Latest news with #SarasvatiMahalLibrary
The Hindu
13 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
Sarasvati Mahal Library in Thanjavur declared a ‘library of historical and cultural importance'
The Tamil Nadu government has declared the Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Sarasvati Mahal Library and Research Centre as a library of historical and cultural importance. It has also classified it as an aided library of the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Rules, 1950. The grants for the library would have to be used for research and publications, conservation of manuscripts, library/museum upkeep and maintenance, preservation of manuscripts, digitisation of manuscripts and administration, according to a notification by the School Education Department. Also Read: Sarasvati Mahal Library in Thanjavur to undergo major restoration Tucked away inside the historic Thanjavur Palace, the Sarasvati Mahal Library is a repository of palm leaf/ paper manuscripts and books in Tamil, Sanskrit, Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, English, French, German and Italian languages. It is regarded as one of the greatest Oriental manuscript libraries in the world and among the oldest libraries in Asia. It is believed the collections of the palace library began in the 16th century under the Nayak rulers of Thanjavur (1535–1675 CE) and expanded by the Marathas. Although successive Maratha kings had maintained the library, Raja Serfoji II (1798-1832), a bibliophile, was chiefly responsible for shaping it. He is credited with having acquired several books and manuscripts. Today, it is a veritable treasure trove, with a collection of over 81,400 books and 47,500 palm leaf and paper manuscripts. The Rajah's impressive personal collection of 4,530 books also forms part of the library. The scripts used in the palm leaves are Grantha, Devanagari, Nandinagari and a few in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Odiya. The Tamil manuscripts include rare commentaries on the Sangam works, unpublished portions of classics, Saiva, Vaishnavaite and Jain works and medicinal works of exceptional value.
The Hindu
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
PIL filed to bring Sarasvati Mahal Library under national mission
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday ordered notice to the Centre and the State government on a public interest litigation petition that sought the direction to classify the Sarasvati Mahal Library in Thanjavur as a Model Library under the National Mission on Libraries. A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and A.D. Maria Clete ordered notice to the authorities concerned while hearing the petition filed by B. Prabhakaran of Chennai. He said that the 500-year-old library holds immense historical, socio-cultural, and academic significance. The petitioner said the library, also known as Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Sarasvati Mahal Library, was one of the oldest surviving libraries in Asia, established in the 16th century during the reign of the Nayak kings of Thanjavur. It was enriched by Maratha rulers, notably King Serfoji II, who was an eminent scholar and polyglot, he said. However, the library, a historic repository of ancient knowledge, was languishing in a state of alarming neglect. Despite its rich legacy, the functioning of the library was severely affected by staff shortage, he said. He said the library was languishing under severe administrative neglect, acute staff shortage, unimplemented digitisation programmes, and lack of preservation efforts by the government, leading to loss of valuable books and journals. Effective steps have not been taken to ensure the preservation or proper management of the library's invaluable records. Sarasvati Mahal Library falls well within the purview of the National Mission on Libraries which was established under the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture exercises administrative supervision over several premier libraries, he said. The petitioner said he had made a representation to the authorities concerned in this regard. However, the officials had not yet taken action. He sought a direction to the Centre and the State government to classify the library as a Model Library under the National Mission on Libraries and to take steps towards digitisation, conservation, and implement development schemes administered by the Ministry of Culture by sanctioning requisite grants-in-aid to undertake restoration measures and infrastructure upgrade within a time limit. The court adjourned the hearing by two weeks.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Reference to a Tamil book deciphered from a stone inscription
A team of historians, led by the Sarasvati Mahal Library Tamil Pandit, Mani Maran deciphered the name of a Chola period Tamil work – Thiruvadukoorpuranam – from the stone inscriptions found at the Thirukandeeswaramudaiyar temple in Cuddalore district. According to Mr. Mani Maran, he received information about the stone inscriptions found at Thirukandeeswaramudaiyar temple in Nellikuppam Municipal domain from councillor S. Selvakumar and subsequently inspected the same along with historians Thillai Govindarajan and G. Jayalakshmi. The reading of the inscriptions revealed that a person name 'Vanathiban' had coined the 'Vadukoorpuranam' – the 'sthalapuranam' of the Saivite temple at Vadukoor, which was mentioned in the 'Thevaram' hyms sung by Thirugnanasambandar. However, neither the palm manuscripts nor copper plates carrying the 'Vadukoorpuranam' were available now, he added.
