[Advaita-l] Fwd: List of Sanskrit Grammar Books
V Srini
vsrini29 at yahoo.com
Tue Feb 27 10:53:29 CST 2007
This is regarding the message posted on the advaita
forum in Fenruary last year. I am attaching the text
of the message with this email for your reference.
Where can I find the books you mentioned? Most of them
may be out of print. If you could make them available
I will be glad to spend time and money to make copies
for myself and for any others interested.
--------------------
Original Message
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[Advaita-l] Fwd: List of Sanskrit Grammar Books
SVS svsubrahmanian at yahoo.com
Tue Feb 7 07:42:36 CST 2006
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Dear all,
This mail is not about advaita or sAdhana per se. But
it is an ancillary Vedic
topic namely the Sanskrit language using the Paninian
system. My teacher has
compiled a list of good Sanskrit grammar books that
one should possess in order
to be serious student of Sanskrit. I am sure you
understand that this list
cannot be unique. It is one teacher's opinion of what
a simple/good collection
is.
I am forwarding this for the benefit any Sanskrit
aspirants in this list as
members of such lists typically have overlapping
interests.
This is for your information. Please follow the list
policies and do not enter
into elaborate discussion on its contents.
With love,
SVS
> Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah:
>
> Hello All:
>
> Some students have asked for a list of good Sanskrit
reference books. I
> thought it would be a good idea to send it to all
class students.
>
> Here it is:
>
> 1. The "Kasika" is the standard Sanskrit commentary
(more than a thousand
> years old) on the Panini's Astadhyayi. There are
many editions available but
> I like the following one because it is completely
error-free to the best of
> my knowledge:
> "Kasika" edited by Vijayapala Vidyavaridhih,
published by Ramlal Kapoor
> Trust.
>
> The above edition has only the original Sanskrit
text with no translation or
> commentary. The following two have translations:
> 2. "Kasika" (in 10 volumes) edited by Jayasankaralal
Tripathi and Sudhakar
> Malaviya published by Tara Printing Works, Varanasi.
This has two of the
> best Sanskrit commentaries on Kasika along with a
good Hindi translation.
> 3. "The Astadhyayi of Panini" by Srisa Chandra Vasu,
published by Motilal
> Banarasidass. This is a good English translation of
Kasika.
>
> There are also small books which have only the
Astadhyayi sutras - Sutra
> Patha (with no commentary), but with anuvrittis of
the sutras and an
> alphabetical index of sutras at the back. Here is
one that I have a few
> copies of:
> "Astadhyayi of Panini" edited by Prof. Gopal Dutt
Pandey, published by
> Chowkhamba Surabharati Prakashan, Varanasi
>
> The following is a really superb English explanation
of pretty much all
> Sanskrit grammatical terms. It also gives the
numbers of the sutras where
> the term occurs. It is a must have:
> 1. "A Dictionary of Sanskrit Grammar" by Kashinath
Vasudev Abhyankar and J.
> M. Shukla published in Gaekwad's Oriental Series
#134.
>
> For those who want to make a gradual entry into the
Panian system here is a
> good book:
> "The Tested Easiest Method of Learning and Teaching
Sanskrit" - First Book.
> By Pandit Brahmadattaji Jihnasu. Published by
Ramlal Kapoor Trust.
> This book is also available in Hindi. There is a
part two also (but only in
> Hindi.) by Yudhishthira Mimamsaka, same publisher.
>
> The Siddhanta Kaumudi is the re-ordering of Panini's
Astadhyayi by topic,
> done by the great grammarian Bhattoji Diksita about
400 years ago. There are
> many editions and commentaries, but here are some
good ones:
> 1. "Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Tattvabodhini commentary
edited by Vasudev
> Lakshman Shastri Panashikar, published by Chaukhamba
Sanskrit Pratishthan,
> Delhi. This is a re-print of the famed old Nirnaya
Sagar edition It has a
> good set of appendices (including Dhatu Patha, Sutra
Patha etc.) at the back.
> 2. "Vaiyakarana Siddhanta Kaumdi" in 4 volumes,
edited by Giridhar Sarma
> Chaturvedi and Parameswarananda Sarma Vidyabhaskar -
published by Motilal
> Banarasidass. This edition has two Sanskrit
commentaries - particularly the
> Balamanorama which is the easiest to read and hence
the most popular, even
> though it has some errors.
>
> For those who prefer English:
> 3. "The Siddhanta Kaumudi" by Srisa Chandra Vasu
published by Motilal
> Banarasidass.
>
> The most popular Sanskrit grammar text studied today
is the Laghu Siddhanta
> Kaumudi, which as the name implies, is a condensed
Siddhanta Kaumudi
> containing about 1300 of the most important sutras
organized by topic. Here
> again there are many editions available but the
following Hindi translation
> is absolutely outstanding. This is the first
place I go to when I have a
> question. It is a must have even if your Hindi is
weak!
> "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Bhaimi Vyakhya (6
volumes) - published by
> Bhaimi Prakashan, 537, Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi -
110006.
>
> One should have at least one edition of the Kaasika
and one of the Siddhanta
> Kaumudi.
>
>
> Since the Sanskrit language is almost entirely based
on the verbal roots,
> there are many commentaries on the Dhatu Patha which
explain not only the
> meaning of the Dhatu but also derive the forms which
come from it. Here are
> some which I find useful:
> 1. "KrdantaRupaMala" in 5 volumes published by The
Sanskrit Education
> Society, Madras. This is a superb collection of all
the Dhatus along with
> it's major forms - not only of the original verbal
root but also its
> causative and desiderative variations. More
importantly it gives all the
> necessary sutras and references from literature. An
extremely useful
> reference, but unfortunately out of print. I am
planning to make some more
> photocopies shortly.
> 2. "Madhaviya DhatuVritti" edited by Vijayapala
Vidyavaridhih, published by
> Ramlal Kapoor Trust. This is a very respected
Sanskrit commentary on the
> Dhatu Patha by the great Vedic commentator
Sayanacarya.
> 3. "KshiraTarangini" commentary on the Dhatu Patha
by Kshiraswami - edited by
> Yudhishthira Mimamsaka, published by Ramlal Kapoor
Trust. A very old
> standard commentary. A well edited work with good
footnotes.
>
>
> The most well-known and original thesaurus of
Sanskrit is undoubtedly the
> AmaraKosa. No collection of Sanskrit books is
complete without this one. Of
> the various editions available I like the following:
> 1. "Namalinganusasana alias Amarakosa" of Amarsimha
with Sanskrit commentary,
> edited by Pandit Sivadatta Dadhimatha and revised by
Vasudev Laksmana
> Panasikara, published by Chaukhamba Sanskrti
Pratishthan (reprint of old
> Nirnaya Sagar edition). This edition is
particularly useful because the
> commentary gives all the sutras necessary for the
etymology of each word.
> 2. "Amarakosa" in 3 volumes with South Indian
Sanskrit commentaries edited by
> Prof. A. A. Ramanathan, published by The Adyar
Library and Research Centre.
> Gives good explanations but without sutras.
>
> The following is a special dictionary contaning all
the indeclinable words in
> the language in alphabetical order. Very useful and
full of good information
> including sutras.
> 1. "AvyayaKosa - A Dictionary of Indeclinables"
published by The Sanskrit
> Education Society, Madras. Out of print, but will
make some photocopies.
>
> Volume I of "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Bhaimi
Vyakhya (mentioned above)
> also has a very good list of indeclinables.
>
> Unadi Kosa - Since not all Sanskrit words can be
derived using the
> Astadhyayi, the Unadi sutras are like an appendix to
the Astadhyayi which
> explain the etymology of words not covered by
Panini. Some of these are very
> common words - like manas. Panini refers to the
Unadi sutras - see sutra
> 3.3.1 - but doesn't go into details. Unadi sutras
are also part of the
> Siddhanta Kaumudi. There are called Unadi because
the first affix given is
> 'uN'
> The following is a well-edited handy book of Unadi
sutras along with good
> appendices:
> "Unadi Kosa" edited by Yudhishthira Mimamsaka,
published by Ramlal Kapoor
> Trust. I have some copies.
>
> In addition to the DhatuPatha, which gives the list
of verbal roots, there is
> also another important appendix to Panini's
Astadhyayi called the "GanaPatha"
> This gives the lists of nouns refered to by Panini
in various sutras. Here
> is a good edition with a Sanskrit commentary:
> "GanaRatnavali" edited by Pandit Chandradatta Sarma
published by Ramlal
> Kapoor Trust.
>
> The best Sanskrit-English dictionary is Apte's
Practical Sanskrit-English
> dictionary - Revised and Enlarged edition. There
are many different
> variations of Apte's dictionary but this particular
one is the most
> comprehensive of them all. The original publication
is from Japan, but that
> is expensive (>$100). There is an Indian reprint of
the Japanese original,
> by Motilal Banarasidass which is affordable (about
$15).
>
> A very good all-encompassing reference book in
English is Kale's "A Higher
> Sanskrit Grammar" published by Motilal Banarasidass.
It also contains some
> Panini sutras as footnotes. I have a couple of
extra copies.
>
> There is also the "Student's Guide to Sanskrit
Composition" by V. S. Apte,
> re-published by Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office,
Varanasi. Another great
> work by Apte.
>
> For a quick guide (without sutras) to nominal
declensions and verbal
> conjugations there is the "SabdaManjari" and
"DhatuRupaManjari" published by
> R. S. Vadhyar & Sons, Palghat. These have a few
errors but still handy
> references. It have some copies.
>
> The best BhagawadGeeta book for Sanskrit
commentaries is "SrimadBhagawadGita"
> edited by Wasudev Laxman Sastri Pansikar published
by Munshiram Manoharlal
> (re-print of the old famed Nirnaya Sagar edition).
It is well edited with
> seven commentaries and is really worth having.
>
> For chanting purposes, a very good large type
error-free Geeta book is the
> "Sri PancaRatnaGeeta" by Geeta Press (book # 21).
This has
> VishnuSahasraNaamaStotram also.
>
>
> For those who want to practice reading Sanskrit with
the help of a good
> English (or Hindi) translation, I would recommend
the following Geeta Press
> books (I have some copies of the English versions):
> "Srimad Valmiki Ramayana" in 2 volumes with English
translation - Geeta Press
> book numbers 452, 453. The Hindi version is book
numbers 75, 76.
> "Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana" in 2 volumes with
English translation - Geeta
> Press book numbers 564, 565. The Hindi version is
book numbers 26, 27
>
> Like all Geeta Press books, these are of a high
quality and also inexpensive.
> Read the Ramayana first. It is much easier.
>
> Finally there is the Bhatti Kavyam. Bhatti was a
very great grammarian who
> wrote his version of the Ramayana with the intention
of teaching Panini
> sutras. No course on Panini's Astadhyayi can be
complete without Bhatti.
> It's not for beginners. A must read for serious
students of Panini. Many
> editions are available. Some of the best are out of
print, but I have a
> copy.
>
> I started making a small list but it kept getting
bigger. I've tried to keep
> it as short and useful as possible!
>
> A lot the books mentioned here are not available in
the US.
...
> Thank you,
>
> NarayanaSmaranam,
>
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