PONDICHERRY, INDIA, March 31, 2006: The collection of 11,000 palm-leaf and paper manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tamil and Manipravalam about Saiva Siddhanta preserved at the French Institute, which is the largest collection of manuscripts of the Saiva Siddhanta texts, has found a place in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, according to Traja Virtanen, advisor for Communication information, UNESCO, New Delhi. Participating in a function to mark the inscription of the manuscript of the institute here, she said, “The unique collection is the source for scholars to reconstruct a chapter in the religious annals of humanity.” She said the collection of Saiva Manuscripts has been entered into the International Register. Apart from this entry, another national collection–I.A.S. Tamil Medical Manuscript–has also been entered into the register. In his address Dominique Girard, the Ambassador of France in India, said the establishment of the French Institute here has helped broaden the field of French Indology studies. He urged the scholars in the institute to continue their efforts. Jean Pierre Muller, Director of the French Institute, said efforts would be made to make the collection better known and give access to those who wish to make use of its riches.
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