MYSURU: Kautilya’s Arthashastra, an ancient treatise on governance and statecraft, has been inscribed on Unesco‘s prestigious Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) Regional Register. An original 16th-century palm-leaf manuscript of the text, preserved and digitised by Oriental Research Institute (ORI) at University of Mysore, is among the institute’s most prized collections.Announcing the recognition, Unesco noted that the Indian manuscript outlines ancient statecraft, public finance and law. The manuscript has been included under the category ‘Ancient Governance, History, and Modern Alignment’, according to MOWCAP.“It is a proud milestone in preserving and celebrating India’s timeless intellectual heritage,” ORI director D P Madhusudanacharya said.
Manuscript is digitised
MOWCAP is a Unesco programme that identifies, preserves and promotes documentary heritage of outstanding historical, cultural and intellectual significance in Asia-Pacific region.Madhusudanacharya said a team of experts from Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, had visited the institute and reviewed the manuscript. “This recognition brings great honour to the institute, the University of Mysore and the entire Indian manuscript research community,” he siad.The manuscript was discovered at ORI in 1905 by scholar and librarian Rudrapatnam Shamasastry, who subsequently published the text in 1909.The discovery brought the ancient Indian treatise back to scholarly attention. The manuscript has since been digitised as part of the institute’s conservation efforts.
