Catalogue of Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts - Udaipur Collection Part XII (An Old and Rare Book)

The present Catalogue No. (XII) includes some 3313 works (Accn. I to 4096) of the Udaipur-collection. In all we have 6873 manuscripts in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, Hindi, Rajasthani etc. out of which 2752 were transferred from the Saraswati Bhawan Library of the State times; 2827 received by donation and some 1113 manuscripts purchased from manuscript dealers. Among the donors we cannot forget the valuable treasure acquired from Shri A.K. Derashri, who has donated as many as 2814 manuscripts collected by his father the late Pt. Ravi Shankar Derashri of Banera.

The Udaipur branch is unique in to far as it possesses a rare collection of illustrated manuscripts on classical and poetical themes contained in works like the Arsa-Ramayana, Bhagavad-gita, Durga Sapta-Sati, Gita-Govinda, Gaja-cikitsa etc.

The collection is equally rich in a large number of historical and literary works. The Cikitsa Sutra (2815) of Madhava dated A.D. 1406 and the lot. Several works (Kalpasthana) dated A.D. 1407 are the oldest in the lot. Several works are more or less 500 years old including a number of rare Sanskrit works which could not find a mention in Aufrecht's 'Catalogue Catalogorum' of Sanskrit works.

Besides the textual and physical details of the manuscripts given in eleven columns, those marked with the letter 'I' are extremely rare and valuable and sparingly find a mention in the catalogues of other prominent Indian libraries. Space does not permit to give even a running notice of all such manuscripts. However, we cannot resist the tempttion of giving hints about some of them. The 'Rajyabhiseka paddhati' (625) compiled by Cakrapani Misra in A.D. 1652 is adapted from earlier works on froth but it preserves the details actually observed during the coronations. The compilation War made at the instance of Rana Pratap of Mewar. The Amarasara (2359) of Jivandhara is a historical work dated A.D. 1628 written during the reign of Amar Singh I. Leaving aside the political history of Mewar, this work gives an account of the favorite pastimes of the court of Amar Singh. The Jagat Simha Kavya (2365) of Raghunatha, a contemporary of Jagat Singh I, is again a historical poem in the usual panegyric style, but it also furnishes details of the lakes and beautiful gardens of Udaipur laid out on the fourfold Mughal pattern. No less than 30 other equally important works fall under this class of rare & valuable manuscripts. There is a separate index of the title of works, authors and commentators which considerably adds to the utility of the catalogue.

All possible care has been taken to examine each manuscript thoroughly to ensure accuracy. I request the scholars to consult the errata appended.

I take this opportunity of recording my sincere thanks to the staff of the Udaipur branch for their cooperation in accordance with the guide lines set by us. They include the names of Dr. B.M. jawalia, Senior Research Assistant, Dr. D.B. Khsirsagar Senior Research Assistant, Kumari Dr. Shashi Sharma, junior Research Assistant Shri Basanti Lal, Khabiya, Surveyor. Shri Girdharballabh Dadhich, junior Technical Asst. worked hard in going through the proofs with the printers the Sadhana Press, Jodhpur.