।। श्रीशङ्करभगवत्पादाः विजयन्ते।।
Learning of any language requires mastering its vocabulary, grammar and literature. Mastering the vocabulary in a language is a very hard task. In case of mother tongue vocabulary could be strengthened by practice. But for learning some other language means of remembering is required, either by studying the literature of that particular language or versification of words with their meaning and this Versification system has been accomplished successfully only in Sanskrit language. Sanskrit scholars quote lexicons such as Amarakosa, Vaijayanti, Halayudhakosa, Medinikosa Visvakosa etc. while writing commentary on Sanskrit texts.
Sanskrit Kosa Literature:
The history of Kosa begins from the Vedic period itself. The very first Kosa is Yaska's Nighantu, and it is the only kosa which is available now for Vedic words. According to the derivation of the word Nighantu, given by Yaska in his Nirukta - the Nighantu comprises of a list of Vedic words. Sayanacarya in his Rgvedabhasyopakrama, define Nighantu as, "a book where the same meaning - synonymous- words are considered as a group". He refers to Ten Nighantus. Now a days the term Nighantu is being used in the sense of "dictionary" in many modern Indian languages. Kosa or Kosa are the words used for lexicons in the Sanskrit literature. The Sanskrit lexicography has an ancient origin. Kosa literature in Indian tradition is very rich and at the same time it has lot of variety also. Kosas are typically organised following an ontological structure.
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