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APRIL, 1992
delicacy must be observed in the attempt; the use of anything like power might seal every volume for ever, for the deposit is scrupulously guarded and only known to the initiated. Until we have some insight into the contents of the subterranean 'bindar' of Anhulwarra, and a more extended knowledge of the Oswals of Jessulmer, with access to its library, which is equally numerous and probably more select than that of Puttun; above all, until we have formed some acquaintance with the dignitaries of the Jain sect and their learned librarians, we are not in a condition to appreciate the intellectual riches of the Jains,"3 In noting that the Jaiselmer collection probably was smaller than the Hemacandra Bhandar one can safely assume there was scholarly contact between the two libraries and this information was shared with Col. Tod.
Although Tod indicated rich intellectual rewards awaited the patient scholar, thirty years were to pass before any significant activity began to discover more about Jain libraries. The nineteenth century saw the evolution in Europe of the modern academic discipline of linguistics. Many of the great discoveries in this development related to Sanskrit scholarship which not only pointed out its relationship to the vast IndoEuropean family of languages, but also its evolution over time. In order to undertake systematic research, European scholars needed access to Sanskrit literature. Since Sanskrit during most of the nineteenth century was still an unpublished language, scholars needed to consult manuscripts. By an ironic twist of scholarly fate it was German-speaking scholars in Europe who conducted most of the research on Sanskrit. The Government of India thus was in the position of possessing control over important research sources wanted not by British universities but rather by continental ones. The oft-repeated concern that Britain considered its administration of India a trust meant cultural artifacts were not to be shipped massively to enrich western museums and libraries. After the Mutiny of 1857 the Government of India became particularly sensitive to this concern not to deplete the subcontinent of cultural treasures. Moreover, emerging in India itself was a need to have Sanskrit manuscripts to support the teaching and research programs initiated by the universities of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. In 1868 the Government of India passed a most enlighted act which provided 25,000 rupees annually to collect and to preserve Sanskrit manuscripts. Thanks to Georg Bühler Bombay was to transform this act into an internationally known activity which supported Sanskrit scholarship worldwide.
3 Ibid., pp. 234-5.
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