Riddles may be both playful and serious—playful as a humorous diversion or pastime, or serious as in the riddle of the Sphinx, failure to solve which would cost a person's life. German philologists referred to such a riddle as a
Halsrätsel (capital riddle). By the same token, Yudhiṣṭhira in the Indian epic of
Mahābhārata restored his brothers to life by successfully solving the riddles posed by a
yakṣa, a demi-god (chapter 41, "The Enchanted Pool"). Although of modern creation, Bilbo Baggins's interaction with Gollum in
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien preserves the life-staking seriousness of the riddles as a performing act (see ch. 5, "Riddles in the Dark").
In Vedic India, riddles were posed as part of such rituals as the rājasūya (coronation of a king) and the aśvamedha (horse sacrifice). The exchange of questions and answers between the sacrificial priests was highly formalized, as in this pair: "What is it that walketh singly?" "It is yonder sun, doubtless, that walks singly, and he is spiritual luster" (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 8.2.6.9ff.). Brahmans competed in jātavidyā (knowledge of the origins) and brahmodya (theological or philosophical discussion about brahman).
