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LONDON, ENGLAND, June 19, 2004: A clever content management system from heritage experts, Oxford ArchDigital, has enabled the Bodleian Library to publish online the digitized version of a celebrated Sanskrit manuscript, the Shikshapatri, employing a range of multimedia tools to help people of all backgrounds to better understand its significance. The project was funded by the New Opportunities Fund under partners: The Indian Institute Library, The Refugee Studies Centre and The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. The Digital Shikshapatri website is provided by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Dr. Gillian Evison of the Bodleian Library’s Indian Institute said, “We are pleased with what we have been able to achieve with the Digital Shikshapatri site. It is a scholarly resource for those who want to study the text but it also contains plenty of accessible material, including audio and video, for those whose interest is more general.”



The Shikshapatri manuscript was originally gifted to the Indian Institute Library from whence it came into the possession of the Bodleian Library. Written by Shree Swaminarayan, founder of Swaminarayan Hinduism, it outlines moral and spiritual codes for everyday life and is venerated by its followers both as a holy relic and for its writings. The demand for this fragile Sanskrit manuscript presented the Bodleian with an unusual challenge as the 900 or so annual visitors needed more access to the manuscript than the library, which is organized around the requirements of small numbers of specialist academics, could readily provide. Its delicate condition precludes it being handled except under highly controlled conditions.



Part of the solution, based on Oxford Archdigital’s Toad HMS Heritage Management System, was to provide online access to a digitized version of the text — The Digital Shikshapatri. The site provides a wide variety of online resources which set the Shikshapatri in its historical, cultural and religious context. To aid those studying the text, the English translation and Sanskrit have been marked up in XML and are delivered in tandem with each folio. Users can choose from a number of different translations depending on their focus. The system employs OAD’s sophisticated image annotation feature which allows translations and notes to be tied directly to a specific part of the manuscript image: for the Digital Shikshapatri, the relevant Sanskrit verse is highlighted when users view the English translation.

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