Oriental manuscripts in India: a literature survey

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature about oriental manuscript collections in India and provide an overview of the area. Design/methodology/approach – A core set of literature on oriental manuscript collections in India was retrieved after doing a thorough literature search in different databases. Literature on various aspects of this topic was reviewed. The paper is organized based on various themes to make the study fruitful for various sections of society. Findings – Oriental manuscripts are present in different research libraries, university libraries and public libraries in India but university libraries are leading others in preserving these manuscripts, with few exceptions. Manuscripts are available in different oriental languages but mostly in Sanskrit. Every religious sect in India has contributed immensely in collecting and preserving these manuscripts. The contribution of famous kings of Indian history is also enormous in this regard. Research limitations/implications – The review does not claim to be exhaustive, as most sources might have been skipped during the study for their non-availability. Originality/value – This paper provides a concise overview of manuscripts present in different Indian libraries and research institution/universities and provides a valuable entry point to the field of Indian manuscripts for research scholars, information scientists and other interested parties. Keywords India, University libraries, Research libraries, Archives, Collections management, History, Oriental manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oriental manuscripts-India, Oriental libraries, Oriental libraries-Indi