RATAN DĀM by Ṭahkaṇ, a translation and adaptation into Braj of Achārya Amar Siṅgh's Amar Kosh, the famous Sanskrit lexicon. Ṭahkaṇ was one of the several poets who kept Gurū Gobind Siṅgh (1666-1708) company. In preparing Ratan Dām, the poet consulted works other than Amar Kosh as well. The manuscript which has so far remained unpublished comprises twenty eight chapters. The only extant copy (No. 2421) is preserved in the Central State Library, Paṭiālā. It consists of 268 folios and is inscribed in Gurmukhī characters in the hand of one Pañjāb Siṅgh. The copy was completed in Hāṛ 1914 Bk/June-July 1857. The work begins with an explanation of the title (ratan = diamond; dām = string, a necklace) and contains more than 1,400 entries on a wide variety of themes including day, night, year, conscience, history, eras, śastras, four varṇas, medicines and vegetation. Several entries from the original work have been dropped and several new titles introduced. There are also entries such as the one on nāik (hero) and nāikā (heroine) (548-68) which transcend the strict lexicographical framework and go into many historical details.