Descriptive Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts in, Vol. 1: The Shri Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute Raghunath Mandir, Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir)

Dr. Karan Singh apart from his unique record of 70 years in public life beginning from the age of 18 when he was appointed Regent of Jammu & Kashmir by his father Maharaja Hari Singh, is also well known as an intellectual and a patron of scholarship and cultural activities. He has written over 20 books, the latest of which are An Examined Life (Harper Collins) and Reflections (Shubhi Publications). He has been the Chancellor of the Jammu & Kashmir University, the Banaras Hindu University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Among his many activities is presiding over the Dharmarth Trust, Jammu & Kashmir. This Trust was set up by Maharaja Gulab Singh when he founded the State of Jammu & Kashmir in 1846, and manages over a hundred temples and shrines in the State including the famous Shankracharya and Kheer Bhawani temples in the valley and the Shri Ranbireshwar Shiva temple and the great Shri Raghunath Mandir complex in Jammu. A renowned temple builder, Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-1885) sent scholars around the country to collect rare manuscripts. These are now preserved in the Shri Ranbir Sanskrit Research Institute Library within the temple premises. It is from this great collection that the current unique publication has been produced. Like his ancestors Dr. Karan Singh has always been a great patron of Sanskrit. When he joined Parliament in 1967 he set up the Sansadiya Sanskrit Parishad which suggested two important measures, subsequently adopted by the Government of India. The first was the celebration of Raksha Bandhan every year as Sanskrit Diwas and the second was Sanskrit news bulletins on All India Radio. Earlier he was Chairman of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan. Deeply committed to the cultural and spiritual tradition of lndia, Dr. Karan Singh has, throughout his life, promoted the study of Sanskrit and research into Sanskrit texts. With his deep insight into the Indian cultural tradition, as well as his wide exposure to Western literature and civilisation, Dr. Karan Singh is recognised as an outstanding thinker and leader in India and abroad.

Dr. Kamal K Mishra earned his Ph.D in Sanskrit from University of Delhi and later completed his Post Doctoral research at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He is a scholar in the field of Epigraphy, Manuscriptology and Indic Studies including Ancient Indian Inscriptions and has also made an innovative effort to understand and reconstruct the economic and political life in ancient India. He has several scholarly publications to his credit. He is on the faculty of the Department of Sanskrit, University of Calcutta since 2008, and is supervising M.Phil. & Ph.D. scholars. Dr. Mishra worked on deputation as Director, Indian Cultural Center, High Commission of lndia at Suva, Republic of Fiji from 2009 to 2013. Currently he is engaged in path-breaking research on the astonishing role of Vidusi Viddyottama, wife of Kalidasa; “Who is the author-Kalidas or his learnded wife Viddyottama?” based on his path breaking research is under print (MLBD, 2 volumes, Hindi and English)