MATERIALS ARE CLOSED pending consultation with conservation. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information. kws 2021-12-03
This collection is located on-site.
The collection consists of 11 books (manuscripts) and 4 paintings. The paintings are not distinguished, but could be important for historians of regional styles. Two of them are pretty clearly from the Ramayana." Risha Lee, Jane Emison Assistant Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, comments on the paintings: "As for the paintings, the first two are almost certainly 19th century, Pahari style, and the first might be an artistic study. The woman (perhaps a court lady or ragini) is seated against a large bolster. The second painting depicts two noblemen seated in conversation outdoors, while underneath them an older nobleman rides an elephant and carries a trident, possibly a symbol of Shiva. The other two fragmentary paintings are very nicely executed: the first depicts Hanuman attended by his monkey entourage paying homage to some individual, if it is not Rama, perhaps it is the seated Krishna who appears in the second fragment, which depicts a blue skinned male wearing a yellow dhoti, with sages seated underneath him.".
Unusually for a Sanskrit manuscript collection, texts relate to the somewhat rare and less collected subjects of astrology, metaphysics, and occult sciences. The manuscripts include: Jyotirvidābharaṇa by Kālidāsa, a work on astrology (41); a Piṅgala Shastra text (42); Karmavipāka saṃhitā, a work of astrology which is quite rare even in published format (43); Sarojakalika by Kavi Ratna, which manuscript (or a similar one) Albrecht Wezler reported locating on a late-1970s tour in the Kingdom of Nepal (45); a commentary on Ramottaratapniya (46); commentary/text on Panchasvara Nirnaya by Gauda Bhattacharya (47); Vartamala by Rāmānuja, probably a Vaishnava text (48); Samudrika Shastra which relates to palmistry and astrology (49); a commentary on Jaiminiya Sutras (50); a commentary/text on Siddhānta chandrikā of Śrī Rāmāsrama (52); and Mumukṣuppaḍiharayasgranthe (53).
The manuscripts are numbered 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, and 53.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
MATERIALS ARE CLOSED pending consultation with conservation. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information. kws 2021-12-03
This collection is located on-site.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Sarvanand Kaul Collection of Indian Manuscripts and Art; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
2016.2017.M080: Source of acquisition--Sanjay and Bela Kaul. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--11/2/2016.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.
Items placed in individual folders, and rehoused into a manuscript box. kws 2021-21-03
The collection was part of a larger family inheritance to Sanjay Kaul's grandfather, a Professor at Banaras Hindu University, who was originally from Kashmir. Sheldon Pollock, the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University, noted July 2014: "Several of the works come from the Kashmir Saiva tradition of the 18th cen.; others are astronomical texts.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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