Perseverance pays off: Mysuru institute digitises 70k manuscripts

The Oriental Research Institute (ORI) of the University of Mysore (UoM) has almost completed the process of preserving and digitising 70,000 ancient manuscripts, which would be available to researchers soon. The digitisation work began three years ago, in May 2022.

ORI director D P Madhusudanacharya told DH that the digitisation of the palm leaf manuscripts was 100% complete.

“The digitisation of paper manuscripts is almost over and will be completed in a couple of months. They will soon be available to scholars for research. However, some scholars are already availing the digitised format by request,” he said. Besides, digitisation of more than 50,000 old rare printed books has been taken up.

A Chennai-based organisation has shown interest in the project and is bearing the cost of the work.

There are plans to launch a website and provide e-book facility and discussions are on to choose its format, said the director.

The ORI has taken measures to prevent pest attack on palm leaf scripts and manuscripts.

The digitisation of priceless manuscripts of Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra,’ Soundarya Lahari of Adi Shankaracharya and Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s ‘Sri Tatva Nidhi’ had been completed, he said.

The Mythic Society of Bengaluru has taken up the conservation and digitisation of the manuscripts at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore.

More than 37 people of the society, along with the students of the Ancient History department of Maharaja’s College and the ORI staff had been involved in the process. Scholar R Shamashastri, who discovered the manuscript of Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ translated it into Sanskrit and English.

Until then, the works of Megasthenes and Bana were said to be the only ancient works in India, he said.

Chamaraja (Chamarajendra) Wadiyar X established the Government Oriental Library in 1891. In 1916, it came under the administration of the UoM.

The manuscripts digitised include the Vedas, Upanishads, music shastras, Yoga, Ayurveda, Alankarashastra, Shilpashastra, Ratnashastra, Kamashastra, Bharathashastra, Jyothisshastra, Vaidyashastra, Bauddha, Jaina, Aryasamaja, and Tantra-Mantrashastra.

The ORI is taking steps to clean, fumigate and scan the manuscripts to create digital copies. 

First, the dust on the manuscript bundles are cleaned. Lemon grass oil is used to remove fungus. Later, they are scanned and digitised. It is preserved in PDF and JPEG formats. The manuscripts are covered in red cloth after scanning and tightly tied to prevent pest attack.

Cataloguing

The ORI has entered into an agreement with Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthana Dakshinamnaya Sarada Peetham, Sringeri, for cataloguing unpublished manuscripts at a cost of Rs 92 lakh.

The digitisation of the catalogues will be taken up and a few selected works will be printed in book form.

Manuscripts are tightly tied in cloth to save them from pest attacks and stored at the institute.