eGangotri 31: Almira 4, Jammu Completes. Manuscripts from Shri Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra, Rare Agamic Books. Manuscripts from Punjab Uni

19 Tuesday Feb 2019

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Dear All:
We are back with more news of our Digitization.
But before everything our Donation Link as always:
Almira 4 Completes in Raghunath Library, Jammu
Out of Total 198 uploads, some interesting Items:
The Katha Sarit Sagar Ocean of Rivers of Stories – the Kashmirian redaction of the now lost Brihat Katha purportedly written in the Barbaric Tongue Paishachi and besides other numerous specialities – has the proto-story for the Alibaba and 40 thieves
An Alchemical Text: Ayurvedic Siddha Yoga from Rasa Chintamani
The Rhetorical Work Alamkar Vimarshini Tika of the Kashmirian Rajanaka Jayaratha
Another Rhetorical Work Alankar-Udaharanama also by Jayaratha
Digitization of All Manuscripts at Sri Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra along with some Rare and Old Texts
All Items digitized from the museum can be seen below.
Summary of Digitization and important items can be read below:
Rare Agamic Books:
Some Rare Items that we found:
Mantra Mahodadhi ( Ocean of Mantras ) published from Calcutta by the Bengali Polymath Jibananda Vidya Sagar in 1892
Studies in Apabhramsha 1935
Agamic Uddhara Kosha or The Secret Tantric Syllabic Code – published by Dr. Raghu Vira in 1938 – a Lahore Publication
Another Lahore Publication from DAV College, 1921
A 1920 Publication from Gaekwad Oriental Series
Manuscripts from Panjab University, Chandigarh
373 Digitized Items all viewable below
Notables:
Multi-Text Manuscript including Shatpanchashika Vivritti by Bhattotpala – Kashmirian Astronomer.
Zafarnama of Guru Govind Singh Maharaj
Lexical Work Madan Mohan Nighantu:
A Love Manual Kamdev Shastra:
Multi Volume Mahabharats and Bhagavata Purana for Epic-Purana Lovers.
The famous Tutinama in Persian – based on Panchatantra.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:
I am told due to the notoriety of Khayyam, Rubaiyat manuscripts are very rare.
Around 85 Items are in Persian but none has been identified as I couldnt find any volunteers to help me out, hence we had no choice other marking them as Persian Manuscript followed by Accession No.
Will be back soon with more news.
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Digitization at Shri Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra

26 Wednesday Dec 2018

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December 2018, we completed all manuscripts and few hundred odd rare Books at Shri Krishna Museum at Kurukshetra. All credit to make this possible goes to Shri R.S. Rana, the very kind hearted Curator – who most liberally allowed us generous permission to digitize without any ado.

It took us around 2.5 months to accomplish this. The Irony was we had gone there for the manuscripts but ended up doing a lot of totally rare printed Books – especially Urdu Books that were donated from a Library in Nabha Punjab.

All books can be viewed here:
https://archive.org/details/@shri_krishna_museum

The folllowing Texts are in Sharada:
https://archive.org/details/MiscStotrasInSharadaShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra
https://archive.org/details/KushmandaAndSaamvatsarikamShraadhaSharadaShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

A Manuscript in Persian – that was stocked in the Book Library:

https://archive.org/details/PersianHandWrittenDocumentShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

Biblioetheca Indica 1868 Publication The Muntakhabh Al Lubab in 10 Volumes:

https://archive.org/details/TheMuntakhabAlLubabYear1869ShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

Memoirs of Mughal Nobility, Polyglot Scholar, Hindi Poet Abdurahim Khankhana, 1927 Publication:

https://archive.org/details/MemoirsOfAbdurRahimKhanKhanehRoyalAsiaticSocietyr1927ShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

Bhaktamala in both Hindi and Urdu:
https://archive.org/details/Bhaktamala1884ShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra ( 1884 )
https://archive.org/details/BhaktaMalaUrduShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

Yagyavalkya Smriti Urdu Translation
https://archive.org/details/YagyavalkyaSmritiUrduTranslationShriKrishnaMuseumKurukshetra

Countless similar treasures of rarest of rare Items.

eGangotri 30: Almira 3 in Jammu Completed. Scanning Work Starts at Punjab University. Books from Collections of Pran Nath Kaul /Toshkhaniji/Prem Sagar Shastriji

30 Thursday Aug 2018

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Punjab University Chandigarh Scanning Begins and 146 Items are ready for Viewing
 
All credit to making this Center a possibility goes to Prof Shankarji Jha and Mrityunjay Kumar ji the Manuscript Dept Officer. It took me no convincing to Mrityunjaya Kumar ji as Prof Jha did all the background introduction of our work and we just had to walk in and setup the Center. May All Manuscript curates in India be like Mrityunjaya ji and our Collective Dream to democratize knowledge and free them will happen so much more easily.
 
The following is the Link for Punjab University Manuscripts:
 
25 Items are in Sharada:
68 Items are in Devanagari:
Two Items are in Persian
43 Items are in Gurumukhi:
 
Notables were:
 
Circa 10th Century Kashmiri Astronomer Bhattotapala’s Samhita Vivritti

Samhita Vivritti Bhattotapala Mss No 3 Alm 1 Panjab Uni : eGangotri : Free …

Panjab University Chandigarh Manuscript Collection, ‘Samhita Vivritti – Bhattotapala _Mss No 3_Alm 1 – Panja…
Kalila wa Damna, the Persian Translation of Pancha Tantra.

Kalila Wa Damna Mss No 65 Farsi Panjab Uni : eGangotri : Free Download, Bor…

Panjab University Chandigarh Manuscript Collection, ‘Kalila Wa Damna_Mss No 65_Farsi – Panjab Uni’
Vishnu Dharmottara Purana in Sharada, a 1.64 GB Text with 1174 Folios.

Vishnu Dharmottara Purana Mss No 41 Sharada Alm 1 Panjab Uni : eGangotri : …

Panjab University Chandigarh Manuscript Collection, ‘Vishnu Dharmottara Purana_Mss No_41_Sharada_Alm 1 – Pan…
 
 
Pls view the Complete Catalog here:
 

Panjab University Manuscripts Catalog : eGangotri : Free Download, Borrow, …

Panjab University Manuscripts Catalog
Any wishlists of Scholars we will be happy to honor.
 
Almira 3 of Raghnath Temple Library, Jammu Is Completed
 
Almira 3 with its preponderance of Kavya Shastra ( Rhetorics )Texts  and Sanskrit Literature is now completed and can be viewed below 
viewable here:
 
 
Rather unfortunately due to a oversight Alm-3 Manuscripts in the beginning got lumped with Alm-2 Manuscripts, therefore some of the Almira 3 texts are actually in the Link for Alm-2 below – which will explain the rather large count of 510 Items.
 
 
Books and Manuscripts from Private Collections:
 
Three Private Collectors honored us with access to there Collections
(1) Pran Nath Kaul, Srinagar 
    Thanks to Sunil Raina Rajanak who liased on our behalf with Shri Pran Nath Kaul – Disciple of Swami Lakshman Joo – we have recieved many rare books and Sharada Manuscripts from his Collection:
 
The following are 5 Sharada Texts:
These are three lost Keshava Bhatt Kashmiri Texts that we found in his house:

Upanayan Vidhi Ed Natha Rama Shastri Srinagar 1937 Mercantile Press : eGang…

Collection of Pran Nath Kaul of Ishwar Ashram Trust, ‘Upanayan Vidhi Ed Natha Rama Shastri Srinagar 1937 – M…

Kaashmiraka Jyotish Sangrah Srinagar 1937 Ed Keshav Bhatt Kashmir Pratap St…

Keshav Bhatt Printed Texts of Pran Nath Kaul of Ishwar Ashram Trust, ‘Kaashmiraka Jyotish Sangrah Srinagar 1…

Yoga Vasishtha Sar 1928 Pandit Keshav Bhatt : eGangotri : Free Download, Bo…

Collection of Pran Nath Kaul of Ishwar Ashram Trust, ‘Yoga Vasishtha Sar 1928 – Pandit Keshav Bhatt’
 
(2) Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani Collection, New Delhi
Found several gems here.
 
Toshkhanijis Long Out of Print Classic
 
A History of Kashmiri Literature:

Kashmiri Sahitya Ka Itihas Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani : eGangotri : Free Down…

Collection of Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani, ‘Kashmiri Sahitya Ka Itihas – Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani’
Transcripts of 2 Medieval Kashmiri Works that Toshkhaniji decades ago jotted down in pen and Paper from BORI, – for the First Time in History now accesible to these forgotten pages of Kashmirian Literature:
Sukh Dukh Moha Maya Charitam and Banasura Vadha

Sukh Dukh Moha Maya Jaal Charitam Of Ganak Prashasta BORI Dvn Transcript By…

Collection of Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani, ‘Sukh Dukh Moha Maya Jaal Charitam of Ganak Prashasta BORI – Dvn Tra…
 
Another Long Out of Print Kashmiri Krishna Avatara Lila 1928
 

Shri Krishnavatara Lila Composed In Kashmiri By Dina Nath 1928 Asiatic Soci…

Collection of Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani, ‘Shri Krishnavatara Lila Composed in Kashmiri by Dina Nath 1928 – As…
Sharada Manuscripts:

Sharada Illustrated Scroll S. S Toshkhani Residence.pdf : eGangotri : Free …

Collection of Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani, ‘Sharada Illustrated Scroll – S.S Toshkhani Residence’
(3) Prem Sagar Shastri
Pt. Prem Sagar Shastri was a Sanskrit Scholar from Punjab who translated many texts into Hindi. Few of his books we have received, viewable below – and more soon from his Village Baddi, near Chandigarh.
Thanks and regards.
Chetan Pandey
 

 
You never enjoy the world aright, till the Sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens, and crowned with the stars – Traherne, Centuries of Meditation

In Search of Manuscripts in Gwalior

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

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For Guru Purnima, I had my visit to Shivpuri planned out and I used it to spend 1 Day in Gwalior.

Thanks to Radha Vallabh Tripathi ji (Bhopal) and Sadanand Tripathi ji (Ujjain) , they connected me with Bal Krishna Sharma of State Sanskrit College, Gwalior who was instrumental in helping me identify manuscript resources in the City.

Location 1: State Sanskrit College, Gwalior
The Principal Shri R.C. Sharma let me view there personal register of Books and Manuscripts. Sheets only of the Manuscript Collection I was given a Photocopy of with the caveat that some items might refer to printed material. Other Items for Agama also were there but I hesitated in asking so never got them:

The Four sheets of a possibly incomplete catalog:

https://archive.org/details/StateSanskritCollegeGwaliorManuscriptCatalogRecievedFromTheOfficialCollegeRegister

Later, B.K. Sharma ji gave me access to the more up-to-date List at his Residence that he had made as below:

https://archive.org/details/StateGovtCollegeGwaliorManuscriptListAndArticleOnManuscriptsBalKrishnaSharma

Location 2: Ayurvedic College, Gwalior
I was not even allowed to view the Catalog, every thing needed a Letter of Permission on a Letter Head.
The one thing I got to learn was that there collection has been digitized by Ayush Ministry.

Location 3: Gujari Mahal, in Gwalior Fort
The Man in the Room, told me that there Collection and Catalog are not public and can be viewed only by people in the Department.

Location 4: Shri Bal Krishna Sharmajis Personal Residence

Shri B K Sharma has many rare books and hand written manuscripts at his Residence Amongst them  6 have been photographed. These he shared with us which we have now uploaded.

https://archive.org/details/BaglaArnavakaPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

https://archive.org/details/VrataUdyapanKuamudiPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

https://archive.org/details/MadhyaKaumudiPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

https://archive.org/details/ShudraKamlakarPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

https://archive.org/details/NyayaSiddhantaManjariPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

https://archive.org/details/DanaChandrikaPersonalCollectionOfBalKrishnaSharmaGwalior

 

Catalog of Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

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I am very grateful to Shri Hari Chauhan, Curator State Museum, Shimla who availed the Digital Copy of the Catalog of Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba for us in a moments notice.

Let me remind readers that I have spent months pursuing Curators and Librarians who will put you in such a bureacratic loop that months will pass by without any success.

Thank you Shri Hari Chauhan, Indian Bureaucracy needs more people like you.

Here is the Catalog:

https://archive.org/details/CatalogueBhuriSinghMuseumChamba