Macdonell & Keith, The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (VEI)
VEI is Arthur A. Macdonell and Arthur B. Keith's Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (1912) —
the standard scholarly reference for the names and subjects of Vedic literature: people,
peoples, places, plants, animals, institutions, and realia, each discussed with full citations
to the Vedic texts. An encyclopedic index, not a word dictionary.
At a glance
| Code | VEI (GitHub repo VEI) |
| Full title | The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects |
| Authors | A. A. Macdonell, A. B. Keith |
| Year / size | 1912 · ~560 pages |
| Type | Encyclopedic index (Vedic) |
| Source | csl-orig/v02/vei/ |
| Open | Basic · List · Advanced · Mobile |
| Data | Downloads |
| csl-doc | vei.rst |
When to use it
Reach for VEI to understand a name or subject in Vedic literature with scholarly depth and
references. It is the companion to Macdonell's grammars and Vedic dictionary work; for word
meanings use Monier-Williams (MW) (which marks Vedic accents).
Reading an entry
Each entry is a name/subject (<k1>) with a discussion and superscript footnote markers to
the citations. The first entry (csl-orig/v02/vei/vei.txt):
<L>1<pc>1-001<k1>aMSu<k2>aMSu
{@Aṃśu.@}¦ — I. Name of a protégé of the Aśvins in the Rigveda.<sup>1</sup>
2. {@Dhānaṃjayya,@} pupil of {@Amāvāsya Śāṇḍilyāyana,@} according
to the Vaṃśa Brāhmaṇa.<sup>2</sup>
| In the source | Meaning |
|---|---|
{@Aṃśu.@} | the name/subject (search key <k1>) |
Name of a protégé of the Aśvins in the Rigveda | the identification |
<sup>1</sup> | a footnote marker to the citation apparatus |
| numbered senses | distinct bearers of the name across Vedic texts |
See Data Formats for the markup reference.
What makes it distinctive
- The standard Vedic index. Names and subjects of Vedic literature, scholarly and cited.
- By Macdonell & Keith — foundational Vedic scholarship.
See also
- Monier-Williams (MW) — for word meanings (with Vedic accents) · Macdonell (MD)
- The full catalog of all 42 dictionaries
- csl-doc vei.rst