As part of the ongoing efforts to preserve India’s traditional knowledge heritage, a capacity-building workshop on the transliteration of Ayurveda manuscripts written in Tigalari and Old Kannada scripts was inaugurated on June 15 in Sri Puthige Narasimha Sabhabhavana, Geetha Mandir, Udupi.
The workshop is being jointly organised by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, and Central Sanskrit University (CSU), Ministry of Education, Government of India, in collaboration with Sri Vadiraja Research Foundation.
The programme is being conducted with the blessings of His Holiness Sri Sri Sugunendra Tirtha Sripada, Pontiff of Sri Puthige Matha, and His Holiness Sri Sri Sushrindra Tirtha Sripada, Junior Pontiff of the Matha. The initiative aims to build expertise among scholars in reading, deciphering and transcribing Ayurveda manuscripts preserved in Tigalari and Old Kannada scripts, which are predominantly found in the coastal regions of Karnataka.
The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Nagaraj Acharya, Administrator and Diwan of Sri Puthige Matha; Dr. G. P. Prasad, Assistant Director, National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), Hyderabad; Dr. T. Maheshwar, Assistant Director, Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI), Bengaluru; and Dr. Sudhir Raj K., Director, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Centre, Nitte University. The programme was coordinated by Vidwan Gopalacharya, Director, Sri Vadiraja Research Foundation.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya highlighted various initiatives undertaken by CCRAS for preservation, documentation and dissemination of Ayurveda knowledge. He emphasised the Government of India’s efforts under the Gyan Bharatam Mission towards conserving and promoting the country’s rich knowledge traditions.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sudhir Raj K. underlined the importance of preserving India’s manuscript heritage and highlighted the role of Indian Knowledge Systems in strengthening research and knowledge dissemination.
The 15-day training programme will enable young scholars from Ayurveda and Sanskrit backgrounds to work with experts in deciphering, transliterating, editing and preparing unpublished Ayurveda manuscripts for publication.
This is the third such workshop being jointly organised by CCRAS and Central Sanskrit University. Earlier workshops were conducted at Puri, Odisha, focusing on Karani/Devanagari scripts, and at Guruvayur, Kerala, focusing on Vattezhuthu/Malayalam scripts.
Faculty members and students from Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Ayurveda, Udupi, Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Ayurveda, Hassan, along with Sanskrit students from the Gurukula of Sri Puthige Matha are participating in the workshop.
The transliterated manuscripts developed during the programme will subsequently be taken up for publication by CCRAS and Central Sanskrit University, contributing to the preservation and wider dissemination of India’s traditional knowledge resources.
