English - Sanskrit Dictionary (Recomposed & Enlarge Edition)

When I prepared "The Student's Hand-Book of Progressive Exercises," Part II. I thought of adding to it a glossary of difficult words and expression in the Exercises. When this was done, an idea occurred that the Glossary should be made to include all words of ordinary occurrence, such as are given in small School-Dictionaries. When the revision of the sheets thus written out commenced, and when they were put to a practical test, it was found that several words and expressions had still been left out. I, then, resolved to prepare an English-Sanskrit Dictionary as complete as possible, and the following pages are the result. The Dictionary has thus passed through different stages, and has assumed this form, far exceeding the limits which I had first assigned to it.

Much need not, I think, be said with regard to the necessity of a work like this. In these days of literary activity, when the attention of students is drawn more and more to the study of Sanskrit, it is necessary that all appliances should be ready before them to facilitate this study. There are one or two small Sanskrit-English Dictionaries, though not quite adequate to meet the want of advanced students of Sanskrit, but there is no English-Sanskrit Dictionary such as will be within their easy reach. The Dictionaries of this description that I know of, are two in number: +one by Professor Monier Williams, and another by Mr. Anundoram Borooah of - Calcutta. Both these Dictionaries, though valuable in themselves, are not accesible to the student, the prices being prohibitively high. But there are other considerations which make these works not quite adapted to his wants. Professor Monier Williams Dictionary, having been compiled nearly 35 years ago, chiefly by inverting the then existing Sanskrit-English Dictionaries, is naturally open to the fault of being often not practical. As he says in the Preface to his Dictionary, he proceeded to translate Webster's Dictionary systematically into Sanskrit, omitting words, phrases &c. of which no classical equivalent could be found or suggested. The result has been that many of his synonyms appear more as coined words than classical expressions used by standard Sanskrit authors. With regard to words collected in lexicons, such as Arnarakosa, Medini, Sabdakalpadruma, there is no difficulty; but in the case of those words and expressions which can only be suggested by a careful study of the usage of the best authors, the work, in my humble opinion, falls short of one's expectations. Mr. Anundoram Borooah' s work is eminently practical : it abounds with quotations from several standard authors; the renderings are generally happy, and the work has, at least, a classical appearance. The fondness for giving quotations has included the writer to give several quotations for illustrating such words of the meanings of which there is no doubt nor is any confirmation needed. But one great defect of his otherwise very useful work is that it gives too few equivalents. He has pursued the course of referring one word to another, but this is, in some cases, carried to such an extent, that when a word, as directed, is referred to another, - that again is referred to some other word of a synonymous nature, which in its turn is referred to another till the reader returns to the original word, apparently without having his labours rewarded. A study of Mr. Borooah's work is a good treat for an advanced Sanskrit scholar, but will not, I believe, satisfy the student. From considerations like these I thought I should be doing some service to the Sanskrit reading public, if I compiled an English-Sanskrit Dictionary adapted to the wants of the student. The foregoing remarks are made not with the view of detracting from the high and acknowledged merits of the two works but solely to indicate the line I have followed, and the object I have had in compiling this work.

**Contents and Sample Pages**