Past two decades have witnessed a tremendous spurt of activity among the post-graduate students at Indian Universities for pursuing researches in different branches of Indology. The methods along critical, comparative and historical lines, vehemently introduced for the purpose on the Indian soil, mainly and pre-eminently, by the late Professor R.G. Bhandarkar, have happily come to stay in most parts of India. The source material for such studies, in the form of manuscripts and their descriptive catalogues, critical or standard editions of texts, bibliographies, indices, dictionaries, glossaries etc., which is relevant to most of the branches of literature and philosophy embodied in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, lies scattered in various University Libraries, Research Institutes, Museums and other Centres of higher learning. The sheer extensiveness of these research tools is such as will not see wisdom in a researcher claiming to become self-made by depending upon his individual efforts (assumed to be sincere and unsparing) and upon his perforce limited stock of information. As such, it becomes imperative for him to look up for some authoritative guidance and assistance in the task. What is most important, such assistance has to satisfy the norms of high accuracy and thoroughness on every smallest point of information, by rigorously doing first-hand checking of the original and using, as best as possible, critical editions alone. It is only a responsible researcher of long experience and tested scholarship who can render this help with an amount of confidence.
It is extremely fortunate of the present generation of researchers to be able to secure in this the services of an eminent Indologist like Professor K.V. Sarma. Prof. Sarma is a scholar of vast experience in handling and editing manuscripts, with extensive writings in various branches of Sanskrit and Indology, associated with several Universities and Governmental bodies in their plans and projects, and is widely travelled in connexion with national and international Conferences and Seminars wherein his participation has each time proved valuable. The present book is the outcome of such direct and constructive experience spread over his long career.
In his presentation Prof. Sarma has been very practical in the classification of the substantial source material. This material (viz., literary histories, bibliographies, glossaries, indexes etc.) has been supplied under thirty-six heads of studies, where a researcher can, according to the particular branch of his interest and pursuit, look for precious guidance on the above-mentioned material.
Prof. Sarma has thus made the Durga path of researchers extremely suga, and it is now upto the researchers to utilise this for effective purposes according to their individual needs. It is much to be hoped that the present source-book will not turn them complacent but stir and enliven them by developing own habits of avariciously collecting and critically classifying the scattered golden particles of information, at every moment and in every direction. A no bhadrah kratavo yantu viśvatah', coupled with unsparing self-study, is expected to be the Pole Star and concrete performance in their long career in research.
Research in Sanskrit by Prof. K.V. Sarma, issued as No.1 of the Madras Indological Series published by the Kuppuswami Research Institute (Adarsh Sanskrit Shodha Samstha), is an attempt to inform the inquisitive researcher in Sanskrit about potential sources of reference for his studies. Divided into 36 Sections, with more than 500 entries, the book is intended to cater to the needs of students of all the major fields of Sanskritic research, including language, literature, the philosophies and the scientific disciplines. Even 'Modern writings' is covered. Major descriptive histories of literature, Encyclopaedias, Technical glossaries and Bibliographies relating to each field of study are set out, mostly in that order. Full bibliographical details, including even the number of pages, and, at times, brief annotations, have been provided for each source-book, so as to give scholars an idea of the extent of the books. Apart from giving vantage identification numbers to the entries, blank space has been made available in several pages, for additional entries being recorded, if the need is felt, both by the students and their guides. It is to be hoped that scholars engaged in research studies in Indological institutions and University Departments would be greatly benefitted through the present publication.
Prof. K.V. Sarma, Chairman of this Institute, commenced this work towards catering to the limited needs of the research scholars of this Institute, but subsequently enlarged its scope towards meeting the needs, both of scholars and guides, working in the several fields of Sanskritic research all over the country. Our Institute is extremely grateful to Prof. Sarma for having produced this book, on the basis of his extensive knowledge and experience in the field. I am thankful also to Prof. S.D. Laddu, Director, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, for having contributed a worthy Foreword to this publication. My thanks are due also to Ms. Vijaya Graphics, Madras, for the elegant printing and production of this book, fully exemplifying their skilled expertise and competence in the matter.
The present book has grown out of the 'List of source-books' on certain specific subjects which I had to prepare for the use of the Vidyavaridhi research scholars of the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute. When that List was completed, it was felt that it could be supplemented and the entries classified and arranged in such a manner that it could serve a larger circle of research scholars working for M.Phil., Ph.D., Vidyavaridhi and Vidyavacaspati degrees in Sanskrit and to teachers who are guiding these researchers.
Indeed, in a 'Selection of this type, there is always the possibility of the omission of some source-books which are really relevant to the subject concerned. This is especially the case with regard to literature written in the different regional languages. I am very well aware of the fact that while the inclusion of a less important book might be condoned, the omission of a primary book might not be so condoned. I shall, therefore, be much thankful to the users of this book for drawing my attention to such omissions and also sending me the details of those books for due inclusion in the future editions of this book. I shall be thankful also for suggestions towards the improvement of this book of reference so that it can fulfil its purpose the better.
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