Gauranga Das: Do you know before the advent of proper paper, what was the substance on which people used to write? What are the types of manuscripts?
The Manuscript Mission team at Bhaktivedanta Research Centre has visited more than 50 remote corners of India and Bangladesh over the past decade. BRC now has over 1000 manuscripts preserved digitally and around 70 physical manuscripts.
There are three primary types of manuscripts:
1. Tree Bark – Birch bark manuscripts are documents written on pieces of the inner layer of birch bark, which was commonly used for writing before the advent of mass production of paper. Evidence of birch bark for writing goes back many centuries and in various cultures.
2. Palm Leaf – Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in South Asia and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE and possibly much earlier.
3. Hand-Made Paper – Handmade paper was also a popular medium that had been used for writing Jain texts. Even today it is used to write contemporary Jain manuscripts. This paper is made from natural ingredients, without the use of any machines, hence the name ‘Handmade Paper’. Such manuscripts are found all over the country.
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