It is well-known that only a small portion of the vast Sanskrit literature has so far published while the major part of the literature still lies in manuscripts, written in various scripts and on various types of material. Some of the collections are preserved in India and abroad, many more are in private collections.

During the nineteenth century, when the British rulers of India and European Indologists took keen interest in Indian studies, particularly in the study of various branches of Sanskrit literature, projects were taken up to take stock of Sanskrit manuscripts lying in private collections throughout the length and breadth of the country. The search of manuscripts in Eastern India was assigned to the illustrious scholar Raja Rajendralala Mitra (1822-1891). He carried on extensive searches for manuscripts in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and also made a survey of the manuscript found in some private collections in Benaras (Varanasi). He then compiled a descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts, so surveyed by him. The catalogue was published under the title, Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, between 1871 and 1888, in nine volumes. These nine volumes constitute the First Series of the Notices. After the demise of Mitra, Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasada Sastri (1853-1931) took up the search, further carried it on and the results of his search were published in four more volumes, constituting the Second Series of the Notices, by the Asiatic Society of Bengal between 1900 and 1911.

The Notices record all the necessary details about each manuscript listed, viz. the title, the author, the substance, size, line in a page, character, date, name of the scribe, the place of deposit and condition. Besides, long extracts from the beginning and the end of the manuscript have been recorded. This part of the record is very important, since it gives a fair idea about the contents, subject and merit of the composition. The Notices cover almost all branches of Sanskrit learning, right from the Vedas to the Dharmasastra, poetry, grammar and lexicons, philosophies, rituals, astronomy and astrology, mathematics, stotras, commentaries, glosses, etc. etc. The work also brings out the trends in the Sanskrit studies during the classical and medieval ages, in Eastern India. In brief, the notices contain invaluable research material for the studies of Indian literature, mythology, philosophy, religion and material sciences.

The reprint edition contains biographical sketches of both the authors by an erudite Sanskrit scholar.

About the Author