December 2010 - March 2011 - National Mission for Manuscripts

“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 organised search for old manuscriptsin the libraries of religious institutions, monasteries and private persons would yield richresults. That, and the critical examination of these manuscripts and, where considereddesirable, their publication and translation, are among the many things we have to do in Indiawhen we succeed in breaking through our shackles and can function for ourselves. Such astudy is bound to throw light on many phases of Indian history and especially on the socialbackground behind historic events and changing ideas.”Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of IndiaEditorMrinmoy ChakrabortyPublisher:Director, National Mission for Manuscripts11 Mansingh RoadNew Delhi – 110 001Tel: +91 11 23383894Fax: +91 11 23073340Email: director.namami@nic.inWebsite: www.namami.orgDesigning and Printing: Macro Graphics Pvt. Ltd.www.macrographics.comCover Image:Folios from Arnava-vihāra-viļāsa, Research DepartmentCollection, Shri Jagannatha Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya,Puri, OrissaThe views, opinions and suggestions expressed in theKriti Rakshana are strictly those of the authors and notnecessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

gS fd laU;kfl;ksa dks dsoy czã&fpUru djus Hkj lseqfDr fey tk ldrh gS] ij og ,dek«k jkLrk ughagSA x`gLFk yksx Hkh ;fn czãfpUru ds lkFk&lkFkx`gLFkksfpr ;K] nku] ri vkfn djsa] rks os dnkfprlaU;kfl;ksa dh rqyuk esa 'kh?kzrk ls eqfDr ik ldrsgSaA deZ ,oa Kku ds lkeatL; ds ckjs esa e.Mu feJdk vfHkçk; ,dne lkQ gS fd Kku çkfIr ls dÙkkZlqlaLÑr gksrk gS] vkSj fQj og deZ djus dk vf/kdkjhgksrk gSA èkeZ&'kkL«kkfn esjk fo"k; ugha gS] ij brukdg ldrk gw¡ fd vkt Hkkjrh; èkeZ ds tks nks ekxZgSa&fuo`fÙk ekxZ vkSj ço`fÙk ekxZ] mlesa ço`fÙk ekxZ dhegÙoiw.kZ thou&i)fr x`gLFkkJe gSA ;g l`f"V pØmlh i)fr ls pyrk gSA Ñ".k&;tqosZn ds vuqxkeh'kadjkpk;Z dh fopkj O;oLFkk dHkh Hkhs fefFkyk dsfy, xzká ugha gks ldrh FkhA vyx ls dgus dkç;kstu ugha fd Ñ".k&;tqosZn] rSrjh;ksifu"kn gS]ftls fefFkyk ds egku euh"kh vkSj oS'kEik;u dsf'k"; ;kKoYD; us vius xq# ls fookn gksus ij oeufd;k FkkAnqHkkZX; dh ckr gS fd fiNys rsjg lkS o"kksZa rdvuqiyC/k e.Mu feJ dh xzUFk czãflf)] yksdekU;fryd dks ml le; rd Hkh çkIr ugha gks ldh]tc os jk"Vª çse dh vo/kkj.kk ls ifjiw.kZ gksrs gq,xhrk dk Hkk"; dj jgs Fks vkSj xhrk dks deZ;ksx dk'kkL«k ekurs gq, mUgksaus dgk Fkk fd deZ;ksx dhblh vo/kkj.kk ls Hkkjr esa uwru tkx`fr vkbZ gS vkSjukxfjd ifjn`'; Lok/khu gqvk gS] vaxzstksa dks Hkkjrls Hkxk;k tk ldk gSA yksdekU; fryd bl ço`fÙkewyd v}Sr osnkUr ds çcy vkxzgh FksA mUgksaus xhrkdh Hkwfedk esa bl ckr dk Li"V mYys[k fd;k fdv}Sr osnkUr ij bu fnuksa ftrus Hkh xzUFk fey jgsgSa] os laU;kfl;ksa }kjk fy[ks x, gSaA Li"Vr;k xhrkds deZ;ksx dks laU;kfl;ksa ds v}Sr osnkUr ls leFkZuugha fey ldrk gSA iwoZdky esa x`gLFkksa ds v}SrosnkUr ds xzUFk fu'p; gh fy[ks x, gksaxs] tks vHkhçkIr ugha gks jgs gSaA---dYiuk dh tk ldrh gS fd ;fn czãflf) iqLrddh çfr yksdekU; fryd dks mu fnuksa fey xbZgksrh] rks mUgksaus fdruh çlUurk vkSj Li"Vrk lsbldh O;k[;k dh gksrhA dYiuk bl ckr dh Hkhdh tk ldrh gS fd bl xzUFk ds Hkk"; ls Hkkjrh;jk"Vªokn dh vo/kkj.kk esa fdruk egÙoiw.kZ ;ksxnkugks ldrk FkkAlu~ 1919 esa ,d vkys[k esa e.Mu&'kadj 'kkL«kkFkZ dsckjs esa QSyh HkzkfUriw.kZ nUrdFkk dk [k.Mu fd;k tkpqdk FkkA ckn ds fnuksa esa çks- ,l- ,u- nklxqIrk usviuh iqLrd , fgLVªh vkWQ bf.M;u fQykWlQh esabu leLr gkL;kLin çlaxksa dk [k.Mu djrs gq, ,dvkys[k fy[kk] exj bu lcls csfQØ egkegksik/;k;lj xaxkukFk >k ehekalkuqØef.kdk dk lEiknu djrsle; mlh iqjkuh fdEcnUrh dk jkx vkykirs jgsAvly ckr ;g gS fd bu leLr çdj.k esa eSfFkyksadh fuf'pUrrk] vius vrhr vkSj oSHko ds çfr mudhfujis{krk] blds fy, nks"kh gSA Hkfo"; esa bl fn'kk esafefFkykokfl;ksa dks lko/kku jgus] vkSj viuh èkjksgjdh j{kk ds fy, vxzlj gksus dh t:jr gSA vis{kkdh tkuh pkfg, fd ,slk gksxk Hkh!nso'kadj uohuvuqokn v/;;u ,oa çf'k{k.k fo|kihBbfUnjk xk¡èkh jk"Vªh; eqDr fo'ofo|ky;ubZ fnYyhNational Mission for Manuscripts7

Trinatha Mela:Folk Way of Trinity WorshipMrinmoy ChakrabortyThe most popular among the Hindu gods areBrahma, Vishnu and Maheswara, collectivelyknown as Trinity or Trinatha. The TrinathaMela or trinity worship has been in practicein different parts of the country followingdifferent traditions. But in eastern region,particularly Orissa, Assam and Tripura, theTrinatha worship is based on a commonpractice and that practice is in turn basedon folk tradition with a root in Hindu religion.Interestingly, this living tradition is the worshipof the most powerful gods in the most humbleway. No priest is required and except in a fewdistricts of Orissa no mantra is required to bechanted. Simplicity and enjoyment are at theroot of this practice.Root of the Trinatha MelaDuring the Survey and Post Survey conductedby the National Mission for Manuscripts in 2005& 2006, 13 manuscripts related to TrinathaMela were unearthed. The information aboutthese manuscripts is available in the NMMWebsite, www.namami.org. The categorizationtable given below, has been prepared onthe basis of the information available in thiswebsite.The root of the Trinatha can be tracedin Orissa, the melting pot of Brahmanical,Buddhist and tribal culture. Nothing can besaid for sure about the originating time of thiscult. But it may not be a wild guess to ascertainthat this cult is not more than five hundredyears old. As per the information availablewith the NMM, manuscripts on Trinatha Melaare available only in Orissa. Lack of evidenceis not the evidence of absence. Manuscriptsof Trinatha Mela may be available in Assam,Tripura, West Bengal and Bihar, as the Surveyactivities, which are monumental by nature,Catagorization Table (Total No. of manuscripts: 13)Title District Language Material Script AuthorTrinathamela (11) Bhadrak (5) Odia (12) Palm Leaf (12)Trinathavratakatha (1) Balasore (3) Sanskrit (1) Tamra Patra(copper plate) (1)Odia (13) Known (4)Trinathapuja (1), in Sanskrit Mayurbhanj (1) Unknown (9)Nayagarh (1)Jajpur (1)Puri (1)Cuttack (1)Total 13 Total 13 Total 13 Total 13 Total 13 Total 13Note: Numbers given in brackets are number of manuscripts8 National Mission for Manuscripts

are yet to be completed in these states. Butfor now, Orissa is the only State from whereinformation about the presence of suchmanuscripts is available with the NMM and itcan be said that the practice of Trinatha Melais more predominant in Orissa. In this context,another point is to be noted is that, Trinathais traditionally the major religious practiceamong the Bauri community in Orissa, thoughevery community and every section of thepeople celebrate it with equal devotion.Spread of Trinatha MelaAs in case of Vaisnavism, Trinatha Mela wasspread to other parts of Eastern India fromOrissa and Bauri community might be the mainbearer of this cult. People belonging to Bauricommunity are found, besides Orissa, Bihar,West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, et al. In Assam,Bauries were migrated to tea gardens duringBritish period and gradually spread the cultamong the local people. Now-a-days, TrinathaMela is in practice in the Barak Valley region ofSouthern Assam.Folk tale related to the originand spread of Trinatha MelaTrinatha Katha or tale related to Trinatha Melahas little bit different versions in differentregions. The following version of the folk taleis popular in the Barak Valley region of Assam:One fine afternoon a Brahmin was going tothe local market. The road to the market, likea giant serpent, travelled through riverside,small hillock, paddy field, bushes and hutmentsof rural people. Far from human settlements,by the side of the road stood a large banyantree. Darkness engulfed the land patch underthe tree. When the Brahmin was passing bythe tree, a loud and soothing voice came fromnowhere. “Thakur (as Brahmins are generallyaddressed) stop! Look below in front of you”.The bewildered Brahmin stopped forthwithand looked downward. Three coins weredazzling on the white sand. The voice resumes:“Take these coins and bring oil, pan (battleleaf) and ganza (marijuana) of one paisa each”.The Brahmin took the coins hesitatingly andwithout any further question set out for themarket. On the way, he thought about theidentity of the fellow, whose voice he heardand whose paisa he took. He should have askedthe person to appear before him. Was he agod or ghost or ….? But the Brahmin did notgather courage to share the story with anyoneelse in the market. Or he forgot what he hadexperienced, in the cacophony of the market.He shopped for himself odds and ends ofhousehold use and left the market beforedense darkness covered everything underthe sky. He tumbled. "Hoo! What is this?" Hetumbled again. The way was well known tohim; he trade it almost every day. He knewevery turning and every bump or pitfall. Thatday he found it difficult to forward even astep. Suddenly he realized: he committed agrave mistake. He had not purchased the itemsrequested by that mystical person. He wentback and purchased pan and ganza. When hewent to a grocery to purchase the third item,he encountered a problem. He had no bottleor container to take the oil. But he had to takeoil. He thought and thought and smiled at last,as if he had thought out a good solution. Hespread a corner of his dhoti and asked thegrocer to pour oil in it. The grocer thoughtthe Brahmin must have gone mad. How couldoil be retained in a porous cloth? He wiped thebottom of his measuring mug and said, “Go.This is the oil for one paisa”. Simple heartedBrahmin accepted and started his journeytowards home.As he proceeded a few steps, he heard a loudcall from the market side. The grocer shouted,“Stop Thakurmashai, forgive me. You areperhaps a god.” The Brahmin turned back. Thegrocer said “Forgive me and come to my shopagain. I have cheated you. Oil in my containerhas evaporated, Entire can is empty”. Thistime the grocer measured correctly andpoured just quantity of oil into the corner ofNational Mission for Manuscripts9

the dhoti. The Brahmin said “I am not a god,perhaps for whom I am taking the oil is a god”and left the market.After he reached near the banyan tree heuttered, like a soliloquy, “Hey god, or whom soever you might be, take your goods” The malevoice said in ordering note: “Take them to yourhome and organize Trinatha Mela”.“I have not heard about Trinatha Mela. How isit organized?”“Light diya (lamp) with the oil. Offer pan andganza and sing song in praise of Trinatha”.The Brahmin left home in confusion.On his way back to the home, he noticed hislost cow. The cow had been lost a few daysback and after an extensive search it could notbe traced. Now it was grazing on the way side.“Amazing” thought the Brahmin, “some godmust have become happy with me”.When he was entering his home, following thecow, his son, who never called him baba (hewas a dumb), shouted at his mother, who wasin the kitchen, “See maa, baba has found outour cow.”Mother was amazingly delighted to see allthese. She addressed her mother in law asmaa and told, “See maa, our son has startedto address his father as baba”The mother in law merrily replied “You tooare addressing me as maa. Perhaps a god hasbecome kind on us”After reaching home, the Brahmin narratedthe story of that unseen man to his familymembers. They started the process oforganizing Trinatha Mela. Neighbourers wereinvited, diya lighted, pan and ganza wereprepared and offered to the god. Afteroffering ganza to Trinatha they started toconsume it as prasad. They were absorbed insinging devotional songs.On the other hand, a dark boat was passingthrough the river piercing the darkness onthe river bed. The fire arrangement on theboat was over. For the lack of fire, the solepassenger, a guru, was unable to have a puff athukka (smoke). The guru ordered the boatmanto stop the boat and go to collect fire fromthe nearby village. The boatman asked: “Fromwhere can I collect fire?”“Follow the sound of the song. Go to thathome, it is my shisyabari. Ask them. They willgive you fire”.After sometime, the boatman came back emptyhand. “They don’t pay heed to my request. Irequested several times on behalf of you. Whocares? They were busy in singing songs.”The guru felt insulted. Who could be of greaterimportance than the guru, he thought. Herushed straight to the Brahmin’s home. Kickedtheir offerings, collected fire from the diyaand came back with anger and pride. No onedared to ask any question or request him tobe polite in his behaviour.When the guru was still on the boat he heardwailing from his village. The tensed gurureached home to find his son dead. He realizedhis mistake. “They were worshiping a god. Ishowed disrespect towards the god”.He hurried back to the shisya’s home, wherethey were singing songs in praise of Trinatha.“Tell me how I can rectify myself. How canbe penance of my sin completed? I have lostmy son”. The persons present there stoppedthe music after sometime. The Guru waswailing and sobbing. Hearing his story, thepoor Brahmin said, “Take the sacred ash ofthe ganza, massage the dead body with it.Your son will wake up again. Don’t forget toorganize Trinatha Mela if your son becomesalive”. The Guru did accordingly. He got backhis dead son and organised Trinatha Mela athis home with fanfare.Whatever is your prayer, Trinatha will fulfill it.Trinatha Mela got polular in this way.A folk religious practiceBy its nature, Trinatha Mela is basically a folkreligious practice. Its ritualistic part may have10 National Mission for Manuscripts

een influenced by Buddhism. (This aspectmay be discussed in another article). Amongthe Trinity, Maheswar or Shiva is predominantone, whether in Trinatha songs or in thereverence showed by the people. Mahadevaor Shiva, as in the Trinatha songs is a bankruptgod. He, due to his addiction, purchasesbhang and ganza on credit and does not clearthe dues on repeated demand. His charater isnot above board. Despite having a beautifulwife, he visits other women. Such notionsare expressed in the songs, sung in praise ofShiva. Here God is like a common man or wemay say a man belonging to lower class withmany a loophole in his character. In India acommon man may be worshipped as God andagain God may be relegated to the position ofa common man.Trinatha cult emphasizes that the only wayto worship God is through love. The influenceof Bhakti Movements of Medieval India canbe seen in this cult also. After the rise ofVaishnavism a conflicting situation emergedbetween Shaivism and Vaisnavism in intellectuallevel. Trinatha Mela made popular the conceptof ‘Hari-Hara Atma’ and added the less popularBrahma into it to give rise to a new cult. Thiswas in fact a compromising formula, gotpopularity side by side with the Vaisnavism.Ritualistic part of Trinatha MelaThe essential items required for Trinatha Melaare ganza, pan supari and fruits as per capability.Other items required are chilims for offeringganza and musical instruments, etc. TrinathaMela can be organized at any day of the year;there is no relevance of auspicious day or tithi.The celebration generally starts in the eveningand continues for four to five hours. Invitationis given to all the households of the localityirrespective of caste or economic status. In theevening people gather at the particular houseand offerings including ganza, fruits, flower(especially dhatura flower, which is in liking ofthe Lord Shiva) and sitting arrangements forthe invitees are made by the host.Then starts the song and songs are sungby following a particular order. Like Kirtanaor Qawali, one person sings the song and allothers repeat the same after completion ofevery line. Anyone with the knowledge of thesong can be the principal singer. After thecompletion of the first set of songs, smokingof ganza starts. Songs go on and smoking alsocontinues simultaneously. But the last chilim isconsumed when all the songs are over.Trinatha SongsThe most interesting part of Trinatha Mela is itssongs. Songs are sung in different languages indifferent regions. But the underlying theme orstory and rhythm in all the regional variationsof the songs are almost the same. Lyrics aresimply excellent and have great literary value. Inmost of the cases the songs are traditional folksongs and the names of the lyricists or musiccomposers are not known. But in Orissa, namesof the lyricists can be traced from writtensources. Of course, in certain songs the lyricistincluded his name in the bhanita part of thesong itself. Most of the songs are eulogies ofthe greatest of the Trinity, Mahadeva or Shiva.In the lyrics, Shiva is described as almightyand prayer is made to beg his favour. Shiva isdescribed as addicted and his companions arespirits or bhuts. That is why he is also addressedas ‘Bhutanath’. Simple wishes and aspirationsof the rural people are reflected in songs andTrinatha is prayed to fulfill these wishes andgrant all sorts of boons.There is fixed tradition of singing the songscategory wise. In these songs, first comethe songs related to invitation. Trinatha isinvited to join the celebration. Then Trinatha isreceived, offered seats, after arrival. Songs inpraise of Trinatha are sung next. Satisfied withthe praise, Trinatha, especially Shiva startsdancing. Then songs are sung to co-operateShiva in dancing. These are beautiful songs,unique blend of lyrics and rhythms.There are songs related to ganza (marijuana),the main offering of the Trinatha worship andNational Mission for Manuscripts11

Trinatha Idol, Trinatha Temple, Agartala, Tripura(Photo credit: Arkaprabha Dev, Sun Graphics, Agartala)bhang. The musical instruments which areused are: dhol (drum), karatala (cymbal), jhanjor kasha (bell) and dafki (a type of one sideopen small drum) .Trinatha and AddictionGanza and bhang are traditional addictive itemsconsumed by common Indians. The principalamong the Trinatha (Trinity) is Maheswaraor Shiva. He is addicted to ganza and bhang.During Trinatha Mela, it is important to offerganza to please Lord Shiva and the followerssmoke ganza, after offering the same toTrinatha as the prasad. Therefore, ganza isan integral part of the worship. Ganja is thelocal name of marijuana in India. There are twosubspecies of the marijuana plant, CannabisSativa Sativa and Cannabis Sativa Indica. Bothof them are available in India. Marijuana is themind-altering substance produced from aplant with the scientific name Cannabis sativa.The drug is used because its primary activechemical, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), mayinduce relaxation and heighten the senses.Socio-religious ImplicationsTrinatha Mela is basically a religious ritual. Peoplepledges to organize Trinatha Mela if certainwishes are fulfilled. For example, a child mightbe suffering from a disease. The parents ofthat child would pray to the god (Trinatha) forhis healing and commits to organize TrinathaMela once the child comes round. Likewise, aperson may have lost his cow. He will organizeTrinatha if he finds it back. Besides these, milk ofa cow is offered to the Trinatha first and thenthe household starts to consume it. Therefore,organizing Trinatha Mela after a calf is bornis more or less mandatory. Unlike other typesof worships in Hindu religion, Trinatha Meladoes not need any Brahmin priest to performthe worship. The practice is very simple. Theofferings can be arranged by anyone. Thereis no need to utter any mantra (chanting) andthe expenditure is bare minimum; within thelimit of any poor household. The ritual is abovecasteism or untouchability. It can be organizedin any household and people belonging todifferent castes and social status sit togetherand sing Trinatha song in chorus. This mightbe the reason behind its popularity among thepeople belonging to the lower strata. So far asits all pervasive nature and the principle of socialequality on which it is based are concerned, itis like hari sankirtan cult prevalent among theVaishnavites of Orissa, Assam and West Bengal.Scope of further studyIn Orissa there are booklets related to TrinathaMela and CDs and cassettes of Trinatha songsare available in the market. But no seriousacademic study has been made to explorethe facts and intricacies of the Trinatha Mela,a unique blend of elite and folk culture and agreat socio-religious equalizer. Studies may becommissioned to understand the intricaciesof relationship between the Trinatha cult andproblems of addiction and bring to light thefolk literature ingrained in the Trinatha songs.Origin and spread of Trinatha Mela and itsother implications should also be studied. Itcan be concluded that this is a neglected topicbut a lively tradition and awaits just treatmentby academia.Mrinmoy Chakrabortyis Editior, Kriti Rakshana, NMM12 National Mission for Manuscripts

Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuria:An Unpublished History of Central AsiaShayesta KhanThe manuscript, Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuria isimportant in being the pioneer of firsthandaccount of Central Asian Timurids writtenunder the aegis of the greatest of IndianTimurids, Akbar. It is also important as the firstIndian account of Central Asia.The unique manuscript is preserved in KhudaBakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna. No othercopy of the work is known to be availablein any known collection of the world. It isimportant for historians of Central Asia asalso for the Chughtai/Mughal India. It is alsoimportant for its rare paintings, representinga superb blending of Indian and Central AsianArt. In fact the manuscript is better known, allthe world over, for its paintings, as these arerelated to the climax of Indian art. It contains112 large-size miniatures by the painters ofCentral Asian/Iranian origin who, joining handswith their Indian colleagues, produced theirmasterpieces of Indo-Central Asian School ofPaintings.These paintings are a source of knowledgeand information for the historian as well.Through these paintings a historian can getvarious information like wars and their modes,weapons, social customs, types of dances anddresses, manners and etiquettes, jewelry andtheir designs, and the styles of living of variousclasses of people in a highly class- conscioussociety.Of the paintings, the most remarkable arethose concerning1. Timur and his immediate successors:Timur as a child, playing with his youngercomrades, Timur assumes the positionof a king, (f. 1 b).2. Peace between Timur and Amir Husayn:they are embracing each other atQunduz, (f.2Ib).3. Timur's campaign against Shah Mansur,in which the latter is killed; Mirza ShahRukh, then seventeen year old, joinsTimur, (ff.53b-54a).4. The death of Prince 'Umar Shaykh(wounded in the neck) from an arrowshot at a venture from the fort ofKhormatu.5. Timur's campaign against the fort ofAunak, and its conquest, (f.63b).6. Timur's campaign against Baghdad. Hetakes his position on the bridge. Faraj,the governor of Baghdad, and hisdaughter try to escape on a boat, butbeing attacked by Timur's archers throwthemselves into the water and aredrowned. By Timur's order the boatmenbring out the dead body of Faraj. Timurthen orders the town to be sacked,(ff.I 03b-I 04a).7. Timur's mourning for the death ofthe Prince Muhammad Sultan, theappearance of whose two sons at thattime doubles his affliction, (f.II8a).8. Timur orders preparations to be madefor the marriage of Prince Mirza UlugBeg, Ibrahim Sultan, Jahangir Baiqara,and others. Four royal camps arepitched at Samarqand. Amir-zadah PirMuhammad comes from Gaznin, andTimur receives him with great affection.The chief ambassador of Egypt MankaliBooqa presents a giraffe to Timur,(f. 1 34a).National Mission for Manuscripts13

9. Death of Timur, (f. 1 34a).10. Installation of Mirza Khalil on the throneof Samarqand, (f. 36b). Mirza ShahRukh ascends the throne of Khurasan,(f.138b).11. Mirza Badi'uz-Zaman comes to begpardon of his father Sultan12. Husayn is being received with honour.Muzaffar Husayn Mirza (the youngerbrother of Badi-uz-Zaman) and hismother come also to receive theprince. The father forgives his son andembraces him, (f.232a).13. Babur's rejoicings at the birth ofHumayun. He gives a grand feast to hischiefs and nobles, (f.254a).It is a pioneer work in the field of history ofCentral Asia based on first hand information.It is also the first work - or among the firsts -dealing with the early history of predecessorsof Mughal rulers of India.This unpublished history of Timur and theTimurids, from their rise in Central Asia to theirheyday in India, lies still unedited, untranslatedand, by and large, unknown to the historiansof Central Asia and students of Indo-CentralAsian links during the 14th, 15th & 16thcenturies. It has been written by one or morehistorian(s), at the instance of Akbar, aroundhis 22nd regnal year, but, so far as the existingportion of the manuscript is concerned, it is,presently, available up to the 19th year only.According to Shahjahan, it contained thehistory of the period up to 22ndregnal year of Akbar. However thelast 3 years are missing from thepresent manuscript which breaksoff abruptly after the account ofAkbar's 2nd campaign in Gujaratin his 19th regnal year.A folio from Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Timuria, preserved at Khuda BakhshOriental Public Library, PatnaOriginal text of Shahjahan'scomment in Roman will read asfollow:IIn tarikh mushtamal ast barmujmal-i ahwal-i-hazrat sahibqirangitisitan wa aulad-i-amjad-i-anhazrat wa sawaneh ayyam-ihazratArsh Ashyani anarullahoburhanahu ta sal-i-bist-o-duwamdar ahd-i-dawlat-iShah Baba tasnifshuda. Harrarahu ShahjahanPadshah bin Jahangir Padshah binAkbar Padshah.The author must have beenprovided with most authenticrecords and documents,concerning the matter underdescription, though of course,such 'command-affairs' reveal aswell as conceal truths. But thatis the way of all official, perhaps14 National Mission for Manuscripts

even the non-official, histories as it is thecompulsion of forces around, that determinethe nature and character of historiography,and the limitations and extent of revealingor concealing the truths. In any view of thematter, history written on the instructions ofa head of the state/govt. has the advantageof an easy access to the original records whichnormally are not available to a non-official/ordinary writer.Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Taimurya may be countedas one of such authentic histories.Compared with Zafarnamah of SharafuddinAli Yazdi (d.1454) (printed copy) Calcutta,Tarikh-i-Alfi (Mss., India Office Collection atBritish Library, London and AminuddaulahPublic Library, Lucknow), it was found thatat a number of places it corresponds withearlier one in the case of Central Asia, and thelatter one in the case of Indian era as also ofCentral Asia. Zafarnamah has been mentionedby the anonymous author(s) as a work onCentral Asia. The authors also used the originalTurkish version of Tuzuk-i-Baburi. It has beenfrequently used in the matter of accountsof famous contemporaries like Sultan HusainMirza & others.The present manuscript, slightly defectiveat the beginning to the extent of 1/2 pages,opens with Timur's march in search of AmirHusain followed by his campaign in Samarqand,Kabul and Herat. After consolidating his powerinside, Timur is described marching towardsthe Iranian region of Fars and the adjacentMesoptamian territory. Onwards he is shownbusy in his expedition to Northern India. This isfollowed by his campaigns to Baghdad. Back toSamarqand, he is described as ailing, and finallydead in the year 1453.The death of Timur is followed by Mirza Khalil'sinstallation on the throne of Samarqand. MirzaShah Rukh ascends the throne in Khurasan, isstabbed in the Mosque, falls ill, recovers andfinally dies. Thereafter begins the history ofUlugh Beg, the grandson of Timur, followedby Abdul Latif, Abdullah & Abu Sayeed, AbulQasim Babur, Sultan Husain Mirza and childrenof Sultan Husain Mirza. This is followed bya description of nobles and learned men ofSultan Husain's court. Thereafter comes theaccession of Zahiruddin Babur to the throneof Samarqand, followed by his campaigns inSamarqand and his expedition to Kabul. Duringthe expedition, his first son Humayun wasborn.Then starts the Indian chapter, with theinvasion of Babur on India. This was the yearwhen the second son - the first, Humayun,already born in pre-Indian era - is born at thetime of his conquest of Hind and is named asHindal. Then follows the chapter dealing withthe decisive Indian wars with Ibrahim Lodi andRana Sanga ending with the death of Babur in1530.Then comes Humayun, his accession to thethrone, the birth of Akbar, the in-between illfateof the Emperor, his exile in Iran and thenhis return to power. Humayun dies, Akbaraccedes; and from here starts that era, theera of Akbar, which is contemporaneousto the writing of this history. From Akbar'saccession, through Hemu's defeat, Salim'srevolt, to Akbar's campaign in Gujarat, Chittor,Ranthambhor, Sarnal and Surat the descriptionhas been brought down to Akbar's secondcampaign in and conquest of Gujarat. Theoperative year is 981 A.H. (=1573 A.D.).The manuscript contains 522 pages on CentralAsia and 146 on the Timurids in India.Shayesta Khanis Librarian, Maulana Azad Library,A.M.U. AligarhNational Mission for Manuscripts15

Institution in FocusParija LibraryKishor Kumar TripathyIntroductionUtkal University is the oldest university ofOrissa and the seventeenth oldest universityin India. The foundation stone of the universitywas laid by the first President of India, Dr.Rajendra Prasad on 1st January 1958 and thecampus in Bhubaneswar was inaugurated byDr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second President ofIndia, on 2nd January 1963. With sixty-threeyears of academic excellence, the universityhas made a remarkable contribution for thedevelopment of higher education system,research, communication and technologicalapplications. This is a teaching-cum affiliatingUniversity and is the largest affiliatinguniversity in the country with approximately267 affiliated colleges, 15 law colleges and6 medical and pharmacology colleges.Parija LibraryThe library of Utkal University is named as ParijaLibrary, which was named after PranakrushnaParija, a scientist of international repute andthe first Vice-Chancellor of the University.The Library was established in 1946 and has aunique collection of over 237695 books and5,800 manuscripts.The manuscript collection at the Librarycomprises exquisite and priceless palm leaf,bamboo leaf, birch bark and paper manuscripts.In order to develop a collection of manuscriptsat the library, the then Vice Chancellor,Pranakrushna Mishra took the initiative andSadasiva Rath Sharma was appointed to collectmanuscripts, rare writings and materials ofarchival importance from various places inOrissa. Many private and public organizationsand individuals were approached to enrichthe collection. Scholars like Prof. ArtaballavMohanty (Founder of Prachi Samiti) and Prof.Karuna Kar also played an important role inthis regard. At present Parija Library has a richcollection of manuscripts in Oriya, Sanskrit,Bengali and Urdu languages. In this collection,there are 400 paper manuscripts, which werealso copied for the Prachi Samiti.Manuscripts in the custody of Parija Libraryare important from historical point of view.A major part of this collection is in someway or other related to Orissan kings, likePrataparudradeva, Divya Singha Deva, MukundaDeva, Ramachandra Deva and Birakishor Deva,who extended their great support for thedevelopment of literary tradition of Orissa. Inthis collection, there are manuscripts of thewell known authors like Ram Chandra Mishra,Bhagavan Pattnayak, Somanatha Mishra,Rupa Goswami, Mayura Kavi, Sarala Das,Jagannatha Das, Srikara Mishra, BhagavataAcharya, Gopinatha Mohapatra, DinakrishnaParija Library, Utkal University, Orissa16 National Mission for Manuscripts

NMM: Summary of Events1st December 2010 – 31st March 2011The four month period from 1st December2010 to 31st March 2011 was an eventfulperiod and will remain memorable for anumber of developments took place duringthat period. National Consultation meetingwas held to review the functioning of the NMMand proposed the future course of the NMM.During the Annual Day function held on 7thFebruary 2010, the long awaited ‘Guidelinesfor Digitization of Archival Material’ wasbrought out. Another book ‘Indian TextualHeritage (Persian, Arabic and Urdu)’was also formally released at this occasion.Besides other activities, NMM organisedan exhibition at the World SanskritBook Fare, Bangalore (7th to 10thJanuary 2011). 4 seminars, 6 workshopson manuscriptology and palaeography(4 Basic Level and 2 Advanced Level),13 workshops on conservation and16 public lectures under TattvabodhaSeries were organised, all within fourmonth period, from 1st December 2010to 31st March 2011,Guidelines for Digitization ofArchival MaterialNational Mission for Manuscripts (NMM) has theprimary objective of using digital technology topreserve the manuscripts for posterity. NMMhas studied the best practices being adoptedin several digitization projects at national andinternational level and after long consultationwith experts in the field has come up withthe document that presents guidelines ofdigitization. The guideline, titled ‘Guidelines forDigitization of Archival Material’ was preparedby a Technical Committee comprising expertsin the fields of information technology andarchival matters from NIC, National Archivesof India, IGNCA and NMM under the guidanceof Director, NMM, Prof. Dipti S. Tripathi. Thedocument was edited by Prof. Dipti S. Tripathiand released in book form on 7th February,2011.In this Guidenes, ‘digitization’ is defined in thisway:“Digitization means acquiring, converting,storing and providing information in digitalformat that is standardized, organized andavailable on demand”These guidelines are aimed at decision makers,archivist, library managers and curatorialand technical staff members. The documentsets the guidelines for creating archivalquality digital still images of materials whichinclude manuscripts, printed books, maps,photographs, slides, negatives, microfilms,etc. The guidelines specify factor affectingimage quality, file formats, storage and accessstandards for images.Exhibition at World SanskritBook Fair, BangaloreWorld Sanskrit Book Fair was held for fourdays, 7th to 10th January, 2011 and NMMparticipated by organizing an exhibition ofthe books published by the NMM, framedphotographs of manuscripts along with slideshow on activities of the NMM.The World Sanskrit Book Fair was firstof its kind and a well organized and wellattended fair. The four day gala was indeedan international affair. Besides a few visitorsfrom abroad, people from all over thecountry attended the Fair. To the peopleof Bangalore it was simply a festival. Fromschool going children to octogenarians, asper an assessment of the Book Fair Authority,four lakh persons visited the Fair. In the NMMExhibition, the number of visitors was notNational Mission for Manuscripts

less than eighty thousand (including fourdays). The remarkable thing is that a largenumber of school going inquisitive childrennot only thronged the exhibition but alsoflung different questions to know aboutmanuscripts and their importance.Among the visitors were scholars andacademicians from all over the country,govt. officials, eminent personalitiesbesides common populace. Dr. DaggubatiPurandeswari, Honourable Minister of Statefor Human Resource Development (HigherEducation), Govt. of India visited the NMMExhibition on 9th January and appreciatedthe performance of the NMM in the field ofheritage conservation. She was accompaniedby former Chief Election Commissioner ofIndia, Shri N. Gopalaswami.The effective functioning of the NMM dependsentirely upon the voluntary cooperation ofthe common people. This type of exhibitionis one of the means to garner public supportand the Exhibition in Bangalore was a grandsuccess so far as the interaction with thescholars and common people is concerned.People at large were eager to know how NMMcan be of their help so far as the conservationof manuscripts is concerned. The primary aimof the Exhibition, dissemination of informationabout the activities and achievements of theNMM, was achieved more than what had beenexpected.SeminarCollaborating Institution Date Topic1. Nagarjuna Buddhist FoundationGorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh2. Andhra Pradesh GovernmentManuscript Library and ResearchInstitute, Hydrabad3. Kundakunda JnanapithaIndore, M.P.4. Central University of GujaratGandhinagar, Gujarat18 - 20February, 201118 - 20March, 201127 - 29March, 20113 – 6 March,2011Public Lecture under Tattvabodha SeriesNational Seminar on Buddhist SanskritTexts and their ConservationNationaltional Seminar on Manuscripts on Poetics inSouthern Peninsula(Sanskrit as well as Dravidian Languages)National Seminar on Mathematical Manuscripts inIndiaManuscripts as Alternative Textual Traditions(special panel)Sr.no.CollaboratingInstitution/ Venue1. Nagarjuna BuddhistFoundation, GorakhpurUttar Pradesh2. NMM, New DelhiVenue: Lecture Hall11 Mansingh RoadNew Delhi – 110 0013. Dr. H. S. Gaur University,Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.4. Anandashram Sanstha, PuneVenue: D. V. Potdar HallBharat Itihasa SanshodhanaMandal, Pune5. NMM, New DelhiVenue: Lecture Hall11 Mansingh RoadNew Delhi – 110 001Topic Date Speakerekr`dk xzUFkksa dh lqj{kk vkSjlEiknu% egkHkkjr ds lUnHkZ esafof'k"Vk}Srn'kZu ds lEc)dfri; foyqIr egÙoiw.kZ xzUFkJheökxoregkiqjk.k dhçdkf'kr vkSj vçdkf'krik.Mqfyfi;k¡Providing High QualityCataloguing and Access toSanskrit Manuscripts in theDigital AgeT;ksfrfoZKku ds xzUFkks esaifj'kks/ku dh leL;k11 th December201024 th December201028 thDecember201013 th January201128 th January2011Prof. Uma Raman JhaDirector, Sarasvati ShodhaSansthan, Lucknow, U.P.Prof. Ashok Kumar KaliaFormer Vice-chancellorSampurnanda SanskritVishvavidyalayaVaranasi, U.P.Prof. Gangadhar PandaProf. in Purana Itihasa,Sampurnananda SanskritVishwavidyalaya, Varanasi, U.PDr. Peter M. ScharfProf. in Sanskrit,Brown University, USAProf. Mohan GuptaVice-chancellor,Panini Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya,Ujjain, M.P.National Mission for Manuscripts

6. Thunchan Memorial Trust(MRC), Tirur, Kerala7. Krishna Kant HandiquiLibrary, Gawhati UniversityGuwahati, Assam8. ORI & Mss. Library,University of Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala9. NIPSAR, ShravanabelagolaKarnataka10. Himachal Academy of Arts,Culture and LanguagesShimla, H.P.Venue: Bahuddesiya HallGeyati Campus, Shimla11 Sampurnanda SanskritVishvavidyalaya, Varanasi, U.P.Venue: Naimisharanya12. Akhila Bharatiya SanskritParishad, “DevavaniBhavanam”, LucknowVenue: Akhil BharatiyaSanskrit Parishad Lecture Hall13. Rajasthan Oriental ResearchInstitute,Jodhpur, Rajasthan.14. Kunda-kunda Jnanapitha,Indore, Madhya Pradesh.Anakanta JainamandirShritadham, Bina15. Sanskrit Seva Samiti,“Valam”, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.Venue: HemchandracharyaJaina GyanamandirAzad Medan, Patan16. Khuda Bakhsh OrientalPublic LibraryPatna, BiharA comparative Analysis ofRamayana in Hindi, Bengaliand MalayalamHandiqui and His WorldRepublic of LettersSanskrit Tradition inManuscriptsManuscripts and ScriptsTraditionHimalaya Knowledge andManuscriptsik.Mqfyfi ,oa HkklHkkjrh; fp=dyk vkSj gekjhlfp= ik.Mqfyfi;k¡Bhakti Sahitya andManuscript ConservationHkkjrh; laLÑfr ds fodklesa tSu 'kkL= Hk.Mkjksa dk;ksxnkuCatalogues of IndianManuscripts: Critical ViewPointArabic and PersianIllustrated Manuscriptsand Their Significance inUnderstanding the Past2 nd February201122 nd February201124 th February201126 th February201023 rd March201110 th March201123 rd March201122 nd March201113 th March201129 th March201123 rd March2011Prof. Indranath ChoudhuriMember Secretary,Sasta Sahitya Mandal, New DelhiProf. Ranjit Kumar DevGoswamiDept. of EnglishGauhati University.Prof. C. RajendranHoD, Sanskrit, University ofCalicut, KeralaDr. Sangamesh KalyanaModilipi Expert, MudholaKarnatakaProf. Ganga Prasad VimalProf. Srinivas RathProf. G. C. TripathiNational Fellow, Indian Instituteof Advance StudiesShimla, H. P.Dr. D. K. S. GautamAssociate Professor, Dept. ofHindi, J.N.V.U., Jodhpur, RajasthanDr. Phul Chand Jain PremiHoD, Darsan, SampurnanandaSanskrit VishvavidyalayaVaranasi, U. P.Prof. Mani Bhai PrajapatiFormer Professor (LibraryScience), Hemchandra UttarGujarat University, PatanGujarat.Prof. S. P. VermaTagore National FellowManuscriptology and Palaeography1. Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata 11. - 28 Feb.20112. CELMFDepartment of BengaliAssam UniversitySilchar, Assam3. Vasantrao Naik Govt. Institute of Arts& Social ScienceNagpur, Maharashtra4. Arabic, Urdu & Persian Dept.University of CalicutKerala3 - 18th Feb.201112 - 21 Feb.20107 Feb. - 192010Number of participants – 32Scripts taught – Old Bengali & GaudiNumber of participants – 31Scripts taught – Old Bengali & GaudiNumber of participants – 40Scripts taught – Sharada, Shankha & NagariNumber of participants – 39Scripts taught – Nastaliq, Kufi & MalayalamNational Mission for Manuscripts

5. *Chinmaya International FoundationShodha Sansthan, ErnakulamKerala6. *Rani Durgavati UniversityJabalpurM.P* Advance Level Workshop1 Nov. - 10Dec. 20108 Feb. - 24March.2010No. of participants – 22Scripts taught - Sharada, Nagari, Granth & NewariText edited:1. Samagrivada2. Satakotikhandanam3. Bhashakusumamanjari4. Smrititattvamani5. EkaslokivyakhayaNumber of participants – 35Scripts taught – Sharada & NewariText edited:ManastirikaraprakaranaConservation Workshops (Preventive and Curative)(1st December 2010 – 31st March 2011)Sl.No.Name of the Workshop Venue Date1. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshop2. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshop3. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshop4. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshop5. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshop6. Preventive Conservation and AwarenessWorkshopAbrol Manuscripts and Rare Books LibraryJammu, J & KGovt. DSRMVPG Sanskrit University, RaipurChhattisgarhShri Vadiraja Research Foundation, UdupiKarnatak27 – 31December, 201018 – 22January, 201117 – 22March, 2011Patna Museum, Patna, Bihar 2 – 6March, 2011Kundkund Jnanpith, Indore 7 – 11March, 2011Bhgolal Leherchand Institute of IndologyDelhi23 – 27March, 20117. Curative Conservation Internship Workshop INTACH, Bhubaneswar, Orissa 23 November –7 December, 20108. Curative Conservation Internship Workshop NRLC, Lucknow, U.P. 30 November –14 December 20109. Curative Conservation Internship Workshop Tamilnadu Govt. Museum, Chennai 14 - 28February, 201110. Workshop to Create Resource Pool INTACH, Lucknow 20 – 24December, 201011. Workshop on Curative Conservation Manipur State Archives, Imphal 10 -24January, 201112. Workshop on Conservation of IllustratedManuscriptsHimachal State Museum, Shimla 22 - 26February, 201113 Workshop on Rare Support Materials Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute,Jodhpur22 – 24March, 2011National Mission for Manuscripts

Dasa, Kramadishwara Acharya, NityanandaPandit, Jayadeva Acharya, Jadunatha Simha,Bhubaneswar Mishra and Bipra DivakaraDasa. Apart from them, manuscripts in thisCollection are treasure troves of thoughts andimaginations of a large number of scholarsflourished well with their poetic genius andcontributed a lot for the development of theliterary world with their intuitions and creativewritings.Glimpses of the CollectionSubject-wise, the manuscript collection ofParija Library may be classified under Veda,Abhidhāna, Alańkāra, Ayurveda, Darśana,Dharmaśāstra, Gaņita, Jyotişa, Nāţaka, Purāņa,Kāvya, Tantra and Vyākaraņa. The Libraryhas a unique collection of Vedic manuscripts,although the number is not so high. Vedicheritage is the source of religion, culture,tradition, knowledge, wisdom, science andtechnology in India. Especially in easternIndia, ceremonies and rituals are celebratedfollowing Vedic ideas and ideals. But theefforts to collect and publish manuscripts onVedic studies have been much less than what itshould be. Some important Vedic manuscriptsof Parija Library collection are- Sayanacharya’sKāņvasa hitā, and commentaries of JaleswarMishra, Bhaskaraparibrajaka and HaldharMishra. There are also manuscripts on thePaipalādasa hitā of the Atharvaveda andmanuscripts related to the Upanişadas.The Library has a good collection of tantricmanuscripts and if exploited fruitfully thesemanuscripts can go a long way to unfurlnew dimensions of tantric system, beliefsand practices as developed in ancient Orissa.Orissan tantrism, its basic characteristicsand the influence of different schools like,Vaişņava, Jaina, Buddhist, Siddha, Nātha, Śaivaand Śākta are highlighted in these manuscripts.Durgotsavacandrikā, Kumārītantra, Tantrasāra,Yajanacandrikā, Śāradārcanatarańgīņi,Śyāmārcanapaddhati, Śyāmāharaņapaddhati,Tāriņitantra, Sundarītantra, Sammohanatantra,Yoginīsādhanā, Muņ amālātantra Vārāhītantra,Kālītantra, Rudrajāmala, Udāmareśvaratantraand Ańgirasakalpa etc. are some of the mostimportant Tantra manuscripts available in thiscollection.Manuscripts on Puaranas, like-Puruşottamamāhātmya, Kapila Sa hitā,Mukticintāmaņi, Nīlādrimahodaya, Ekāmracandrikāand Arkakşetramāhātmya etc.available in Parija Library represent thecontribution of Orissan scholars in the fieldof Sanskrit writings. Other writings on thePuranas, like- Bhāgavata, Bhakticintāmaņi,Bhāgavatasandarbhaţīkā and Śivapurāņaţīkāetc. also highlight the development of Puranicliterature in Orissa.Manuscripts related to Dharmaśāstra arealso available in the collection and highlightthe ritualistic tradition and ceremonialpractices in Orissa. Among the authorsof these manuscripts are Shambhu KarBajpayee, Jagannath Bajpayee, ShambhukaraMishra, Nrusingha Bajpayee, Shadashiva,Maguni Pathi, Shatrughna Mishra and MaguniAcharya. Manuscripts like, Jotişţomapaddhati,Durvalakŗtya, Durvalapaddhati, Navagrahapūjā,Nityārcanapaddhati, Pratişţhāviddhi,Prāyaścityadīpikā and Puşkariņīpratişţhā etc.are some of the important manuscripts onDharmaśāstra tradition.Govinda Senapati (Minister of Ananga BhimaDeva, 1211-1238) Anandagiri, KavichandraRay (Author of Bhāratāmŗtamahākāvya),Narasimha Vajpayee (Court poet of MukundaDeva) etc. have enriched the philosophicaltraditions with their writings. Some of thevaluable manuscripts on philosophy availablein Parija Library are Advaitadarśana of SriShankaracharya, Nyāyaratnavalī (RaghunatahDas), Brahmasūtra (Baladev Vidyabhushana),Atmabodha, Atmavodhārthaprakaraņa(Bhagavata Acharya), Tatvakaumudé(Vachaspati Mishra), Tatvaviveka, Tatvabodha,Praparņāmŗta and Mokşasiddhi.The Library has a good collection of Jyotişamanuscripts. Many royal poets have writtenNational Mission for Manuscripts17

Manuscript Collection at Parija Library, Orissaseveral manuscripts related to astrologicaltheories and applications. Among them theworks of Mahamahopadhyaya Dayanidhi Nanda(Śiśuvodhinī), Jagyna Mishra (Jyotişacintāmaņi),Yogi Praharaja (Smŗtidarpaņa), DhananjayaAcharya (Pālakapañji and Jyotişacandrodaya)and Maguni Pathi (Mandārthavodhinī)etc. are noteworthy. Other manuscriptsrelated to Jyotiśa are Avadhūtasāgara,Ududaśāpradīpa (Parasara), Karmavipāka(Vira Simha), Grahacakra , Jātakacandrikā(Prana Mishra), Jātakakarma (RaghuvarSingh), Jyotişacandodaya (Pitambar Rath)Jyotisasārasańgraha (Gadadhar Nayak),Jyotişaśāstra (Bholi Das), Jyotişamuktāvalī(Mahamahopadhyaya), Pañcasvarāvidhāna(Prajapati Das)), Ratnakaumudī (DasrathiMishra), Siddhāntabhāsvatī (SatyanandaAcharya), Siddhāntasāra (Srikara Satapathy),Siddhāntaśiromaņi (Daibagyan Nilakantha) andSvarodayaţīkā by Narahari Mishra.Besides these, there are a number ofmanuscripts on mathematics and Ayurveda.The library has 472 manuscripts on Kāvya andNāţaka, out of which 36 manuscripts are basedon Gītaģovinda.There are 70 manuscripts on Alańkāra (Sl.no. 3098-3168) and some of the importantmanuscripts, i.e. Kāvyaprakāśa by MamataAcharya, Sāhityadarpaņa by Viswanatha Kavirajaetc. are also available in this collection.The collection also includes some illustratedmanuscripts, which depict the invaluabletradition of Orissan art and culture. Palmleaves,handmade papers and thin wooden planks wereused as materials and different indigenouscolours were used in these paintings. Most ofthese illustrations are related to stories fromRāmāyaņa, Bhāgavata, Mahābhārata, Kŗşņalīlā,Gītagovinda, and Daśāvatāra Manuscripts. Someof the manuscripts are also illustrated withdiagrams and sketches. Thus, the collection isunique with its contents and highlights variousaspects of knowledge - Grammar, Philosophy,Poetics, Ayurveda, Mathematics, Astrology,Drama, Epic, Purana, Music, Architecture andother diverse aspects of Indian art, literatureand culture. This collection is rich in quantity18 National Mission for Manuscripts

and quality and represents the height ofIndian cultural and literary tradition.Publications of Parija LibraryTo facilitate study and research, UtkalUniversity published a catalogue ofmanuscripts based on the above collection.This Descriptive Catalogue was published bythe financial assistance by National Archivesof India in 1958 and it is divided into twoparts - Descriptive and Alphabetical.This Descriptive Catalogue comprises variousaspects of the manuscripts, like- name, number,subject, collection number, title, name of theauthor, category, script, language, length,folios, lines, nos. of letters, condition, statusand period etc. This descriptive catalogue isa source of information about the collectionand comprises basic information relatedto the manuscripts. The University has alsopublished some of the important manuscriptsof this collection, like- Hariva śapurāna andCaurāśiājñā etc. The Mādalāpāñji was alsopublished by Utkal University.Research and Service to theScholarsAs a centre for study and research activitiesthe manuscript unit provides services relatedto publication of manuscripts and researchwork on selected manuscripts by in-housescholars and scholars from diverse branchesof art and culture.The Post-Graduate Department of Sanskritof Utkal University has introduced a practicalcourse on documentation of selectedmanuscripts, where research scholars ofMaster of Philosophy Degree have to preparea report on the documentation of selectedmanuscripts.Preservation of ManuscriptsThe manuscript collection of Parija Libraryhighlights the creative genius of great scholarsand heritage of Orissan art and Culture. Dueto climatic condition and other causes thecondition of some of the manuscripts aregetting deteriorated. To preserve this valuablesource of heritage and culture, Utkal Universityhas started a project for the conservation ofmanuscripts in association with Orissa StateMuseum, a Manuscript Conservation Centreof the National Mission for Manuscripts.Future ProjectsIn order to develop study, research andpublication of manuscripts, the centre hasplanned to undertake necessary actions,like- publication of a descriptive catalogue,preservation and digitization of manuscriptsand publication of rare manuscripts. Thecentre is in constant touch with Orissa StateMuseum and National Mission for Manuscripts.The centre has contributed a lot for themanuscript heritage of Orissa. Proper utilizationof this collection in research will bring to lightthe ancient wisdom hidden in the manuscriptsand will prove to be a source of inspiration forthe students of art, culture and heritage.References:1. A Descriptive-Alphabetical Catalogueof Manauscripts, Utkal University, ParijaLibrary, Bhubaneswar, Orissa.2. Interview of Sri Kedareswara Mishra,In-Charge of Manuscript Section, UtkalUniversity by the author on 14th/15thJuly,20113. http://www.utkal-university.org4. Photographs by the authorKishor Kumar Tripathy is a ResearchScholar, Post-Graduate Department ofSanskrit, Utkal University, OrissaNational Mission for Manuscripts19

Kohala and JagadekamallaPadma SugavanamKohala is an ancient authority on Nāţya. He isbelieved to be a contemporary of Bharata andis credited with being the founder and pioneerof minor dramatic forms called Uparūpaka-s.The original treatise of Kohala is unavailabletoday and therefore, information about hisviews is gathered from manuscripts whichhave been attributed to him, as well as fromlater lakşaņagrantha-s wherein he is quoted.Jagadekamalla (alternatively called Pratāpa)was a Cālukyan king who ruled Kalyāņ between1138 and 1151 C.E. and in this period composed avaluable work on music titled ‘Sańgītacū āmaņi’.The present paper is an attempt to determinethe relationship between the works of Kohalaand Jagadekamalla.Kohala and his WorksThe very first reference to Kohala is found inNāţyaśāstra wherein he is mentioned as oneof Bharata’s hundred sons. Subsequently,several works like Bŗhaddeśī, Abhinavabhāratī,Sańgītakalānidhi, Sańgītasudhā, etc. refer to orquote from the work of Kohala. On scrutiny,these references appear to come from morethan one hand (all probably going under thename of Kohala) who belong to differentperiods. Apart from references found inpublished works, there are six manuscripts andone published work titled Kauhalīya-śikşā whichare attributed to Kohala. In addition to theseprimary sources, there are also referencesto Kohala made by modern scholars suchas P. V. Kane, S. K. De, M. Krishnamachariar,Dr. V. Raghavan, Mandakranta Bose and others.These scholars have also provided valuableinsights into the works of Kohala.On an examination of the references andquotations of Kohala that have been collectedfrom published works, it can be found that thereis no correspondence with those material andthose which are available in Sańgītacū āmaņi(Printed or Manuscript form). Therefore, thisstudy will analyse the relationship betweenKohala and Jagadekamalla based on themanuscripts attributed to Kohala. A point to benoted in this context is that all the unpublishedworks attributed to Kohala belong to a periodafter the 14th Century C.E. Therefore Kohala(the contemporary of Bharata) can be ruled outas the author of these works. These representthe work of much later Kohala(s). This studywill involve only those later Kohala(s).Jagadekamalla –Sańgītacū āmaņiJagadekamalla was the son of the CālukyanKing Someśvara (1131 C.E.) who is the author ofthe work Abhilaşitārtha-cintāmaņi (otherwiseknown as Mānasollāsa). Jagadeka is the authorof Sańgītacū āmaņi. This text is available fromthree different sources.i. Printed EditionThe edition of Sańgītacū āmaņi has beenmade from a single manuscript (BORI, Acc. No.9892) by Pt. D. K. Velankar. The printed edition(referred to henceforth as SC) containsmaterial under the following heads Introductory chapter – Definition of DeśīSańgīta, three types of Svara, Definitionof Nāda etc. Prabandhādhyāya –Lists the names of101 Prabandhas20 National Mission for Manuscripts

Rāgādhyāya – Lists the names of RāgasVādyādhyāya – Only three verses are foundNŗttādhyāya – MissingTālādhyāya – Available in detailii. ManuscriptsManuscripts of Sańgītacū āmaņi are availablein the Mysore Oriental Research Institute, thedetails of which are as follows:found in this book do not represent anyquotations on the subject of dance.SC, SC-BK and SC-Ms – AComparisonThe pictures of Jagadekamalla that emergefrom SC, SC-BK and SC-Ms appear to bedifferent. Firstly, term used in SC to indicateS. No. Name of the Text Source Source No. Material Lang/Script Folios1. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-105/1 PL Skt – Telugu/Kannada 542. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-1298/1 PL Skt – Telugu/Kannada 1543. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-5081 PL Skt – Kannada 14Of these, the mss. P-105/1 andP-1298/1 contain material of works suchas Sańgītasudhākara, Abhinayadarpaņam,Bharatārņavam and Bŗhaspatidarpaņam.Sańgītacū āmaņi is not to be found in eitherof these codices. The mss. P-5081 (referredto henceforth as SC-Ms) contains thetext of Sańgītacū āmaņi. Here, a detailedexposition of the Prabandhādhikaraņam, abrief Tālādhikaraņam and two folios of anincomplete Rāgādhikaraņam are found. It isinteresting that SC-Ms contains much materialthat is not to be found in SC and vice versa.iii. BharatokośaIn addition to the printed edition andthe manuscripts, information regardingSańgītacū āmaņi is available in Bharatakośa ofM. Ramakrishna Kavi (referred to henceforthas SC-BK). SC includes many such verses ofJagadeka as footnotes, which are found inBharatakośa especially in the chapters onPrabandha and Rāga. There are a little over200 entries of Jagadekamalla in Bharatakośa.It is interesting to note that M. R. Kavi, inthe introduction of Bharatakośa, mentionsthat the chapters on Tāla, Rāga and Nŗtta ofSańgītacū āmaņi are available 1 . But the entries1 Bharatakośa, M. Ramakrishna Kavi, Intro, p.iva chapter is called ‘Adhyāya’, while SC-BK andSC-Ms use the term ‘Adhikaraņa’. Whereas D. K.Velankar says that the entire chapter on danceis unavailable, but M.R.Kavi is of the opinionthat it is available. While SC merely lists outthe names of 101 prabandha-s, Bharatakośaoffers the lakşaņa ślokas for twenty two ofthese. SC-Ms also has explanatory verses onthe Prabandha-s, but there does not seemto be much of a match between this ms. andSC-BK. The verses in SC-Ms relating to ‘Mātŗkā’are also found in SC. In the chapter on rāga,SC just mentions the names of 29 rāgaswhereas M. R. Kavi gives us the lakşaņa-s ofnearly 100 rāga-s. SC-Ms has two folios whichhas rāgalakşaņa-s. On comparison with SC-BK,nearly ten matches are found. The rāga chapteris incomplete; therefore only limited materialis available for study and comparison. SCand SC-Ms have almost entirely matchingexpositions of the 101 deśī tālas whereasSC-BK presents different verses.Although there is much overlapping materialof Sańgītacū āmaņi amongst these threesources, each of them also provides materialwhich is not to be found in the other two. Inother words, no single source contains all thematerial of Sańgītacū āmaņi. Further, suchvariances in these sources are a clear indicationthat the manuscripts of Sańgītacū āmaņiNational Mission for Manuscripts21

consulted in each of these cases were different.Though the editor of SC has included manyexcerpts from Bharatakośa as footnotes, thisrepresents only a small part of all the materialof Sańgītacū āmaņi available in Bharatakośa.Kohala and JagadekamallaA comparison of the works of these twoauthors reveals that the unpublished worksattributed to Kohala contain common materialwith Sańgītacū āmaņi. It is interesting to notethat all these works belong to a period afterthe 14th Century C.E. which is nearly twocenturies post-Sańgītacū āmaņi. These worksare as follows:Abhinayaśāstram/KohalīyamDattilakohalīyamKohalarahasyamKohalamatamBharataśāstramTālalakşaņamOf these, the manuscript titledAbhinayaśāstram Kohalīyam is unavailabletoday. The next manuscript titledDattilakohalīyam contains no informationrelating to Sańgītacū āmaņi. The remainingfour manuscripts bear some claim to a relationwith the work Sańgītacū āmaņi. These areexamined individually.Kohalarahasyam andKohalamatamKohalarahasyam is available in a singlemanuscript (GOML R787). The thirteenthchapter of Kōhalarahasyam is found in the10 available folios of the manuscript Thework begins with the heading Rāgalakşaņam.The narrative in this work is in the form of adialogue between Kohala and Matańga, whereMatańga poses questions regarding the timetheoryof rāga-s to Kohala, and the latteranswering through śloka-s that follow. Thereare also other instances of treatises beingpatterned in a similar manner. For example thework Aumāpatam is presented as a dialoguebetween Śiva and Pārvatī. In Kohalarahasyam,the classification of rāgas into sūryāmśa andcandramamśa, pum, strī and napumsaka rāgas,śuddha and sańkīrņa rāgas, pūrņa, şadava andaudava ragas, association of rāgas with rasaetc. have been mentioned in this manuscript.There is also a short segment giving list ofpuruşa rāgas and their corresponding strīrāgas after which the work ends abruptly. Theentire text of Kohalarahasyam is found in themanuscripts of Kohalamatam.The work Kohalamatam is available in theform of paper and palm leaf manuscripts inthe ORI Kāriavaţţom in Thiruvananthapuram. 2(References to Kohalamatam in this paperrepresent those found in the manuscriptT822). The manuscript of Kohalamatamcontains material on Svara, Rāga, Gīta, Tāla,Vādya and Nŗtya. The descriptions of theaspects of svara and tāla are found to be ingreat detail. In the section relating to the 101deśī tāla-s, three separate lists are found. Thenames of the tālas is enumerated first, thisis followed by the definition of tāla-s alongwith Pāţākşaras, subsequently alańkāras forthese tālas in svara-form can be found. Thecontent of Kohalamatam coincides to a greatextent with that of another manuscript titledSvaratālādilakşaņam and also shares a lot ofmaterial with another work titled Tālavidhikal.As mentioned earlier, it must be borne inmind that the author of Kohalamatam isquite different from the Kohala mentionedin earlier works like Nāţyaśāstra, Bŗhaddeśī,Abhinavabhāratī and such others. Concepts suchas Sūryāmśa-Candramāmśa rāga-s mentionedin Kohalamatam and Kohalarahasyam could bedated around the 16th Century C.E. Hence,it is possible that this work was written by ‘AKohala’ who could have lived in that time period(i.e. around 16th Century C.E.). Further there isno introduction or colophon in the manuscriptwhich would establish that Kohala was indeedthe author of this work.2 ORI Tvm- PL-12643,C140B,C1724, Paper-T82222 National Mission for Manuscripts

The title ‘Kohalamatam’ is the only indicationavailable at present to substantiate thistheory. Since Kohalamatam contains thematerial of Kohalarahasyam, they have beenstudied together. The title of this manuscriptnamely ‘Kohalamatam’ could also indicatethat this work is a compilation of the viewsand opinions of Kohala. Further, the Kohala-Matańga- samvāda which forms part of bothKohalamatam and Kohalarahasyam could signifythat these works were not ‘written’ by Kohalabut are compilations of his theories. The abovementioned reasons make Kohala’s connectionwith these works rather uncertain.Kohalamatam andSańgītacū āmaņiThe table below presents the common materialbetween Kohalamatam and Sańgītacū āmaņiwhich has been studied under the heads -Svara, Jāti, Rāga, Tāla, Prabandha and Vādya.Subject Kohalamatam SC SC-Ms SC-BKSvara -Ŗşabha Fol.2 Line 19 - p.88Fol.3 Line 6 - p.88Fol.4. Line 11 - p.88Jāti – Dhyāna śloka - Şādjī Fol. 8 Line 1-4 - p.690Jāti – Dhyāna śloka – Ārşabhī Fol.8 Line 5-8 - p.57Jāti – Dhyāna śloka –Gāndhārī Fol.8 Line 9-12 - p.174Jāti – Dhyāna śloka – Madhyamā Fol.8 Line 13-16 - p.467Jāti – Dhyāna śloka- Pañcamī Fol.8 Line 17-20 - p.346Jāti – Dhyāna śloka – Dhaivatī Fol.9 Line 1-4 - p.299Jāti – Dhyāna śloka – Nişādī Fol.9 Line 5-8 - p.337Svaramantra - Şadja Fol.9 Line 9-13 - p.688Svaramantra - Ŗşabha Fol.9 Line 13-17 - p.89Svaramantra – Gāndhāra Fol.9 Line 17 - Fol.10 Line 2 - p.173Svaramantra – Madhyama Fol.10 Line 2-6 - p.465Svaramantra – Panñcama Fol.10 Line 6-11 - p.346Svaramantra – Dhaivata Fol.10 Line 11-15 - p.298Svaramantra – Nişāda Fol.10 Line 15-19 - p.337Rāga- Time theory – Morning Fol. 13 Line 19 - Fol.14 Line 2 - p.405Rāga- Time theory – Prahāra Fol.14 Line 19 - Fol.15 Line 5 - p.404Rāga- Time theory – Evening Fol.14 Line 19 - fol.15 Line 5 - p.404Prabandha p.21 Lines 1-3, 6-8, 13-20,p.22 line 1-8Fol.42 Line5,Line8-12Tāla/Laya Fol.23 Line 10-11 p.7 sl.58 -101 Tālas list Fol.24 Line 4 - Fol.25 Line 14 p.8 sl.65- p.9-sl.79bPrastāra Fol.26 Line 3 - Fol.26 Line 9 p.8 sl. 60-63b -101 Tālas – lakşaņa Fol.26 Line 10 -Fol.43 Line 1 p.9 sl.79c -p.19sl.132Fol.52-52ALine3101 Tālas- svara alañkāra-s Fol.44 Line 18 - Fol.50 Line 18 -Vādya fol.54 Line 9-13 p. 69 sl.1-- p.70 sl.3b--National Mission for Manuscripts23

On the subject of the svara ŗşabha, thefollowing entry is found in BharatakośaΩ"kHk%mn~xhFkk;kLleqRiUuks Ω"kHkks jf¥trLoj%A'kqdfi¥tjo.kksZ∑;a Ω"kHkks of∫nSor%AAcz∫e.kk dfFkr% iwo±A ohjjkSÊk⁄qrs"kq Áo`Ÿk%A f'kjl%mfRFkr%A luUnks Ωf"k%AÁfr"BkPNUn%A ljLoR;f/knsorkA dqyhjs foJkeUr%Adqyhj%] ddZV%AΩ"kHkfL=JqfrLrkyqewys rL;kfi laHkokr~AeTtk/kkRofXutks ukn Ω"kHkfL=Jqfr% Le`r%AAΩ"kHkL; 'kkd}hi%frÚks/keU;ks o/kZU;ks eTtk;k ukfHkekfJrk%ArLekapplekRokfJrRosu Ω"kHkfL=JqfrHkZosr~AAOnly three half-verses from the above entryfrom SC-BK are available in Kohalamatam. Andeven here, they are found to occur in differentplaces and as part of different verses.The common entries relating to the timetheory of rāgas are the only ones which findplace both in the manuscripts of Kohalamatamand Kohalarahasyam. SC-BK has an accountof the lakşaņa-s of 100 rāga-s, whereasSC reflects only the names of 29 rāga-s(without Lakşaņas) and SC-Ms around ten(with raāgalakşaņa-s). The lakşaņa-s of someof these rāga-s, as found in Bharatakośa aregiven as footnotes in SC. Even this list of 29rāga-s does not match exactly with the entryin Kohalamatam. There are some rāgas such as‘Gatih’ which are listed in SC but not found inKohalamatam. Kohalamatam does not containlakşaņa-s of rāga-s. The names are merelylisted out. However it can be noted that themanuscript of Svaratālādilakşaņam mentionedearlier contains the lakşaņa-s of some ofthese rāga-s. On an examination of therāga-s mentioned in SC-BK and Kohalamatamquite a few variances can be noticed. Of the100 rāga-s described in SC-BK, the names(with minor changes) of 75 can be found inKohalamatam. There are 23 rāga-s in the listfound in Kohalamatam which do not matchwith any of the rāga-s mentioned in SC-BK.On the subject of prabandha-s, SC, SC-BK andSC-Ms have much material, but Kohalamatamshares common material only with SC-Ms.The lakşaņa-s of tāla-s along with the detailsof the ańga-s furnished in Kohalamatam andSC (and SC Ms.) are found to match. SC-BKalso provides us with lakşaņa-s of a few tāla-s.Though these entries are found under the nameof Jagadeka, there are some differencesbetween these and the ones found in SC, andtherefore consequently those of Kohalamatamtoo. For instance, in the case of the tāla calledŚarabhalīla, the definition that is found in SC aswell as Kohalamatam reads thus.^y?kqÊqZrprq"da ykS L;krka 'kjHkyhydsA A0000AA*The corresponding reading found inBharatakośa is^ykS n~okS prqÊZrh ykSn~okS rkys 'kjHkyhydsA AA0000AA*It is to be noted that the difference liesnot in mere phrasing of the lakşaņa, butBharatakośa appears to include an extra laghuin the beginning of the tāla. This is not to befound in the entries in SC or Kohalamatam.Among the 101 Deśī tāla-s mentioned inKohalamatam, alańkāra-s for around 40 tālascan also be found in Bharatakośa. Thereare minor variances of hrasva and dīrghabetween the entries of Kohalamatam andthat of Bharatakośa. SC does not mention thealańkāra-s for any of the 101 Deśī tāla-s.The section on instruments in Kohalamatambegins with vādya-prakārāh with the followingverses.rra p forra pSo ?kua lqf"kjeso pAxkua pSo rq i¥pSrr~ i¥p'kCnk% ÁdhfrZrk%AArr p rfU=ra fon~;kr~ forra eq[koknue~A?kua p dkaL;rkykfn lqf"kja ok;qiwfjre~AAxkua pSo rq i¥pSrr~ i¥p'kCnk% brhfjrk%AAThese verses can be found in p.69-70 of SC.Subsequently, Kohalamatam also has a mentionof the name of Pratāpa while enumerating theavanaddha-vādya-s.24 National Mission for Manuscripts

Folios from Tālalakshanam (SD12992), GOML, Chennai^iVg'p gqMqDdk p dqMqDdk ?kVla rFkkABDdk p ef.M

a work composed in the 12th century C.E.,whereas Tālalakşaņam deals with the conceptof Tāladaśaprāņa-s, which was a 16th centuryphenomenon. The subject matter that istaken up for elaboration in each of theseworks is different. Whereas Sańgītacū āmaņideals with the 101 deśī tāla-s, Tālalakşaņamdeals only with the daśaprāņa-s. Thereforethere is not too much common material foundbetween these two works. However there isone entry that is found in both these works. Itruns as follows:flfo".kq yksdxq#a Á.kE; f'kjlk "k.ekxZlUn'kZde~dhfrZÁhfrdja tuL; y?kquk dkysu dkeÁne~AlsO;a ln~;frfHk/k`ZrIyqrina U;klkRryksd=;e~rkykuka dFk;kfe y{k.kega iwoksZDr'kkL=ÿekr~AAfiThis is a nāndī verse found in the manuscriptsof Tālalakşaņam. The very same verse is alsofound in the Tāla-prakaraņam of SC 4 and SC-Ms 5 .It is common practice to indirectly indicate allthe main subjects that are to be handled ina work, through the mańgalācaraņa/nāndīśloka. This particular verse, speaks of somegeneral technical aspects of tāla, and not thedaśaprāņa-s in particular. Therefore, it is morelikely to be a verse from Sańgītacū āmaņi whichwas handed down through many generationsand later got incorporated into the work ofTālalakşaņam too.Further, this work, though attributed to Kohala,has been discovered to be the original treatiseof Acyutarāya (1530-1543 C.E.), brother of SriKŗşņadevarāya of the Vijayanagara empire 6 .Acyutarāya is believed to have composed anauthentic work on tāla titled Tālakalābdhi orTālakalāvārdhi. The manuscript of Tālalakşaņamhas been identified as this very work. Thus thevery connection between Tālalakşaņam andKohala has been determined as erroneous andas a result, its relationship with Jagadekamallain this paper also becomes inconsequential.4 SC-p.6, sl.425 SC-Ms Fol.51 Line 126 Tālakalābdhi of Acyutarāya: Discovery of a new work onTāla, Dr. V. Premalatha, The Music Academy journal 2009,Vol 80, p.98Bharataśāstram andSańgītacū āmaņiBharataśāstram is yet another manuscriptattributed to Kohala. It is a single palm leafcodex available in the GOML (Acc. No. R20175).The different manuscripts contained in thiscodex are Svaramelakalānidhi of Rāmāmātya,Tālalakşaņam (Talakalābdhi) of Acyutarāyaand Sańgītacū āmaņi of Jagadekamalla.In addition, there is also a portion of text,title(s) and author(s) which is yet to be identified.There are 13 folios (Fol. No 176-188) containingmaterial from Sańgītacū āmaņi. This entiresection deals with dance. The name of Pratāpaoccurs in the section dealing with Karaņa-s inFol. 181b. The reading is as follows:fl,oe"VksRrja Li`"Va dj.kuka 'kr ÿekr~AleqfÌ"V ;Fkk 'kkL=a Árkii`fFkohHkqtkAAbfr dj.k y{k.ke~fiThe following colophon is seen in Folio No.188bflbfr Jh egkjktkfËkjkt JheRÁrkipÿofrZtxnsdeYyfojfprs l≥~xhrpwMke.kkSu`R;kf/kdj.ka lekIre~AAfiIn contrast to the above colophon, SC-Ms readsthus – ^bfr l≥~xhrpwMke.kkS rkˇkf/kdj.ka n~forh;e~*Here, Jagadeka calls the chapterNŗtyādhikaraņam, whereas in the printededition, the chapters are called Adhyāya-s.SC-Ms also uses the term Adhikaraņam, butthe colophon herein appears minimalistic.On the other hand, chapters in SC are calledAdhyāya-s.Some subjects dealt with in this section ofBharataśāstram are:i. Nikuţţakaii. Recakaiii. 108 Karaņa-siv. Recitav. Ańgahāravi. Anñcita26 National Mission for Manuscripts

vii. Nrtyapraśamsāviii. Sabhāpatilakşaņamix. Sabhya-lakşaņamx. Sabhā-lakşaņamxi. Gāyaka-lakşaņamxii. Vādya-lakşaņamxiii. Nartaka-lakşaņamAs mentioned earlier, Pt. D. K. Velankar hasmentioned that the chapter on dance iscompletely unavailable. M. R. Kavi, though heindicates the availability of the dance chapter,does not provide us with any excerpts from itin his Bharatakośa. Therefore this manuscript,which contains the dance chapter, assumesgreat significance.Besides the chapter on dance, the codexBharataśāstram has another connection withJagadeka. The Nāndī verse mentioned earlierin relation to Tālalakşaņam and which is foundin SC, is also found once again in this codex inthe section of unidentified text.The relationship between Bharataśāstram andJagadekamalla (Sańgītacū āmaņi) has thusbeen established, but the relationship betweenthe codex Bharataśāstram and Kohala (who issupposed to be its author) is still unclear. Threeseparate manuscripts which are part of thiscodex have been identified as Svaramelakalānidhi,Tālakalābdhi and Sańgītacū āmaņi. The authorsof these three works have also been establishedbeyond doubt. Therefore, the claim to aconnection with Kohala could only possibly arisefrom the portion of unidentified text. Even inthis section there are some instances, such asthe following:fllnkf'ko% f'kjks cz∫ek Hkjr% dk';iks eqfu%Aer≥~xks ;kf"Vdks nqxkZ'kfDr% 'kknwZydksgˇkAfo'kkf[kyks nfRry'p dEyL; ryLr&;qfoZ && lq jaHkkAuLrqEcq# ukjnkSAvk¥tus;ekr`xqIrkS jko.kks ufUnds'oj%ALokfr x`ˇks nsojkt {k=jkt'p dkgˇ%A#DelsuksËk Hkikyks Hkkstks HkwoYyHkLrFkkA,rs fg ukV~;'kkL=ÁoDrkjks ;qx ÿekr~AAbfr dksgy onue~AAfiThis is a verse of benediction to all thepūrvācārya-s. (Incidentally this verse is foundin Sańgītaratnākara also). At the end of theverse there is a statement saying ‘Iti kohalavadanam’. This perhaps indicates that theseare the words of Kohala as expressed byanother author. Therefore this part of thetextual material does not appear to be thework of Kohala. Hence it is rather difficult tosay that the codex Bharataśāstram has anymore relation to Kohala or Jagadeka apartfrom the presence of the Nŗtyādhikaraņa.ObservationsA comparision of the mss. attributed toKohala with Sańgītacū āmaņi reveals thatthere are several points of commonality inthe available material. In particular, the workKohalamatam contains much material onsvara, rāga, jāti, prabandha, tāla etc. which isalso found in Sańgītacū āmaņi. It is possiblethat Kohalamatam has several interpolationsOne page from restored copy of Tālalakshanam(R7979), GOML, ChennaiNational Mission for Manuscripts27

from the work of Jagadekamalla. But sincethe treatise of Sańgītacū āmaņi is not yetaccessible to us in its entirety, the exactrelationship between these two authorsappears elusive. A clearer picture can beobtained when a critical edition of thecomplete work of Sańgītacū āmaņi is athand and the original work(s) of Kohala areunearthed.Selected Bibliography1. Velankar D K, Sańgītacū āmaņi byKavicakravarti Jagadekamalla, OrientalInstitute, Baroda, 19582. Kavi Ramakrishna M, Bharatakośa, T.T.Devasthanams, 19993. Raghavan V, Collected Writings on IndianMusic- Vol. I and II, Dr. V. Raghavan Centrefor Performing Arts (Regd.) in associationwith Sangeet Natak Akademi, 20074. Easwaran Girija, Kohalarahasyam-Dissertation submitted for the courseof Diploma in Manuscriptology, Dept. OfSamskrit, Univ. of Madras, 20055. Easwaran Girija, A study of threeunpublished texts, Svaratālādilakşaņam-Dissertation submitted for the Degreeof M.Phil, Dept. of Indian Music, Univ. ofMadras6. Premalatha V, Tālakalābdhi of Acyutarāya:Discovery of a new work on Tāla, The MusicAcademy journal, 2009Manuscripts consultedS. No. Title Name of Library Acc. No PL/Paper1. Tālalakşaņam GOML D12992 PL2. Tālalakşaņam GOML R7979 (Restored copy Paperof D12992)3. Tālalakşaņam – Kõhalīyaţīkā SVORI R452 PL4. Bharataśāstram GOML R 20175/SR 8893 PL5. Kohalamatam ORI Tvm 12643 PL6. Kohalamatam ORI Tvm C140B PL7. Kohalamatam ORI Tvm C1724 PL8. Kohalamatam ORI Tvm T822 Paper9. Kohalarahsyam GOML R787 Paper10. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-105/1 PL11. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-1298/1 PL12. Sańgītacū āmaņi ORI Mysore P-5081 PLPadma Sugavanamis a Research ScholorMadras University, Chennai28 National Mission for Manuscripts

Note on a Socio-culturalManuscript of TripuraRavindranath Das ShastriIn the year 1974-75, I was entrusted with thestudy of manuscripts, icons, ancient coinsand inscriptions at Tripura Govt. Museum,Agartala. On my search there at the Museum,I fortunately came across a rare manuscriptwhich dates back to 1577 Saka Era, that is 1655A.D and I took it up for thorough study. .Technical features of the manuscript:Length: 13.7 inchesBreadth: 02.3 inchesThickness: 01 inchesTotal section with cover : 01.7 inchesOuter cover: made of polishedwoodInner pages: made of tree barkNumber of leaves : 53No. of lines in each page : 5 or 6No. of letters in a line : 52 or 53In the colophon of the original manuscript,it is mentioned that this ‘Vajasaneyiupanayana-paddhati’ was composed byMahamahopadhyaya Shri Ramdatta Sharma (ItiMahamohapadhyaya-Shri Ramdatta-Sharmavirachita-vajasaneyiUpanayana Paddhatisamapta). Scribe of the manuscript, ShriGopinath Sharmanah writes: BhubhamastuShakavda 1577, tarikh 10 Asaa Shri GopinathSharmanah swaksaramidamasya kanca Srirastulekhake sada. The scribe invokes Shri orLakshmi. The next line indicates that the scribetook great pains to copy the book. In theopposite side of the post colophon there aretwo words ‘Khandakala Pargana’ which may bethe place of scribe’s abode. Therefore, it canbe concluded that:1. The title of the manuscript is UpanayanaPaddhati2. Author is Mamamahopadhyaya ShriRamdatta Sharma3. Scribe is Shri Gopinath SharmaWritten in Bengali script, this Sanskritmanuscript is meant to propagate theritualistic matters related to Upanayanaof Dashakarma (ten rituals). Among thefollowers of Brahmanical religion, Dashakarmaor ten rituals were essential to maintain adisciplined life style in the society. The scribeof the manuscript, Brahmin Gopinath Sharmaclaimed the popularity of the manuscript. Thefootnotes and side-notes in the manuscriptexhibit the corollaries of the rites and ritualsmentioned. The scribe again warned topreserve the manuscript, with the words:Chaurad raksha jalad raksha/raksha mamshlathavandhanat/evam vadani pustaka. Thismeans: “Let this book be saved from thieves,water and slack knot”.The era attributed by the copier indicates thatthe benevolent monarch of Tripura duringthat period was Maharaja Kalyan Manikya(1626-1664 A.D.). Although ruled by the tribalkings, Hindu/Brahmanical rites and ritualswere in vogue and held in high esteem bythe rulers and ruled in the princely state ofTripura. There is yet another proof of Sanskritbeing the prevalent language in the State forcenturies. Court poets, Pandit Sukreswaraand Baneswara composed the history of thekings of Tripura, Rajaratnakara in Sanskrit asearly as 1458 A.D., hearing the chronologicalhistory in local dialect from the royal priestDurlavendra.National Mission for Manuscripts29

Dr. R.N. Das Shastri (Right) seen deciphering manuscripts of Tripura at R.K. Pur, South Tripura asPrincipal, Tripura Govt. Sanskrit College on 20.10.1991This manuscript is most fascinating so far asthe calligraphic style is concerned and maybe fruitfully used in paleographic research onthe evolution of Bengali letters through theages. The characteristics of the Bengali scriptused points to certain features, viz, f (na)and w (la) are written almost in the samestyle and again there is no difference betweenf (na) and p (ņa). There are remarkablechanges in the pattern of certain letters. Forexample, visarga (:) is written in several formsin the said manuscript, as 2/s/8/. joint-letters(yuktakshar) used in the manuscript are difficultto understand. For example, j÷ (kr) is writtenas _ (hri) and oø (gr) as oÀ (gna) of our time.Numerical digit 5 of Bengali script is featuredas digit 6 with slight difference. In comparison,it may be noted that the epigraphical exhibitof the inscription of Mahadeva temple builtduring the reign of Maharaja Kalyan Manikyaof the same 17th century is quite similar tothe script used in this manuscript.Though there are few insignificant paintingsin the manuscript, still we cannot forget whatProf. Kalyan Ganguly commented upon “thepaintings on manuscripts have preserved theevidence of the continuity of the traditionof Indian painting for a long time”. The socioculturalhistory of the princely state of Tripurais lulled and applauded in the manuscript. It isa store house of the socio-cultural history ofTripura and needs deeper and comprehensivestudy.Rabindranath Das Shastri is retiredPrincipal, Tripura Govt. Sanskrit College,Agartala30 National Mission for Manuscripts

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