13.3 Structure within non-Dhatu Entries The entries for naman (nouns), visesana (adjectives), and avyaya (indeclinables, typically kriya-visesana adverbs), are listed in their pratipadika form, followed by a description indicating their meaning. The first division of naman is into liriga (gender), and this is shown in the dictionary by 'm.', 'f.' or 'n.' (masculine, feminine, neuter). The visesana, in bringing a quality to a naman, must have the same linga as that naman, and must therefore be able to take any form of the three linga, and are thus indicated in the dictionary as 'mm.' Examine the entry for Buddha in the second column of page 733: it begins with 'mm.', indicating a visesana; however, six lines down is 'm. a wise or learned man', so Buddha can also be a masculine naman; and further down (just before the bold type -kapalinl) is 'n. knowledge', thus the word Buddha can also be a neuter noun. Thus the same pratipadika form may be a visesana or a naman, so if the heading word indicates 'mm.' one may yet find 'm.' etc. buried in the text for that word. The converse does not apply: had the entry been 'Buddha, m. a wise man', there will be no 'mm.' buried in the text — this reflects the overall structure of the dictionary in tapering down from the general to the particular, from a quality (visesana) to the specific (naman). A fuller illustration of this principle is shown under the entry 4)h near the bottom of the third column of page 481: 1st line: mf(a)n. long, lofty, tall . . . visesana form 5th line: (am) ind. long, for a long time . . . avyaya form 7th line: m. a long vowel . . . pum-linga naman 12th line: (a) f. an oblong tank . . . strT-linga naman 14th line: n. a species of grass . . . napumsaka-linga naman. This is the general order followed in the dictionary within the text for an entry word. Return to page 733, and lightly read through the text for the word Buddha: the information provided about Gautama Buddha (the founder of Buddhism) is typical of the encyclopaedic scope of the dictionary. Now lightly read through the text for the word Buddhi in the third column. Here, as a bonus, you are given an insight into the mythology of India, where the gods and their consorts are the personification of universal forces: from Daksa (the Creative Force) arises Buddhi (Intelligence), which, guided by Dharma (Law), produces Bodha (Knowledge).
