MANUSCRIPTOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION DR. MADHAVI NARSALAY ASSISTANT PROF AND HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF SANSKRIT, UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI ETYMOLOGY
• MANUSCRIPT: MANUS- HAND AND SCRIBO- I WRITE ( SOMETHING WRITTEN WITH HAND) (LATIN ORIGIN) – MANUSCRIPT+ LOGOS (GREEK) SCIENCE OF THOSE WORKS WRITTEN BY HAND. ALL HANDWRITTEN WORKS, INCLUDING CARVING ON STONES, METALS ETC INCLUDED IN MANUSCRIPTOLOGY • SCRIBE: ONE WHO WRITES THE MANUSCRIPT: SCRIBE • INSCRIBE: TO WRITE OR ENGRAVE • SCRIPT: LATIN SCRIPTUM- HANDWRITING • EPIGRAPHY: GREEK EPI: UPON AND GRAPHO: I WRITE Manuscript is a compound word with two members viz. Manus meaning the hand, and Script meaning any document written in script. Manuscript therefore means any written document - T.N.Dharmadhikari in “A Manual on manuscriptology & Textual Criticism” WHAT IS MANUSCRIPT? ACCORDING TO, THE ANTIQUITY &ART TREASURE ACT (1972) 1.HAND WRITTEN DOCUMENT 2.AT LEAST 75 YEARS OLD 3.SHOULD POSSESS SCIENTIFIC, HISTORICAL, LITERARY VALUE.
SO, MANUSCRIPT MEANS ANY 75 YEARS OLD HAND WRITTEN DOCUMENT WHICH HAS SOME LITERARY, HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE. Manuscriptology is the branch of knowledge which makes a systematic study of all the processes, through which a manuscript undergoes, commencing with the preparation of the text by the original author in the past, to its critical edition brought out in the form of printed book by an editor.” - B.B. Chaubey [Lectures on Mss] INTERNAL FUNDAMENTALS OF MSS
1.
LANGUAGE – MSS CAN BE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES LIKE PERSIAN, PRAKRIT, SANSKRIT, PALI, PUNJABI, GUJRATI, MARATHI ETC.
2.SCRIPT- WRITING MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE. BRAHMI IS A MOTHER OF ALL SCRIPTS. TOTAL 108 SCRIPTS ARE FOUND. SOME OF THEM ARE DEVNAGARI[MAHARASHTRA], NANDINAGARI[SOUTH INDIA],NEWARI[NEPAL], SHARADA[KASHMIR], TELUGU [ANDHRA], GRANTHA[TAMILNADU],GURUMUKHI[PUNJAB] MAITHILI[BANGLA] ETC. WRITING IN INDIA: INDUS-SARASVATI CIVILIZATION THE ART OF WRITING: LEARNING OF SCRIPTS DECIPHERING SCRIPTS ; EVOLUTION OF SCRIPTS
Brahmi script
Devanagari THE ART OF WRITING: LEARNING OF SCRIPTS
grantha
sharda THE ART OF WRITING: LEARNING OF SCRIPTS
Modi WRITING MATERIALS
• SUBSTANCES ON WHICH WRITING IS DONE: GOOD NUMBER OF WRITING SURFACES WERE AVAILABLE IN INDIA. o BUDDHIST TRIPITAKAS WERE WRITTEN ON PALM LEAVES. LEAVES WERE RIPENED ON TREES, CUT TO SIZE, DRIED BY BURYING THEM UNDER THE GROUND AND THEN USED FOR WRITING. REFERENCES TO WRITING ON PALM LEAVES OCCUR IN THE JATAKAS. o BIRCH BARK: PAPER WAS PREPARED FROM THE INTERNAL SKIN OF THE TREE. KHAROSHTI DHAMMAPADA AND BAKSHALI MANUSCRIPT WRITTEN NEARABOUT 2ND -3RD CE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST MSS WRITTEN ON BIRCH BARK. BIRCH BARK HAS BEEN ALLUDED AS WRITING MATERIAL BY CURTIUS WHO WAS A HISTORIAN AT THE TIME OF ALEXANDER. IN KASHMIR IT IS AVAILABLE IN PLENTY. ATHARVAVEDA- PAIPPALADA SAMHITA IS ALSO WRITTEN ON BIRCH BARK. o BARK OF THE AGURU TREE (SANCIPAT): THE NORTH EASTERN MSS, BENGAL MSS. BARKS OF KALAGURU WERE COLLECTED FROM THE FOREST AND CUT INTO DESIRED SIZES IN LENGTH AND BREADTH AND SLICED ON BOTH THE SIDES WITH A SHARP WEAPON. A DYE MADE OF INDIGENOUS HERBS WAS APPLIED AND THEREAFTER THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE FOLIOS SMOOTH BY CONSTANTLY RUBBING THE SURFACE BY A PIECE OF GRANITE STONE FOLLOWED. o BARK OF THE KUMBHI TREE (SLOW-MATCH TREE): NORTH WESTERN INDIA ( RARELY USED) o CLOTH: SILK, COTTON CLOTH; JAIN MSS USED CLOTH AS WRITING MATERIAL: YAMA-PAT MUDRARAKSHASA o PAPER: FOR A LONG TIME PAPER WAS NOT USED FOR WRITING MSS BECAUSE OF IMPURE RAW MATERIALS KAAGAD> KARGAJA IN SANSKRIT IS A LOAN WORD. TULSIDAS WROTE HIS MANASA ON PAPER-
कवित वििेक एक नह Ă मोरे स配य काहाउ लिखी कागद कोरे INSTRUMENTS FOR WRITING
• STYLUS: LOHAKANTAKA IT IS A METALLIC PEN MADE OF IRON. IT HAD A SHARP END AND THE OTHER END WAS LIKE A KNIFE TO CUT THE PALM LEAF. • REED PEN: QUILL, FEATHERS OF BIRDS AND SPINE OF PORCUPINE WERE USED AS PEN INK OR MASI MADE UP OF CARBON BLACK MIXED WITH GUM OR GINGELY OIL, EXTRACT FROM PLANTS, TURMERIC ASHES OF COCONUT , SESAME OIL, SILVER AND IRON SULPHATES WERE USED हरताि– YELLOW ARSENIC USED FOR REMOVING UNWANTED LETTERS OR ERRORS.EG. STUDANT (STUDENT)
हहĂगोिक - RED COLOUR USED TO HIGHLIGHT AN IMPORTANT MATTER IN DATA.
NORMS FOLLOWED IN PREPARING MSS
• BEGINNING OF THE MSS WITH SOME AUSPICIOUS SYMBOL OR MARK • PAPER OR LEAVES WERE KEPT ON THEIR LAPS OR A WOODEN STAND • VERY PARTICULAR IN WRITING MAXIMUM NUMBER OF WORDS ON FOLIOS. LETTER WERE SCRIBED NEAR EACH OTHER WITHOUT ANY STOP OR BREAK. • SUFFICIENT MARGIN, SPACE WAS HOLES WAS MAINTAINED • ARTISTIC DESIGNS WERE MADE ON FOLIOS. IN ORISSA THE MSS WERE MADE IN THE SHAPE OF SWORD, FISH, RAT, GARLAND
TYPES, FEATURES & IMPORTANCE OF MANUSCRIPTOLOGY COLOPHON
• CONCLUDING LINES OF THE MSS
• ऋ嵍िेद :
दमु ुखु ी सĂि配सरे दक्षिणायने शर饃तौ तुिामासे कृ ष्णपिे एकादशयाĂ म्दिासरे उतरारा्嵁गुनी निर े ..... SCRIBE & AUTHOR
3.AUTHOR – AUTHOR IS KNOWN AS A PERSON WHO ACTUALLY COMPOSED THE MATTER. EG. KALIDASA IS AN AUTHOR OF SHAKUNTALAM.
4.SCRIBE - HE IS KNOWN AS A WRITER OR A SCRIBE OR A COPYIST. HE HAS THE KEY POSITION IN THE PREPARING OF MANUSCRIPTS.HIS OWN PECULARITIES AND HABITS WOULD NATURALLY INFLUENCE THE WRITING OF MSS. SCRIBE
• भ嵍नपष्ृ ठकहिग्रीिः स्त녍ध饃ष्ष्िरधोमुखः | कष्िेन लिखखतĂ ग्र्थĂ पुरित ् पररपाियेत ् || • तस्मादमा配यसĂपदोपेतः सिसु मयविदः आशुग्र्थः चािाुिरो ... िेखकः स्यात ् | (कौ. अ. २. १०. ३) HAITUS
• MISWRITTEN OF SEVERAL LETTERS DUE TO FAST OR CASUAL WRITINGS
• सुभ्रिः FOR सुभ्रुिः • िाताशनः FOR िातशोणः
• कक्त या FOR कक्तु या SUBSTITUTION
• ONE LETTER OR WORD SUBSTITUTED FOR ANOTHER WHICH IS TOGGLED
• माति > तामि • यहद िाचĂ प्रिक्ष्यालम> यहद िाचĂ प्रदास्यालम TRANSPOSITION
• TRANSPOSITION OF LETTERS OF THE SAME LENGTH OR APPEARANCE
• ज्ञाने न चा्यो> ज्ञाने च ना्यो
• विजानातु > विना जातु • अनुतरस्य > अनुरतस्य • आस्न काष्ठ चैि देिता> आस्न चै配य काष्ठ देिता LOCATION OF INDIAN MANUSCRIPTS
• TEMPLES • MONASTERIES • DORMITORIES • HOMES OF SCHOLARS • ROYAL PALACES LOCATION OF INDIAN MANUSCRIPTS
• ARCHIVES -NATIONAL -STATE • LIBRARIES • ORIENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES MANUSCRIPTS IN INDIA
• TOTAL NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS IN INDIA 5 MILLION • INDIAN MANUSCRIPTS AVAILABLE IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 60,000 • NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS RECORDED IN CATALOGUES 1 MILLION Madhavi Narsalay and Varada Thosar Madhavi Narsalay and Varada Thosar 29 Condition of Manuscripts before and after Conservation
30 IMAGES OF MANUSCRIPTS CATALOGUES
1. CATALOGUS OF CATALOGORUM LIST OF ALL CATALOGUES. 2.DIFFERENT CATALOGUES HAS PUBLISHED BY LIBRARIES OR UNIVERSITIES. 3. SOME ONLINE CATALOGUES ARE AVAILABLE ON INTERNET WHICH HAS INFORMATION OF MSS. SAMPLE SHEET FOR PREPARING DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE (LOCAL USE)
ORIGINAL SCRIPT NAME IN NAGARI NAME IN ROMAN SUBSTANCE (PALM LEAF/PAPER/VELLUM/BRICH BARK SIZE OF THE MSS (IN CMS) NUMBER OF GRANTHAS TOTAL LEAVES/SHEETS LINES IN A PAGE TOTAL PAGES CONTD..
AUTHOR COVERAGE (COMPLETE/INCOMPLETE) PUBLISHED/UNPUBLISHED BEGINNING OF THE MSS (4 LINES) END OF THE MSS (4 LINES) CONDITION COLOPHON (PUBLICATION INFORMATION) SUBJECT REMARK IMPORTANCE OF MSS 1.HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE – TO FIND OUT MISSING LINKS IN THE HISTORY. 2.GEOGRAPHICAL – TO GET IDEA ABOUT GEOGRAPHICAL DATA.
3.LITERARY – TO FIND OUT EXACT TEXT OF ANY WORK.
4.PERSONAL PLEASURES– TO IMPROVE HANDWRITING, CALLIGRAPHY, TO DEVELOP RESEARCH ABILITY. THANK YOU!