Nighaṇṭu
Nighaṇṭu, “a lexicon, a list of words”
Grammar: masculine noun: a lexicon, a collection of words with their meanings.
Meaning: a lexicon (kośa), one of the vidyās (branches of sacred learning) that serve the understanding of the Veda and of all śāstras.
In the scriptures: at the close of the Agni Purāṇa, Agnideva teaches that vidyā is of two kinds, expanded and condensed. The vidyā in the form of the Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma and Atharva Vedas is Vishṇu, the cause of the world; and the vidyās of chandas, śikshā, vyākaraṇa, nighaṇṭu, jyotisha, nirukta, dharma-śāstra, mīmāṃsā, nyāya, āyurveda, purāṇa, dhanurveda, gāndharva, artha-śāstra, vedānta and the rest are all forms of Hari. This is the aparā vidyā; the vidyā that teaches the supreme truth of the ātmā is the parā vidyā.
Agnideva then names the subjects shown in the Agni Purāṇa, from the avatāras beginning with Matsya to the stotras and the glory of the Purāṇa, and among them are chandas, vyākaraṇa, alaṅkāra, nighaṇṭu, śikshā and kalpa: “The eighteen vidyās are told in it” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 383).
Related terms: Kośa · Nirukta · Vyākaraṇa · Vedāṅga · Vidyā
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 383