PUNE, INDIA, June 21, 2007: The Rig Veda manuscripts from Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, have been selected for inscription in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Register 2007. The program for the Memory of the World was started in UNESCO fifteen years back to honor significant landmarks in the documentary heritage and record them in its “Memory of the World Register” as world’s inheritance. The Memory of the World program seeks to guard against collective amnesia, calling upon the preservation of the valuable archival holdings and library collections all over the world, ensuring their wide dissemination. The National Mission for Manuscripts of the Ministry of Culture submitted the nomination on behalf of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. The documentary heritage reflects the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures. So far, India has had three other nominations inscribed on the Register.
The Vedas are the first literary documents in the history of humankind, they transcend far beyond their identity as scriptures. The Rig Veda, the oldest among the four Vedas, is the fountain source of the culture in all its manifestations that spread beyond the Indian subcontinent to large parts of South and South East Asia, as well as parts of Central Asia. This valuable treasure of the ancient world has been preserved in the form of manuscripts in India, and handed down over centuries from generation to generation.
Out of the total number of 28,000 Manuscripts housed at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, the 30 manuscripts of the Rig Veda form a valuable part of the collection. These manuscripts evince several unique features in terms of scripts, accentuation marks and support material used, among others. These manuscripts are of a high value as unique examples of the intellectual and cultural heritage not only of India, but of the world.