ROCHESTER, N.Y., September 19, 2006: Scientists are using modern imaging technologies to digitally restore a 700-year-old palm-leaf manuscript. The project led by P.R. Mukund and Roger Easton, professors at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), will digitally preserve the original Hindu writings known as the Sarvamoola granthas attributed to scholar Shri Madvacharya (1238-1317). The collection of 36 works contains commentaries written in Sanskrit on sacred Hindu scriptures and conveys the scholar’s Dvaita philosophy of the meaning of life and the role of God. The document is difficult to handle and to read, the result of centuries of inappropriate storage techniques, botched preservation efforts and degradation due to improper handling. Each leaf of the manuscript measures 26 inches long and two inches wide, and is bound together with braided cord threaded through two holes. Heavy wooden covers sandwich the 340 palm leaves, cracked and chipped at the edges. Time and a misguided application of oil have aged the palm leaves dark brown, obscuring the Sanskrit writings. “It is literally crumbling to dust,” says Mukund, the Gleason Professor of Electrical engineering at RIT. According to Mukund, 15 percent of the manuscript is missing.
Mukund first became involved with the project when his spiritual teacher in India brought the problem to his attention and urged him to find a solution. This became a personal goal for Mukund, who studies and teaches Hindu philosophy and understood the importance of preserving the document for future scholars. Mukund sought the expertise of RIT colleague Easton, who imaged the Dead Sea Scrolls and is currently working on the Archimedes Palimpsest. A team of scientists, including Mukund and Easton, traveled to India in December 2005 to assess the document stored at a monastery-like matas in Udupi, India. Sponsored by a grant from RIT, the team returned to the monastery in June and spent six days imaging the document using a scientific digital camera and an infrared filter to enhance the contrast between the ink and the palm leaf. The processed images of the Sarvamola granthas will be stored in a variety of media formats, including electronically, in published books and on silicon wafers for long-term preservation. Based on the success of this project, Mukund is seeking funding to image other Dvaita manuscripts in the Udupi region written since the time of Shri Madvachary.