Sanskrit Books

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My teacher has compiled a list of good Sanskrit grammar books that one
should possess in order to be serious student of Sanskrit. I am sure
you understand that this list cannot be unique. It is one teacher's
opinion of what a simple/good collection is.
I am forwarding this for the benefit any Sanskrit aspirants in this
list as members of such lists typically have overlapping interests.
1. The "Kasika" is the standard Sanskrit commentary (more than a

thousand years old) on the Panini's Astadhyayi. There are many
editions available but I like the following one because it is
completely error-free to the best of my knowledge: "Kasika" edited by
Vijayapala Vidyavaridhih, published by Ramlal Kapoor Trust. The above
edition has only the original Sanskrit text with no translation or
commentary. The following two have translations:
2. "Kasika" (in 10 volumes) edited by Jayasankaralal Tripathi and

Sudhakar Malaviya published by Tara Printing Works, Varanasi. This
has two of the best Sanskrit commentaries on Kasika along with a good
Hindi translation.
3. "The Astadhyayi of Panini" by Srisa Chandra Vasu, published by
Motilal Banarasidass. This is a good English translation of Kasika.
4. "Astadhyayi of Panini" edited by Prof. Gopal Dutt Pandey,
published by Chowkhamba Surabharati Prakashan, Varanasi. This is a
small book which has only the Astadhyayi sutras - Sutra Patha (with no
commentary), but with anuvrittis of the sutras and an alphabetical
index of sutras at the back.
5. "A Dictionary of Sanskrit Grammar" by Kashinath Vasudev Abhyankar
and J. M. Shukla published in Gaekwad's Oriental Series #134. This is
a really superb English explanation of pretty much all Sanskrit
grammatical terms. It also gives the numbers of the sutras where the
term occurs. It is a must have book.
6. "The Tested Easiest Method of Learning and Teaching Sanskrit" First Book. By Pandit Brahmadattaji Jihnasu. Published by Ramlal
Kapoor Trust. For those who want to make a gradual entry into the
Panian system this is a good book: This book is also available in
Hindi. There is a part two also (but only in Hindi.) by Yudhishthira
Mimamsaka, same publisher.
7. Siddhanta Kaumudi
====================
The Siddhanta Kaumudi is the re-ordering of Panini's Astadhyayi by
topic, done by the great grammarian Bhattoji Diksita about 400 years
ago. There are many editions and commentaries, but here are some good
ones:
7.1. "Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Tattvabodhini commentary edited by
Vasudev Lakshman Shastri Panashikar, published by Chaukhamba Sanskrit
Pratishthan, Delhi. This is a re-print of the famed old Nirnaya Sagar
edition It has a good set of appendices (including Dhatu Patha, Sutra
Patha etc.) at the back.
7.2. "Vaiyakarana Siddhanta Kaumdi" in 4 volumes, edited by Giridhar
Sarma Chaturvedi and Parameswarananda Sarma Vidyabhaskar - published
by Motilal Banarasidass. This edition has two Sanskrit commentaries particularly the Balamanorama which is the easiest to read and hence
the most popular, even though it has some errors.
7.3. "The Siddhanta Kaumudi" by Srisa Chandra Vasu published by
Motilal Banarasidass. For those who prefer English:
8. Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi
==========================
The most popular Sanskrit grammar text studied today is the Laghu
Siddhanta Kaumudi, which as the name implies, is a condensed Siddhanta
Kaumudi containing about 1300 of the most important sutras organized
by topic. Here again there are many editions available but the
following Hindi translation is absolutely outstanding. This is the
first place I go to when I have a question. It is a must have even if
your Hindi is weak!
8.1 "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Bhaimi Vyakhya (6 volumes) published by Bhaimi Prakashan, 537, Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi - 110006.
One should have at least one edition of the Kaasika and one of the
Siddhanta Kaumudi.
9. dhaatu paaTha
=================
Since the Sanskrit language is almost entirely based on the verbal
roots, there are many commentaries on the Dhatu Patha which explain
not only the meaning of the Dhatu but also derive the forms which come
from it. Here are some useful books:
9.1. "KrdantaRupaMala" in 5 volumes published by The Sanskrit
Education Society, Madras. This is a superb collection of all the
Dhatus along with it's major forms - not only of the original verbal
root but also its causative and desiderative variations. More
importantly it gives all the necessary sutras and references from
literature. An extremely useful reference, but unfortunately out of
print. I am planning to make some more photocopies shortly.
9.2. "Madhaviya DhatuVritti" edited by Vijayapala Vidyavaridhih,

published by Ramlal Kapoor Trust. This is a very respected Sanskrit
commentary on the Dhatu Patha by the great Vedic commentator
Sayanacarya.
9.3. "KshiraTarangini" commentary on the Dhatu Patha by Kshiraswami edited by Yudhishthira Mimamsaka, published by Ramlal Kapoor Trust. A
very old standard commentary. A well edited work with good footnotes.
10. Dictionaries, etc.:
======================
The most well-known and original thesaurus of Sanskrit is undoubtedly
the AmaraKosa. No collection of Sanskrit books is complete without
this one. Of the various editions available I like the following:
10.1. "Namalinganusasana alias Amarakosa" of Amarsimha with Sanskrit
commentary, edited by Pandit Sivadatta Dadhimatha and revised by
Vasudev Laksmana Panasikara, published by Chaukhamba Sanskrti
Pratishthan (reprint of old Nirnaya Sagar edition). This edition is
particularly useful because the commentary gives all the sutras
necessary for the etymology of each word.
10.2. "Amarakosa" in 3 volumes with South Indian Sanskrit commentaries
edited by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan, published by The Adyar Library and
Research Centre. Gives good explanations but without sutras.
10.3. "AvyayaKosa - A Dictionary of Indeclinables" published by The
Sanskrit Education Society, Madras. This is a special dictionary
contaning all the indeclinable words in the language in alphabetical
order. Very useful and full of good information including sutras.
Volume I of "Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi" with Bhaimi Vyakhya (mentioned
above) also has a very good list of indeclinables.
10.4. Unadi Kosa - Since not all Sanskrit words can be derived using the
Astadhyayi, the Unadi sutras are like an appendix to the Astadhyayi
which explain the etymology of words not covered by Panini. Some of
these are very common words - like manas. Panini refers to the Unadi
sutras - see sutra 3.3.1 - but doesn't go into details. Unadi sutras
are also part of the Siddhanta Kaumudi. There are called Unadi because
the first affix given is 'uN' The following is a well-edited handy
book of Unadi sutras along with good appendices: "Unadi Kosa" edited
by Yudhishthira Mimamsaka, published by Ramlal Kapoor Trust.
10.5. In addition to the DhatuPatha, which gives the list of verbal
roots, there is also another important appendix to Panini's Astadhyayi
called the "GanaPatha" This gives the lists of nouns refered to by
Panini in various sutras. Here is a good edition with a Sanskrit
commentary: "GanaRatnavali" edited by Pandit Chandradatta Sarma
published by Ramlal Kapoor Trust.
10.6.The best Sanskrit-English dictionary is Apte's Practical
Sanskrit-English dictionary - Revised and Enlarged edition. There are
many different variations of Apte's dictionary but this particular one
is the most comprehensive of them all. The original publication is
from Japan, but that is expensive ($100). There is an Indian reprint
of the Japanese original, by Motilal Banarasidass which is affordable
(about $15).
10.7. A very good all-encompassing reference book in English is Kale's "A
Higher Sanskrit Grammar" published by Motilal Banarasidass. It also
contains some Panini sutras as footnotes.
10.8. There is also the "Student's Guide to Sanskrit Composition" by
V. S. Apte, re-published by Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office,
Varanasi. Another great work by Apte.
10.9 For a quick guide (without sutras) to nominal declensions and
verbal conjugations there is the "SabdaManjari" and "DhatuRupaManjari"
published by R. S. Vadhyar & Sons, Palghat. These have a few errors
but still handy references.
11. Gita, etc.
==============
11.1 The best BhagawadGeeta book for Sanskrit commentaries is
"SrimadBhagawadGita" edited by Wasudev Laxman Sastri Pansikar
published by Munshiram Manoharlal (re-print of the old famed Nirnaya
Sagar edition). It is well edited with seven commentaries and is
really worth having.
11.2 For chanting purposes, a very good large type error-free Geeta
book is the "Sri PancaRatnaGeeta" by Geeta Press (book # 21). This
has VishnuSahasraNaamaStotram also.
11.3 For those who want to practice reading Sanskrit with the help of a
good English (or Hindi) translation, I would recommend the following
Geeta Press books (I have some copies of the English versions):
"Srimad Valmiki Ramayana" in 2 volumes with English translation Geeta Press book numbers 452, 453. The Hindi version is book numbers
75, 76. "Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana" in 2 volumes with English
translation - Geeta Press book numbers 564, 565. The Hindi version is
book numbers 26, 27
Like all Geeta Press books, these are of a high quality and also
inexpensive. Read the Ramayana first. It is much easier.
11.4 Finally there is the Bhatti Kavyam. Bhatti was a very great
grammarian who wrote his version of the Ramayana with the intention of
teaching Panini sutras. No course on Panini's Astadhyayi can be
complete without Bhatti. It's not for beginners. A must read for
serious students of Panini. Many editions are available.

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This messages was contributed to advaita-l (www.advaita-vedanta.

1. The "Kasika" is the standard Sanskrit commentary (more than a

2. "Kasika" (in 10 volumes) edited by Jayasankaralal Tripathi and

9.2. "Madhaviya DhatuVritti" edited by Vijayapala Vidyavaridhih,

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