BANGALORE, INDIA, November 13, 2005: Mahabharata Samshodhana Pratisthanam, an eight-year-old research foundation, is embarking on a five-year project to publish a bilingual, 18-volume “Encyclopedia of Mahabharata” for the global audience. To be funded by the ministry of human resources development (HRD), corporates and institutions in a public-private partnership, the epic project will include a commentary of “Mahabharata Lakshaalankara” by Vadiraja Thirtha, who compiled it from 500-year-old manuscripts. To kick-start the multi-billion rupee project, the city-based Indic Research Foundation, promoted by techies of global IT firms such as Wipro, IBM and Intel, is organizing a nine-day Mahabharata Utsav or festival beginning Sunday. “Hundreds of scholars from India and abroad will be working on the project, which will be the first of its kind on a global scale,” said Ramchandra Budhilal, a Wipro software specialist associated with the project. “The encyclopedia in English and Sanskrit will cover every aspect of the Hindu epic, including Gita, the sermon delivered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battleground,” Budhilal told IANS.
As part of the project, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will dedicate a state-of-the-art digital mobile laboratory (DML) for manuscripts and heritage Nov 21. The DML is a pioneering effort to conserve and digitise age-old manuscripts scattered all over the country. The research foundation will closely work with the national mission for manuscripts to preserve and digitise the manuscripts and palm leaves containing ancient material and classical literature. The hi-tech lab will be taken across the country and also to the neighboring countries – Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.