Commentaries on Amarakośa

Commentaries, generally, help in understanding the meaning of words either by giving their synonyms or by describing their meanings.

Patañjali^[1] in his Paśpaśāḥnika highlights the role played by the commentator in deciding the meaning of a word–

vyākhyānato viśeṣapratipattirna hi sandehādalakṣaṇam |

Generally the commentaries are in prose and hence do not have any metrical constraints. On account of this, elaborate information about the subject is furnished. In the process, the commentators also make original contribution which is as valuable as those of the koṣa writers.

The popularity of Amarakośa is evident from the fact that it has more than eighty commentaries.

(a) Some of the commentaries published are as follows:

(i) Jātarūpa’s commentary is the earliest available commentary. But the commentary is not available in full. Only the first Kāṇḍa is completely available; the remaining Kāṇḍas are in fragments. As he is referred to by Kṣīrasvāmin as Gauḍa, he is considered to belong to 10th C. A.D.

(ii) Amarakośodghāṭana by Kṣīrasvāmin of 11th C. A.D. is the earliest fully extant commentary on the Amarakośa The text is lucid and simple. It quotes more than hundred authorities.

(iii) Ṭīkāsarvasva by Vandyaghaṭīya Sarvānanda of 12th C. A.D., was very popular among Bengal commentators.

(iv) Amarapadavivṛti or Liṅgabhaṭṭīya of Liṅgayasūri, (1150-1300 A.D.) He quotes Kṣīrasvāmin often and declares that he has composed his work following the commentaries of scholars like Kṣīrasvāmin and others.

(v) Amarapadapārijāta of Mallinātha (14th C. A.D.); he quotes Liṅgayasūri. The author of the present work is said to be different from Mallinātha the commentator of the Mahākāvyas.

(vi) Padacandrikā or Padapañcikā by Rāyamukuṭamaṇi or Bṛhaspati Miśra belongs to 14th C. A.D.

(vii) Vyākhyāsudhā or Subodhinī or Rāmāśramī of Bhānuji Dīkṣita, son of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita was composed at the request of prince Kīrtisiṃha of Mahīdhara in the first half of 17th C. A.D.

(viii) Amarakośaviveka or Subodhini by Maheśvara, son of Rāmacandra Bhaṭṭa, was composed in the latter half of the 17th C. A.D.

(ix) Commentary by Kṛṣṇamitra; Kṛṣṇamitra is considered to be the same person who wrote commentary on Śabdakaustubha and Siddhānta Kaumudī of Bhattoji Dīkṣita. Hence his date is ascribed to 18th C. A.D.

(b) The unpublished commentaries,

In Manuscripts mentioned in New Catalogus Catalogorum (Vol. I, pp. 318-31) are as follows:

1. Abhidhānabodhinī by Lakṣmīdhara,
2. Abhidhānaprakāśikā by Raghunandana,
3. Amarakośābhidhāna,
4. Amarakośamālā by Paramānanda Śarman,
5. Amaramālā,
6. Amarāmṛta in verse form by Veṅkaṭeśvara,
7. Amarānvayaprakāśa,
8. Amarapadamukura by Raṅgācārya,
9. Amarapadavivaraṇa,
10. Amaroddyota by Puruṣottama Tarkālaṅkāra,
11. Bṛhadvṛtti or Subhodhinī by Jātaveda Dīkṣita, son of Devaṇabhaṭṭa,
12. Bālabodhinī by Gosvāmi Śiromaṇibhaṭṭa,
13. Śabdārthasandīpikā by Nārāyaṇa Vidyāvinoda^[2],
14. Commentary by Caturbhuja,
15. Commentary by Cintāmaṇi Miśra,
16. Commentary by Cūḍāmaṇi Mithila,
17. Commentary by Durlabhavallabha,
18. Commentary by Haridīkṣita,
19. Commentary by Kṛṣṇadāsa of Bengal,
20. Commentary by Kulatithi Śarman, son of Jayadeva,
21. Commentary by Lakṣmaṇaśāstri,
22. Commentary by Mañjubhaṭṭa,
23. Commentary by Mukunda Śarman who follows the grammatical system of Vopadeva.,
24. Commentary by Nācarāja of Mysore,
25. Commentary by Rāghavendra,
26. Commentary by Rāmāśramī,
27. Commentary by Rāmasvāmin,
28. Commentary by Rāmatarkavāgīśa,
29. Commentary by Sajja or Sāñja,
30. Commentary by Śambhu,
31. Commentary by Śrīdhara,
32. Commentary by Surasiṃhasūri,
33. Commentary by Trilocanadāsa of Bengal,
34. Commentary by Vāsudeva (ptd. Kottayam) (not available),
35. Commentary by Vidagdhacūḍāmaṇi Viṭṭhala with Kannada meanings,
36. Commentary by Daityāri, son of Śaṅkara, son of Pañcānana Kavīśvara, wriiten in Oriya,
37. Commentary by Bommagaṇṭi Appayārya^[3],
38. Jñānadīpikā by Śrīpati Cakravarti,
39. Kāśikā by Kāśīnātha,
40. Kāmadhenu by Subhūticandra^[4],
41. Kaumudī by Kaumudīśvara of Bengal,
42. Kaumudī commenced by Nāyanānanda Śarman and completed by his pupil Rāmacandra Śarman,
43. Kaumudī of Tarkapañcānana Bhaṭṭācārya,
44. Kriyākalāpa by Āśādhara,
45. Laghubhāṣā ascribed to Ravivarma,
46. Mādhavī or Madhumādhavī by Madhumādhava,
47. Manoramā,
48. Marmabhedinī,
49. Mughdhabhodinī by Bharatamallika,
50. Nāmaprabhā by Rāmagopāla,
51. Padamañjari by Lokanātha,
52. Padaṭīkā with Bhāṣāṭīkā,
53. Padaṭippaṇa,
54. Padaṭippaṇavivṛti,
55. Padavṛtti,
56. Padavivṛti,
57. Padavyākhyā,
58. Pañcikā,
59. Pañcikā by Veṅkaṭeśvara,
60. Pañjikā or Padārthakaumudī by Nārāyaṇa Śarman, 18th C. A.D.,
61. Pīyūṣa by Rāmakṛṣṇa Dīkṣita,
62. Pradīpamañjarī by Rāmeśvara Śarman,
63. Pratipadaṭīkā,
64. Ratnamālā by Ratneśvara Cakravartin,
65. Sārasundarī by Mathureśa Vidyālaṅkāra,
66. Subodhinī by Nīlakaṇtha Śarman,
67. Trikāṇḍacintāmaṇi by Raghunātha Cakravrtin,
68. Trikāṇḍaviveka by Rāmanātha, 18th C. A.D.,
69. Vaiṣamya Kaumudī by Rāmaprasād Tarkālaṅkāra,
70. Vidvanmanohara or Budhamanohara by Mahādevatīrtha, 17th C. A.D.,
71. Vyākhyāmṛta by Śrīkara Ācārya,
72. Vyākhyāpradīpā by Acyuta Upādhyāya

73. Besides these, T.R. Chintāmaṇi has written in an article^[5] on an unknown commentary by an unknown author on Amarakośa: “The following pages present a short account of the literary value and importance of an extensive and valuable commentary on the Amarakośa now deposited in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras. The manuscript bears the No. R. 3356 (T—1—107) and is described in Vol. IV of the Triennial Berhampore district which is bordering on the Orissa country, by the Peripatetic Search Party of the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library.

No other copy of this commentary is known to exist in any other Library either in India or elsewhere. Neither the name of the commentary nor that of the author could be gathered from the Ms.”

Apart from the above list of commentaries, Keśava Śarmā, in his work cites from Mukunda Daivajña's Koṣanāmāvalī, the various commentators who have written glosses on Amarakośa Only a few are found in the above list while many are known only by name mentioned in the list. The text lists more than forty Ṭīkākāras^[6] and adds that some others (kaucidanyo manīṣiṇau) also have written commentaries on the text.

The Śabda-Kalpadruma^[7] also preserves a list of 35 commentators and commentaries: Kṣīrasvāmī, Subhūti, Haṭṭacandra, Kaliṅga, Kiṅkaṭa, Sarvadhara, Rājadeva, Govardhana, Drāviḍa, Bhojarāja, Mādhavī, Madhumādhavī, Sarvānanda, Abhinanda, Mallinātha, Rāyamukuṭamaṇi, Nīlakaṇṭha, Aruṇa, Bhagīratha, Jayāditya, Kolahalācārya, Śabarasvāmī, Rāmatarkavāgīśa, Nayanānanda, Vidyāvinoda, Raghunātha Cakravartī, Vyākhyāmṛta, Tīkāsarvasva, Sandehabhañjikā, Vyākhyāsudha or Rāmāśramī by Bhānudīkṣita, Sārasundarī by Mathureśa Vidyālaṅkāra, Padārtha Kaumudī by Nārāyaṇa Cakravartī, Trikāṇḍa viveka by Ramānātha Vidyā -vācaspati, Mugdhabodha Sammatā Ṭīkā by Bharatamallika. Most of the names given here tally with thew above lists; a few are new names.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vyākaraṇa Mahābhāṣya, Vol. I, p. 29

[2]:

T.R. Cintāmaṇi, “Vidyāvinoda Nārāyaṇa’s commentary on the Amarakośa”, The Journal of Oriental Research (J.O.R.), Madras, Vol. XII, 1940, pp. 6-16

[3]:

V. Raghavan, “The Amarakośavyākhyā of Bommagaṇṭi Appayācārya”, Indian Historical Quaterly, Vol. XIX. i, pp. 73-8

[4]:

T.R. Chintāmaṇi, “Subhūticandra’s commentary on the Amarakośa”, The J.O.R, Madras, Vol. VIII, pp. 372-80 P.Kṣīrasvāmin Gode, “Date of Subhūticandra’s commentary on the Amarakośa–Between A.D. 1062 and 1172”, Kuppuswami Sastri Commemoration Volume, pp. 47-51——, “Rare Manuscripts of Subhūticandra’s commentary on the Amarakośa”, Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. XVI, pp. 313-14

[5]:

“A New Commentary on Amarakośa”, The J.O.R., Madras, Vol. VI, p. 239

[6]:

Saṃskṛtakośavaṅmaye sāmānya paricayaḥ, p. 83:
govardhanaḥ sarvadharaśca haṭṭacandro jayāditya-maheśvarau ca |
bhagīratho draviḍamallināthau tathā ca nārāyaṇa cakravartī ||
rameśvaro bhānujadīkṣito'pi tathā kaliṅgāruṇarājadevāḥ |
rāmaprasādo mathureśakāśināthāvatho koṅkaṭakohalau ca ||
nārāyaṇau liṅgamasūri nīlakaṇṭhācyutā mādhava lokanāthau |
tathābhinando raghunāthacakravartī rāmanātha subhūtirāmāḥ ||
sarvānando rāmakṛṣṇaḥ śabarasvāmi saugatau |
haradatto rāmanāthastathā bharatamallikaḥ ||
kṣīrasvāmī mahādevaḥ paramānandamaithilaḥ |
mukuṭo nayanānandaḥ kaucidanyau manīṣiṇau ||
āmarasiṃhasya koṣasya ṭikākārā ime smṛtāḥ ||

[7]:

Mukhabandhana, p. 5