Indian Epigraphical Glossary

The interested world of scholars is sure to receive with gratitude this

latest work from the erudite pen of Prof. D.C. Sircar who has opened up for

us new vistas in the study of Indian antiquities. Prof. Sircar's Indian

Epigraphical Glossary, characterised by a wide sweep of vision based on a

meticulous attention to details, is a contribution of the utmost

importance. Here one finds an embarras de richesses in a comprehensive

dictionary of technical expressioins found in documents embracing nearly

2000 years in time and the entire Indian sub-continent in space and written

in a variety of languages. It offers a panorama of Indian political and

cultural life as enshrined in a series of expressions which are precise and

historically important. Many of them remained obscure, and Prof. Sircar,

with his thorough knowledge of the subject in the study of which he has

spent a life-time, has succeeded in most cases in giving quite satisfactory

interpretations. The mass of material in this invaluable publication, which

will continue to be an indispensable work of reference for many years to

come, brings in a volume of lexical material for the compilation of an

exhaustive Dictionary of Sanskrit. The importance of the work, which I

would consider epoch-making in the domain of Indology, has been

considerably enhanced by three remarkable Appendices.

Review(s)

About the Author(s)

D. C. Sircar (1907-1984) was an epigraphist, historian, numismatist and folklorist, known particularly for his work deciphering inscriptions in India and Bangladesh. He was the Chief Epigraphist, Archaeological Survey of India (1949-1962); Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, (1962-1972) and the General President of the Indian History Congress. In 1972, Sircar was awarded the Sir William Jones Memorial Plaque.