https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=NighantuNighantu - Revision history2026-09-06T22:42:35ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nighantu&diff=242522&oldid=prev->Marcocapelle: removed parent category of Category:Sanskrit words and phrases2020-12-30T13:45:15Z<p>removed parent category of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Category:Sanskrit_words_and_phrases&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Category:Sanskrit words and phrases (page does not exist)">Category:Sanskrit words and phrases</a></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''{{IAST|Nighaṇṭu}}''' ({{lang-sa|निघण्टु}}, {{IPA-sa|nɪɡʱɐɳʈʊ|IPA}}) is a [[Sanskrit]] term for a traditional collection of words, grouped into thematic categories, often with brief annotations. Such collections share characteristics with [[Glossary|glossaries]] and [[Thesaurus|thesauri]], but are not true [[lexicon]]s, such as the '''kośa''' of Sanskrit literature. Particular collections are also called '''{{IAST|nighaṇṭava}}'''.<br />
<br />
While a number of nighantavas devoted to specialized subjects exist, the eponymous Nighantu of the genre is an ancient collection, handed down from [[Vedic period|Vedic times]]. It was the subject of the [[Nirukta]],<ref>''{{IAST|samāmnāyaḥ samāmnātaḥ ; sa vyākhyātavyaḥ ; tamimaṃ samāmnāyaṃ nighaṇṭava ityācakṣate}}'' (Nirukta 1.1)</ref> a commentary, together with a treatise on etymology, by [[Yaska]]. Technically, Yaska's Nirukta should designate his commentary only, but traditionally the Nighantu has been understood to be included in it.<br />
<br />
==The Traditional Nighantu==<br />
According to Yaska (Nirukta 1.20), the Nighantu was a collection of rare or difficult words gathered by earlier sages for easier understanding of Vedic texts that perhaps they may not have fully understood themselves. The collection comprises five ''adhyāya''s or chapters, in three ''{{IAST|kāṇḍa}}''s or books:<br />
<br />
* '''{{IAST|naighaṇṭuka kāṇḍa}}''': three ''adhyāya''s of similes, synonyms, metonyms and other glosses. The first ''adhyāya'' deals mainly with physical things and objects of nature. The second ''adhyāya'' deals mainly with man, his physical being, and qualities associated with his being, such as property and emotional states. The third ''adhyāya'' deals mainly with abstract qualities and concepts.<br />
* '''{{IAST|naigama kāṇḍa}}''': one ''adhyāya'' of homonyms (''aikapadikam'') and particularly difficult or ambiguous words.<br />
* '''{{IAST|daivata kāṇḍa}}''': one ''adhyāya'' of epithets of divine beings.<br />
<br />
Yaska's Nirukta covers the Naighantuka somewhat synoptically, often merely echoing a given gloss, but deals with the 278 words of the Naigama and the 151 names of the Daivata in detail. A full word-by-word commentary on the Naighantuka was written by [[Devarajayajvan]], some time before the 14th CE.<ref>Sarup, Part I, p.50</ref> <br />
<br />
A critical edition of the Nighantu and the Nirukta was published in the 1920s by Lakshman Sarup. In it, two major recensions were identified, one longer than the other, indicating additions at untraceable yet relatively early dates. It is now customary to render both recensions together, with the additions of the longer recension in parentheses.<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
* Lakshman Sarup, ''The Nighantu and The Nirukta'' (London, H. Milford 1920-29), Repr. Motilal Banarsidass 2002, {{ISBN|81-208-1381-2}}.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Vedangas]]<br />
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]</div>->Marcocapelle