Nighaṇṭuśeṣa - Gyan Bhandaar
This manuscript is the Nighaṇṭuśeṣa, a medical lexicon authored by Hemacandrācārya, a prominent Jain scholar. The text belongs to the vaidya or Ayurvedic medical tradition and serves as a supplementary glossary of medicinal substances and their synonyms. This particular copy consists of 20 folios with 11 lines per page, featuring good calligraphy. The manuscript is cataloged as No. 735 of 1875-76 and held at the Government Manuscripts Library, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, India.
Sanskrit

Nighaṇṭuśeṣa

This Sanskrit manuscript, titled *Nighaṇṭuśeṣa* by Hemacandrācārya, constitutes a specialized lexicographical treatise on materia medica, specifically focusing on botanical nomenclature and synonymy in the Ayurvedic tradition. The preserved folio presents a systematic enumeration of medicinal plants—including *puṣpa* (Butea monosperma), *pāṭalā* (Stereospermum suaveolens), *aguru* (Aquilaria agallocha), and *karavīra* (Nerium indicum)—with their multiple Sanskrit designations organized in metrical verses (*śloka*). The text exemplifies the classical Indian practice of compiling *nighaṇṭu* glossaries that served as essential reference works for physicians, distinguishing between varieties of a single species (e.g., white and red *pāṭalā*) and noting therapeutic attributes such as fragrance, habitat, and morphological characteristics. The manuscript's good calligraphy and institutional provenance at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute underscore its value for the study of medieval Indian medical lexicography and botanical knowledge systems.

Page of the Nighaṇṭuśeṣa listing synonyms of medicinal trees and woods
AyurvedaDecember 28, 2025

One Plant, Many Names: A Medieval Botanical Dictionary

Nighaṇṭuśeṣa, a glossary by the Jain scholar Hemacandra, lists the synonyms of medicinal plants — bael, myrobalans, sandalwood — so that no herb is lost behind an unfamiliar name.