Indian Antiquary Vol 02

SR No.: 032494
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 428
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 20 MB

Page 223

JULY, 1873.]
or by the aborigines? An answer to these questions would lead to further interesting investigations.
I have seen many Venetian coins in this zilla, but they are rapidly disappearing; the natives, valuing them for the extreme purity of the gold, convert them into jewels.
REVIEWS.
REVIEWS.
NARMA KOSA (1): A Dictionary of the Gujarati Language: by Narmada Sankara.
The author of this dictionary has been for many years well known to Gujarâtis as a writer of both prose and poetry. He has a knowledge of English, is a diligent student, an enterprising author, and has made successful efforts to give his countrymen the benefit of his studies. He now appears as a lexicographer, and presents to the students of Gujarati a goodly quarto of 619 pages, double columns and close print.
The book has been long promised and earnestly expected. Years ago we had several instalments in parts, which gave us up to the word jeth madha (4). Yet the present work is not a continuation of these parts. The old matter has been recast and the work completed on a slightly abridged scale. To keep the work within prescribed bounds, many words and forms of words (-) have been omitted. The author informs us that not only all proper names, but many generic or class names of animals and plants, and also technical terms, have been excludedomissions greatly to be regretted. Yet some agricultural terms have been retained, and some rustic words have been given as examples of a class. Of Sanskrit words, and words of foreign origin, only those are given which are in common use. He has also endeavoured to include words used by the older writers.
We must thank the author for giving us this information. We know what to look for, and must not be disappointed when we miss in the dictionary words we may occasionally meet with in reading and conversation. No doubt the student will regret many of these omissions; for we naturally go to a dictionary for rare words and uncommon forms of words. Yet, both for the number of words illustrated and for the fulness of the meanings given, this dictionary leaves all its predecessors far behind. It will at once take its place as a most valuable help to the Gujarâti student. Foreigners will be troubled at first by finding that the explanations are given in Gujarâti, but this trouble will ultimately facilitate their progress.
We cannot help regretting that the author has
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I have designated the images on the rock "Jaina," and not Buddhistic, and my reason for so doing is that each inscription designates the image above it a "Tirra Meni," the usual term for a Jaina saint.
Puthiamputhar, 23rd January 1872.
not seen fit to introduce a little philology into his book. The source whence a word, or a leading word, has been derived is indeed indicated, but nothing more; no attempt is made to show the connection of words one with another, nor to exhibit the historical and logical relations of the various meanings of words. He has, indeed, taken pains to give us fully the meanings of words, but the arrangement of these meanings might have been different and better. We hope the author will, with his characteristic energy, turn his attention to this matter in preparing any future edition of his valuable book.
In two particulars he adopts rather a peculiar system of orthography. As Gujarâti is commonly written, anuswar uniformly represents the five nasal sparsa consonants, Narmada Sankara discards the anuswâr and uses the consonants: fors, or, e, &c. he writes 3, 4, see, &c. Whatever may be said in favour of this, we fancy the convenience of the common mode will carry the day. But a greater innovation is the introduction of a point under a letter to represent a light h or aspiration after the letter so marked. He gives a list of some seven hundred words, or more, in which this point is introduced. We fear the author rather overrides his hobby, but he has a good excuse for proposing this orthography. The Gujarâtis have not yet fixed upon a uniform way of representing h in the body or at the end of a word. They sometimes omit it altogether, sometimes insert it with or without the vowel of the preceding letter. Thus we have ì, હાટે મોહાડો,મોટો,મહોઠો જેને, જેને મહેન,દાડો દાડો,પાડો,નાહાડો;
; 1961, &c. These words our lexicographer proposes to write,, 45, 1, &c. Time will show whether this will be generally received. There is this to be said for it, it helps to show the syllabification of a word:,, for instance, seems to be a word of three syllables, but is considered to be of only two; so also 43, fs, are counted as words of only two sylla
bles.
The author in his preface and introduction gives us some interesting information. Passing by several autobiographical notices, we remark that