Preserving glorious past by digitising rare manuscripts in Hadauti region

KOTA: The Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Kota, has a unique collection of 9,966 manuscripts or pandulipis. The oldest manuscript is 600 years old while the smallest manuscript at 4.3 x 2.4 cm and can fit inside a matchbox. The biggest is an 8.5-foot scroll.
Besides these, there are around 19,000 manuscripts in private collections in Hadauti (Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar), Sawaimadhopur and Bhilwara belts.
“We documented this while conducting a survey under ‘National Mission for Manuscripts’,” said Khayali Ram Meena, a senior research officer with the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute.
These manuscripts are priceless. “We have a rich collection of Durga saptshatis, one is written in golden ink on a piece of cloth, another on a bhojpatra. Usually, a saptshati has 588 shlokas while we have an unabridged one, which was used by Pandit Ghanshayam Upadhyaya in recent years to finish his compilation of 700 shlokas,” said Meena.
The longest manuscript is a scroll which was written by Arji Satguru in a poetic diction,” he added.
And the smallest manuscript is Santdasji Ki Vaani which can fit inside a matchbox. The oldest manuscript here dates back to 1354 Saka Samvat written in Sanskrit.
The institute also has a 168-page manuscript on tarpatra written in Telugu. “We even have an illustrated copy of Bhagwat Gita with 31 pictures painted in Hadauti style,” he said.
The manuscripts are available in a variety of themes, textures, aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, and illustrations on paper, cloth, skin, bhojpatra, tarpatra and copper foils.
These manuscripts provide a deep insight into vedas, puranas, upanishad, ayurveda, sutra, nyaya, yoga, darshan, history, dharmashastra, karmakanda, astronomy, siddha, tantra mantra etc. These are handwritten in indigenous ink in black, red, golden and yellow colours.
“It’s a wonder that even today, these scripts are in such a good condition,” said Meena. “We also have several manuscripts pertaining to Chikitsa Shastra. In this, Charak Sahita stands out as a unique document. A researcher from Austria (Vienna) had come to Kota to study it,” he added.
“We had another researcher from Japan who had come to study jyotish. Besides, an American scholar had come to study Vallabh Sampradaya’s Seva Vidhi. From a research point of view, we have Kirtikavyam, Radharahasya Mahakavyam, Chandrahansa Ki Varta, ancient warfare (Prachin Yudhakal).
Researchers from different states and countries keep coming to study these manuscripts. Researchers have come from Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Japan, America and Australia,” said Meena.
“We have digitised the collection. Currently, we have 10,36,834 images. This has simplified the entire process, thereby helping the researchers,” he said.
Fumigation is done from time to time. Manuscripts have to be protected from bookworms, termites, dampness and fungi as they can damage the stuff.