[INDOLOGY] MSS in Sarasvati Bhavan Library

Mon Feb 3 14:21:58 UTC 2014

Yes, the Sarasvatibhavan library has a history of difficulty.  My personal experience, from the late 1969's on, is that one must know someone directly connected with the library to have anything done.  Laxmi Narayan Tiwari, when he was librarian, was extremely helpful in letting me have access to manuscripts and later librarians also helped me because of my association with Tiwari and R. K. Sharma when he was Vice Chancellor.  I too once left a sum of money to have manuscripts microfilmed and sent, without any quick action.  It was only through the intervention of Dr. Nambiar, of the American Institute of Indian Studies, who personally went and saw to it that the manuscripts were copied, then sent them on to me, that I was able to get copies to work on outside.  This situation has continued.  It is, however, understandable that great caution is taken by the authorities.  At one time, it was discovered that some manuscripts has disappeared, apparently stolen and sold to some one (or persons) outside.  The UP government then sealed the library, literally with a large padlock with a was seal.  At that time, I think in the late seventies and early eighties, once more through friends, I was able to consult manuscripts, but only with a police escort accompanying me and sitting opposite me while I read.  As for the Indira Gandhi centre in Delhi, I found this most disappointing.  I wanted some Kātantra manuscripts that were in the Sarasvatibhavan.  At the time, the latter was closed again.  In Delhi, I was informed that, although they had microfilm copies of the manuscripts I wished to consult, they could not allow this until the Vice Chancellor of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishvavidyalay gave his permission in writing; this did not come through.  What the use can be of having duplicate copies of microfilms in Delhi, then, is beyond me, and I gave up.  So, I share the frustration of scholars but do not see any quick development in the offing.  George Cardona 

On Feb 3, 2014, at 8:54 AM, Madhav Deshpande wrote:

> My experience with the Sarasvati Bhavan Library is similar to that of Michael.  In mid-80s, I had located a manuscript at the SBL, and paid for making a microfilm/copy, but there was no response.  Finally, if I remember correctly, my Guruji, Professor Cardona, happened to be in Banaras, and it was his personal intervention that got me the ms copies that I needed.
> 
> Madhav Deshpande
> 
> 
> On Mon, Feb 3, 2014 at 8:41 AM, Michael Witzel <witzel at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:
> No tips but a story or two.
> 
> I have visited the Sarasvati Bhavan Library 3 times (from Kathmandu)  in 1973 and 1974, and have ordered the microfilm of a Vedic text (Kapisthala), paid the fee, gave them a roll of unexposed microfilm and even the developer.  I am still waiting for the film ordered in March 1974 --  for 40 years now.
> 
> Two or three years ago their Vice-Chancellor wrote to me asking whether he could publish a text that we had slated for publication in the Harvard Oriental Series.  I answered, well yes -- but first please deliver my microfilm.  No answer.
> 
> To quote the then (1974) vice-director of the National Archives in New Delhi: 
> "You European scholars always are in a hurry. We are not in hurry--- we have many lives."  --  
> To which I answered: "I have only one, so please give me (the film)." 
> Then she gave...
> 
> Apparently one life is not be long enough to get anything out of the Sarasvati Bhavan Library.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Michael
> 
> 
> PS, fed up with this situation, I wrote to the Göttingen Library, who have a copy of the Benares Kapisthala Samhita made for Kielhorn, and asked them for a film/scan. They said they were very busy and it may take some time.  Three weeks later the copy was in my mail. 
> One life, indeed.
> 
> 
> On Feb 3, 2014, at 3:46 AM, Martin Gansten wrote:
> 
>> I recently found out that a number of MSS of texts for which I have been searching for several years are present in Sarasvati Bhavan Library, Varanasi. Moreover, I was told that they have all been digitized; but I have been given rather conflicting accounts of their availability.
>> 
>> According to one informant, the digitized texts can be accessed and copied at a cost (but only piecemeal, no more than 25% of a text at a time) from within the IGNCA in Delhi. A catalogue of Sarasvati Bhavan Library MSS is found on the IGNCA website:
>> http://ignca.nic.in/
>> 
>> According to another informant, however, although the manuscripts have been digitized, there is no facility for getting digital copies; and the written permission of the Vice Chancellor of Sampoornanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi is needed for either reading or gettting a photocopy of any manuscript. Even with such a permission, I was told, I am unlikely to be allowed to view more than a few MSS.
>> 
>> In view of these conflicting and not very encouraging reports, I wonder if any colleagues on the list have practical experience of accessing Sarasvati Bhavan Library MSS, and have any advice to offer. All tips and other forms of assistance would be most gratefully received!
>> 
>> Martin Gansten
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> INDOLOGY mailing list
>> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
>> http://listinfo.indology.info
> 
>> ============
>> Michael Witzel
>> witzel at fas.harvard.edu
>> <www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm>
>> Wales Prof. of Sanskrit &
>> Director of Graduate Studies,
>> Dept. of South Asian Studies, Harvard University
>> 1 Bow Street,
>> Cambridge MA 02138, USA
>> 
>> phone: 1- 617 - 495 3295, fax 617 - 496 8571;
>> my direct line:  617- 496 2990
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> http://listinfo.indology.info
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Madhav M. Deshpande
> Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics
> Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
> 202 South Thayer Street, Suite 6111
> The University of Michigan
> Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608, USA
> _______________________________________________
> INDOLOGY mailing list
> INDOLOGY at list.indology.info
> http://listinfo.indology.info

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.indology.info/pipermail/indology/attachments/20140203/b40ff330/attachment.htm>