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PREFACE
The Chittorgarh branch is the youngest of all the six branches. Unlike the Udaipur, Alwar and Kota branches it could not get the initial advantage of raising manuscripts by transfer from the erstwhile State museums and libraries. Jaipur and Jodhpur too had this handicap, but as big cities with several private collections already there they succeded in attracting willing donors. Here at Chittorgarh the clash of arms all through the medieval times had left a barren except a glorious past mutely narrated by a few dilapidated monuments. Peace time activities had no place there and the manuscript literature stored in the ancient libraries were systematically destroyed by the invaders. Even then with a clean slate a modest beginning was made by the Institute by establishing the Chittorgarh branch and naming it after Acharya Haribhadrasuri who flourished at Chittor more than a thousand years ago. The publication of some of the rare and important works on music and all that goes with it, credited to have been written by Maharana Kumbha amounts to the Institute's share in highlighting the literary glories of Mewar.
The branch was formally inaugurated in November 1962 with a'out 3000 manuscripts donated by Shri Ladhuram of Chapar. The number has now reached the 5426 figure. Others donors include Sarvashri Santosh Chandra Yati, Bansilal Dadhich, Balkrishan Yati, Muni Kantisagar & B. R. Choudhary. They are thankfully remembered here in this context.
The present volume catalogues 2284 works in Sanskrit and Prakrit available in the Ladhuram & Yati Santosh Chandra collection upto accession number 3506. The works Catalogued herein do not contain any hitherto unknown work, but a good many are quite old and are good specimens of penmanship. While 137/ Bhagavadgitā or 875/ Danakuli of Ashok Muni represent excellence in writing the Bhava Vairagya Sataka/9C8 and the Paścimādhisa-pājā-vidhi/772 have their own value for the devotees. In addition, we have some smaller works on religion and grammar for the beginners, namely the Samskāra Pañcaka/23 of Ramacandra, the