Question regarding sorting order & Visarga

[Ashok Aklujkar]

Dr. Huet has spelled out, finely and nicely, the issues involved in sorting.
My remarks presupposed that we have standardized editions of Sanskrit texts
before us, which, I am aware, is not a 'robust' presupposition to make at
the present time. 

However, just because the presupposition rests shakily on reality at this
time, we should not stop making it. If full advantage is to be taken of the
technological revolution through which we are going, we must strive toward
(a) standardized recasts of already published texts and (b) preparation of
critical editions that follow a certain style sheet as well as a standard
mode of annotation (agreeing, as far as possible, with the mode followed for
critical editions of texts belonging to other literary traditions). Many of
the issues may disappear or become amenable to elegant solutions if we
reform the current practices (without necessarily giving up on finding ways
to accommodate the variety and deviations in the present reality of the
field). 

(In this context, a forthcoming article of mine should be generally useful.
"What more can the editors of Sanskrit texts do?" will appear in
Tattvabodha, vol. 2, expected to be published by the National Mission for
Manuscripts, New Delhi, before long.)

I am aware of the importance of computer technology and appreciative of what
it has made available to me. However, I am ignorant about what the precise
solutions could be to the issues and problems identified in Dr. Huet's
excellent communication. Let me say, however, that I am impressed by the
participants he has listed for the Symposium on Sanskrit Computational
Linguistics announced in his second communication of the day. The
contribution he is making to Sanskritology and Indology, although he is
professionally employed in a different field, can only be received with
gratitude.

ashok aklujkar