Note on Hemchandras Abhidhanchintamani and Sanskrit Karmavati

Author(s): Nalini Balbir
Publisher: ZZ_Anusandhan

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फेब्रुआरी २०११
१६७
Calendar terminology
A note on Hemacandra's Abhidhānacintāmaņi and Sanskrit karmavāți
Prof. Dr. Nalini Balbir
(1) Together with the Amarakoșa, Hemacandra's Abhidhānacintāmaņi (AC) is the most famous dictionary of synonyms produced in Sanskrit.' It is well known that Hemacandra's work broadly follows the same lines as his illustrious predecessor and that both lexicons share a large amount of words and definitions. This is true, but only in part. The Abhidhānacintāmani is clearly the work of a Jaina and the Jaina stamp is present in many ways. One of the most visible signs is the mythological information and the list of Jinas found in the first section (I.24ff.). The result was that Hemacandra's work played a significant role in the discovery of Jainism by Western scholars and in the intuition that Jainism had its own tenets and view of the world, which were different from those of other Indian religions.
Attention to the Abhidhānacintāmaņi was first called by Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837). who, having gone to Bengal as a "writer” in 1782 remained in the service of the East India Company for thirty years. Mainly based in Calcutta, he has been recognized as a pioneer in many branches of Indian studies - a role he could not have played, however, without the collaboration of many Indian pandits or informants. He was the President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
1. Edition mainly used here: Abhidhāna Chintamani of Sri Hemachandrācharya. Edited with an Introduction by Dr. Nemicandra Šāstri and the Maniprabhā Hindi Commentary and Notes by Sri Haragovinda Sāstri, Varanasi. The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi. 1964 (The Vidyabhawan Sanskrit Series 109). See below for other editions and manuscripts consulted.