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persuaded the custodians of this library to have the manuscripts not only properly examined and catalogued, but also preserved for posterity and multiplied for scbolars with the aid of microfilming. Accordingly, important select mansucripts of palm-leaf were brought to New Delhi and have been microfilmed through the special facilities provided by the Ministry of Commerce and the authorities of the Administrative Intelligence Room, Queensway, New Delhi.
Before sending back the manuscripts to their traditional custody at Jaisalmer to be kept in specially designed new aluminium containers, an opportunity has been taken to put them on view in an Exhibition open to the public under the auspices of the National Museum of India with the kindness of Sri Fateh Chand Belaney, who has organised the microfilming arrangements.
The manuscripts were specially seen by the Hon'ble Dr. Rajendra Prasad who evinced keen interest in their future preservation and publication.
The collections of the Jaisalmer Bhandar consist of 402 manuscripts on palm-leaf and more than 1000 on paper together with a number of beautifully painted wooden book-covers, which have been sent to Bombay for coloured reproducation. The Bhandar is considered to be the oldest amongst all the Jain manuscripts collections in this country so far known, containing a number of important manuscripts of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Besides collecting Jain religious texts, the Bhandar was founded with a more eclectic aim and therefore it contains manuscrip's relating to the systems of Indian pbilosopby like Sārkbya Mimamsā, Vaiseshika, Nyāya ard Yoga, and also works on Poetry, Rhetoric, Metres, Drama, Romance, Literature, Stories, Lexicons, Grammar, etc A new commentary of about the 14th century on the Artkaśastra of Kautilya has been discovered in this Bhandar. When properiy edited, it is expected to throw new light on the continuity of the textual tradition of the Arthaśâştra in India. As is known, the Arthaśāstia was discovered by the late Dr. Shama Shastri only about forty years ago.
For the first time a manuscript library in India has brought to light Buddhist Sapskrit texts on philosophy, a voluminous literature preserved in original in Nepal and in translations in Tibet and China, but lost in its homeland, A Palm-leaf manuscript of Nyaya-Piaveśa of the famous Buddhist philosopher Dinnāga written in 1146 A, D. as well as the Taittasangraha of Kamalasila, Principal of the Nalanda University with his own commentary dated 12th century (the only known copy in the world ) and some other works are on view in the Exhibition.
There are some manuscripts discovered for the first time, e. g. two new commentaries on Sankhya-Saptati and a Bbäsbya on the Ogha-Niryukhi. The author's copy of a commentary by Kanak Vijaya on Hema Chandra's Grammar
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