Knowledge Structure in Varna-Ratnakara: A Proposed Thesaurus of Maithili

The Varna-Ratnakara is an early 14^th century Maithili Thesaurus. The thesaurus is organized into eight chapters and ninety-six major subject groups. The vital theme of this thesaurus is the king and his kingdom. The various descriptors are from diverse subjects, such as social sciences, philosophy, religion, customs and culture, military science, arts, music, dance, sports, and literature. The arrangement of terms is constructed on the semantic relationship between terms and the group headings. Some groups have terms based on hierarchical relations, while others have associate relations. The thesaurus loosely complies with modern thesaurus but satisfies the pattern followed in the ancient and medieval Indian literary world. This thesaurus is an excellent documentation of terms and descriptors used in literary practices of ancient and medieval Maithili literature. The study analyses the knowledge structure, classification of descriptors and their relevance as modern thesaurus.