English translation of Siddhanta Kaumudi

[Peter Wyzlic]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2000, Harry Spier wrote:

> I am looking for an english translation of the Siddhanta Kaumudi and see the
> following three listed in the Library of Congress catalogue.
>
> 1) The Siddhanta Kaumudi of Bhattoji Dikshita, Edited and translated into
> English by S. C. Vasu and V. D. Vasu, Allahabad, The Panini office, 1907
> (available in reprint).
>
> 2) Sri Bhattoji Diksita's Vaiyakarana Siddhanta Kaumudi, the standard
> Sanskrit grammar: an analysis in English by P.V. Naganatha Sastry, Motilal
> Banarsidass, 1974-1983.

If I remember right, this is not a complete translation of the whole text,
rather some sort of commentary that covers parts of it.

> 3)Siddhanta-kaumudi, Karaka-prakarana of Bhattoji Diksita, editted with an
> elaborate English exposition & critical annotations by Bishnupada
> Bhattacharya, Calcutta:Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1974.

As the title says, this one deals only with the karaka chapter.

> Which one would you recommend as the best and most accurate translation.

Since the translation of Srisa Chandra Vasu is only one that is complete
you do not have a big choice. I suspect, however, that the work of
Bishnupada Bhattacharya improves that of Vasu, at least for this chapter.

You may look also for the short versions of the Siddhantakaumudi by
Varadaraja: 1. Laghu-, 2. Madhya-, and Sarasiddhantakaumudi. The first one
(the Laghukaumudi) was translated into English by J. R. Ballantyne in the
mid-19th century (still available in reprint). The last one (the
Sarakaumudi) was edited and translated by G. V. Devasthali.

Peter Wyzlic