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Manuscript Collection in the Asiatic Society of Bombay
B. V. Shetti
The Asiatic Society of Bombay came into existence, as the Literary Society of Bombay on the 26th of November 1804, at the meeting held in the building which at present houses the Haffkins Institute, but which was then the Government House. At the suggestion of Sir John Malcolm, on the 27th of February 1828, Society's name was changed as Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, but it was not till the 27th of January of 1930, that the new name appears in the minutes of the Bombay Society. The Society moved into the Town Hall in September 1930. After Independence of India, the Society's name was changed as The Asiatic Society of Bombay.
The Asiatic Society of Bombay has a collection of about 3,500 manuscripts, some of which are very rare. 17 manuscripts are illustrated. In 1826, the Government of Bombay gave to the Asiatic Library a rich collection of the very valuable collection of manuscripts, which had been bequeathed to the Court of Directors of the East India Company by Dr. Taylor. Some Gujarātī MSS. procured in Gujarat were presented by Colonel Miles. The holdings were further enriched by the presentation of several Oriental MSS. in 1834 by Mr. Borradaile. Further, a part of the Pandit Bhagawanlal Indraji collection came by way of presentation to the Society. Thereafter, the most notable addition to the Library was a donation of Sanskrit MSS. belonging to Dr. Bhau Daji Lad: This was presented to the Society at the public meeting held in Bombay to perpetuate the memory of the departed scholar, and is known as the “Bhau Daji Memorial.” A noteworthy presentation some years ago has been a collection of Sanskrit MSS. of the late Mr. Shankar Pandurang
