Concordance by Maurice_Bloomfield, and
critical editions of the Ramayana and
Mahabharata.
It was the
first public library in Mysore city for
research and editing of manuscripts. The
prime focus was on Indology. The institute
publishes an annual journal called Mysore
Orientalist. Its most famous publications
include Kautilya's Arthashastra, written in
the 4th century B.C, edited by Dr. R.
Shamashastri, which brought international
fame to the institute when published in
1909. Sri Tattvanidhi, is a compilation of
slokas by Krishnaraja Wadiyar III. Three
edited manuscripts Navaratnamani-mahatmyam
(a work on gemology), Tantrasara-sangraha (a
work on sculptures and architecture), and
Vaidashastra-dipika (an ayurvedic text), all
of them with English and Kannada translation
are already in advanced stages of printing.
Two more works, Rasa-kaumudi (on mercurial
medicine) and Paryayapadamanjari (ayurvedic
materia medica) have been edited and
awaiting publication.
The ORI houses over 33,000 palm leaf
manuscripts. The manuscripts are palm leaves
cut to a standard size of 15 cm by 3.5 cm.
Brittle palm leaves are sometimes softened
by scrubbing a paste made of ragi and then
used by the ancients for writing, similar to
the use of papyrus in ancient Egypt.
Manuscripts are organic materials that run
the risk of decay and are prone to be
destroyed by silverfish. To preserve them
the ORI applies lemon grass oil on the
manuscripts which acts like a pesticide. The
lemon grass oil also injects natural
fluidity into the brittle palm leaves and
the hydrophobic nature of the oil keeps the
manuscripts dry so that the text is not lost
to decay due to humidity.
The conventional method followed at the ORI
was to preserve manuscripts by capturing
them in microfilm, which then necessitates
the use of a microfilm reader for viewing or
studying. The ORI has now digitized the
manuscripts which allows the text to be
viewed and manipulated by a computer.
Software is then used to put together
disjointed pieces of manuscripts and to
correct or fill in any missing text. In this
manner the manuscripts are restored and
enhanced. The original palm leaf manuscripts
are also on reference at the ORI for those
interested. |
