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130 : Śramaņa/July-December 2002
Śabdabhedaprakāśa. The poet Mankha composed Anekārthakośa (AD 1150) in Kaśmīra. Purusottamadeva (13th cent. AD) provided the supplement to Amarasingh's Koša, under the title Trikāndaśeșa and compiled short independent work, the Hārāvali. These are the few specimens of the large number of the lexicons of Vedic tradition. To enlist all the Kośa works of this tradition is neither intended nor viable here in this section.
In the Jaina tradition, the practice of compiling dictionaries coincided with the writing of Jaina canons itself. The third and fourth Anga texts, Sthānānga and Samavāyānga treat the subjects according to their numbers. Thus, the earliest monument of this genre, in Jaina tradition, is in Ardhamāgadhi. As regards the Jaina Kośa works in Sanskrit that of Sākațāyana, preceding Pāņini (c. 5th cent. B.C.), is the earliest. A lexicon by Pūjyapāda), not available today, is also referred to. The other prominent works in Jaina tradition are by Dhanañjaya, Hemacandra etc.. Dhananjaya compiled between (11131140 AD), his Nāmamālā and Anekārthasangraha. Abhidhānacintāmani, Nighantuśeşa, Anekarthasangraha, Nighanțasamaya and Deśīnāmamālā belonged to the prolific Jaina writer Acārya Hemacandra. But prior to both these Dhanapal (c.9th cent. AD) compiled for his sister Sundari, a Prakrit dictionary Pāiyalacchi, used by Hemacandra for his Deśīnāmamālā, a compilation of Deśī words.
Jainas have a large corpus of Sanskrit and Prakrit lexicographical literature, listing an enormous number of words in their immense variety of meanings. As the language grew with the incorporation of new words whether of Indian or foreign origin there are deep imprints of foreign influence in disciplines like astronomy, astrology, medicine, natural and physical sciences and also as meanings underwent change due to natural processes, the need was felt to compile newer and newer dictionaries, to incorporate all the new material in addition to retaining the old one. Hence the compiling of a big crop of dictionaries and lexicons over the centuries.
Before presenting the detail of the works, a brief survey of this literature will be in order. For convenience in presentation, the relevant Jaina works of this genre have been grouped under a number
of heads: Ekārthaka, Anekārthaka, Akşarātmaka (Syllabic), Prakrit Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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