APPENDIX Bv
LEXICOGRAPHY,
The origin of lexicons was of course connected with the study of the Vedic hymns. " The investigations into the literal sense of the prayers only began when this sense had gradually become somewhat obscure and as this could not be the case among the priests, who were familiar with it, so soon as amongst the rest of the people, the language of the latter may at that time have undergone considerable modifications. The first step taken to render the prayers intelligible was to make a collection of synonyms, which, by virtue of their very arrangement, explained themselves and of specially obsolete words,.of which separate interpretations were then given orally. These collected words were called, from their being ' ranked r ' strung together,' Nigranthu corrupted into Nighantu, and those occupied with them Naighantukas. - One work of this kind has been actually preserved to us. It is in five books, of which the three first contain synonyms ; the fourth, a list of specially difficult Vedic words ; and the fifth, a classification of the various divine personages who figure in the Veda." The Nigama Parisishta oHhe White Yajus is of a similar character. The later Sanskrit dictionaries or Kosas are collections of rare words, mostly synonyms. They are all versified ; alphabetical order is entirely absent in the synonyms and only incipient in the homonymous class,
i. The Namalinganusasanam of Amarasimha is supposed to be the earliest extant work of this class. It is composed in three kandas with further sub-division into vargas. Amarasimha is mentioned as one of the nine gems ofistent witlv the reverent manner in,which he speaks of Patanjali's work.