary:

Here the reasoning is that the word caturbhuja (lit. four-handed) is not an adjective since it is a name of Viṣṇu. That noun is significant because of the correspondence in the predicate. Taken as an adjective, caturbhuja is the parikara ornament (the assistants). Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa says parikarāṅkura is included in the parikara ornament (10.176), as a subcategory.^[1]

This verse by Kālidāsa is another example of a name that can be taken as an adjective, so that the figure is either parikara or parikarāṅkura,

tava prasādāt kusumāyudho'pi sahāyam ekaṃ madhum eva labdhvā |
kuryāṃ harasyāpi pināka-pāṇer dhairya-cyutiṃ ke mama dhanvino’nye ||

“[Cupid speaks to Indra:] Now that by your grace I, who have flowers for weapons, obtained one assistant, spring, I shall cause the fall of the solemnity of Śiva, who has his Pināka bow. Who are other archers to me?” (Kumāra-sambhava 3.10).

Here Cupid’s name is used: kusumāyudha (his weapons are flowers). Further, in this context the adjective of Śiva: pināka-pāṇi (in whose hand is the Pināka bow) suggests that in Cupid’s mind, only Śiva is a worthy opponent. If the word kusumāyudha is taken as an adjective of Cupid, the verse illustrates parikara where each main noun has a significant adjective.

Another example of parikarāṅkura is the name Acyuta in Bhāgavatam 10.29.43 (Commentary 5.10).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

atra viśeṣaṇair ity upalakṣaṇaṃ viśeṣasyāpi. tena sābhiprāye viśeṣye’py ayam, yathā “caturṇāṃ puruṣārthānāṃ dātā devaś caturbhujaḥ” ity atra (Uddyota on Kāvya-prakāśa verse 519).