Amarakośodghāṭana (Introduction)

Amarakośodghāṭana is the earliest available complete commentary on Amarakośa of Amarasiṃha, though more than eighty commentaries on Amarakośa are available, Kṣīrasvāmin in the benedictory verse mentions this work to be a vṛtti, a variety of commentary. Patañjali in the Paśpaśāhnika^[1] defines Vṛtti as śāstrapravṛtti–‘application of the rules’.

Kṣīrasvāmin's commentary is short and crisp. Most of the words are etymologically explained and the Paninian sūtras are cited wherever necessary. Literary examples are cited to illustrate the usage of words with different readings and meanings. Technical terms are also explained with the help of the respective Śāstra texts.

Kṣīrasvāmin cites from more than 100 literary sources to explain many of the terms–technical or grammatical. In the process, sometimes he names the author of the books or cites them even without their names. He also mentions many words as Deśi which are mostly found in Hindi and other Northern dialects. The authorities cited by him, either the author or the text, are listed below subject-wise.

Lexicography: Text and Authors

1. Abhidhānakāra,
2. Abhidhanaratnamālā,
3. Abhidhānaśeṣa,
4. Amaramālā,
5. Anekārtha samuccaya,
6. Bhāguri,
7. Deśīnāmamālā,
8. Durga,
9. Gauḍa,
10. Kātya,
11. Mālā/ Mālākārā,
12. Meṣṭha,
13. Muni,
14. Nāmamālā,
15. Nārāyaṇa,
16. Nighaṇṭu (Vedic),
17. Nimi,
18. Śāśvata,
19. Śrī Harṣa,
20. Upādhyāya,
21. Vaijayanti.

Vedic Texts:

22. Atharvaveda,
23. Kauṣitakyopaniṣad,
24. ṚgVeda,
25. Sāma,
26. Vājasenīya saṃhitā,
27. Yajurveda Vyakaraṇa:,
28. Candra,
29. Candragomin,
30. Kāśikā,
31. Mahābhāṣya [Mahābhāṣyam],
32. Pāṇini,
33. Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa [Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇam].

Jyotiṣa Texts:

34. Bṛhatsaṃhitā.

Ayurveda: Texts and Authors

35. Candra,
36. Candranandana,
37. Carakasaṃhitā,
38. Dhanvantari,
39. Dhanvantari Nighaṇṭu,
40. Indu,
41. Pālakāpya,
42. Suśruta,
43. Vāgbhaṭa/ Vāhaṭa,
44. Vātsyāyana.

Epics and Pūrāṇa Texts:

45. Mahābhārata/Vyāsa,
46. Vāyupurāṇa [Vāyupurāṇam],
47. Viṣṇupurāṇa [Viṣṇupurāṇam].

Literary: Texts and Authors

48. Aśvaghoṣa,
49. Bālarāmāyaṇa [Bālarāmāyaṇam],
50. Bhartṛhari,
51. Bhaṭṭi,
52. Cāṇakyaśataka [Cāṇakyaśatakam],
53. Ghaṭakarpara,
54. Haramekhala [Haramekhalam],
55. Hitopadeśa,
56. Kādambarī,
57. Kāvyādarśa [Kāvyādarśam],
58. Kāvyālaṅkārasūtravṛtti,
59. Kirātārjunīya [Kirātārjunīyam],
60. Kumārasambhava [Kumārasambhavam],
61. Mahāvīracarita [Mahāvīracaritam],
62. Mālatīmādhava [Mālatīmādhavam],
63. Meghadūta [Meghadūtam],
64. Mudrārakṣasa [Mudrārakṣasam],
65. Nāgānanda [Nāgānandam],
66. Nītiśataka [Nītiśatakam],
67. Pañcatantra [Pañcatantram],
68. Raghuvaṃśa,
69. Rājaśekhara,
70. Ratnāvalī,
71. Śākuntala [Śākuntalam],
72. Saundrananda [Saundranandam],
73. Śiśupālavadha [Śiśupālavadham],
74. Uttararāmacarita [Uttararāmacaritam],
75. Veṇīsaṃhāra [Veṇīsaṃhāram],
76. Viddhaśālabhañjikā,
77. Vikramorvaśīya.

Dharmaśāstra: Texts and Authors

78. Arthaśāstra,
79. Gautama,
80. Hārīta,
81. Manu,
82. Nārada,
83. Yājñavalkya smṛti.

Authors:

84. Candraka,
85. Dharmadāsa,
86. Nimi.

Śāstras: Texts and Authors

87. Bhaṭṭa,
88. Nyāyasūtra,
89. Pūrvamīmāṃsā,
90. Sāṅkhyakārikā,
91. Saptapadārthī,
92. Tarka,
93. Vaiśeṣika,
94. Yogasūtra Nāṭya:,
95. Bharata/ Nāṭyaśāstra,
96. Dattila.

Miscellaneous:

97. Āgama,
98. Brahmakarma,
99. Buddha,
100. Dhanurveda,
101. Dhātuvida,
102. Jaina,
103. Kāśmīrā,
104. Kavayaḥ,
105. Sabhyā,
106. Sauratantra [Sauratantram],
107. Sūdasūtra [Sūdasūtram],
108. Tāntrika,
109. Ṭīkā,
110. Vaidya.

Schools of Grammar:

111. Draviḍa,
112. Gauḍā,
113. Pāścātya,
114. Prācyā,
115. Udīcyā.

He is also cited by many later scholars and commentators.

Liṅgayyasūrin expressly mentions the scholarly Kṣīrasvāmin with great respect in the invocatory verses of his commentary–

padavākyapramāṇajñairkṣīrasvāmyādi sūribhiḥ |

The study of the commentary reveals the lingual changes that have taken place over the period of years between the author of the text (6th C. A.D.) and the commentator (11th C. A.D.). Apart from this, the commentary also reflects the social, political, economic, literary and religious conditions of that time. S uch information available in the commentary are recorded and discussed in the following chapters which helps one in understanding the history and culture of our country during the period of Kṣīrasvāmin To this purpose, the edition of Amarakośa with Amarakośodghāṭana, by H. D. Sarma and N. G. Sardesai (published by Poona Oriental Agency, 1941), has been followed.

Other commentaries^[2] on Amarakośa like Jātarūpa's commentary, Padacandrikā of Rāyamukuṭa, Ṭīkāsarvasva of Sārvānanda, Vivṛti of Liṅgayasūri, Pārijāta of Mallinātha and Vyākhyā Sudhā of Bhānuji are also compared wherever necessary.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vyākaraṇa Mahābhāṣya, p. 47

[2]:

References to these texts in this thesis are to their editions, given in the Bibliography.