Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

Indian subcontinent, as illustrated by the variety of natural
phenomena they mention.
The Vedic culture spread across Central and South
Asia and was a significant contributor to the growth and
development of Asian civilization. Some scholars also
claim the culture extended as far as Europe in prehistoric
times. So as well as its place as a sacred text of the
Hindus, the Rigveda is considered an important text in
studies of comparative religion and mythology, ritual,
anthropology, prehistory and poetry.
The Institute holds thirty manuscripts of Rigveda
from across India. Of these, twenty-nine are written
on paper and one, from Kashmir, is on birch bark.
Several of the manuscripts contain the complete intact
A modern-day printing of the Rigveda �
text of the Rigveda, which is rare. Nevertheless, all are
important in the cultural and social heritage of the world.
Thirteen manuscripts contain one of the oldest available
commentaries on the text, while another five have the
Padapatha, the traditional word analysis of the text. These
aids have helped greatly in interpreting and understanding
the Rigveda.
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