Tag: Manuscripts

eGangotri X: Digitizations in SriNagar

On By eGangotri Digital Preservation TrustIn eGangotri, Manuscripts7 Comments

I am back from a short trip to Srinagar and now already on my Way to the World Sanskrit Conference 2015 in Bangkok,Thailand. If anyone is coming there, then do email me, I will be happy to meet them.

Anyone eager to have my Data bring a 2 TB hard drive also, I will do my best to make everyone happy.

I was very lucky to meet many Important People in the Field of Culture in Srinagar . And we digitized a few manuscripts also. But it was unfortunately very short but I did get a lot of tips to be able to explore more of Kashmir fruitfully in Future. And a Team of One Member is now stationed in Srinagar for digitization and hoping to hire atleast one More Person to start work at the Kashmir University Library’s Sanskrit Collection.

The Most Important thing we got to do is meet T.N. Ganjoo ji at his residence and recieve 10 Sharada Manuscripts and One 1919 Publication of Mahartha Manjari edited by T Ganapati Shastri from him.

The Most Important Manuscript which I think we did was the Sanskrit Prose Translation of Lal Dyad. It preserves the Oldest specimens of the Kashmiri Language and many obsolete Kashmiri Words will now be better understood by Scholars through this Manuscript. This is the only manuscript of its kind.

Lal Dyad With Sanskrit Translation – Sharada_Ram Shaiva Ashram_Part1.pdf

and this is the Another Very Important Manuscript we did:

Para Praveshika and Other 11 Manuscripts – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram_3_Part1.pdf

It is a Composite Manuscript with the following texts with 607 pages:

Para Praveshika
Pratyabhijna hridaya
Spanda Vritti Tika
Mahimana ParaH Tika
Vigyan Bhairava
Samba Panchashika
Siva Sutra?
Tantraloke Matrika Chakra Tika ( in 8 folios )
Ram Gita Tika
Nirvana Prakarane Jivan Mukta Nischaye Yogopadeshe Naam ShanaH
Adhyatma Ramayan Uttara Kande Uma Maheshwar Samvade Panchamo’dhyayasya Shri Ram Gita Tika Satika
Anuttaraashtika of Abhinavagupta
Tantraloke Matrika Chakra Tika, this submanuscript seems an intersting unpublished entry. Comments welcome

Manuscript 1:

Spanda Nirnaya Ist Chapter and 1st Page of Second Chapter – Sharada_Ram Shaiva Ashram_1.pdf

Manuscript 2:

Shiva Sutra Vimarshini of Kshemaraja – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram_2

Manuscript 4,

Shiva Sutra Vimarshini Fragment With Notes – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram_4.pdf

Manuscript 5:

Utpala Stotravali with Kshemaraja Tika – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram Manuscript 5_Part1.pdf

Manuscript 6:

Spanda Vivritti of Rama Kantha – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram Manuscript 6_Part1.pdf

Manuscript 7:

Vedic Kalpa Drum Collection of Stotras – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram Manuscript 7_Part1.pdf

image

Vedic Kalpa Drum Collection of Stotras – Sharada_Ram Sh…

Scribd is the world’s largest social reading and publishing site.
View on www.scribd.com
Preview by Yahoo

Manuscript 9:

Bhagavata Gita and Other 10 Manuscripts – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram_9_Part3.pdf

Another Composite Manuscript Contains the following Texts

Snana Vidhi
Sandhya Pasavam(?)
Bhavani Sahasranama
Indrakshi Stotram
Bhadara Mantra
Pancha Stavi
Vishnu Panchayatan Puja Vidhi
Ragya Stotra
Rama Puja or Ram Stotra
Navagraha Stotra
Bhagavata Gita

Manuscript 10:

Fragments of Bhagavat With Notes – Sharada_Ram Shaiv Ashram_10.pdf

Ganjoo Sahib told me that he rescued these fragments from a Panwala for few paisas who was recycling it to wrap his pans.

The 1919 Mahartha Manjari of T Ganapati Shastri:

I have One More Manuscript to share which I will do later as I have to edit it first. At 1500+ pages it is a Vedic Compilation but I am not exactly sure about its contents.
This One Illustrated Manuscript – is from Ishwar Ashram Trust, New Delhi. I had photographed it formerly, now scanned it with Our New Systems to get a Proper Compact PDF.
All Files uploaded can be viewed in the Swami Ram Shaiva Ashram Account created in Scribd:

eGangotri III

On By eGangotri Digital Preservation TrustIn Books, eGangotri, ManuscriptsLeave a comment

Dear All:

We finally completed digitizing at UPSS, Lucknow and my Staff is now in Jammu to commence work in Raghunath Temple Library which has over 4200 Manuscripts.

Our Target of Digitizng all Sharada manuscripts in UPSS is short by around 10-15 Manuscripts and one of the Intriguing entiries under Sharada merely mentioned as “Kashmirika GranthaH” I had been pursuing from Day One but it could never be traced largely because the Manuscript Curator was highly uncooperative.

Since the Original Catalgoers never identified its Title/Author I had hopes of stumbling upon something unique.

Jagadanda Jha Sahib – Librarian UPSS who very kindly introduced us to the Manuscipt Division has said that he will try to provide us with a Digital Copy over Time.

It is regrettable we have only done half of the Work we had the Potential to finish thanks in large Parts to the Curator whose busy schedule Newspaper/Tea/Chat Therapy /Aaraam Yoga on Desk permitted her the Time to open the Almirah only once a Day.

Hence, much as I wanted Peter Freund/Demian Martins/Mark Guruji’s Special Requests we could never make it ( except for 4 Entries from Mark Guruji).

All 155 Manuscripts can be seen here:

https://www.scribd.com/indicmanuscripts
Or at Google Drive
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bw4MoXZjLpcMN19PLURndU5LYmM&usp=sharing

*Ever since, scribd scapped its Collection feature – I am unable to provide Selections.

The Ones we specifically did after my Last Newsletter in Diwali are here:

SharadaPostDiwali

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bw4MoXZjLpcMZU44U2p2a2JDZnc&usp=sharing

28 Manuscripts of Tantragama are in Devanagari :
57 are in Sharada

Interesting Ones amongst the Sharada Ones are:

Abhinavagupta’s Gitartha Sangraha ( Boris for You! )
10 Folios of Ishvara Pratyabhijna Karika of Abhinavagupta ( with unpublished magrginal Notes. )
Yoga Vasishtha of Valmiki ( at 684 Pages and 461 MB )
Bhairava Anukarana Tantra
Bhairava Stambha Tantra
Shiva Tantra
Bhagawat Gita
Martanda MAhatmya ( must be important for the Kashmiri Shaivites given the famous Martand Temple in Indo-Pak Border ) and Mattan a place name which is actually corruption of Martanda.
Nekshma Pratishtha
Two Panchastavis
few folios of Kularnava

Amongst the Devanagari Ones:
Hatha Pradeepika ( Jim M. for you )
some folios of Rudra Yamals ( Dr. Naithani for you ) and
Shyama Rahasya ( The Secrets of the Dark Godess )
The Printed Version of the Book available online at
Shyama Rahasya Tantram

the Introduction says something to the effect that this book is much feared by all and Practitioners scared to mention it but now my audacity and boldness I put it in front of You )

A Few in Gurumukhi which include Bhagawata Dashmam Skandha/Vedanta Prakriya Jana Bodhini/Vedanta Siddhanta Sara/Guru Mahima Prakasha.

I am still not sure if the Vedantic Titles refer to Sanskrit Originals in Gurumukhi Script or Translations. The former I am told is difficult because Gurumukhi lacks the halanta which would render the task of transliterating Skt impossible.

Some others the titles are not known, volunteers who know Gurumukhi can kindly inform me the missing titles

A interesting discovery was a hidden letter in Gurumukhi stamped 1886 with Devanagari and English also seen and the British Stamp in Urdu. Some glimpse of History through this Letter.

Gurumukhi

The Last Leg of Swami Amrit Vagbhava Books/Docs is now over.

The folowing are Letters which various devotees and acolytes had written to him over the Years

Letters of amrit Vagbhava:

Two very interesting documents we found were Sanskrit Letters of Dina Nath Yaksha. Dina Nath yaksha as we all know had a immense Library of Rare Sharada Manuscripts in Srinagar which was unfortunately destroyed by Vandals in the Riots of the 90s.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzs7df1AKxSWYzdVT0dTYmtLRHc/view?usp=sharing

The Letter is written in a very flowing and elegant style and also talks about the Plight of the Community in those days.

Spoke to Several Heads of Museums and Repositories in J&K ( Zahid Sahib, Haroun Rashid Sahib, Shailen Kumar Sahib, Paras Mishra ji ) – there welcome and kindness were truly amazing and rare.

Haroun Rashid Sahib told me that there is a Holy Quran in Sharada !!!

They all have assured me in providing access to there repositories and I hope soon I will get to digitize there Manuscripts as well.

Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan Jammu Campus, 73 Sharada Manuscripts work starts today. Thanks to Devanathan Sir.

Will end this with the Great News that the heart-rending BBC and Other Media Reports of the Complete sabotage of Sri Nagar Museum and destruction of All Manuscripts is not True – Zahid Sahib the Director confirmed on Phone that the only Items damaged were the papier machete items and no Manuscript got damaged !!!!

Zahid Sahib let my Team visit you and digitize the 600 Manuscripts you mentioned before another Flood’s unforgiving assault