New Delhi: Rare manuscripts of Ayodhya Mahatmya, Kautilya Arthashastra, Soundarya Lahari, Ganita Kaumudi, Rigveda and Natya Shastra are on display at the Vigyan Bhawan as part of the Gyan Bharatam International conference.
The Ayodhya Mahatmya extols the pilgrimage place of Lord Rama. “This text in Sanskrit has been paid much attention to in solving the problem of the Ramjanmabhumi (birthplace of Ram). The advocates had placed the textual evidence of the Ayodhya Mahatmya for the settlement of the issue. It contains a vivid description of holy pilgrimage places in and around Ayodhya,” reads the description of the manuscript.
These manuscripts have been written on palm leaves or handmade paper.
In this year’s Union Budget, the Gyan Bharatam Mission was announced to preserve India’s age-old manuscripts and create a digital repository. To take the initiative forward, the Culture Ministry organised the first Gyan Bhartam International Conference on 11 September, bringing together research scholars on manuscripts and the Indus script.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal, IGNCA Member Secretary Sachchidanand Joshi, and ASI Director General YS Rawat were among the attendees.
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Manuscripts of India
The world’s most famous copy of the Arthashastra, written in Grantha script and Sanskrit language on palm leaf from the 16th century, is on display with a brief description. “A comprehensive and pragmatic treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy.”
Written in Sanskrit, the text is traditionally attributed to Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, the prime minister to emperor Chandragupta Maurya in the fourth century BCE. “For centuries, this profound text was considered lost, known only through references in other ancient works. It’s rediscovery in Mysuru fundamentally changed how the world viewed ancient Indian civilisation,” reads the description.
The Arthashastra manuscript is preserved at Oriental Research Institute, University of Mysore.
Another manuscript of the Valmiki Ramayana has also been put on display, written in the Grantha script in Nano form, which is only visible through a magnifying lens. The speciality of the manuscript is its script, which is very minute. It has 15 lines per folio and 26 letters per line. It is also stored at the University of Mysore.
A manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana on handmade paper, written in Devanagari script and the Sanskrit language, has been on display. It is originally stored at Bhandarkar Oriental Research, Pune. “The Bhagavata Purana is the foremost of the Puranas, the encyclopedia of the Indian culture in the true sense. The manuscript is one of the early products of Rajput painting. It was procured by Professor VS Ghate,” reads the description.
Inside the Vigyan Bhawan, details and journey about the older manuscripts and scripts from the pre-Mauryan script to the 19th century have been explained. These scripts include Brahmin, Kharoshti, Newari, Sharada, Old Nagari and Jain Nagari script.
The Modi government is planning to make a national repository of the manuscripts.
“These manuscripts may be under someone’s ownership but this belongs to the country. It’s a part of Indian heritage,” said Shekhawat at the conference.
One of the manuscripts on display is an 8th-century copy of Saundaryalahiri, composed by Adi Shankaracharya, written in Sanskrit in the Devanagari script. “It is a manual used by practitioners of Srividya. From the perspective of Devi Tantra, the text lays out Tantric principles. This manuscript is unique as it carries 104 illustrations—one for each verse. Every form of Goddess Parvati is painted with fine detail using natural colours and golden ink,” reads the description. The manuscript is preserved at the Oriental Institute of Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.
A mathematics manuscript, Ganita Kaumudi, written in Sanskrit in the 14th century, is also on display. “Ganitakaumudi is a treatise on mathematics written by Indian mathematician Narayana Pandit. This manuscript is an autograph dated 1356 AD written in the Sanskrit language and Devanagari script in 28 folios. The text describes weights and measures, length, area, multiplication, division, square and square roots, cube and cube roots, arithmetic and geometric progressions, linear integer equations, continued fractions, etc., along with principles of mathematics,” reads the description.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)