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{{distinguish|Oriental Research Institute Mysore}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
[[File:BORI, Pune.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute building in Pune]]
The '''Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute''' (BORI) is located in [[Pune]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.virtualpune.com/html/channel/edu/institutes/html/bhandark.shtml |title=Bhandarkar Institute, Pune |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019070605/http://www.virtualpune.com/html/channel/edu/institutes/html/bhandark.shtml |archive-date=19 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after [[Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar]] (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of [[Indology]] ([[Orientalism]]) in [[India]]. The institute is well known for its collection of old [[Sanskrit]] and [[Prakrit]] manuscripts.

==The Institute==
This institute is of a public trust registered under Act XXI of 1860. Initially, the institute received an annual grant of 3000 Rupees from the Government of Bombay. Presently, it is partially supported by annual grants from the Government of [[Maharashtra]]. The Institute also receives grants from the Government of India and the University Grants Commission for specific research projects.

The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts in South Asia, consisting of over 125,000 books and 29,510 manuscripts. The institute publishes a journal, ''Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute'' four times a year. The Institute also hosts the Manuscripts Resource and Conservation Centre under the auspices of the [[National Mission for Manuscripts]], a project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. In 2007, the [[Rigveda]] manuscripts preserved at the Institute were included in [[UNESCO]]’s [[Memory of the World Register]].<ref name="mt">{{cite web|url=http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=38910|title=National Mission for Manuscripts|date=16 May 2008|publisher=Ministry of Tourism}}</ref><ref name=rigveda>{{cite web | title= Rigveda | url= http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22389&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | archive-url= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20151201231818/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22389&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2015-12-01 | publisher= [[UNESCO]] [[Memory of the World Programme]] }}</ref>

==The manuscript collection==
The Government of Bombay, in 1866, started a pan Indian Manuscript Collection project. Noted scholars like [[Georg Bühler]], [[F. Kielhorn]], [[Peter Peterson (scholar)|Peter Peterson]], [[Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar]], [[S. R. Bhandarkar]], [[Kathavate]] and [[Ghate]] collected more than 17,000 important manuscripts under this project. This collection was first deposited at [[Elphinstone College]] in Bombay. Then it was transferred to [[Deccan College (Pune)]] for better preservation. After the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute was founded in 1917, the BORI founders proposed to offer even better preservation and research. Hence Lord Willingdon, the then Governor of the Bombay Presidency and the first president of BORI, transferred the valuable Government collection of manuscripts to the BORI on 1 April 1918. The first curator, [[P.K. Gode]] took active initiatives to enhance this collection. Presently, the Institute has over 29,000 manuscripts.

The largest part of the collection (17,877 Manuscripts) is part of the "Government Manuscript Library", while there is an additional collection of 11,633 manuscripts. The most prized collections include a paper manuscript of the {{IAST|Cikitsāsārasangraha}} dated 1320 and a palmleaf manuscript of the {{IAST|Upamitibhavaprapañcakathā}} dated 906.

Among the several scholars referring to the works at BORI, the most well-known person arguably is the [[Bharat Ratna]] awardee, Pt. [[Pandurang Vaman Kane]].{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

==The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata==
A long term project under the auspices of BORI, started on 1 April 1919, was the preparation of a Critical Edition of the [[Mahabharata]]. [[Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar|V.S. Sukthankar]] was appointed general editor of the project on 1 August 1925 and he continued until his death on 21 January 1943. After his death, S.K. Belvalkar was appointed general editor on 1 April 1943. On 1 April 1961 P. L. Vaidya appointed as General Editor of the project on the retirement of [[S. K. Belvalkar]].[[R. N. Dandekar]] appointed as the joint general editor on 6 July 1957. To widespread acclaim, the completion for publication was announced on 22 September 1966, by [[Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan]], then [[President of India]], at a special function held at the institute.

The Critical Edition was collated from 1,259 manuscripts.<ref>[http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata.htm Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209174531/http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata.htm |date=9 February 2008 }}</ref> This edition in 19 volumes (more than 15000 demi-quarto size pages) comprised the critically constituted text of the 18 ''Parvas'' of the [[Mahabharata]] consisting of more than 89000 verses, an elaborate Critical Apparatus and a Prolegomena on the material and methodology (volume I), written by V.S. Sukthankar.

Further work since the initial publication has produced a Critical Edition of the [[Harivamsa]], a Pratika Index, a Bibliography of ancillary materials, and a Cultural Index. The project of preparing a critical edition of the Harivamsa was inaugurated by the President of India, [[Rajendra Prasad]] on 19 November 1954. The publication was completed in November, 1971. The critical edition in two volumes consists the 4 ''Parvan''s of the Harivamsa. The Pratika Index in 6 volumes consists 360000 verse quarters with appendices. Two volumes of the Cultural Index have been published so far. The constituted text of the critical edition has also been made available on the CD-ROM.

===Donation by Nizam and the "Nizam guest house"===
In 1932, there was a need for money for the publication of the [[Mahabharata]]. A formal request was made to the 7th Nizam, [[Mir Osman Ali Khan]].<br/> He granted Rs.1000 /- per year for 11 years and offered Rs 50,000 for construction of the guest house<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bori.ac.in/Bori-Heritage-Walk.html|title=Nizam's Guest House, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune|access-date=17 July 2018|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709094410/http://www.bori.ac.in/Bori-Heritage-Walk.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> which is called "Nizam Guest House".<ref>{{cite web|url =https://telanganatoday.com/reminiscing-seventh-nizam-enormous-contribution-education|title = Reminiscing the seventh Nizam’s enormous contribution to education|publisher= telanganatoday|date= March 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/family-members-rue-that-hyderabad-has-forgotten-the-last-nizams-contribution-to-the-city-2963344.html|title=Family members rue that Hyderabad has forgotten the last Nizam's contribution to the city|date=August 18, 2016}}</ref><ref name="bori2">{{cite web|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/over-year-on-bori-s-historic-nizam-guest-house-still-awaits-reopening/142258|title=Over Year On, Bori's Historic Nizam Guest House Still Awaits Reopening}}</ref>

The office of the university was operated at Nizam Guest House till June 1, 1949.<ref name="bori2"/>

==Vandalism in 2004==
The institute was vandalized on Monday, 5 January 2004 by a mob made up of members of an extremist self-styled [[Maratha]] youth squad, calling themselves the [[Sambhaji Brigade]], named after [[Shivaji]]'s elder son.

The incident provoked widespread reaction<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol5/issue1/laine0.htm | title=James Laine’s Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India and the attack on the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute | work=Complete Review | date=February 2004 | volume=5 | issue=1 | access-date=27 November 2018 }}</ref> and led historian [[Gajanan Mehendale]] to destroy parts of his in-progress biography of Shivaji.<ref name="ownwork">{{Cite news | last =Damle | first =Manjiri | title =Scholar destroys own work on Shivaji| work = The Times of India, Pune | publisher =Times News Network| date =2003-12-27 | url =http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/385489.cms| access-date =2010-05-17 }}</ref>

The vandalism and the subsequent ban on the book were denounced in a statement by historians, among whom were [[Ram Sharan Sharma|R.S. Sharma]], [[R.C. Thakran]], Suraj Bhan, [[Irfan Habib]], [[D.N. Jha]], [[Shireen Moosvi]] and [[K. M. Shrimali]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/01/18/stories/2004011802911000.htm | title = Historians protest ban on book | work = The Hindu | date = 2004-01-18 | access-date = 2009-04-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040504233200/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/01/18/stories/2004011802911000.htm | archive-date = May 4, 2004 }}</ref>
[[Oxford University Press]] - publisher of James Laine's, ''Shivaji: Hindu king in Islamic India'', withdrew the book after protests from Historian [[Ninad Bedekar]] and other right-wing politicians as it contained objectionable statements about [[Shivaji]].<ref name="ownwork"/>

==See also==
*[[Pandurang Vaman Kane]]
*[[Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute]]
*[[Nizams of Hyderabad]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute}}
*[http://www.bori.ac.in/ The Official Website of BORI] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/6B6YcCF5E?url=http://www.bori.ac.in/ |date=2 October 2012 }}

{{Pune topics}}

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[[Category:Indology]]
[[Category:South Asian manuscripts]]
[[Category:Archives in India]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Pune]]
[[Category:Historiography of India]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Pune]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1917]]
[[Category:1917 establishments in India]]

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute - Revision history

>InternetArchiveBot at 01:02, 29 May 2021