Munshiram Manoharlal

Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (MRML) is a leading Indian publishing house located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1952 by Manohar Lal Jain, it is one of the oldest and most well-reputed publishing houses in India. It publishes books on Social Sciences and Humanities and has published over 3000 academic and scholarly publications in subjects such as Indian Art, Art History, Architecture, Archaeology, History, Culture, Politics, Numismatics, Geography, Travels, Voyages, Indian Law, Indian Medicine, Language, Literature, Linguistics, Dictionaries, Glossaries, Handbooks, Indices, Music, Dance, Theatre, Religion, Philosophy, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Sufism, Sikhism, Tantra, Mysticism, Yoga, Sanskrit Literature, Sociology, Anthropology, and related subjects.

MRML also co-publishes scholarly titles with prestigious governmental institutions and bodies such as Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR); Centre for Studies in Civilizations which is known for the unparalleled series of scholarly publications namely Project of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture (PHISPC); Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA); and Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). In addition to this, MRML publishes and reprints quality books in collaboration with leading university presses, independent publishers, scholars, and institutions around the world.

History

Munshiram Manoharlal traces its history to 1850. It belongs to a family of publishers who were the pioneers in Indological publishing in India. The origins of the family business can be traced back to Lahore where books were published under the name of the ancestral company which was founded by Mehar Chand Jain who named it Meharchand Lachhmandas. Mehar Chand Jain, a widely respected literary figure, had translated the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, into English. The British decorated him for his ground-breaking work. The company slowly expanded and its publications were being sold at premier bookstores all over the country.

Meharchand Lachhmandas became the first to publish several classic, important, and perennial texts in the field of Indology. It flourished for three subsequent generations, i.e., Lachhman Das Jain, Munshi Ram Jain, and Manohar Lal Jain. However, just before the partition of India, the offices, press, bookstore, and residence were burnt and destroyed by Muslim activists. Fortunately, everyone else in the family had been evacuated earlier to Amritsar. Soon afterwards, Manohar Lal Jain was forced to flee to Amritsar to take refuge, and was helped by kind Muslim neighbours, who helped him escape safely across the border. The family was once again united, but with no business or assets.

After the partition of India, there was a split in the family business, and Manohar Lal Jain separated from the parent company Meharchand Lachhmandas to set up his own bookselling and publishing company. In 1948, he sold the jewelry his wife had brought with her from Lahore, and, with that money, steps were taken to re-establish the business.

In 1952, Munshiram Manoharlal was founded as a bookselling and publishing company at Nai Sarak in Delhi. Since Manohar Lal Jain was a well-known publisher with an excellent reputation, it was easy for him to restart. His services to the literary world were recognized, and the business flourished once again. Consequently, Manohar Lal Jain re-created a name for himself as a leading Indological publisher, bookseller, and library-supplier from India. He then started exporting Munshiram Manoharlal's publications, along with other publications from the Indian subcontinent, to countries all over the world.

In 1988, Manohar Lal Jain passed away as a result of a Cardiac Arrest. He was survived by his two sons, i.e, Ashok Jain and Devendra Jain. In 2010, Ashok Jain bought the shares of Late Devendra Jain's sons. The company is now controlled by Ashok Jain and his son, Vikram Jain.

Today, after having published over 3000 titles in the field of Indology, Munshiram Manoharlal continues to be a leading publisher and exporter of Indological publications from India. Every year, about a hundred new titles are added to MRML's list of publications.

Publications

Listed below are a few of Munshiram Manoharlal's publications:

 • The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (12 volumes) by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
 • Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India by Ram Sharan Sharma
 • Urban Decay in India (c.300-1000) by Ram Sharan Sharma
 • The Builders of Indian Philosophy Series (8 volumes published so far); R. Balasubramaniam (General Editor)
 • Manasara Series (7 volumes) by Prasanna Kumar Acharya
 • Ramayana in Regional Language Series (3 volumes published so far); translated into English by Shanti Lal Nagar
 • Complete Works of Goswami Tulsidas (6 volumes); translated into English by S.P. Bahadur
 • The Astadhyayi of Pāṇini (6 volumes) by Rama Nath Sharma
 • History of the Sikhs (5 volumes) by Hari Ram Gupta
 • Yogavarttika of Vijnanabhiksu (4 volumes) by T.S. Rukmani
 • Calukya Architecture (3 volumes) by Gerard Foekema
 • A Source-book of Indian Archaeology (3 volumes); edited by Frank Raymond Allchin and D. K. Chakrabarti
 • Concise History of Ancient India (3 volumes) by A.K. Majumdar
 • New History of the Marathas (3 volumes) by Govind Sakharam Sardesai
 • History of Indian Medicine (3 volumes) by Girindranath Mukhopadhyaya
 • The Hindu Philosophy of Conduct: Lectures on the Bhagavadgita (3 volumes) by M. Rangacharya
 • The Vedantasutras with the Sribhasya of Ramanujacarya; translated into English by M.B. Varadaraja Aiyangar
 • A History of Sufism in India (2 volumes) by S.A.A. Rizvi
 • The Atharvaveda, The Samaveda, and the Yajurveda by Devi Chand
 • An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology (2 volumes) by A. Ghosh
 • Sangitaratnakara of Sarngadeva (2 volumes published so far) by R.K. Shringy and Prem Lata Sharma
 • Yogasutrabhasyavivarana of Sankara (2 volumes) by T.S. Rukmani
 • The Dance of Shiva by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
 • Ancient Indian Massage by Harish Johari
 • The Coins of the Indian Sultanates by Stan Goron and J.P. Goenka
 • The Coins of the Sikhs by Hans Herrli
 • Numismatic Art of India, 2 vols. by B.N. Mukherjee
 • Archaeology in India: Individuals, Ideas and Institutions, edited by Gautam Sengupta and Kaushik Gangopadhyay
 • The Buddha Image: Its Origin and Development by Y. Krishan
 • Enlightening the Listener by Prabha Atre

External links

• Munshiram Manoharlal Website