After the Pondicherry workshop, I set forth on a research mission across South India to visit some of the most important manuscript libraries and collect material for the Śivadharma Project.
The first stop is the Oriental Research Institute & Manuscript Library at the University of Kerala, Trivandrum. Here, I manage to acquire two malayalam manuscripts: a short copy (only 7 folios) of the Śivadharmaśāstra, and a modern transcript of the Ratiratnapradīpikā, a kāmaśāstra work composed by King Praūḍha Devarāya (17th c.) serving as a Light on the gemstones of sex.
In Trivandrum, I had the pleasure to be assisted in my research by the Head, Dr. Rejani, and the Librarian, Dr. Remya, who also guided me on an exclusive tour of the impressive collection of the Library.
The next stop is the Manuscript Library of the Government Sanskrit College of Thrippunithura, in the outskirts of Kochi. As soon as I arrive, I learn that the Library…has been demolished. But no worries, the manuscripts are being kept in a storage room, though in random order. Luckily enough, the exquisite Librarian, Dr. Abida, and her assistants, Dr. Shabin Shaji and Dr. Sujith KS, guide me through the collection.
As a result, I am able to carry home another copy of the Ratiratnapradīpikā and a copy of the Kāmaprābhṛta, the unpublished Gift of Love by Keśava. I have also the rare opportunity to vision a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the astrological work Citrapraśna, a real treasure for the history of manuscriptology and a feast for the eyes. I can also admire the important preservation and restoration work carried on by the personnel of the Library on their important heritage; you can also see some restoration in progress by clicking here: the palm leaves are being smeared with lemongrass oil to keep insects away and revive the ink.
Finally, I reach Mysore, and the Oriental Research Institute. My aim here is to consult the catalogs of the impressive collection of nearly 40 thousand paper and palm leaf manuscripts. The Director, Dr. Shivarajappa, allows me to consult a copy of the Śivanāṭaka, a royal stage play devoted to Śiva; but what comes next is a real jewel, the text I have been looking for since the beginning of my search: an unedited Commentary on Utprekṣāvallabha’s Bhikṣāṭanakāvya.
This Commentary, composed in the 16th c. by the learned King Maṅgapa, is of fundamental importance to study the reception and transimmison of the Poem for the Divine Beggar in the South. Of the two alleged manuscripts kept in Mysore, only one is extant, and in such a bad shape that it will prove a real challenge for the philologist. But the effort will be worth the result, and we can’t wait to unveil its content!
Before flying back home, one last stop at the Publication Directorate of the University of Mysore. Here, I manage to purchase all the volumes of the rare Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts, that will enrich the collection of the Library of the University of Bologna.
