Upnishad Vakya Mahakosha Part 1

SR No.: 016083
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Gajanand S Sadhale
Publisher: Rupa Books Jaipur
Publication Year: 1991
Total Pages: 380
Language: Sanskrit
Classification: Dictionary & Dictionary
File Size: 23 MB

Page 9

PREFACE
The first volume of the l'panisad Väkya Maha-Kosa or a Concordance of Upanišadic sentences is now presented to the Sanskrit knowing public. It will he interesting to note here the circumstauces leading to the publication of this helpful but voluminous work.
While working as a Shastri in some leading printing houses of Bombay, I was entrusted by the Gujarati Privling Press to prepare an edition of the Bhagavad Gita with eleven commentaries, inostly unpublished. In inaking an attempt to trace the original sources of the quotations from the Upanišads and the Puranas, I found Col. Jacob's concordance useful but 1101 altoget ber satisfactory. This Coucordance was compiledfroni forty-five Upanišads only, and is therefore by no neaus exhaustive, and consequently a large nomber of citations could not be traced with the help of Col. Jacob's work.
Iu the eleveu commentaries on the Bliagavad Gita citations are inade not only from the 108 well known Upapiśads, but also from many others which are either not known or very insufficiently kuown. This naturally necessitated a patient search for further manuscripts in the archives of the manuscript libraries throughout the length and breadth of Iudia.
The search which proved very successful showed the existence of no less than 223 Upaniśads. These Upanišads were collected, and a list of sentences occuring in theni was made out in an alphabetical order after a sustained labour of several years. It jis bardly necessay to mention that this list proved very helpful iu tracing the citations occuring in the eleven commentaries on Gita to their original sources. The edition of the Bhagavad Gita was ultimately published by the Gujarati Printing Press, Bombay.
By the time I finished the list of sentences iu the 223 Upaniśads in my collection, the number of senteuces had already gone beyond forty thousand. Lest this labour of years may go in vain if it be not printed and published, I decided at the advice of iny friends and well wishers to print the book as quickly as possible. Being already 72 years of age I was afraid I may not live to see the completion of the work unless I could make things move very fast.
But one thing was wanting, and that was finance. The estimate for printing the book in two volumes came to about six thousand rupees. Six thousand rupees is a staggering sum for a poverty stricken Shastri like myself. Peeling helpless I started for my Patron Deity at Garudeshwar, There I was inspired to approaeh the noble Prince His Highness the Maharaja Pratap Sinh Gaekwar for patronage towards this expensive undertaking
By the grace of God Anant, the Eternal, the help came, and I was granted half of the full cost of production, a sum of three thousand rupees without a