Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
 Main building of the institute in December 2023 | |
| Established | July 6, 1917 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Indology |
| Address | 812, Chiplunkar Road (Law College Road), Shivajinagar, Pune, 411004 |
| Location | , , |
| Coordinates | 18°31′10″N 73°49′48″E / 18.51953°N 73.82996°E |
| Website | bori |
The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in
The institute
This institute is of a public trust registered under Act XXI of 1860. Initially, the institute received an annual grant of 3,000 rupees from the government of Bombay. Presently, it is partially supported by annual grants from the government of Maharashtra. The institute also receives grants from the government of India and the University Grants Commission for specific research projects.
The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts in South Asia, consisting of over 125,000 books and 29,510 manuscripts. The institute publishes a journal, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, four times a year. The institute also hosts the Manuscripts Resource and Conservation Centre under the auspices of the
The manuscript collection
The government of Bombay, in 1866, started a pan Indian Manuscript Collection project. Noted scholars like
The largest part of the collection (17,877 Manuscripts) is part of the "Government Manuscript Library", while there is an additional collection of 11,633 manuscripts. The most prized collections include a paper manuscript of the Cikitsāsārasangraha dated 1320 and a palmleaf manuscript of the Upamitibhavaprapañcakathā dated 906.
Among the several scholars referring to the works at BORI, the most well-known person arguably is the Bharat Ratna awardee, Pt. Pandurang Vaman Kane.[4]
The critical edition of the Mahabharata
A long-term project under the auspices of BORI, started on 1 April 1919, was the preparation of a critical edition of the
The Shloka composition in the BORI critical edition of the Mahabharata
- Arjuna – 35% in the form of Anusthipchand (various names used as a glorification of the protagonist of the epic)
- Krishna – 19%
- Yudhisthira– 14%
- Bhishma – 10%
- Duryodhana – 8%
- Bhima – 6%
Other characters represent around 10% of shlokas
The critical edition was collated from 1,259 manuscripts.[5] This edition in 19 volumes (more than 15,000 demi-quarto size pages) comprised the critically constituted text of the 18 parvas of the Mahabharata consisting of more than 89,000 verses, an elaborate critical apparatus and a prolegomena on the material and methodology (volume I), written by V.S. Sukthankar.
Further work since the initial publication has produced a critical edition of the Harivamsa, a pratika index, a bibliography of ancillary materials, and a cultural index. The project of preparing a critical edition of the Harivamsa was inaugurated by the president of India, Rajendra Prasad, on 19 November 1954. The publication was completed in November 1971. The critical edition in two volumes consists of the four parvans of the Harivamsa. The pratika Index in six volumes consists of 360,000 verse quarters with appendices. Two volumes of the cultural index have been published so far. The constituted text of the critical edition has also been made available on CD-ROM.
Donation by Nizam and the "Nizam guest house"
In 1932, there was a need for money for the publication of the Mahabharata. A formal request was made to the seventh nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who granted Rs.1000 /- per year for a period of 11 years and offered Rs 50,000 for construction of the guest house[6] which is called "Nizam Guest House".[7][8][9]
The office of the university was operated at Nizam Guest House until June 1, 1949.[9]
Vandalism in 2004
The institute was vandalized on 5 January 2004 by a mob composed of members of an extremist self-styled
The incident provoked widespread reaction and led historian Gajanan Mehendale to destroy parts of his in-progress biography of Shivaji.[10]
The vandalism and the subsequent ban on the book were denounced in a statement by historians, among whom were
See also
References
- ^ "Bhandarkar Institute, Pune". Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
- ^ "National Mission for Manuscripts". Ministry of Tourism. 16 May 2008.
- ^ "Rigveda". UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Bhandarkar Institute: The Fountainhead of Oriental Studies". Mint. 31 July 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Archived 9 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nizam's Guest House, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune". Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Reminiscing the seventh Nizam's enormous contribution to education". telanganatoday. 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Family members rue that Hyderabad has forgotten the last Nizam's contribution to the city". 18 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Over Year On, Bori's Historic Nizam Guest House Still Awaits Reopening".
- ^ a b Damle, Manjiri (27 December 2003). "Scholar destroys own work on Shivaji". The Times of India, Pune. Times News Network. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "Historians protest ban on book". The Hindu. 18 January 2004. Archived from the original on 4 May 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
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External links
- The Official Website of BORI Archived 29 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine