Yet again a much overdue newsletter after much procrastination as last time.
notable experiences
– meeting in San Francisco with Brewter Kahle. Founder of archive.org and Crusader of Open-Accessing Books
– meeting in San Diego with Sthaneshwar Timalsina ji – Nepalese Shaiva Tantra Master and Celebrity Author of Wisdom Writtings.
notable texts digitized:
The most overwheming news shall be the discovery of 43 folios of Ishvar Pratyabhijna Vivritti of Utpal Dev (ईश्वर प्रत्यभिज्ञा विवृत्ति / उत्पल देव) – a text unavailable to Modern Scholarship except in small portions at National Archives, New Delhi and Maharaja Karan Singh’s Library, Jammu.
These 43 folios are also a fragment of the much sought after Text – but some new portions must be in it – they are currently being examined by the Only Scholar who I have given complete access to : Guruji Prof. Navjivan Rastogi.
The 2/3rds that I have released for the Public now are viewable below:
and the tweet announcement:
The Owner has forbidden being identified. I would also have made the whole text available to everyone as usual but Guruji wants to publish it first so I am obligated to respect his wish.
Readers may note my first work of digitization had happened at Gurujis residence and without any reservations Guruji had given us complete access to his highly curated multi-decade amassed Collection – hence when I reciprocate Gurujis wish I am only repaying a fraction of the debt I and the Indology Community owe him.
Readers would also find enlightenment about a brief history and importance of this Text the Vivritti of Utpal.
Utpal operating in circa 10th Century CE – wrote the Pratyabhijna Karika (ईश्वर प्रत्यभिज्ञा) – the Foundational Text of the School of Recognition in verse (Karikas). He also wrote a short Prose Commentary on it simultaneously the Vritti (वृत्ति). Both these are extant and have been published optimally.
The Vivritti (विवृत्ति) the longer later Commentary on the Karika – had been unkwown to the early pioneers: KSTS et al.
before the behemoth scholar K.C.Pandey – Gurujis’ (Prof. Rastogi) Guruji – through Ishvar Kaul was able to retrieve a transcript from Sharada.
This transcript was never published and the widow of the Late K.C.Pandey never allowed even Prof. Torella to make a copy. nobody knows what happened to the transcript and one of the greatest chapters in Indian Philosophic writting was lost – withheld by the mindless stubborness of a custodian who had no clue what she was refusing or its impact.
This behaviuor is very similar to what me and my team encounter from many custodians of such manuscripts and who put mindless roadbocks to our work – not just denying access but spreading rumours and sheer non-sense. I dont take it personally but who are they hurting.
The Universe however, had alternate plans to the widow’s inconsideration. The Sharada Original of which the transcript was made for K.C. Pandey – was discovered at the National Archives by Prof. Torella and he has published an excellent edition of the fragments.
Based on these fragments, Prof. Torella has declared they represent the single most important mystical work from the Indian Sub-continent. He also noted that Utpal’s scholarship was overshadowed by Abhinava’s more glamorous stature and receded in currency and esteem but with the hindsight of history and modern tools he proclaims they both are the biggest co-equal Giants of Indian Mysticism.
Prof. Torella’s story here:
The 2nd witness of this text in Devanagari with additional material was digitized from Maharaja Karan Singh’s Libray by us – the text had been scribbled in the colophons of a Vimarshini – and identified and published by Prof. Isabelle Ratie ( no not the Consort of Kandarpa the Cupid – who was reduced to ashes by the 3-Eyed One for his cosmic prank; not also the subject of Kalidas’ famous passage the Rati-Vilap (रति विलाप) in his Mahakavya Kumar Sambhav. But our small group at eGangotri did witness a different kind of Ratie-Vilap ( Ratie’s Lament ) – related to delayed release of all folios of Vivritti pending Guruji’s publication – which unlike Lord Siva went un.
Prof. Ratie’s exciting story of the discovery here:
This is the 3rd unique witness of this important work. woefully still only partial.
I just realized something. K.C. Pandey – he will be my Grand Guru through Guruji – first finds it – then I discover it again and Guruji gets to publish it first.
So the lineage in three generation gets to serve Utpal Dev.
Digitzations in Varanasi:
Jangamwadi Math, digitizations have crossed 3000 Titles.
https://archive.org/details/@jangamwadi
743 Titles in Kannada
https://archive.org/details/@jangamwadi?and[]=subject%3A%22Jangamwadi+Kannada%22
190 in Marathi
Notable Digitizations:
This 1835 Edition of Raja Tarangini was the oldest Printed Text we have digitized so far from the Library.
Several Volumes of Hindi Vishva Kosh 1925
https://archive.org/details/@jangamwadi?query=Hindi+Vishva+Kosh
Several Volumes of Maharashtriya Gyan Kosh 1920s
https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Maharashtirya+Gyan+Kosh%22
Mumukshu Bhawan has crossed 4500 Titles.
https://archive.org/details/@mumukshu_bhawan
Notable Texts:
2 Sanskrit Translations of Kabir Das’ Bijak
1882 Yagyavalkya Smriti
1850 Mahabhashya ( Navahnika )
Damaged Partial Sarasvati Kanthabharana. Fonts distinctly 19th Century
1883 Dandak:
https://archive.org/details/RnUW_dandak-1883-by-ganga-vishnu-krishnadas-venkateshvar-press
Srinagar Digitizations
311 Manuscripts were digitized from several parts of Kashmir mostly Sharada.
Some well-known titles amonstst there were:
Ishvar Pratyabhijna Sutra Vimarshini
https://archive.org/details/LmRv_ishvar-pratyabhijna-sutra-vimarshini-3rd-of-4-texts-from-composite-sharada-manus
Abhinavan Tantra Sara
Pratyabhijna Hridaya of Khemraj
Kavya Prakash
Dhvanyaloka
Vedic Manuscripts
Sama Veda
Sama Veda 2
Lalla Manuscript:
and 56 Manuscripts from a Jammu based octagenarian formerly a Kashmiri priest Shri Dina Nath Raina courtesy Sanjay Raina ji
https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Dina+Nath+Raina+Jammu+Collection%22
Rare Books of Mrugendra Vinod Ji, Varanasi.
I was introduced to Mrugendra Vinod ji through my Indian American Friend Vipul Patel ji – his batch mate in Baroda University in the 80s.
Mrugendra jis story is illuminating. He pursued higher education in Computer Engineering back in the days when 3 month certifcate-holders from NIT were finding placement in America during the gold-rush of the IT Revolution. all his colleagues are now American citizens and pursuing the American Dream. Mrugendra ji on the other hand lives a life in oblivion in a kuti in varanasi 2 km from the nearest road. pursuing his passion for the Scriptures.
His 60+ Donations can be seen below which includes several photocopies of manuscripts he collected from different Libraries.
https://archive.org/details/@egangotri_books?and[]=creator%3A%22mrugendra+vinod+ji+collection%22
Misc:
We have now 16+ employees workin in 5 centers.
Our Monthly output is an average 1100 Books/2.5 Lakh pages
Expenses: 3.5 Lakh Rs/month
All credit to Czur Scanners and its average output of 2000 pages/day/scanner
eGangotri Digital Preservation Trust 