Valmiki Ramayana Pada Suchi Part 1

This document is the first part of the "Valmiki Ramayana Pada Suchi" (Index of the Valmiki Ramayana), compiled by Govindlal Hargovind Bhatt and published by the Oriental Institute, Baroda, in 1961, as part of the Gaekwad's Oriental Series.

Key Information and Content:

• Purpose: The book is a comprehensive Pada-Suchi (Pada-Index) of the Valmiki Ramayana, meaning it lists the individual words or "padas" found in the epic. This serves as a detailed concordance for researchers and students of Sanskrit literature.
• Author: Govindlal Hargovind Bhatt, who was also the General Editor of the Critical Edition of the Ramayana and Head of the Ramayana Department at the Oriental Institute, M. S. University of Baroda.
• Publisher: Oriental Institute, Baroda, under the authority of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
• Publication Date: February 1961.
• Basis of the Index: The index is based on the Vulgate Text used for the collation in the Critical Edition of the Ramayana, specifically the edition published by the Gujarati Printing Press, Bombay (1912-1920 AD).
• Foreword: The foreword by B. J. Sandesara (General Editor of the Gaekwad's Oriental Series) highlights the significance of the Ramayana as one of India's two great epics and expresses pleasure in presenting this index. It also thanks the University Grants Commission and the State of Gujarat for financial assistance.
• Preface: The preface by G. H. Bhatt explains the genesis of the project. It began in 1951 with the establishment of the Ramayana Department at the Oriental Institute and the collection of numerous manuscripts. The need for an index was felt during the collation of these manuscripts, particularly for textual reconstruction and identifying Ramayana quotations scattered in Sanskrit literature. The preface also mentions the unavailability of previous half-verse indexes and the utility of the current quarter-verse index for comparative studies of language, words, phrases, similes, etc., between the Epics and Puranas.
• Content Structure: The majority of the document consists of the actual index itself, presented in Sanskrit. It lists words (padas) alphabetically, followed by references to the specific location in the Ramayana where that word appears (e.g., II. 90.13c indicates Book 2, Chapter 90, Verse 13, Part c). The entries are extensive, covering a vast portion of the Ramayana's vocabulary.
• Jain Connection: While the title is "Valmiki Ramayana," the explicit mention of "JAIN EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL FOR PRIVATE AND PERSONAL USE ONLY" on the first page suggests a context or purpose related to Jainism, perhaps in its study of classical Indian literature or its own philosophical interpretations of epics. However, the provided text itself is a standard index of the Valmiki Ramayana and does not appear to contain explicitly Jain doctrinal content within the index entries themselves. The "JAIN EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL" marker seems to be a watermark or ownership notation.

In essence, this volume is a scholarly tool, a critical index of the words found in the Valmiki Ramayana, compiled with meticulous detail by experts in the field to aid in the textual and linguistic study of this foundational epic.