Vidyabhusana Project Update - Another Manuscript Discovery

BY: DR. DEMIAN MARTINS - 24.2 2023

Celebrating the 370th disappearance day of Sri Rasikananda Murari, I am most pleased to announce the discovery of an unpublished manuscript of one of His Sanskrit works entitled "Kunja-keli,” a poetical composition in which he portrays his mode of meditation on the pastimes of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna. I am looking forward to soon publishing this and other works of his, as they remain neglected and underrated, despite the author’s exalted position as one of the greatest preachers in the Gaudiya-sampradaya.

Now that all travelling restrictions have been lifted, I have recently gone on an extensive expedition in many states in India. The good news is that in certain areas, government agencies are again putting an effort to gather manuscript collections from private owners who have been unable to properly preserve them. These are then being taken to well maintained libraries where they are being classified and digitized. This is a welcome move that will push forward research work and ensure the preservation of manuscripts that would otherwise be forever lost.

I could finally go through all the lists and catalogues that have been released in the last few years. Apart from those in Vraj, there are nearly 50 manuscripts of the works of Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana that I am yet to see. All of these are spread in multiple libraries around India, both private and governmental, and some are in very remote areas. The time factor has been crucial, and in many instances, by the time I reached a particular owner’s place, he had already passed away, with the relatives disposing of all the manuscripts. I intend to exert concentrated efforts to visit as many of these places as possible in the near future, while keeping pace with the research and translation work.

The main objectives of the Baladeva Vidyabhusana Research Project are as follows:

1. Search for lost manuscripts (such as the complete commentaries on the ten Upanisads and the Six Sandarbhas of Jiva Gosvami).
2. Digitally preserve manuscripts currently existing in different libraries.
3. Digitally preserve all editions of Vidyabhusana’s books.
4. Digitally preserve articles written about Vidyabhusana.
5. Type the texts in digital Unicode, which can be converted into Devanagari, Bengali characters, etc.
6. Prepare a critical edition of each work.
7. Translate all the works into English.
8. Publish all translations with the original Devanagari text.
9. Investigate and verify existent biographical data on Vidyabhusana.
10. Publish a comprehensive biographical work.

For more details, inquiries, and to view a sample of the discovered manuscript, the readers may visit www.vidyabhusanaproject.blogspot.com.