French Institute of Pondicherry

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French Institute of Pondicherry (fr:Institut Français de Pondichéry) was established as a result of framework of the Cessation Treaty of French Territories in India, and was officially inaugurated on 20th March 1955. The Institute is a part of the network of research centers [1] organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and its existence is guaranteed by an international treaty, namely, the Treaty of Cession of French Territories in India, signed between India and France in 1956.

Contents 1 The activities 2 The facilities 3 The manuscripts 3.1 Contents of the collection 3.2 Recognitions 4 External links

[edit] The activities

The Institute’s mission is four-pronged:

1. Social sciences
2. Ecology
3. Geomatics and applied informatics
4. Indology

[edit] The facilities

The Institute is housed in a 19th century building, recently renovated and the premises cover an area of 3000 square meter.

[edit] The manuscripts

With respect to its branch of research in Indology, the French Institute of Pondicherry has a collection of 8,600 Hindu religious manuscripts and similar records, forming part of India’s National Mission for Manuscripts. Comprised of 8,187 ancient palm-leaf bundles, 360 paper codices and 1,144 recent paper transcripts, it is the largest collection of manuscripts primarily transmitting texts of the Saiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. The collection was started in 1955 by the institute's founder-director, Jean Filliozat, who desired to explain the Hindu temple and what happens in it. The manuscripts were gathered from private collections of temples, priests and monasteries across South India and brought to the institute with the intention of preserving, transcribing and eventually translating them. Four volumes of a catalog describing in detail the contents of 4,000 texts transmitted in 475 of the palm-leaf bundles were published in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 2002, respectively. Cataloging has continued using flatbed scanning and digital photography technology in conjunction with a computerized database.

[edit] Contents of the collection

• Canonical texts of Saivism (Saiva Agamas, also known as Tantras) 1,900 codices

• Mantra/ritual manuals 1,890

• Devotional hymns and legends of holy places (stotra/mahatmya) 1,360

• Hindu astrology (Jyotisha) 435

• The literary epic about Rama (Ramayana) 192

• Other Sanskrit epics, myths and legends (Puranas) 230

• Traditional South Indian medicine 198

• Vedas 187

• Literary works in Sanskrit 160

• Tamil devotional literature 1,350

[edit] Recognitions

The collection was registered in the World Memories of the UNESCO in July 2005 and was declared a national treasure of India by the Indian government. The institute was also declared a "Manuscripts Resource Centre" in 2004 in recognition of the valuable collection.

[edit] External links

• IFP - official website

• Indian Ministry for External Affairs - 1956 Treaty

• INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage)