Lucknow, Oct. 13 -- Uttar Pradesh has digitised 7.56 lakh pages of rare manuscripts preserved in six major literary and cultural institutions, seeking to safeguard the state's intellectual heritage and make it accessible to researchers and scholars.
As of September 2026, a total of 15,890 manuscripts comprising 7,56,392 pages had been scanned under the Centre's Gyan Bharatam Mission. Descriptive records have been prepared for 14,594 manuscripts, while 14,208 digital records have been uploaded.
The initiative covers Gita Press in Gorakhpur, Nagari Pracharini Sabha, Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, the Government Manuscript Library, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University and Vrindavan Research Institute in Mathura. Their collections include rare Sanskrit texts, historical Hindi literature, medieval devotional writings and manuscripts documenting the state's literary and religious traditions.
Among the institutions, Nagari Pracharini Sabha recorded the highest number of manuscripts scanned, at 6,720. Vrindavan Research Institute led in digitised pages, with 1,93,256 pages covering 3,161 manuscripts.
Gita Press scanned 794 manuscripts comprising 1,32,264 pages, while Hindi Sahitya Sammelan digitised 2,400 manuscripts spanning 1,26,878 pages. The Government Manuscript Library scanned 1,623 manuscripts comprising 1,52,519 pages.
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University digitised 1,192 manuscripts covering 90,300 pages.
The Vrindavan Research Institute houses manuscripts dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries, including unpublished works and a manuscript dated 1534 associated with Sanatan Goswami. The Saraswati Bhawan Library of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi is another significant repository of Sanskrit scholarship.
Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Amrit Abhijat said the initiative would preserve the state's literary, religious and cultural knowledge for future generations.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.