Udupi: Sri Vadiraja Research Foundation has launched an initiative to transliterate Ayurveda manuscripts written in Tigalari and Modi Kannada scripts, which are found in coastal Karnataka. As part of the project, Ayurveda-related manuscripts from the coastal region will be selected for transliteration. Under the framework of India's Gyan Bharatam Mission, approximately one crore manuscripts across the country have already been surveyed.
Focus on Regional Scripts
“This program focuses on the transliteration of manuscripts on various subjects written in different languages,” said B Gopalachar, director of Sri Vadiraja Research Foundation. “There are many Tigalari and Modi Kannada manuscripts linked to Ayurveda. We selected only 15 manuscripts for training purposes,” he added.
Capacity-Building Workshop
The foundation has commenced a two-week transliteration capacity-building workshop for 36 participants, who will work on a larger number of Tigalari and Modi Kannada manuscripts in the future. The workshop is being held at Sri Puthige Narasimha Sabhabhavana in Geetha Mandir, with the blessings of Sri Sugunendra Tirtha, the pontiff of Sri Puthige Mutt, and the junior pontiff, Sri Susreendra Tirtha. It is guided and supported by Central Sanskrit University (CSU), New Delhi, and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS).
Importance of Ayurveda Knowledge
Prof Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, director-general of CCRAS, stated that the organisation is among the top research bodies under the Ministry of Ayush, conducting scientific research in Ayurveda. “Ayurveda is the oldest system of medicine in the world since the Vedic era. The knowledge of Ayurveda was preserved in the form of manuscripts in regional languages. There is a need for research, as India is the only country with a diverse range of languages. Many Ayurveda pharmacopoeia are written in regional languages. The central government has placed much importance on the Indian knowledge system in the past 10 years. Since the last four years, we have collected more than 3,000 manuscripts,” he explained.
He added that workshops across the country aim to collect, transliterate, catalogue, and research such manuscripts. Stay updated with the latest Bengaluru news. Download the TOI App.
