[Preliminary Entry] The Saṃskṛtā Ratnākara, written in 1814 by Śukla Mathurānātha, is a text for the study of the Sanskrit language through the medium of Persian. It was written at the request of a British officer whose name is not specified. The work was undertaken at the Government Sanskrit College of Benares which had been established in 1791 at the initiative of the East India Company. The manuscript no. 3434, preserved at the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta), is divided into two volumes. The Introduction is bilingual with the Sanskrit version followed by the translation in Persian. The first part of volume one presents a dictionary of Sanskrit terms with their Persian equivalents. At the end of the second volume is a chapter devoted to learn how to speak Sanskrit easily.
K. G.
Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Sanskrit collection, 3434, 2 vols., vol. 1 134 ff., vol. 2 100 ff.
.| Main Persian Title: | Saṃskṛtā Ratnākara |
| Author: | Śukla Mathurānātha |
| Year / Period of Composition: | 1814 |
| Place: | Benares |
| Commissioner: | Anonymous British Officer |