NEW DELHI: The Vice Chancellor of the Central Sanskrit University, Professor Shrinivasa Varakhedi, has handed over a rare 233-year-old Valmiki Ramayana manuscript to Nripendra Misra, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML).
Mr Misra is also the Chairman of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, which is overseeing the redevelopment of the International Ram Katha Museum in Ayodhya.
After due authentication, the manuscript will be placed on the premises of the Ram Temple for public viewing by devotees.
The Committee has planned to collect authenticated versions of the Ramayana in different languages, to be kept at one level of the Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum).
It will soon invite individuals possessing rare manuscripts to donate them to the Committee. The copy gifted by the university was sent to Ayodhya on Monday.
Mr Misra said that securing the rare manuscript is a landmark event. “Donation of this rare manuscript of Valmiki Ramayana to Ram Katha Sangrahalaya at Ayodhya is a landmark moment for the devotees of Rama and the temple complex at Ayodhya,” he said.
The manuscript, authored by Adi Kavi Valmiki with a classical commentary (tika) by Maheshvara Tirtha, is written in Sanskrit in the Devanagari script.
It is a historically significant work dating to Vikrama Saṁvat 1849 (1792 CE) and represents a rare preserved textual tradition of the Ramayaṇa. The collection comprises five principal kaṇḍas (chapters) of the epic: Balakaṇḍa (Childhood), Araṇyakaṇḍa (Ram’s exile in the forest), Kiṣkindhakaṇḍa (Ram’s alliance with Sugriva), Sundarakaṇḍa (the journey of Lord Hanuman to Lanka to find Sita), and Yuddhakaṇḍa (the war with Ravana).
“The manuscript, previously loaned to Rashtrapati Bhavan, has now been permanently gifted to the Antarrashtriya Ram Katha Sangrahalaya (International Ram Katha Museum), Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. This significant gesture supports the museum’s development as a global centre for Ramayaṇa heritage, ensuring wider public access and preservation,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of Culture.
On the occasion, Professor Varakhedi said, “This gift immortalises the profound wisdom of Valmiki Ramayana, making it accessible to scholars, devotees, and visitors worldwide in the sacred city of Ayodhya.”
The museum was originally established in 1988 to collect and preserve artefacts related to Ram Katha (the story of Lord Ram), including illustrated manuscripts, sculptures, Ram Leela, and other related art forms, with the aim of safeguarding archaeological remains, rare cultural heritage, and the artistic traditions of the Ayodhya region.