Almira 24 Completed:
All 5 Shelves of Almira 24 containing 187 Texts have been completed. Subjects covered included Vedic works, Upanishads, Puranas, some Hindi Translations offering us rare specimens of 19th Cenutry Hindi Prose, and Sanskrit Works in Telugu Script.
All 187 Texts are viewable below:
Mentionables were –
Prabodha Chandrodaya with Hindi Translation
https://archive.org/details/PrabodhaChandrodayaBhashaTikaGulabSingh5407GhaAlm24Shlf4DevanagariNatak
Raj Neeti (Hindi)
https://archive.org/details/RajneetiBhasha5409GhaAlm24Shlf4DevanagariNitiShastra
Sarasawta Prakriya the Grammatical Work with Hindi Tika
https://archive.org/details/SaraswataPrakriyaHindiTikaAnubhutiSvarupacharya5379GhaAlm24Shlf3DevanagariVyakarana
Manusmriti with Hindi Tika
https://archive.org/details/ManusmritiHindiTikaGuljarSharma5434Alm24Shlf5GhaDevanagariDharmaShastra
Ramayanas with Hindi Tika:
https://archive.org/details/RamayanaWithCommentaryRudraDutta5415GhaAlm24Shlf4DevanagariKavya
https://archive.org/details/ValmikiRamayanamRudrdutt5414Alm24Shlf4GhaDevanagariBhaktiKavya
A Maha Kavya by the Kashmirian Mahim Bhatta with a Strange Name: Ravana-Arjuniyam
https://archive.org/details/RavanarjuniyamOfKashmirakaHimBhatta5395GhaAlm24Shlf4DevanagariKavya
An Ayurvedic Text Rasa Ratnakar
https://archive.org/details/RasaRatnakarShriNityaNathSiddha5292Alm24Shlf1DevanagariAyurveda
Report on Sanskrit Documents in Telugu Characters can be seen below
3 Issues of Śrī Magazine(Quarterly from Srinagar) from circa 1930s
First brought to my attention by Demian Martins, the Brazilian Sanskritist based in Vrindavan – it had been a pleasant surprise to know that there had been Sanskrit magazines published from Srinagar.
Inquiries with Shri Kokilu of Delhi apprised me that the magazine was a name he had heard as a child in Kashmir but had never seen any issue.
Just this month at the Jammu residence of the Octogenarian Sanskrit Scholar and Poet, Recipient President’s Award , Shri B.N. Kalla, three issues of Śrī have been found with a publication Date of 1934.
It has among other writings, Sanskrit articles by the polymath Rahul Sanskrityayan and Nityananda Shastri( a famous Sktist from Kashmir of the Early 20th Century.
Shri B.N. Kalla’s family is very kindly allowing us access to his Collection which will include Shri Kalla’s entire oeuvre of which Kashmir Krandanam we have already digitized from Srinagar. Thanks to Kiran Kalla, Son of Shri B.N. Kalla – and Shri Vinod Razdan Sahib for recommending us – and make this happen.
Kalla Sahib’s Text will be made available at the following Link.
Rare Books
51 Rare Books were digitized in this Period.
Most Interesting was this Lahore Publication of 1929 with a Sanskrit Tika Sphota Vimarshini on the First Two Ahniks of Patanjali’s Grammatical Commentary Mahabhashya.
Sphota Theory was first propounded by Bhartrihari in the 6th Century and is a Mystical Theory of Lingusitic Communication.
The following sheds some light on this important Linguistic Concept:
For Bhartrihari, linguistic meaning cannot be conveyed or accounted for by the physical utterance and perception of sounds, so he puts forth the sphota theory: the theory which posits the meaning-unit, which for him is the sentence, as a single entity.
A.C Woolner and his VC-hood of Punjab University is mentioned in the Cover Page.
Durga Saptashati with 7 Tikas 1894:
https://archive.org/details/DurgaSaptashatiWith7Tikas1894NirayaSagarPress
An 1887 English Translation of Naval Kishore Press
Mathematical Text Leelavati (1894)
https://archive.org/details/Leelavati1894WithHindiTikaVenkateshwarPress
Sahitya Mimansa another Text from Pre-Independence Lahore
https://archive.org/details/SahityaMimansaHindiBhavanLahore
Interesting tidbits from the Net
Found this Great Digital Collection of Old and Rare Books by the University of Toronto with 524 Sanskrit Texts
Urdu was the Second Highest Indian Language with 495 Texts:
Main Page of All Digitized Texts from Toronto numbering over 5 Lakhs:
ries of Meditation
eGangotri Digital Preservation Trust 