The transliterated versions of five rare
and previously unpublished Ayurvedic manuscripts are available for advanced
research, thanks to the 15-day Transliteration Capacity Building Workshop on
Ayurvedic Manuscripts held on Central Sanskrit University (CSU) Puranattukara
(Guruvayoor) Campus in Thrissur, Kerala, from January 12 to 25. The workshop was conducted as a step towards
preserving and advancing India’s classical medical heritage by the Central
Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush,
Government of India, in collaboration with the Central Sanskrit University
(CSU), New Delhi.
The five works are Dhanwanthari (Vaidya)
Chinthamani, comprising 146 palm-leaf pages and transliterated from Grantha
into Sanskrit; Dravyashuddhi, a 110-page Grantha manuscript
transliterated into Sanskrit; Vaidyam, a 59-page Medieval Malayalam
manuscript transliterated into Malayalam; Roga Nirnaya, Part I,
consisting of 75 pages transliterated from Medieval Malayalam into Malayalam;
and Vividharogangal, a 78 palm-leaf manuscript in Vattezhuthu
transliterated into both Malayalam and Sanskrit.
The two-week residential programme brought
together 33 scholars, including 18 from Ayurveda and 15 from Sanskrit,
fostering an interdisciplinary approach to manuscript studies.
Organised under the Memorandum of
Understanding between CCRAS and CSU, the workshop was part of CCRAS’s national
initiative to document, digitise, and research-based utilise classical
Ayurvedic manuscripts.
The training programme covered key areas
such as manuscriptology, palaeography, technical Ayurvedic terminology and
script orientation, with specialised Lipi Parichaya sessions on Grantha and
Vattezhuthu scripts. A strong emphasis was placed on hands-on transliteration
training in Grantha, Medieval Malayalam, and Vattezhuthu, enabling participants
to work directly on original palm-leaf manuscripts and to generate verifiable
scholarly outputs within a short time.
Addressing the valedictory function of the
workshop, Prof. Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, stated
that the workshop was the second collaborative programme with the Central
Sanskrit University under the Ayurveda Manuscript Research Initiative of CCRAS.
He noted that during the first such workshop conducted at the CSU Puri Campus
in Odisha, 14 Ayurvedic manuscripts were transliterated, reflecting the
continuity and expansion of this national effort.
