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{{italic title}}{{Infobox book
| image = ਮਹਾਨ ਕੋਸ਼ ਭਾਗ 1.pdf
| author = Kahn Singh Nabha
| caption = Cover folio of the 1930 first edition
| pub_date = April 13, 1930
}}{{Sikh literature}}

'''''Guru Shabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh''''' (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਸ਼ਬਦ ਰਤਨਾਕਰ ਮਹਾਨ ਕੋਸ਼), known by its more popular name of '''''Mahan Kosh''''' (ਮਹਾਨ ਕੋਸ਼) and by the English title '''''Encyclopædia of the Sikh Literature''''', is a [[Punjabi language]] [[encyclopedia]] which was compiled by [[Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha]] over fourteen years. It was the first [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] encyclopedia, it contains more than 70,000 words, some of them has sufficient reference from [[Guru Granth Sahib]], [[Dasam Granth]], [[Suraj Prakash|Gur Pratap Suraj Granth]] and from other Sikh books. It is considered a groundbreaking work in terms of its impact and its level of scholarship.<ref name="Chilana2005">{{cite book|last=Chilana|first=Rajwant Singh|title=International bibliography of Sikh studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEX-98eVyBcC&pg=PA2|accessdate=26 March 2011|date=2005-01-01|publisher=シュプリンガー・ジャパン株式会社|isbn=978-1-4020-3043-7|pages=2–}}</ref>

==Dictionary==
''Mahan Kosh'' has 64,263 entries arranged in the alphabetical order of the [[Gurmukhi script]] covering religious and historical terms in the [[Sikh canon]].<ref name="Singh">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Dharam|editor=Harbans Singh|title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism|url=http://www.advancedcentrepunjabi.org/eos/GURUSHABAD%20RATANAKAR%20MAHAN%20KOSH.html|edition=2nd|year=1995|publisher=Punjabi University, Patiala|location=Patiala}}</ref> Each entry records the [[etymology]] and different meanings of a term "according to its usage at different places in different works" alongside textual quotations.<ref name="Singh"/>

When words of [[Perso-Arabic]] or [[Sanskrit]] origin appear they are reproduced in their original scripts to inform readers of their correct pronunciation and connotation.<ref name="Singh"/>

==Publication==
While studying two existing titles, [[Pandit Tara Singh Narotam]]'s ''Granth Guru Girarth Kos'' (1895) and [[Hazara Singh]]'s ''Sri Guru Granth Kos'' (1899), Kahn Singh realized there would be great value in a [[lexicography]] on words occurring in Sikh historical texts as well as in the ''[[Guru Granth Sahib]]'' because it would promote literacy and critical studies in Punjabi.<ref name="Singh"/>

On May 12, 1912 he resigned his position in [[Nabha State]] and began work on the project. His original patron, [[Maharaja Brijindar Singh]] of [[Faridkot State]], who had earlier sponsored scholarly work on the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] died in 1918. His other patron, Maharaja [[Ripudaman Singh]] was forced to abdicate his throne in 1923. [[Maharaja Bhupinder Singh]] of [[Patiala State]] then offered to underwrite the entire expense of printing. Kahn Singh finished the work on February 6, 1926 and printing began on October 26, 1927 at the [[Sudarshan Press]] in [[Amritsar]], owned by the poet [[Dhani Ram Chatrik]].<ref name="Singh"/> The first printing, in four volumes, was finished on April 13, 1930. The [[Languages Department of Punjab]], [[Patiala]] then published Mahan Kosh in one volume and it has gone through three editions, the latest released in 1981.<ref name="Singh"/>

The [[Punjabi University]] in [[Patiala]] has translated it into [[English language|English]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.advancedcentrepunjabi.org/eos/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912142756/http://www.advancedcentrepunjabi.org/eos/ |archive-date=2016-09-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Panth Parkash]]
* [[Twarikh Guru Khalsa]]
* [[Suraj Prakash]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Searchable Mahankosh is now available for Android, [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mahankosh.royalrandhawa.wahegurusabhtera.mahankosh Click here to Install]
* [http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.dictionary Mahan Kosh and some other Punjabi dictionaries in searchable form at Sri Granth]
* http://punjabicomputer.com/ex-tis_fil/5190Mahankosh.pdf

[[Category:1930 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Punjabi literature]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language encyclopedias]]
[[Category:1930 in India]]
[[Category:20th-century encyclopedias]]
[[Category:Indian encyclopedias]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian books]]

Mahan Kosh - Revision history

WikiDwarf at 06:23, 31 May 2023