TRIPUNITHURA: Open ‘Chitra Prashnam’, a rare manuscript on palm leaf at the Sanskrit College. On one side is the pictorial symbols from ancient texts and slokas and on the other side words in both Malayalam and Sanskrit divulge the horoscope of the person viewing it.‘Chitra Prashanam’ is just one among the more than 3,000 rare manuscripts titles, both on palm leaves and paper, preserved in the library. Had someone cared enough, the Sanskrit College in Tripunithura would have become a major spot in the literary tourism map of the state. Established in 1914, the Sanskrit College is a treasure house of manuscripts on various topics including some of the rare and classical works. Bound to arouse curiosity in both literary and history enthusiasts, they unfurl a wealth of knowledge on various topics - literature to politics to academic studies. It has various versions of classics like Mahabharata and Ramayana and the famous literary works of Kalidasa, Bhasa and Adi Sankaracharya and Kulasekhara.
Some of the manuscripts were brought from various corners of the country, the manuscript library was set up in 1927. Recently, with the funds allocated by the state government and technical support from C-DIT, the college had renovated the library including features for digitisation of manuscripts.
The rare works include versions of classic plays like ‘Kumarasambhavam’, ‘Raghuvamsham’ and ‘Rithusamhaaram’ with explanations by ancient Sanskrit scholars.
Several photographs throw light on the pre-Independence era of Cochin. The library also stores some manuscripts on Ayurveda medicines.
After the inauguration, little effort was made to highlight it as a top notch reference centre. “We are trying to work on making the library better in terms of facilities. We wish the government would do more for it,” said Sudharshan, a teacher who spearheaded movements to renovate the library.