04-16-2006, 08:58 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>AP search yields epic treasure </b>
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp...%20by%20Gujarat
Hyderabad, April 15: A miniature Bhagawad Gita has been discovered at the house of a priest in West Godavari district.<b> It was the month-long National Mission for Manuscripts which brought to light this rare manuscript which was gathering dust in the cupboards of his house. The Gita in Devanagiri script is written on a thin strip of paper, one inch in width and one metre in length. It is at least 250 years old</b>.
It contains all the 18 chapters of the Holy Book, besides illustrations from the Mahabharata including Lord Krishna talking to Arjuna on the battlefield. Many of these illustrations are in colour. âThis is perhaps the smallest Gita in manuscript form,â said Jaidheer Tirumala Rao, director of the Andhra Pradesh Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Institute. <b> âWe are planning to publish a photocopy of the manuscript and market it as a collectorâs piece.â</b>
The manuscript has been preserved and digitised at the Institute for the benefit of posterity. According to the Limca Book of Records, the smallest Bhagawad Gita in Sanskrit has 169 pages of 2 cm length and 1.7 cm width. This was created by Diploma Engineer A.B. Rajbansh of Himachal Pradesh. The family of Jyostnaben Shah in Bajwada (Gujarat) also possesses a Gita, which is 2.5 cm long and 2 cm wide and just one cm thick. It is 150 years old.
But the manuscript found in the State last month is older, weighs less and is just a single strip of paper. The search for ancient manuscripts in the State also brought to light a very rare copy of the Holy Quran inscribed on deer skin. It is more than 300 years old. Another rare manuscript found was a palm leaf pictorial script on the Ramayana, which dates back to the 17th century.
âWe also came across some interesting artifacts and sculptures,â said Mr Tirumala Rao. âA temple priest from Annavaram had 250 rare manuscripts with him.â More than one lakh manuscripts have been collected so far. In the second phase of the drive, experts will select some of the more priceless manuscripts for preservation.
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http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp...%20by%20Gujarat
Hyderabad, April 15: A miniature Bhagawad Gita has been discovered at the house of a priest in West Godavari district.<b> It was the month-long National Mission for Manuscripts which brought to light this rare manuscript which was gathering dust in the cupboards of his house. The Gita in Devanagiri script is written on a thin strip of paper, one inch in width and one metre in length. It is at least 250 years old</b>.
It contains all the 18 chapters of the Holy Book, besides illustrations from the Mahabharata including Lord Krishna talking to Arjuna on the battlefield. Many of these illustrations are in colour. âThis is perhaps the smallest Gita in manuscript form,â said Jaidheer Tirumala Rao, director of the Andhra Pradesh Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Institute. <b> âWe are planning to publish a photocopy of the manuscript and market it as a collectorâs piece.â</b>
The manuscript has been preserved and digitised at the Institute for the benefit of posterity. According to the Limca Book of Records, the smallest Bhagawad Gita in Sanskrit has 169 pages of 2 cm length and 1.7 cm width. This was created by Diploma Engineer A.B. Rajbansh of Himachal Pradesh. The family of Jyostnaben Shah in Bajwada (Gujarat) also possesses a Gita, which is 2.5 cm long and 2 cm wide and just one cm thick. It is 150 years old.
But the manuscript found in the State last month is older, weighs less and is just a single strip of paper. The search for ancient manuscripts in the State also brought to light a very rare copy of the Holy Quran inscribed on deer skin. It is more than 300 years old. Another rare manuscript found was a palm leaf pictorial script on the Ramayana, which dates back to the 17th century.
âWe also came across some interesting artifacts and sculptures,â said Mr Tirumala Rao. âA temple priest from Annavaram had 250 rare manuscripts with him.â More than one lakh manuscripts have been collected so far. In the second phase of the drive, experts will select some of the more priceless manuscripts for preservation.
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