Pādaliptasūricarita v. 45-46 (in Prabhācandra's Prabhāvakacarita):
केनापि तस्य चित्रायसूत्रग्रथितवृत्तकः । गूढवक्त्रमिलत्तन्तुचयाज्ञातावसानकः ॥
ढौकितः कन्दुकः पादलिप्तस्य च गुरोः पुरः । राज्ञा प्राहीयत प्रज्ञापरीक्षावीक्षणोद्यमात् ॥
अथोत्पन्नधिया सूरिर्विलाल्योष्णोदकप्लवैः । सिक्ककं निपुणं प्रेक्ष्य तत्तन्तुप्रान्तमाप सः ॥
उन्मोच्य प्रहितो राज्ञे तद्बुद्ध्यासौ चमत्कृतः । प्रज्ञाविज्ञाततत्त्वाभिः कलाभिः को न गृह्यते ॥
This passage relates one of the “tricks” that Pādalipta performed to impress the king of Pāṭalīputra, Muraṇḍa. My guess at what is going here is:
“Someone sent him [sc. the king] a ball that was wrapped tight in silken thread, the end of which was hidden in the mass of thread that emerged from the mouth [of the worm] hidden inside. The king sent it to the teacher Pādalipta in order to test his wisdom. The monk had the idea of dunking it in a bath of hot water, and after carefully looking for a stray end, he found the end of the thread. He unspooled it and sent it to the king, who was amazed by his wisdom. Who is not captivated by practices that use skill to uncover the truth?”
The general idea seems clear—silkworm cocoons need to be soaked in hot water in order to be unwound—but there are a few difficult words.
It's possible that citrāya sūtra- are separate words (v.l. citrāyas tatra), in which case it would mean "to his amazement, it was wrapped..." But it also seems possible that citrāya- is a word for “silk” or “silkworm” that I’ve been unable to find elsewhere (maybe an old corruption of cīnaka-?).
sikkaka- is also a rare word. The v.l. sikthaka- can mean lots of things (rice that has been cooked and drained, beeswax, indigo, etc.), but most likely this is an “incomplete Sanskritization” of the Prakrit word sikkaya-, which derives from Sanskrit śikya, which refers to a “loop” of a rope or string.
केनापि तस्य चित्रायसूत्रग्रथितवृत्तकः । गूढवक्त्रमिलत्तन्तुचयाज्ञातावसानकः ॥
ढौकितः कन्दुकः पादलिप्तस्य च गुरोः पुरः । राज्ञा प्राहीयत प्रज्ञापरीक्षावीक्षणोद्यमात् ॥
अथोत्पन्नधिया सूरिर्विलाल्योष्णोदकप्लवैः । सिक्ककं निपुणं प्रेक्ष्य तत्तन्तुप्रान्तमाप सः ॥
उन्मोच्य प्रहितो राज्ञे तद्बुद्ध्यासौ चमत्कृतः । प्रज्ञाविज्ञाततत्त्वाभिः कलाभिः को न गृह्यते ॥
This passage relates one of the “tricks” that Pādalipta performed to impress the king of Pāṭalīputra, Muraṇḍa. My guess at what is going here is:
“Someone sent him [sc. the king] a ball that was wrapped tight in silken thread, the end of which was hidden in the mass of thread that emerged from the mouth [of the worm] hidden inside. The king sent it to the teacher Pādalipta in order to test his wisdom. The monk had the idea of dunking it in a bath of hot water, and after carefully looking for a stray end, he found the end of the thread. He unspooled it and sent it to the king, who was amazed by his wisdom. Who is not captivated by practices that use skill to uncover the truth?”
The general idea seems clear—silkworm cocoons need to be soaked in hot water in order to be unwound—but there are a few difficult words.
It's possible that citrāya sūtra- are separate words (v.l. citrāyas tatra), in which case it would mean "to his amazement, it was wrapped..." But it also seems possible that citrāya- is a word for “silk” or “silkworm” that I’ve been unable to find elsewhere (maybe an old corruption of cīnaka-?).
sikkaka- is also a rare word. The v.l. sikthaka- can mean lots of things (rice that has been cooked and drained, beeswax, indigo, etc.), but most likely this is an “incomplete Sanskritization” of the Prakrit word sikkaya-, which derives from Sanskrit śikya, which refers to a “loop” of a rope or string.
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