Selected Bibliography with Annotations

Author(s): Eastern School
Publisher: Eastern School

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Sanskrit Language Study Sanskrit-English Dictionaries
A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by Horace Hayman Wilson. 1st ed. 1819; 2nd ed. 1832; 3rd rev. ed. 1874; rev. & enlarged 1900; reprint of 1900 ed. with 1819 preface (no preface in other eds.) Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1979. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams. 1st ed. 1872; new ed., greatly enlarged and improved, 1899; reprint, all Oxford University Press; reprint Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1963, etc.; reprint New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1976. The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, by Vaman Shiv[a]ram Apte. 1st ed. 1890; 2nd rev. and enlarged ed. 1912; rev. and enlarged ed., Poona, 1957 (3 vols.); 4th rev. and enlarged ed. (reprint of 1912 ed. plus 112 p. addenda of new words) Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1965, etc.; reprint of 1957 ed. Kyoto: Rinsen Book Company, 1978, etc. (compact ed., 3 vols. in 1). An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles, general editor, A. M. Ghatage. Poona: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, vol. 1 (a-ach), 1976-1978; vol. 2 [aj-ad), 1979-1981; etc.
The most widely used Sanskrit-English dictionaries today are those of Monier-Williams and V. S. Apte. Though Wilson's pioneering dictionary has in effect been superseded by these more complete ones, Prof. R. V. Joshi recommended that it be reprinted because it is the only one which gives etymologies, a very useful feature. Comparing Monier-Williams' dictionary with Apte's, the former's entries include or are in roman transliteration, while the latter's entries are all in devanāgari script (as are Wilson's). Thus casual users or students not yet fluent with devanāgari will require Monier-Williams'. They should note, however, that the transliteration system used therein is not the international one now in use. Sanskrit teachers sometimes prefer Apte's so that their students are required to use the script. Monier-Williams' draws on a wider range of sources for his vocabulary (about 500 compared to Apte's about 250), and his entries are fuller and include more compounds. Apte's includes more vocabulary from literary works such as dramas, poetry,