Amarakosha
Encyclopedia
The Amarakosha from amara "immortal" and kosha "treasure, casket, pail, collection, dictionary", also Namalinganushasana ' onMouseout='HidePop("39312")' href="/topics/IAST">IAST
: ) from nama-linga-anu-shasana "instruction concerning nouns and gender") is a thesaurus
of Sanskrit
written by the Jain or Buddhist scholar Amarasimha. Amarasimha was one of the Navaratnas
("nine gems") at the court of Chandragupta II
, a Gupta
king who reigned around AD 400
. Some sources indicate that he belonged to the period of Vikramaditya
of 7th century.
When Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya was traveling throughout India for propagating his Advaitic philosophy, he wanted to meet Amarasimha for a debate. When Amarasimha found out about this, he was scared by the possibility of a debate with Shri Shankaracharya and burned all of his collections. Upon learning about this Shri Shankara rushed to Amarasimhan's house. By that time all of his collections had turned into ashes except 'Amarakosha'. And Shri Shankaracharya saved Amarakosha from fire. This story can be seen in "Shankara dig Vijayam".
Svargadhikanda, the first Kandam of Amarakosham begins with the verse 'Svaravyam swarganakathridivatrishalaya..' describing various names of Heaven viz. Sva, Avya, swarga, Naka, Tridiva, Tridasalaya etc. The second verse 'Amara, nirjara, deva,’ describes various words that are equivalent to word God. The fifth and sixth verses give various names of Gautama Buddha
reinforcing the claim that the author is a Buddhist.
The second Kandam, Bhuvargadhikanda, of Amarakosham is divided into ten Vargas or parts. The ten Vargas are Bhuvarga (Earth
), Puravarga (Towns or Cities), Shailavarga (Mountains), Vanoshadivarga (Forests and medicines), Simhadivarga (Lions and other animals), Manushyavarga (Mankind), Bramhavarga (Brahmin
), Kshatriyavarga (Kshatriya
s), Vysyavarga (Vysyas) and Sudravarga (Sudra
s).
The Third Kandam, Samanyadhikanda contains Adjectives, Verbs, words related to prayer and business etc.. The first verse Kshemankaroristatathi Shivathathi Shivamkara gives the Nanarthas of the word Shubakara or propitious as Kshemankara, Aristathathi, Shivathathi and Shivamkara.
"Tiikaasarvasvam" by "Vandhyaghatiiya Sarvaananda" ,
"Raamaasramii"(Vyaakhyaasudha) by "Bhaanuji Diikshita" ,
"Padachandrikaa" by "Raayamukuta"
"Kaashikavivaranapanjikha" by Jinendra Bhudhi
"paarameshwari by parameswaran moosad in malaylam
translated it to Chinese
in 7th century .
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
: ) from nama-linga-anu-shasana "instruction concerning nouns and gender") is a thesaurus
Thesaurus
A thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning , in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations...
of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
written by the Jain or Buddhist scholar Amarasimha. Amarasimha was one of the Navaratnas
Navaratnas
Navaratnas Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in a emperor's court in India...
("nine gems") at the court of Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II the Great, very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya in Sanskrit; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c...
, a Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
king who reigned around AD 400
400
Year 400 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus...
. Some sources indicate that he belonged to the period of Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. The title "Vikramaditya" was later assumed by many other kings in Indian history, notably the Gupta King Chandragupta II and Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya .The name King Vikramaditya is a...
of 7th century.
- The following Subhashitha says about this:
- ಧನ್ವಂತರಿ ಕ್ಷಪಣಕಾಮರಸಿಂಹ ಶಂಕು ವೇತಾಲಭಟ್ಟ ಘಟಕರ್ಪರ ಕಾಲಿದಾಸಾಃ
- ಖ್ಯಾತೋ ವರಾಹಮಿಹಿರೋ ನೃಪತೇಸ್ಸಭಾಯಾಂ ರತ್ನಾನಿ ವೈವರರುಚಿರ್ನವ ವಿಕ್ರಮಸ್ಯ
- Its transliteration in English is:
- Its transliteration in English is:
- dhanvaMtari kShapaNakAmarasiMha SaMku vEtAlaBaTTa GaTakarpara kAlidAsAH
- KyAtO varAhamihirO nRupatEssaBAyAM ratnAni vaivararucirnava vikramasya
- In DevanagariDevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
- In Devanagari
- धन्वन्तरिक्षपणकामरसिंह शङ्कु वेताल भट्ट घटकर्पर कालिदासाः ।
- ख्यातो वराहमिहिरो नृपतेः सभायां रत्नानि वै वररुचि र्नव विक्रमस्य ॥
When Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya was traveling throughout India for propagating his Advaitic philosophy, he wanted to meet Amarasimha for a debate. When Amarasimha found out about this, he was scared by the possibility of a debate with Shri Shankaracharya and burned all of his collections. Upon learning about this Shri Shankara rushed to Amarasimhan's house. By that time all of his collections had turned into ashes except 'Amarakosha'. And Shri Shankaracharya saved Amarakosha from fire. This story can be seen in "Shankara dig Vijayam".
Textual organisation
The Amarakosha consists of verses that can be easily memorized. It is divided into three s or chapters. The first, ("heaven and others") has words pertaining to gods and heavens. The second, ("earth and others") deals with words about earth, towns, animals and humans. The third, ("common") has words related to grammar and other miscellaneous words.Svargadhikanda, the first Kandam of Amarakosham begins with the verse 'Svaravyam swarganakathridivatrishalaya..' describing various names of Heaven viz. Sva, Avya, swarga, Naka, Tridiva, Tridasalaya etc. The second verse 'Amara, nirjara, deva,’ describes various words that are equivalent to word God. The fifth and sixth verses give various names of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
reinforcing the claim that the author is a Buddhist.
The second Kandam, Bhuvargadhikanda, of Amarakosham is divided into ten Vargas or parts. The ten Vargas are Bhuvarga (Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
), Puravarga (Towns or Cities), Shailavarga (Mountains), Vanoshadivarga (Forests and medicines), Simhadivarga (Lions and other animals), Manushyavarga (Mankind), Bramhavarga (Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
), Kshatriyavarga (Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s), Vysyavarga (Vysyas) and Sudravarga (Sudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
s).
The Third Kandam, Samanyadhikanda contains Adjectives, Verbs, words related to prayer and business etc.. The first verse Kshemankaroristatathi Shivathathi Shivamkara gives the Nanarthas of the word Shubakara or propitious as Kshemankara, Aristathathi, Shivathathi and Shivamkara.
Commentaries
"Amarakoshodghaatana" by "Kshiirasvaamin" ,"Tiikaasarvasvam" by "Vandhyaghatiiya Sarvaananda" ,
"Raamaasramii"(Vyaakhyaasudha) by "Bhaanuji Diikshita" ,
"Padachandrikaa" by "Raayamukuta"
"Kaashikavivaranapanjikha" by Jinendra Bhudhi
"paarameshwari by parameswaran moosad in malaylam
Translations
"Gunaratha" of UjjainUjjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
translated it to Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
in 7th century .