[Y-Indology] Sanskrit Dictionaries

[Guest guest]

Not only the great Petersburg lexicon of Boehtlingk and Roth

(between 1852 and 1875), but also Boehtlingk's "Sanskrit-

Woerterbuch in kuerzerer Fassung" originally appeared in 7

volumes (between 1879 and 1889). It is true that Boehtlingk

dropped all the quotations and attestations found in the bigger

dictionary but added new words and new references as well.

Moreover, he revised some parts of the older dictionary. So one

can say that the "Sanskrit-Woerterbuch in kuerzerer Fassung" is

smaller but at the same time more complete than the bigger

lexicon. "[...] taken together, the two works would include the

maximum material" (A.M. Ghatage in the "Preface" to the

"Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles",

Vol. 1, Poona, 1976, p. VIII). Nevertheless, the smaller

dictionary does not replace but complement the bigger one. One

has to use both of them.

 

In 1928, Richard Schmidt added a volume of additions to

Boehtlingk's work ("Nachtraege zum Sanskrit-Woerterbuch in

kuerzerer Fassung von Otto Boehtlingk", also reprinted by

Motilal Banarsidass) by putting together Boehtlingk's appendices

to the various volumes and new material collected by

Schmidt himself.

 

With regards,

Roland Steiner