H-ASIA: RESOURCE: Rajavyavaharakosha...Persian-Sanskrit Phraseology

[Frank Conlon]

H-ASIA
November 29, 2007

Important research source available once again _The Rajavyavaharakosha of 
Raghunatha Pandit: Persian-Sanskrit Phraseology_
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From: Sumit Guha <guhas at rci.rutgers.edu>:

_Rajavyavaharakosha of Raghunatha Pandit: Persian-Sanskrit Phraseology_
Author: Bharadwaj, Ramesh
Year: 2007
ISBN : 818670065X
[ pp. xxvi+143 ]


Dear colleagues,

The _Rajavyavahara Kosha_ is an unusual - perhaps unique lexicon
prepared in under the patronage of the Maratha Chatrapati Shivaji
c.1675-6 CE. Only a few manuscripts survived and it first appeared in
print (according to the editor of the present text) in 1860 and then in 
1880 in the _Kavyetihasa  Samgraha_ a periodical that appeared from 
Nagpur and Pune in  1878-1885. This edition is now extremely hard to find. 
Another three manuscripts were collated and edited by Kashinath N. Sane 
and  published in  _Shivacharitrapradipa_ edited by D.V Apte and S.M. 
Divekar, Pune 1925.

The 1880 _Kavyetihasa Samgraha_ text has now been reprinted with an 
extensive scholarly apparatus in a new edition by Ramesh Bhardwaj, of 
Motilal Nehru college, Delhi University and published by Vidyanidhi 
Prakashan, Delhi. (I obtained a copy of the reprint via  Motilal 
Banarsidas).

This work is divided into ten chapters each of which offers Sanskrit
replacements for common Arabic and Indo-Persian loan-words widely
adopted into Indian languages. It offers a glimpse of an unusual
lexicographic politics at work.

It opens for example "Know _padshah_ to be _raja_; for _saheb_ use
_svami_; the Yavana language uses _daruni_ for _antahpura_"[harem]. 
"Rishi" [seer] is offered as a substitute for "paigambara"[prophet]; 
"yogi" for "fakir".

Each chapter deals with terms relevant to a specific domain: for
example, the chapter on enjoyments (_bhogyavarga_) offering
_suraagaara_ for _sharabkhana_ and _champakatailam_ for _chaapelam_ [a
perfume]. Other sections offer similar substitutes for standard
administrative, business and military terms. So for example, "Daftar
should be _lekhashaalaa_; _daftardaar_ is _lekhakah_"

The new edition includes an alphabetical index, a list of all Persian
words mentioned printed in the Persian script and some useful
comparative and framing material.

It however does not include the short afterword from the Kolhapur 
manuscript that was printed in Sane's edition, or 84 verse introduction 
to that manuscript which was not found in any other ms consulted by Sane 
who therefore only quoted a few verses from it in his notes.

This new edition should prove a valuable resource for students of
Indian history and literature.

Sumit Guha
Rutgers University
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ed. note: While Sumit Guha obtained his copy of this work from MLBD, I was 
unable to locate it on their website and took the above bibliographical
information from the Eastern Book Corporation website.  Librarians should 
make certain that if they participate in the Library of Congress 
Acquisitions program that this item be obtained as I believe it would not 
fit within the conventional rubrics of most collection development 
profiles.                                           FFC

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