Alphabetical List of Manuscript in Oriental Institute Part 01

Author(s): Raghvan Nambiyar, Rajendra I Nanavati
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

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were discovered, requiring complete description in the Appendix, as the second volume of the descriptive catalogue just published as No. 96 of the Series, would testify. Thus, since the end of the descriptive catalogue could not be foreseen, it was proposed to Government to employ a special officer who may at first1 prepare a nominal catalogue of the whole collection, and then take up individual volumes of the descriptive catalogue, in addition to the work done by the Srauta Pandit. The Government of Baroda graciously sanctioned the proposal, and as a result, a good scholar from Malabar was appointed as Catalogue Assistant. Soon after joining, he quickly completed the press copy of the whole catalogue, and started printing the first volume which is now completed.
It is hoped that this volume will provide outside scholars with adequate information regarding our manuscripts, and will keep a permanent record of the contents of the manuscript library of the Oriental Institute. It is also expected that the present compilers of the New Catalogus Catalogorum at the Madras University, will derive ample manuscript material for insertion in their catalogue, and thus make it fuller and more useful. It would, however, be our earnest endeavour to bring out the second volume with as much expedition as possible, if nothing untoward happens in the meantime. It is further proposed to include in the second volume a complete index of works, commentaries and authors, even though, the arrangement of this catalogue is alphabetical under each subject. This addition of a complete index is believed to be necessary in order that the catalogue may prove more useful for consultation.
Lastly, it is not without interest to point out here certain difficulties that are faced in preparing this List. The first is relating to titles. As already well known it is a habit with our ancestors to mention the same work under two or more titles. For instance, the work Nyāyasiddhāntadipa is known by both this title and the S'ašadhariya, In cases like these which are abundant, the different titles have been brought under one head, but it is quite conceivable that a few may have escaped the vigilance of the cataloguer. Moreover, there are certain works which are differently classified by different scholars. One prominent instance on this point, is the Pavanavijaya, which is sometimes brought under Yoga and sometimes under Jyotişa. Here it is brought under Yoga as its contents are more akin to Yoga practices than to forecasts. Another instance of the same kind is the work Trivenikā which is placed both under Vyakarana and Alamkāra. The work here is brought under Alamkāra because it deals with Sabdavyāpara and Kavya. The Brahmatarkastava, although a Stotra work, is found in the card index under Saiva Vedanta, The work is kept in the list where it was originally found without a change. Under the head of classification, therefore, the list is not altogether free
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This work was originally entrusted to the then Superintendent, Printed Section, Mr. K. Rangaswami, a brilliant and energetic scholar, whose untimely death in 1935 brought the work to a standstill,