Encyclopaedic Sanskrit Dictionary

Encyclopaedic Sanskrit Dictionary

Subject : History

Context:

After several years, the doors of the scriptorium and the editorial room of the prestigious Encyclopaedic Sanskrit Dictionary at Pune’s Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune were opened for students and the general public.

About the project:

• It aims at creating an encyclopaedic dictionary of Sanskrit, which will be the  world’s biggest dictionary, and is an ongoing one at the department of Sanskrit and Lexicography, Deccan college.
• The project began in 1948 under the leadership of Dr Sumitra Mangesh Katre, a renowned Indologist and linguist.
• Between 1948 – 1973, around 40 scholars read through 1,464 books spread across 62 knowledge disciplines – starting from the Rigveda (approximately 1400 B.C.) to Hāsyārṇava(1850 A.D.) – in search of words that could be added to this dictionary.
• The first volume took three years to be published in 1976, technological intervention and an exclusive software with a font named KoshaSHRI have quickened the process now.
• The software can be easily used to scan through the books which was done manually in the past.
• The dictionary contains words in alphabetical order and it also follows historic principles in stating the meaning. In addition to the word meaning, the dictionary also provides additional information, references, and context of the respective word used in a particular literature. That is why, it is an encyclopaedic dictionary wherein words have been arranged according to the chronological order of their references appearing in the text.
• The Encyclopaedic Sanskrit Dictionary, once ready, will be three times larger than the Oxford English dictionary. The 35 volumes published so far contain about 1.25 lakh vocables (word).

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is one of the most ancient languages of the Indian subcontinent. The literature in Sanskrit is vast, beginning with the most ancient thought embodied in the Rig Veda, the oldest literary heritage of mankind, and the Zend Avesta in Iran. It has been argued that Sanskrit is perhaps the only language that transcended the barriers of regions and boundaries.

It has had an influence across all parts of India as can be explained by the following:

• Vast arena of academic disciplines:
  • Sanskrit transcends the vast arena of academic disciplines such as math, physical, natural and material sciences, astronomy, medicine, astrology, philosophy, political science, etc.
  • For instance, ‘AbhijnanaShakuntalam’ and ‘Meghdoot’ by Kalidasa, Chanakya’s ‘Arthashastra’ and Vatsyayana’s’ Kamasutra’ were written in Sanskrit
  • The foundations of modern arithmetic were first described in classical Sanskrit.
• Philosophical language of religions:
  • It is the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
  • For example, the Vedas, Upanishads related to Hinduism, Mahavastu&Lalitavistara texts related to Hinayana and Mahayana school of Buddhism are all written in Sanskrit.
• Mother of many languages:
  • Literatures of most of the Indian languages borrow from the vast pool of Sanskrit;
  • The influence of Sanskrit can be seen on major European languages
  • The numerals from one to ten are mostly similar in these languages.
  • In Italian Sie- six, settle- seven, otto- eight, nove- nine, etc.
  • Bhratr in the Sanskrit, Brother in the German, bhratheir in the Irish,brat in the Russian, beradar in the Persian. Pitr in the Sanskrit, Frater in the Latin, Pharater in Greek.
• Geographical presence:
  • The geographical extent of the language was not only confined to the Indian subcontinent but also spread to Central Asia&South-east Asia.
  • For example, Kalhan’sRajatarangini written in Sanskrit gave a detailed account of the kings of Kashmir, whereas, Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions (Prasasti) are found in China (particularly the Tibetanmonasteries), Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
  • Kutai inscriptions and Tugu inscriptions in Indonesia, Kedah inscriptions in Malaysia and Ligor inscriptions in Thailand.
  • Rigvedic Sanskrit was first recorded in inscriptions found not on the plains of India but in what is now northern Syria under the Mitanni kings.
• Temporal Expanse:
  • Sanskrit transcends temporally across different periods highlighting their socio-cultural life.
  • For example, vedas & puranas illustrated life during vedic period, Arathshastra showcased life during Mauryan times , whereas works of Bhasa, Shudraka, Kalidasa and Banabhatta provided us with glimpses of the social and cultural life of northern and central India in times of the Guptas and Harsha.
• Scientific and computer-friendly:
  • Sanskrit grammar refined and standardized by Panini’s Ashtadhyayiis mathematical, which makes this language scientific and computer-friendly.
  • It is said that the language is immensely suitable towards developing an artificial language.

Thus it can be argued that Sanskrit is the one of the most refined languages and can play an

important role in promoting multilingualism, as understanding of other languages (rooted in

Sanskrit) can be made easier.

Important Authors and Works in Sanskrit:

• Bhāsa–Svapnavāsvavadatta
• Kālidāsa, (1^stcentury BCE to the 4^th century CE )- Śakuntalā, Vikramorvaśīya, Kumārasambhava and Raghuvaṃśa.
• Śūdraka-Mṛcchakatika
• Ashvaghosha-Buddhacarita
• Bhāravi=Kirātārjunīya
• Māgha-Śiśupālavadha
• Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata