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Even in the case of those few words whose foreignness to Sanskrit was
detected by Prof. Monier Williams, he gives no precise information as
to their source.
e.g.
“akkƒ, f. (voc. akka, Pƒ–.)
a. mother (used contemptuously);......(Supposed to be a term of foreign
origin: cf. Lat. aeca.]”
“atta, f. (probably a colloquialism borrowed from the Deccan, said to
occur chiefly in dramas), a mother, L.; mother's sister; elder sister,
L. (in PrƒkŠit)
a mother-in-law.
The Max Mullerian School by assuming the
Indian civilization to be of Aryan origin, has placed too heavy a burden
on the tender heads of the simple Vedic Aryans.
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18.
The manifold Defects of the Madras Tamil Lexicon
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The Preface of the Syndicate of the Madras
University to the Lexicon, states the three desiderata sought to be met
by the lexicon, as follows:
“The Lexicon should satisfy the Tamil scholars
of the orthodox style by extended investigation of obscure words and by
careful elucidation of words, rarely, if ever, used, and words used in
technical senses as in Jaina, Medical, Astrological and other literature.
“It shall satisfy the ideal of Western
Scholarship by bringing out the philological relations of Tamil with other
languages.
“It should serve the need of the large majority
of the Tamil people and those acquainted with English, by giving them
an accurate, complete and up-to-date dictionary, clearly explaining the
words used in terms of English words and idioms.”
Thus it was suggested, that the work should
be a standard and first class dictionary “at once many-sided and comprehensive
and edited on critical and scientific principles.” These aims indeed appear
grand; But the execution of the Lexicon has been in direct anti-thesis
to them.
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