final newsletter April 2006.qxd 30/6/06 2:53 PM Page II

“One of our major misfortunes is that we have lost so much of the world’s ancient literature

– in Greece, in India and elsewhere... Probably an organized search for old manuscripts in

the libraries of religious institutions, monasteries and private persons would yield rich

results. That, and the critical examination of these manuscripts and, where considered

desirable, their publication and translation, are among the many things we have to do in

India when we succeed in breaking through our shackles and can function for ourselves.

Such a study is bound to throw light on many phases of Indian history and especially on the

social background behind historic events and changing ideas.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India

Editor: Neha Paliwal Design: Alpana Khare Graphic Design

Cover image: Folios from Thiruvasagam, a Assistant Editor : Mrinmoy Chakraborty 19th century Tamil manuscript written by Manika Vasakar, preserved at State Archaeology Deptt., Tamil Nadu, Chennai Publisher’s details: Mission Director National Mission for Manuscripts No. 5, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road Print: Azure Press Services New Delhi 110 001 Tel: +91 11 23383894 National Mission for Manuscripts is an Email: [email protected] undertaking of the Ministry of Tourism & Website: www.namami.nic.in Culture, Government of India. final newsletter April 2006.qxd 30/6/06 2:53 PM Page 1

From the Editor Contents

The interpretative literature or commentaries as 1. Tika Parampara: The Tradition of an age-old tradition has a prominent place in Interpretation 2 Indian literature and a seminal article on tika is a Kapil Kapoor long overdue for the readers of Kriti Rakshana. In this concluding issue of the first year we have incorporated two articles on tika or 2. Institution in Focus : 7 commentaries, one in English and another in Government Oriental Manuscripts Hindi. In his article on Tika Parampara, Prof. Library and Research Centre, Chennai Kapil Kapoor has addressed various issues T. S. Sridhar & S. Soundrapandian relating to this area and analysed this enormously rich body of literature. Dr. D. K. Rana provides insights into the commentaries on Jayadeva’s 3. Palaeographical Importance of 10 Gitagovinda. Nandinagari One of the issues being addressed by NMM is Satkari Mukhopadhyaya the documentation of Indian manuscripts in collections abroad. Prof. Nalini Balbir’s interview focuses on documenting manuscripts outside 4. Engaging with Jain Manuscripts 12 India and on her on-going work relating to Jain in England manuscripts in England. Also in this issue, Sri An Interview with Prof. Nalini Balbir Satkari Mukhopadhyaya writes about the Nandinagari script, a variety of the archaic Nagari script, in which many Jain manuscripts 5. d'ehj dk laLd`r lkfgR; dks ;ksxnku 16 are found. v}Srokfnuh dkSy Besides other articles and regular columns, for the first time, we have introduced a section containing a brief report on the activities of the 6. Jh xhrxksfoUn dh Vhdk,¡ 23 Mission and of our partners around the country. fnyhi dqekj jk.kk In our section on institutions, we are focusing on the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Centre of Chennai. Dr. 7. Collection in Focus : 27 Advaitavadini Kaul reflects on Kashmir’s The Narlikar Collection of Manuscripts contribution to Sanskrit literature. In this issue Oriental Institute, Vadodara we also walk you through an outstanding Siddarth Yeshwant Wakankar personal collection of manuscripts preserved at Oriental Institute, Vadodara. 8. Quiz 9

Neha Paliwal NMM: Summary of Events iti Rakshana Kr

National Mission for Manuscripts final newsletter 2

Kriti Rakshana April 2006.qxd encyclopedic analysis( bare annotation( been cumulativelycommentedupon. texts. Almostallthemajorintellectualtextshave comprehensibility andcontextualrelevance ofthe parampara and cumulativecommentarytraditionorthe (iii) therelevance ofthetext.Thecontinuous text, (ii)theabilitytounderstandand is amazing.There is(i)theavailabilityof literature, textofknowledgeavailableinSanskrit, status inIndia;thesheeramountofknowledge- texts. Knowledgehasalwaysenjoyedaprivileged tradition ofcommentariesonseminalintellectual India hasalong,continuousandcumulative Sayanacharya (14thcentury AD),Jnaneswara Madhavacharya (13thcentury AD), century AD),SriRamanuja (11thcenturyAD), Bhatta (6thcenturyAD),Adi Sankara(7th Sabaraswamin (1stcenturyAD),Kumarila tikakaras Some ofIndia’smostbrilliantmindshavebeen tika parampara now relatively esoteric,tradition,itisbecausethe ‘dead’ andare stillstudiedinthelearned,though If theIndianintellectualtextshavenotbecome knowledge inthatdomainbecomesincoherent. and/or (iii)theirconnectionwiththetraditionof (ii) becomeasymmetricalwiththecontext, of timetendto(i)grow opaque,and/or context ofthetotalityphilosophicalsystems". those writers…theyalsoplacedthetextin tradition) wasalsooneoftheoriginalmotives topics andideas)…(handingdowntheold (They alsoexplain)thelogicalsequence(of out thefullimplicationsofmainidea… commentaries ingeneral: and valueofcommentariesistrue K.A. SubramaniaIyersaysaboutthepurpose K T of Interpretation The seminaltextsofknowledgeoveraperiod "(These) …suppliedthecontextandbrought

apil Kapoor The commentariestake manyformsfrom 30/6/06 ika Parampara: , exegetes –Yaska (9thcenturyBC), ensured allthethree –availability,

2:53 has kept themaliveandpertinent. PM panjika

Page mahabhasya ) toexhaustiveand 2 ). WhatSri tika civilization suchasIndia’sthat putsapremium allow theirsystemsofthought todie.A consciousness. Butdynamic communitiesdonot may finallygetdropped from people’s primary textinagivendomainofknowledge,it explain andlosesitsrelevance andpositionas a a textgrows asymmetricalwithwhatitseeks to texts tendtobecomeopaqueandbelost.When the passageoftime,wenoted,intellectual the evidenceisscarce andculture specific.With and recovery/renewal mechanisms. history wecanobservetheoperationofbothloss of seminalIndiantexts.Eveninknown/written T (iii) becomesopaqueandnolongermakes sense. that isobsoleteoranachronistic, and and soceasestoberelevant orgrows outmoded, (ii) grows asymmetricalwithnewknownfacts the textbecomeunavailablefortimebeing, lost whenit,(i)getsdispersedandportionsof texts musthavebeenirretrievably lost.Atextis this storyofloss,recovery andrenewal. Many simple. Various processes havebeeninvolvedin The successfulmaintenanceoftextshasnotbeen Renewal ofTexts community. or whatiscalledthementalculture ofa tradition ensures continuityofthehabitsmind means afreedom tothink.Aboveall,this construction. Thefreedom tointerpret thus r freedom of mindthatenablestheindividualto commitment toknowledgealsoatteststhe interpretation apartfrom attestingthesociety’s existence ofthiscontinuoustradition illustrious lineofSankaraandRamanuja). The commentaries ontheBhagavadgitain R moderns, SriAurobindo, MahatmaGandhi, (14th-15th centuryAD)rightdowntothegreat each adifferent, competinginterpretation/ radition records therepeated lossandrecovery adhakrishnan, Vinoba Bhave(whoallwrote The Tradition These processes deservetobestudiedthough National Mission forManuscripts final newsletter National Mission forManuscripts (vii) (i) thought aliveandre-contextualised: maintenance/renewal mechanismstokeep the employ oneoranyofthefollowingseventext central systemsofideas.Aculture may, therefore, the externalfactors–topreserve culturally the internalfactorsoftextandthosedueto cultures resist bothkindsoflosses–thosedueto techniques formaintainingitstexts.Strong on knowledgewouldstriveanddevelop (vi) (v) (iv) (iii) (ii) T Mahabharata forexample,are maintainedby R do so. falsification andillustrationcontinueto of paraphrase,explication,verification, development ofthoughtthrough processes contributing inequalmeasure tothe been mutuallyenrichingeachotherand traditions, thelearnedandpopular, have r instrumental inbothmaintenanceand pravachana parampara paraphrase of 14th centuryorsoonwards; Hindi almost allthemodernIndianlanguages, major literaryandphilosophicaltextsin 2nd centuryBC; V Commentary P in almostallIndianlanguages. adaptations of13th-14thcenturiesonwards V with incorporationsfrom Misra andEnglishtranslationofthetext V Assameseadaptationof Samkaradev’s describe contemporaryspoken Prakrits or an adaptationofPanini’s grammarto by Hemachandracharya,11thcenturyAD, A of Varadaraja (18thcenturyAD) century AD)and Siddhantakaumudi Rupamala R philosophically loadedtechnicalvocabulary interestingly eschewswhatitbelievesisits Buddhist recension of Chandra Vyakarana R ranslation enewal oftextsthought.Thetwoparallel arttika almiki Ramayana opular exposition asu, 1898 daptations e-creation edaction ecension April , 350BC;Patanjali’s 2006.qxd of Vimala Saraswati, , forexamplethetranslationsof (a re-arrangement), suchas (a criticalrevision), suchas , boththeRamayana andthe , suchas Astadhyayi ( tika Kasika L and suchother of Bhatttojidiksita(16th aghusiddhantakaumudi ), suchasKatyayana’s

, 4thcenturyAD,a 30/6/06 , orthe , hasbeenchiefly Astadhyayi Hemasabdanusasana , 7thcenturyAD by ShriNarayana Kasika

katha 2:53 Mahabhasya by SriS.C. PM that

Page , 3 (4) (3) (2) (1) discourses ofknowledge: point ofviewauthorshipandtheirstatusas distinguished fourclassesofliterature from the vanmaya belonging todifferent typesofliterature, were written onalmostallthemajortexts explanatory interpretation (I.I.).Commentaries rudiments ofthemechanics subsequent commentaries,and on Slokavartika command oflinguisticknowledge. On K IX-XII, ashortcommentary. Inhiswork, Sabarabhasya Bhasya The oldestcommentaryavailablenowisthe Great Commentaries P commentaries, indicates thepresence ofliterature of texts. Panini’s is primaryfortherenewal andmaintenanceof II andIII(3) (2) dealing with commentary on K which isthe now unavailablecommentaries,chiefamong sections ofthe the firstsectionofdiscourse( different names:(1) divided intothree parts,knownunderthree atanjali inhis umarila Bhattadisplaysastoundingrangeand umarila Bhattawhowrote hisgreat Of allthesemechanisms,commentaryor Upajnata : T Kita : Prokta : Drsta : antravartika these twopatronymic epics. on themes,charactersandepisodesfrom Bhasa andBanabhattawhocomposedworks episodes, byre-creations, suchasthoseby r epeated creative useoftheirthemesand by Sabarasvamin,popularlyknownas (permeated byspeech).Panini has , there are twowell-known Vritti . This T Astadhyayi arka compositions, forexample (IV.3.87, 116)orordinary Astadhyayi (IV.3.115) viz.Panini’s own discovered/laid downbysomeone Brahmanas taught, forexample different from theonewho (IV. 3.101)composedbyone r akhyayikas Adhyayai Mahabhasya V evealed (byunknownthinkers) , dealingwiththelastthree Sabarabhasya yakhyana T , principlesofargumentation, of Upavarsa.Nextwecometo Bhasya uptika Slokavartika , poeticalliterature, etal. and wholeof (7thcentury B.C.) , dealingwith (Act. IV. 3.66)and mentions olderand , laysdownthebroad . Hisworkis vyakhyana , whichdiscusses T Chhandas antravartika adhyaya Adhyayas Adhyayas or tika and ) ,

3 Kriti Rakshana final newsletter 4

Kriti Rakshana April 2006.qxd mimamsa philosophy. frequently usedandcitedindiscussionofthe we havelistedhere onlythosethatare very Manamyodya Bhattacintamani Mimamsakaustubha Apodeva’s such asAppayadiksita’s Mimamsa seventeenth centurysawarenewed interest inthe on closes thelistofmajorinter-linked commentaries there are sixwell-knowncommentaries.This school. Sabarabhasya separately, forheinterpreted manuscript) andheisbeingmentionedhere called Misra wrote acommentaryon commentaries onthe have chronologically sequentialdirect a wholebutnotoneach writers whocommenteduponthe and ranksfirstamongsttheworksofthose Sabara andKumarila. Thisworkisveryvaluable independent worksonthe an insightintothePrabhakara system.Among commentary onthis.Salikaranatha’sworkgives commented uponeach known as also wrote acommentaryonthe Misra (14thcentury).Madhavacharyac.) mentioned the A foliofrom Besides theseinterlacedcommentaries,wealso Salikantha’s

mimamsa The commentaryliterature isindeedendless; 30/6/06 Brihati Nyayamala system, asiswitnessedbythewritings Dhanyalokalochana Tika Mimamsanyayaprakasa

2:53 . . differently according tohisown (available onlyasanincomplete Rijuvimala Sashtradipika , andNarayanaBhatta’s PM , Gagabhatta’s

Page . Hehasnothowever, mimamsasutras sutra Upakramaparakrama 4 sutra of the9thcenturyisa mimamsa of Parthasarthy as wasdoneby mimamsa separately. The , preserved atRajasthanOrientalResearchInstitute,Jodhpur , preserved Sabarabhasya Jamini Sutra , Khandadeva’s adhikaranas . Prabhakara may be and , as interpretation, behind thisenormouslyrichbodyofliterature of It isrelevant tonotehere themotivationalforce Parampara Factors ResponsiblefortheRiseof upasana subordinate to tradition holdsthatevenknowledgeis ‘knowledge’ isheldtobesuperior. Butthe individual’s conductinlife- beginning, ofthethree pathslaidouttoguidean of different philosophicsystems.From the generated competingphilosophiesasthesource one interpretation andatextthathasdecidedly Rigveda, thatisrepeatedly madetoconform be proposed betweenatext,forexample status toatextortexts.Adistinctionmaythus bibliolatrous, itwouldoftenaccord aspecial interpretation knownas growth anddevelopmentof aphilosophyof pursuit ofinterpretation whichendedinthe valid knowledgethatgeneratedthescholarly It isthesanctityofproperly acquired dharmic, determines thevalidityandvalueofeverything. ordinate principleoflifeforitis oral traditionandastextstheyare a commentary. Indiantextsare aproduct ofthe intellectual discoursedemandsexplicatory Apart from this,theverynature ofIndian statement suchas ideas andevenanapparently clearsimple meaningless orcontroversial propositions or ambiguous, thecontradictory, theapparently the seeminglyirrationaltextalone,butalso motion, therefore, isnotjustthesymbolicand attributed toJaimini(3rd centuryB.C.). Basically, whatsetstheinterpretive process in (belief), tikas dharma - National Mission forManuscripts jnana tata tvamaasi . Eventhoughaculture isnot (knowledge) – mimamsa karma , ‘Thou artThat’. , ‘Thou dharma is thesuper- , thesystem (action), which Tika final newsletter National Mission forManuscripts i)composedincomplexandabbreviated (ii) de-contextualizedstatements (i) disembodied storehouse -theyare: unconnected words (ii)superfluous or repetitive, or whenthere isaseriesofapparently when forexamplethetopic ischangedsuddenly the text,statementsmaybe(i)discontinuous, (inappropriateness). With respect totherest of both generalandofthewholecomposition (iii)between thetextandculturalcontext laws ofthisworld(implausibility)and, (ii)contradiction betweenthetextandknown is asymmetricalwithsomeotherpart; within theproposition where onepartofthetext may take anyofthethree forms-(i) contradiction (ii)prepositional; asymmetry, ontheotherhand ambiguous. Ambiguitymaybe(i)lexicalor asymmetrical, or(iv)bemeaningless(v) neutral withrespect tothem,or(iii)be text may(i)conformtothevisiblefacts,or(ii)be coherence andanoutercoherence. Internally, a validity andanexternalvalidity, aninner content ormeaningofatexthasaninternal these interpretive processes inmotion.The sustainability ofthethought-system. argument orarguments forandassure the also establishtherelevance, articulatethe transparent, statement.Furthermore, hemust (c) determinationofthesymbolicalmeaninga clear orofamultivalentstatement, (b)establishment ofthemeaningsaseemingly on particularlexicalchoice,ifneedbe, of aclearlyworded statement, focusingperhaps determine themeaningthrough (a)explication three-fold taskcutoutforhim–hehasto The commentator, the atleastinthe (vi) organized inanintricatethematic(ortopic) (v) unlike contemporaryWestern texts, (iv) madeterse through devicesofeconomy (iii) There are specifictextsituations,whichset sutraic in asymboliclanguage. organization, and arriving atthedoctrine,’ ownmindhasgonethrough in author’s) descriptions oftheprocesses ‘this(the statements ofconclusionsandnot ellipsis, etc.,andmore importantly, terminology, under- stoodrepetition and such asclass-markers, meta-terms,technical April syntax 2006.qxd sruti tikakara -literature, are expressed

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Page 5 2. which isapartofthe following agivenpatternor knowledge. Theinterpreter conductshisinquiry saturation involvesmasteringallthepertinent see andthemindtograsp.Thisprocess of mystique mustsetinbefore theeyesare ready to process ofsaturationresulting inparticipation the problem ofcompetencetointerpret. A There isinthetraditionconceptof imposes certainconditionsontheinterpreter. paddhati meaning ofthetextaccording totheaccepted this populartradition,seekstodeterminethe The learnedtraditionwhichformsthecore of Interpreters Competence forandMethodof 3. vedic( 1. We accordingly wetalkofdifferent typesofexegesis. differs from onekindoftexttoanotherand The incidenceoftheseelementsortriggers perception. against theknownfactsnorare provable by facts and gunavada those thatare inconformitywithknownfacts, arthavada different termsfordifferent kindsofstatements- another place.The one placeandsomethingquitetheoppositein and (iii)contradictorywhenitsaysonethingat or sampradaya (i)what theearlierthinkers ofthesameschoolor contained totalactofinterpretation includes: we knowofhaveadopted arrived at.Almostallthephilosophicaltreatises the bestof r produced the (narrative)-the shastrapaddhati be arrivedatonlythrough controversy the and counter-example. Sinceaninterpretation can It consistsofparaphrase,explanatoryexample eading textsanditsexistence definedIndiaasan The exegesis tradition– matantara

may distinguishbetween: (b) (a) smriti kavya darsana vyakarana and intheshared meta-language.This bhutarthavada for thosethatare againsttheknown for adulatorysentences, exegesis exegesis: kathas sruti have said;(ii)thedifferingopinion , and(iii)thecontextor shastrapaddhati vada permits onlyonekindof ) exegesis (philosophy) will continueuntiltruthis (grammar) mimamsa . Thus sastrapaddhati for thosethatare neither vadakatha vadakatha tika parampara , amethodof vyakhyanaprakriya theorists use anuvada . Aself- . , whichis prasanga adhikara katha – for , . ,

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Kriti Rakshana April 2006.qxd D. Language belong. Thusinhis interpreters search for In thepolyvalentphilosophicaltexts, assumptions ofthe meaning ofthetextinaccordance withthe C. Generalrulesofinterpretation R Classes ofCommentaries an exponentofthe B. Verbal testimony commentaries. Hedistinguishes eightkinds- a completelistofdifferent kindsof knowledge ( sorrow isattainedonlythrough aparticular establish theprinciplethatliberationfrom i)acceptsbroadly, withschool-specific (iv) allowsonlyonekindofargument structure (iii) requires statementofwhathas beensaid (ii) imposescertainconditionsonthe (i) interpretive community. This A. The interpreter’s beliefsystem A. Theinterpreter’s to: exegesis which maybeclassedasthosepertaining F inally thepaddhatiemploysteninstrumentsof ajasekhara in

30/6/06 anumana strength hierarchy - variations, four 1.2.1.), or context or matantara earlier, oftheoppositepointviewor adhikara interpreter through thetwinconceptsof sabda abhyasa 9. 8. 10. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. katha vyakarana nirvachana based onreal lifeexperience) loka nyaya (learned rulesofjudgement) paribhasa nyaya sangati itihasa –puranadristanta darsana-smriti sruti (the principletobeupheld) sarvabhaumasiddhanta sabda-sakti (verbal testimony).

2:53 V (experience) and which is and ivekachudamani (inference); , oftheoriginalandchanged Kavya-Mimamsa prasanga (coherence) PM adhikari (popular rulesofjudgement (grammar)

nivrittimarga sampradaya Page (etymology) Gita Bhasya pramanas mula-siddhanta vadakatha , 6 pratyaksa , upamana paddhati 58). shastra vachana in thislefttoright , Chapter1,gives to whichthey , Adi Sankaraas seeks to ( Nyayasutra (perception); (analogy); , thecore - or paddhati of asutraiscalled ‘commentary thatexplainstheideationalcontent arguments. into accountthepossibleobjectionsandcounter- pada answered atalllevelsoflanguagestructure – philological tradition.Questionsare asked and and equalterms.Itisessentiallyalinguistic how Indianmindsconfronted thetextsonfree of India’sintellectualhistoryandanevidence empirical andmethodological,isthefoundation and nominal-stems"( vrittis grammatical knowledgethatliesscattered in purpose istobringtogetherandunifythe Jayaditya sayintheirfirst task ofunifyingscattered knowledge.Vamana- meaning, theyalsoaccomplishthemuchgreater achieve theirpurposeofdeterminingtheprecise is of meaninginthesimplestandbriefestlanguage implicit ina intended anddeepermeaningsissues To Concluding Remarks knowledge istiedupintoaninterrelated whole. discipline boundariesare transcendedandall Helaraja, BhattojiDiksitaandNagesa-eventhe Jaimini, Sabara,Patanjali, Sankara,Kumarila, In fact,intheworkofgreat exegetes - Kapil KapoorisProfessor, JNU,Delhi symbolism inthepoetryofVedas. work addressed totheproblem ofverbal its finalcategoricalextensiononceagainina and codedintreatises) exegesis andunderwent (literally, already existingknowledgesystematized V sense oftheearliestsymbolicpoetry disciplines. Itoriginatedinanefforttomake evolved intoaconventioncommontoall doubts, amethodofinterpretation slowly implications ofa of theunexpressed orsuggestedmeaningsand sutra panjika edas, attaineditsrichestexpression inthe tika

In thisway, thecommentariesnotonly sum up,Sanskritinterpretive tradition, , , is . Explanationofonlythedifficultwords is vakya bhasyas . Abriefstatementofthemeaninga karika . Bhasya , Samiksa carana Bhasya . Inthesamemanner, ananalysis and all is adetailedanalysisthattakes National Mission forManuscripts sutra vritti , analysis. Amere indication gives anexplanationofthe samghatana Kasika sutras is called ; analysisofa karika , analyzingverb-roots , A tha Pratyahara varttika . Andtohandle of Kasika vritti . : "The is Smriti , 1). final newsletter National Mission forManuscripts Manuscripts collectionatGOML& RC,Chennai GOML&RC isthetreasure houseforancient undoubtedly, themostprominent amongthem. the HeadOffice.AmongthemGOML&RC is the InstituteofEpigraphywhichoperatesfrom photography section,printingbesides chemical laboratoriesatChennaiandMadurai, Library andResearch Centre (GOML&RC), Office, theGovernmentOrientalManuscripts offices, fourteensitemuseums,alibraryatHead Department ofArchaeology haseightfield of fieldwork,analysisandpublication.The ancient culturalheritagethrough acombination disseminate knowledgeaboutTamil Nadu’s essentially aresearch departmentandaimsto objects andregistration ofantiquitiesetal.Itis setting upofsitemuseums,preservation ofart printing andpublishingtheminbookform, copying anddecipheringofstoneinscriptions, scope ofitsactivitieswasexpandedtoinclude excavations athistoricalsites.Eventually, the monuments inTamil Naduandtoconduct conservation andpreservation ofancient the year1961withprimaryintentionof Department ofArchaeology wasestablishedin Archaeology intheyear1869.TheState under theTamil NaduStateDepartmentof and Research Centre wasestablishedinChennai The GovernmentOrientalManuscriptsLibrary T. Library andResearch Centre, Chennai Government OrientalManuscripts Institution inFocus L

ocated intheMadrasUniversitycampus, S. Sridhar&Soundrapandian April 2006.qxd

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Page 7 mathematics, astronomy, Sinhalese, etal.Theydealwithsubjectslike K languages suchasTamil, Sanskrit,Telugu, books. Theyare writteninawiderangeof and more thantwentysixthousandrare printed than twentytwothousandpapermanuscripts hundred and fourpalmleafmanuscripts,more manuscripts comprisingfiftythousandfive seventy twothousandsevenhundred fortyeight Government ofTamil Nadu.Ithousesintotal, Special CommissionerofArchaeology, headed bytheCuratorundercontrol ofthe knowledge. Itbeingagovernmentinstitutionis collection from Mrs.Mackenzie in1821forten his deathin1821. to Calcuttaandcontinuedaddingthemuntil Mackenzie tookhisvaluablecollectionswithhim Surveyor-General ofIndiain1818,Colonel Ceylon andJava.Onhisappointmentas from different partsofIndiabutalsofrom manners andcustomsofthepeoplenotonly items relating totheliterature, religion, history, manuscripts, coins,inscriptions,mapsandother languages. Hecollectedalarge numberof study ofancientmathematicsandinOriental East IndiaCompanytookakeen interest inthe Engineers ontheMadrasEstablishmentof who cametoIndiain1783asacadetof preserved atGOML. both thepalmleafandpapermanuscripts constitute thenucleusofvastcollection (1754-1821), Dr. andMr. Leyden C.P. Brown The collectionsofColonelColinMackenzie Origin in variouskindsofresearches. It isagreat resource centre forscholarsengaged arts, history, grammar, literature andmanymore. veda annada, Marathi,Urdu, Arabic,Persian, The EastIndiaCompanybought this Mackenzie’s Collection , agama , architecture, music,sculpture, fine siddha : ColonelMackenzie , ayurveda , unani ,

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Kriti Rakshana April 2006.qxd other partswere senttoCalcuttaandMadras. While onepartwasretained the inLondon, thousand poundanddivideditintothree parts. T & RC deservespecialmention. manuscripts preserved inGOML world andtherefore, the the earliestmedicalsystemsof The Tamil artificial coralandthelike. The the preparation ofartificialsilver, hand, andontheother with diseases andtreatments ontheone T grown toitspresent dimensions. Fr time andhaveaddedtothelibrarycollection. manuscripts havebeenacquired from timeto them bytranscription.Accordingly, many manuscripts andtopurchase themoracquire 1876 hewasrequested touncovermore important literaryandhistoricalmanuscripts.In upon toprepare aschemeforpublicationof prepare acatalogueforthem.Hewasthencalled Sanskrit inPresidency College,wasdirected to 1870 andMr. Pickford whowasProfessor of transferred toPresidency College,Madrasin collection andtheBrown collectionwere Mackenzie collection,theEastIndiaHouse started in1869.Three collections,thatisthe A fullfledgedlibrary, inthetruesense,was Growth 1855. works. Thiscollectionwasbrought toIndiain manuscripts ofSanskrit,Tamil andTelugu his ownvaluablecollectionsofpaper 1884) alsopresented totheEastIndiaCompany Civil Service. efforts ofMrBrown whohadjoinedtheIndian was subsequentlybrought toIndia,thanksthe death andlodgedattheIndiaHouse,London purchased bytheEastIndiaCompanyafterhis valuable collectionofDr. whichwas Leyden noticed byMr. C.P. Brown in1837.The who wasinIndiafrom 1803to1811,was to Dr. arenowned Leyden, linguistandtraveler T Library, acollectionofmanuscriptsin London, amil amil amil, Telugu andKannada charactersbelonging om suchbeginnings,theGOML&RC has L Brown’s Collection

30/6/06 eyden’s Collection siddha Siddha siddha

2:53 manuscripts dealwith Manuscripts PM system isbelievedtobeoneof

Page : Mr. C.P. Brown (1798- : IntheIndiaOffice 8 siddha Folios from Rigveda Padapathah documents fordescriptivecataloguingand digitization istopromote ready access to or therest ofIndia.Themainobjectivethe manuscripts hasbeenundertaken inTamil Nadu first timethatamassdigitizationof of 28th January2005toprecipitate thedigitization Archaeology withtheUniversityofMadrason was signedbytheSpecialCommissionerof the UniversityofMadras.AsignificantMoU program wasinitiatedon3rd July2004through (NMM) isnowinthedigitizingthem.NMM’s manuscripts, NationalMissionforManuscripts in the using coppersulphateandherbals.Catalystsused ‘kattumarundu’ system toprepare medicines.For example, Innumerable formulaeare availableinthe is thatwithherbalsandtheothermetals. medical systempropounded bymany R Digitization ofManuscripts of Tamil note thatGOML&RC hasthelargest collection significance ofthissystem,itisimportantto our country. Giventhehistoricalandcultural has beeninvoguefrom thedaysofRamayana in scholars are oftheopinionthat Agastya findsmentionintheRamayana, some China andRome inthosedays.Sincethename been saidthatBegar, a countries through Buddhistmonks.Ithaseven T one amongthem. T Sattaimuni, Korakkar andothersgracethisl