Selected Bibliography with Annotations

Author(s): Eastern School
Publisher: Eastern School

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English-Sanskrit Dictionaries
etc., and his entries are easier to use (assuming fluency with devanāgari), in that the different meanings of a word are numbered. Often the primary meaning of an entry among the different meanings listed must be found by reference to its use in compounds, particularly in Monier-Williams'.
Far and away the most ambitious Sanskrit dictionary project ever undertaken is the monumental Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles being published from Poona. It is modeled on the Oxford English Dictionary, in that for each meaning of each entry, it quotes a sentence in which the word occurs in that meaning, and gives the reference for the quotation. To achieve this a team of scholars started in 1948 to go through and excerpt words and illustrative quotations from about 1500 Sanskrit books. The dictionary will, it is hoped, include virtually all words in the Sanskrit language, estimated to be about two million. Of course, relatively new fields like Buddhist tantric literature are not fully covered in the 1500 books selected for inclusion (represented here by only the Hevajra and Guhyasamāja Tantras). The entries include both devanāgari and roman transliteration in the now universally used international transliteration system). It is issued in fascicles, three of which make one bound volume. The plan was to issue one fascicle per year, starting in 1976. The first two volumes (six fascicles) cover just over half of the first letter of the alphabet, so as can be seen, it will take several decades yet to complete. No serious research library will be complete without it.
English-Sanskrit Dictionaries
A Dictionary, English and Sanskrit, by Monier Williams. 1st ed. 1851; reprint Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976, etc.; reprint as English-Sanskrit Dictionary, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1976. The Student's English-Sanskrit Dictionary, by Vaman Shivram Apte. 1st ed. 1884; 3rd rev. and enlarged ed. 1920; reprint Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1960, etc.
Monier-Williams' English-Sanskrit dictionary (1851) was prepared before he undertook his Sanskrit-English dictionary