Comprehensive Critical Dictionary of Prakrit Languages Volum 01

Author(s): A M Ghatage
Publisher: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Page 11

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works like the SIX Karmagranthas Kammapayadi, the Visesavasyakabhasya, the Pañcasaka and Supa. sanahacariya were included. The reasons for this is hard to find. Originally planned by a non-academician Mr. Bhandari, who gives a graphic description of the difficulties met by the project during its execution, the basic work was prepared by the monk Shri Rataacandji Maharaja, a versatile Sanskrit scholar famous for his extraordinary memory, containing an estimated 50,000 words taken from the canonical books, who also gave their meanings, both common and technical, in Gujarati. As the plan originally conceived had decided to give the meanings in three languages, Gujarati, Hindi and English, in order to have the dictionary a wider circulation, the Gujarati meanings were rendered into the other two languages with the help of a number of scholars who themselves were not acquainted with the original texts and hence worked under a real handicap. The bulk of the dictionary, which consists of four volumes with a total of more than three thousand pages, is primarily due to this trilingual translations and the actul lexical items are far less than can be expected from the bulk of the work. Most of the shortcomings of the dictionary are due to the way in which the plan was carried out in very adverse circumstances. It appears that the original intention to confine the work to only the Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit as found in the canon, which is also apparent from the fact that a new grammar of this Frakrit was prepared by Dr. Banarasi Das and given at the beginning, was altered and a fifth volume of 857 pages was added, which included all the words which were found in the Paasaddamahapnavo of Pandit Hargovinddas Seth. This was done with the intention of making it cover all the Prakrit dialects, but which were not found in the first four volumes. The words in this fifth volume are given with only a Gujarati rendering. This has deprived the dictionary of the possibility of giving all the meanings a word has, at one place. a great inconvenience for the user. The use of uncritical editions of the bocks, the insufficiency of the references given which makes it often imposs ble to trace them and lack of first-hand knowledge of the source material on the part of the numerous translators, have made the work less useful in comparison with its bulk and the labour spent on it. Quite recently the whole werk is reprinted as it is, without making any attempt to remedy even its scribal mistakes.
The other Dictionary of the Prakr ts of the twenties is the most frequently used work caited Paiavaddamaliannavo, compiled by Pi Hargo addas beth all alone. This work has served as purpose well during the last 60
years and more, and a second edition of it was published in 1961. More recently an abridged edition of the same for the use of students was issued under the same name The abridgement was mainly done by dropping a fair number of words, mostly derivatives or compound torms, which can be easily produced by the rules of grammar. Otherwise all the three editions are identical in every respect and no attempt was made to either correct its mistakes or modernise it by additional materia!.
This work consists of about 1000 pages, each page having three columns, and includes about 75000 words. Meanings are given in Hindi and citat ons are few, a few more references being added to them. It uses as many as 170 books and represents the major Prakrit dialects except works from Jam Sauraseni However अराधनामार and are included, the purpose of which remains unexplained. Only a few Apabhrainga works were used for the simple reason that most of them were publ shed after the Diction ry was completed. Citations from the Maharastri epics are given mostly by a mere. reference to the name of the book when they have a word-index. (Probably the index to Setubandha was not available to the author.) The dramauc Prakrits are poor y represented and only an unpublished list of techni cal Prakrit terms in the dramas was made use of, and hence other words of the dramatic Prakrits were not included. In fact this has become a good dic ionary for the three Prakrits, Ardha- Magadhi. Jain Maharastri and Ma: arastrī.
equivalents, but to attempt is made to include their All Prakrit words are followed by their Sanskrit etymology and often the Sanskrit given does not appear to be correct according to the Sanskrit grammar. All words taken from the Deśinimumala are called Dest, ever when they have easily ascertainable Sanskrit cogrates.
From the technical point of view the dictionary leaves much to be desired. The abbreviations of the wor is show that no uniform principle is followed: sometimes the name of the work is abbreviated; sometimes the name of the author Thus the hymn Rṣabhapañcasika is indicated by Dhana which is an abbreviation of the author's name Dhanapala. pi stands for Pischel to refer to the famous work Grammatik der Prakrit Sprachen. The collection of the Prakrit stories prepared by H Jacobi is ind cated by the siglum maha, because they are said to have been in Mähärastri, a double contusion. There are many such curiosities which make it difficult for the reader to remember the abbreviations.