As a result of Tibet’s continuous cultural interactions with India, Tibetans have produced the largest number of translations of Indian literature. Tibetan Tripitaka, known as Kanjur and Tanjur preserves over five thousand titles translated from Indian languages, mainly Sanskrit, embracing treatises on grammar, poetry, rhetoric, logic (the fundamental works on Buddhist logic by Dignaga, Dharmakirti, etc.), politics and social ethics (such as Canakyanitisastra, Nagarjuna’s three works on Nitisastra, etc.) medicine (such as Astangahrdayasamhita by Vagbhata and its commentary by Candrananda), astrology (such as Svarodayarthasamhita by Harivarma and Ayurganitaphalaprakasa by Manapurusa), chemistry (such as Rasasiddhisastra by Vyadipada and Rasayanasastroddhati by Ratnasri), art and iconography (Pratibimba-manalaksana by Atreya), biographies of saints (such as Asokavadana, Kunalavadana) and of course, Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy.

The fame of the Meghaduta by Kalidasa was so popular that it was translated into over forty-five languages. The Meghaduta attracted the scholars of Tibet in early fourteenth century A.D. and was translated into Tibetan language by the joint efforts of the Indian Pandit Sumanasri and the Tibetan Lo tsa ba Jangchub Tsemo (1303-1380) and Namkha Zangpo. This Sanskrit-Tibetan bilingual critical edition with the Sanskrit and Tibetan word indexes is prepared and published for the first time with the hope of benefiting the students interested in Indo-Tibetan classical literatures.

Sanskrit and Tibetan Index of Meghaduta is prepared by Lama Chimpa (Retired Head, Department of Indo-Tibetan Studies, Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan; Bimalendra Kumar (Professor, Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, B.H.U. Varanasi) and Jampa Samten (Associate Professor, Department of Social Science, Central University of Tibetan Studies, Varanasi).