The Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam houses several collections, the primary one consisting of 748 palm leaf manuscripts originating from the Hindu monastic complex of the Śaṅkaran tradition in Thrissur, central Kerala. This large collection was digitized as part of the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme (EAP1039, EAP1304).

In addition to this principal collection, the Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam also includes smaller collections donated over time by private owners, primarily from the Nampūtiri community. It is these collections that are being digitized as part of the Digital Preservation of Kerala Archives Project (DiPiKA).

Collection History

The collection originally belonged to the Naṭuvil Maṭham (from Malayalam 'Middle Monastery') - another of the four Hindu monasteries located in the city of Thrissur. It was donated to Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam by the head of the monastery, Maṟavañcēri Tekkēṭattŭ Nīlakaṇṭhan Bhāratīkaḷ, in 2019. The collection contains, inter alia, the normative texts of this local monastic tradition, that traces its origin to circa 12th century.

Repository History

Vaṭakke Maṭham Brahmasvam was initially known as Vaṭakke Maṭham (from Malayalam 'Northern Monastery') - one of the four Hindu monasteries located in the city of Thrissur, which are believed to be established by the famous philosopher Śaṅkara, an expounder of the Advaita Vedānta doctrine. The monastery was transformed into vedapāṭhaśālā – a traditional Vedic school – run by Nampūtiri brahmins, at least two centuries ago. Since 2008, the institution has housed the Vedic Research Centre, a dedicated subunit located in a modern building adjacent to the main complex. This Centre is responsible for the administration and promotion of Vedic studies, organizing scholarly events and maintaining a library that features both contemporary publications and a valuable collection of palm leaf manuscripts from the Thrissur monastic complex.

Project Description

DiPiKA is a collaboration between the Vadakke Madham Brahmaswam (Vedic Research Centre) in Thrissur, the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO, Paris and Pondicherry), the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML, Collegeville, Minnesota), and the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), University of Hamburg. The project is funded by Arcadia for a period of five years. The project aims at preserving the rich and highly endangered written cultural heritage of Kerala. It surveys and digitizes palm-leaf and paper manuscripts kept in private collections across the state. The digitized collections will be fed into a digital repository, thus forming an online archive of Kerala manuscripts that will be openly accessible. This will facilitate its use by scholars and private owners, thereby also fostering further local initiatives to safeguard historical written artifacts.