Laghu Kaumudi of Varadaraja

A different arrangement of Papini's Sutras was attempted by several grammarians of which Siddhantakaumudi of Bhattoji Diksita is very popular, in bringing together the relevant sutras bearing on a particular topic. Laghukaumudi is a suitable abridgement on the same by Varadaraja introducing the beginner to the rudiments of the Sanskrit Language.

The present book is an English version of Laghukaumudi together with comments, references and index. One of the important objects of this version is to explain each term and each process, on its first occurrence, with the fullness of illustration. Yet when a word is given as an illustration under a rule and more rules are to be referred to in forming the word there is no reference to them whatsoever in the original. This edition supplies such references so that the student should know the steps the root has taken before it has attained its present form. The book is a valuable contribution to the study of Sanskrit Grammar.

JAMES R. BALLANTYNE (1813.-1864) was a Scottish Orientalist, who was a superintendent of the Sanskrit College, Varanasi since 1845. He returned back to England in 1861 where he served as a librarian of the India Office.

Ballantyne published grammars of Sanskrit, Hindi and Marathi. Besides Laghukaumudi of Varadaraja 1842-52 he also published Mahabhasya of Patanjali in 1856, which opened for the first time native Indian grammatical tradition to a wider European scholarly audience.