A Note on Assamese Manuscripts

Summary

This note highlights the importance of Assamese manuscripts as sources for understanding the region’s history, literature and art. Institutions such as the Kamrup Anusandhan Samiti and the Assam Provincial Museum have collected many manuscripts, yet countless others lie uncared for in private houses and village monasteries. Old Assamese manuscripts were written on bark from the Sanchī tree. Preparing the bark involved lengthy seasoning and polishing, and large leaves—sometimes six inches by two feet—were reserved for revered texts and royal copies. Leaves were numbered, and spare pages (beti or betu) recorded changes of ownership. Religious manuscripts were wrapped in cloth or wooden boxes, sometimes painted or even wrapped in cobra skin. Manuscripts for princes and nobles were often richly illustrated; notable examples include Hasti Vidyarnava, Gita Govinda, Bhagavat canto X, Lavakuśer Yuddha and Samanta Haran, some commissioned by kings Siva Singha and Rudra Singha. The note describes the durable ink made from natural ingredients and the enduring colours of the paintings, with yellow and green especially fast. It traces the use of Sanchī bark back to the seventh century and recounts royal patronage for literary translation and production in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries under reformers like Sankaradeva and kings such as Naranarayan of Cooch Behar. Overall, the article underscores the cultural value of these manuscripts and the need for their preservation.