BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND


Patronage of the rulers of erstwhile states of Rajasthan to the Art & literature, moral and active support to Vallabh & Nath sects, devotion of Jain monks of Nagaur Tapagachcha to the cause of learning and writing new works and commentaries and dedication of Yatis to the art of painting & scribal skill paved the way either for composing new works or copying thousands of manuscripts enriching the province in the field of manuscripts, in quantity & quality both.
Late Har Prasad Sarda (Ajmer) and Pandit K. Madhav Krishna Sharma (Bikaner) while initiated the task of cataloguing manuscripts, scholars like D.R. Bhandarkar and Italian academician L.P. Tessitory not only conducted the vast survey of this cultural heritage but inspired erudite scholars who devotedly worked for Kavyamala Series published from Jaipur.
At the dawn of the Independence, the Rajasthan Government took a remarkable initiative in forming the Sanskrit Mandal in 1950 for upliftment of Sanskrit studies as well as for collecting & preserving the vast manuscript material scattered through out the state in the custodies of erstwhile rulers, nobles, temples, Jain Upasaras and also in individual possessions. Probably the task of the two-fold liabilities shouldered by the Mandal in the years to come lay divisions of work and finally in 1954 the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute came into existence with headquarters at Jaipur under the guidance of Purattvacharya Muni Jinavijayaji, a member of the Royal Asiatic Society; General editor of Jain Singhi Granth Mala who was applauded for his keen studies and expertise in the field of textual criticism.
Following the decision of the Government to shift the Headquarters at Jodhpur, it was decided to construct Institute's own building and the foundation stone was laid down in a graceful ceremony by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then Honourable President of India on 1st April 1955. On completion of the work it was inaugurated on 14th September 1958 by the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Mohan Lal Sukhadia. Now, the work of the headquarters was shifted to Jodhpur and the Jaipur repository served the purpose of the first branch repository of the Institute. Meanwhile in 1956 Government reorganized the Institute, giving it a definite administrative set up and deciding the aims and objects.

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