Sunday Reading

New Delhi, 9 September 2009

Raghunath Maha Pustakalaya

STOREHOUSE OF RARE MANUSCRIPTS

By Suraj Saraf

The National Manuscripts Mission, set up by the Centre in 2003, has since been scouting around the country for old manuscripts. It has hitherto been successful in documenting over 38 lakh of the over five million estimated manuscripts so far. Of these, it would be a worthwhile exercise to throw light on the rich treasure trove of old Sanskrit manuscripts in the Raghunath Maha Pustakalaya, in Jammu.

Vedic Samhitas, Brahmanas, rituals and other related works form a very representative collection in this library. These belong to the shruti (what is heard) portion of the Vedas and derive additional value from the fact that a large number of these texts are of old date. This important storehouse of significant ancient Indian literature was the result of yeoman’s job done by Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-1885), who was known for his literary and art tendencies and had even been hailed by some historians as Akbar (Emperor) of J&K.

Singh’s father Maharaja Pratap Singh had commissioned renowned Indologist, Auriel Stein, to prepare a comprehensive library catalogue in early 90’s. But, it was Ranbir Singh’s desire to revive the study of vedic texts, which in his dominion as well as in neighbouring Punjab had practically ceased for centuries. Thus special schools were instituted for the purpose of imparting knowledge of the correct pronunciation of the several samhitas and of teaching the various systems of rituals.

Outlining the genesis of the Raghunath Maha Pustakalaya, Stein had underlined, “The troubled times through which Dogra country (J&K then being ruled by Dogra dynasty) together with the Punjab had passed during the days of Sikh ascendancy (in Punjab) had not been favourable to Sanskrit learning and had little opening for the formation of libraries on the part of the few Pandits of which Jammu could boast during the preceding reign. It was then that Maharaja Ranbir Singh resolved upon the formation of the Raghuanth Temple Library, the scholars entrusted with the task of acquiring manuscripts had to turn their attention chiefly to purchases from other parts of India.”

Interestingly, originally the Maharaja had started his library as a part of unique education complex, which also comprised stately Raghunath Temple cluster (also set up by him) and a Sanskrit teaching institute --Raghunath Mahavidyalaya-- in it “as recommended by Dharamshastras, among other religious endowments for all of which he provided liberal funds.”

Competent Pandits were drawn to the Sanskrit institute (which some years back had been taken over by the Central Government) from different parts of the country. However, among them not a few could lay claim to the real distinction in several shastras, wrote Stein. He pointed out that in the first place the library was intended to meet the needs of the teachers and pupils in the Sanskrit institute and the collection of manuscripts began at the start of Maharaja’s rule in 1857.

However, the library gradually transcended its original limited purposes and through the zeal with which the Maharaja had devoted himself to the collection of manuscript, it has today become indispensable for any researcher in Indology.

As observed by Stein himself, this library contains a “considerable number of works which had been hitherto unknown or only partially accessible or mentioned only in shlokas or mentioned by some other renowned European Indologists, such as Dr. Fits Edward in the “Contribution towards an index to the bibliography of the Indian philosophical system”.

Little wonder then what Stein had observed about Maharaja Ranbir Singh: “Both the Raghunath Temple and the library contained in it, stand forth as solid monuments of two main qualities of his remarkable character -- Pious regard for the inherited religious traditions and enlightened interests in Indian learning.”

When Stein took over the Raghunath Maha Pustakalaya, the material was all helter- skelter and his foremost job was to properly arrange the thousands of manuscripts. He did a splendid job in cataloguing them along with a very elaborate annotation, thanks to his   erudition in Indology, extensive knowledge of other renowned Indologists and their works, and other Sanskrit collections elsewhere. Besides, he was able to make an in-depth comparison and place the manuscripts in a proper perspective.

Other than the wide spectrum of ancient Sanskrit literature, dealing with Vedic texts the library offers scientific and technical literature, grammar, lexicology, prosody, music, rhetoric’s, dramatics, law both religious and civil, Vedanta, yoga, astronomy, astrology, architecture, medicines, epics, puranas, and tantra, etc. However, Stein was particularly attracted by the Vedic treasurers of the manuscripts, which included Samhitas, Brahmanas and related works, vedic rituals and Upanishads.

About the works on vedic rituals, writes Stein, “one finds a considerable collection of manuscripts, which either contain original of individual schools and exegetical texts connected with them or independent treatises and manuals on particular ceremonies.” The number of vedic texts on different subjects is about 716, second only to tantra works which number 1059. However, perhaps quality-wise, this section of dharamshastra “is unmistakably the strongest in the library, on account of the particular interest of the Maharaja for the spread of its study”.

Stein had also noted that among the numerous manuscripts of the Atharvaveda Samhits in this library, the pippalada recension is perhaps “the most valuable of all the existing Bhurja volumes”. Recall that in February last year, the German Ambassador in India, Hieme Richter, had presented a digital copy “the greater treasure of Indian civilization, the Kashmirian Pippalada recession of the Atharvaveda” to Late L.M. Singhvi, President of the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). The original manuscript is in the possession of the University of Tubingen, Germany.

While narrating the manuscript’s journey from India to Germany, he pointed out that it was the first Sharda script manuscript to reach his country in 1870’s and many scholars had learnt the script from it. It was further stated that the manuscript had been obtained from Maharaja Ranbir Singh by the German Indologist Rudolf Van Roth, who upon his death gave it to the library of the Tubingen University. It was said to be one of the only two surviving recensions of the nine known recensions of Atharvaveda, the other being “Shaunka recension”.  Clearly, the Maharaja and his Pustakalaya have helped pass on the treasure of ancient literature to the outside world. –INFA

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