“Believe not because some old manuscripts are produced, believe not because it is your national belief, believe not because you have been made to believe from your childhood, but reason truth out, and after you have analyzed it, then if you find it will do good to one and all, believe it, live up to it and help others live up to it.” Gautam Buddh.

 

Chunilal Gandhi Vidyabhavan is one of the oldest institutes of Higher Learning and Research in Surat, South Gujarat, India.

The institute is mainly focusing on research in Indology, Sanskrit, Gujarati language and literature as well as Economics and Commerce. It has a very rich library.

One of the important activities of the institute has been to collect old Sanskrit Manuscripts, arrange for their preservation and publication of rare works. 

It holds one of the largest manuscript collections in Surat. These are important documents of our cultural heritage.

Institute has very valuable collection of Sanskrit manuscripts on various subjects. These manuscripts were originally collected by Shivadatt Shukla alias Swami Prakashanandnath and were donated to the institution by a successor of one of his disciples. These manuscripts were classified and a Catalogue of the same was published in two parts in the Bulletin of the Vidyabhavan.

Another set of Sanskrit manuscripts collected by Pandit Dinmanishankar Shastri, a great Sanskrit scholar was donated by Prof. Mahanlal Dave. These manuscripts are being classified and its Catalogue was published. Vidyabhavan has some very valuable manuscripts in Prakrit and Apabhransh as well as medieval Gujarati literature.

Chunilal Gandhi Vidyabhavan also has some very valuable manuscripts in Prakrit and Apabhransh as well as medieval Gujarati literature.

The manuscripts by the institute are mainly in two collections namely;

• Shivadatta Shukla collection - 1599 manuscripts
• Pandit Dinmanishankar Shastri collection - 962 manuscripts
• Ichharam S. Desai And Manilal I. Desai: Gujarati Press – 110 manuscripts

A Catalogue of Shivdatta Shukla Collection has been published in two volumes as “Bulletin of the Chunilal Gandhi Vidyabhavan Issue 39-40 (Part 1), 1998-1999 and Issue 41-42 (Part II), 2000-2001.

Pandit Dinmanishankar Shastri collection has also been classified and a catalogue has been published in Bulletin of the Chunilal Gandhi Vidyabhavan Issue 45-46 (Part III), 2018-19.

DETAILS OF MANUSCRIPTS (SWAMI PRAKASHANAND COLLECTION)

Subject	No. of Manuscripts
Phonetics	07
Lexicography	15
Prosody	05
Medicine	12
Architect/Agnihotra	08
Purana Lit. & Ritual	267
Tantric Lit. & Ritual	90
Samhya – Yoga	08
Vedanta	86
Nataka	03
Philology	07
Grammar	61
Rhetorics	20
Astrology	67
Vedic Lit. & Ritual	267
Stotras Lit.	240
Nyaya – Vaisesika	86
PoorvaMimansa	14
Kavya	70
Stories	260
Prose and Champu	06
Total	1599

 

DETAILS OF MANUSCRIPTS (ICHHARAM S. DESAI AND MANILAL I. DESAI: GUJARATI PRESS)

Subject	No. of Manuscripts
Sanskrit	52
Hindi	05
Modern Gujarati	30
Vraj	02
Medieval Gujarati	19
English	02
Total	110