Hemkosh, the first Assamese dictionary to give the etymology of words, was compiled by
- A.Gunabhiram Barua
- B.Hemchandra Barua
- C.Birinchi Kumar Barua
- D.Madhavdeva
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Hemchandra Barua. A nineteenth century scholar and reformer, he compiled Hemkosh, which was the first Assamese dictionary to be arranged on etymological lines and which fixed much of the modern spelling of the language; the work was published after his death. Option A, Gunabhiram Barua, is wrong but belongs to the same reforming circle; he wrote the play Ram Navami and a biography of Anandaram Dhekial Phukan. Option C, Birinchi Kumar Barua, is wrong; he was a twentieth century scholar and historian of Assamese literature and culture. Option D, Madhavdeva, is wrong by several centuries; he was the sixteenth century disciple of Sankardeva and the author of the devotional Namghosha. Only Hemchandra Barua is linked with Hemkosh, and the dictionary is usually asked together with the magazine Jonaki of 1889 as the two landmarks of the Assamese nineteenth century.
Read the full article: Regional Literature: Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia and Assamese Notes
Practice Questions
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