Maha: Over 3,400 rare manuscripts in 5 languages, 11 scripts await conservation in Aurangabad varsity

Aurangabad, Apr 21 (PTI) As many as 3,414 rare manuscripts written in five langus and 11 scripts, and which run into over eight lakh ps, await conservation in a city-based university, an official said on Thursday.

se manuscripts are in custody of Kwledge Resource Centre (KRC) of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, he said.

"Rare 3,414 manuscripts containing over eight lakh ps are yet to be conserved. This rare material written in five langus and 11 scripts can be made available to scholars, amateurs and furr generations if it is conserved in time," KRC's director Dr Dharmaraj Veer told PTI.

se manuscripts are very old and ps of some of m are w stuck to each or, he said.

"In order to digitise se rare documents, we first need to conserve m. re are 19 pictorial manuscripts, 39 royal charters, 92 engraved inscriptions, 18 Marathi engraved inscriptions, 48 antiquities and 3,198 or manuscripts," Veer added.

manuscripts are mainly related to Warkari and Mahanubhav sects of Hinduism and date back to period between 15th and 19th centuries. se manuscripts reflect social, cultural and historical life of those times, he said.

manuscripts are written in Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi. y are in Modi, Sundari, Subhadra and Ank scripts, among ors. Most of this material is t published and hence it holds a literary significance, official added.

"We had earlier sent a proposal for conservation of se manuscripts to our university and or institutions. But thing happened on that front so far. We have a plan to conserve and digitise se manuscripts and to develop an art gallery for this rare material. But this entire exercise would cost nearly Rs 4.62 crore," Veer said.

Caretaker of se manuscripts, Chakradhar Koti, said, "This is a precious material and should be maintained for people so that y can study it. topics of se manuscripts are different and contain material related to Mahanubhav sect, saint literature, ayurveda, astrology, mamatics, etc. This material should be conserved in a scientific manner." PTI AW NP NP