Amara Sinha
Encyclopedia
Amara Simhan was a Sanskrit
grammar
ian and poet
, of whose personal history hardly anything is known. He is said to have been "one of the nine gems that adorned the throne of Vikramaditya
," and according to the evidence of Hsuan Tsang, this is the Chandragupta Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II
) that flourished about AD 375.
Amara seems to have been a Buddhist, and most of his work was destroyed, with the exception of what is the celebrated Amara-Kosha (Treasury of Amara), a vocabulary of Sanskrit roots, in three books, and hence sometimes called Trikanda or the "Tripartite". It is also known as "Namalinganushasana".
It contains 10,000 words, and is arranged, like other works of its class, in metre, to aid the memory. The first chapter of the Kosha was printed at Rome
in Tamil character in 1798. An edition of the entire work, with English notes and an index by HT Colebrooke
, appeared at Serampore
in 1808. The Sanskrit text was printed at Calcutta in 1831. A French translation by ALA Loiseleur-Deslongchamps as published at Paris in 1839. Louie Rice
compiled the Kannada version of it and its available 4th edition was printed in 1927 which contains three khandas and 25 sargas.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
ian and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, of whose personal history hardly anything is known. He is said to have been "one of the nine gems that adorned the throne of Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. The title "Vikramaditya" was later assumed by many other kings in Indian history, notably the Gupta King Chandragupta II and Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya .The name King Vikramaditya is a...
," and according to the evidence of Hsuan Tsang, this is the Chandragupta Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II the Great, very often referred to as Vikramaditya or Chandragupta Vikramaditya in Sanskrit; was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c...
) that flourished about AD 375.
Amara seems to have been a Buddhist, and most of his work was destroyed, with the exception of what is the celebrated Amara-Kosha (Treasury of Amara), a vocabulary of Sanskrit roots, in three books, and hence sometimes called Trikanda or the "Tripartite". It is also known as "Namalinganushasana".
It contains 10,000 words, and is arranged, like other works of its class, in metre, to aid the memory. The first chapter of the Kosha was printed at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in Tamil character in 1798. An edition of the entire work, with English notes and an index by HT Colebrooke
Henry Thomas Colebrooke
Henry Thomas Colebrooke was an English orientalist.-Biography:Henry Thomas Colebrooke, third son of Sir George Colebrooke, 2nd Baronet, was born in London. He was educated at home; and when only fifteen he had made considerable attainments in classics and mathematics...
, appeared at Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
in 1808. The Sanskrit text was printed at Calcutta in 1831. A French translation by ALA Loiseleur-Deslongchamps as published at Paris in 1839. Louie Rice
Benjamin L. Rice
B. Lewis Rice was the director of the Department of Archaeology of Mysore state in India and an epigraphist. He is known for his work Epigraphia Carnatica which contains his study on about 9,000 inscriptions he found in the Old Mysore area....
compiled the Kannada version of it and its available 4th edition was printed in 1927 which contains three khandas and 25 sargas.