Anđela Stošić
Univerzitet u Beogradu
Filološki fakultet – Katedra za bibliotekarstvo i informatiku, Beograd
andjela.stosic@fi l.bg.ac.rs

doi: 10.19090/cit.2019.34.40-51
No. 34 (May 2019), p. 40-51

Books and Libraries in Ancient India

Summary

This paper is an attempt to present the role and signifi cance of books and libraries on the Indian subcontinent to the local library public. The paper shows the attitude towards books and writing, as well as the course of founding libraries in the oldest developmental period, between 3000 BC and 1206 AD. The writing system, which is still waiting to be deciphered, existed in the Indus Valley Civilisation in the third millennium BC, as evidenced by numerous steatite seals and copper tablets with inscriptions on them. Little is known about the existence of manuscript collections on the territory of India BC. The reason for this is a great time distance, as well as a highly developed tradition of oral transmission of knowledge. Another reason is the practice of writing on materials with a low degree of durability such as palm leaf or birch bark. A turning point in relation to writing is brought by Buddhism, which in India dates back to the second half of the 6th century BC, and signifi cantly develops and receives new followers during the Mauryan dynasty, precisely during the reign of King Ashoka (273–236 BC). After converting himself to Buddhism, the king encouraged his subjects to convert, too. The oldest preserved monuments written in Ancient Indian scripts – The Laws of King Ashoka carved in stone, originate from this period.
The fi rst libraries in Ancient India about which we can speak with certainty, were the parts of mahaviharas, Buddhist monastic universities. The most famous and largest among them was the library in Nalanda. It was named Dharmaganjan which means Piety Mart, and according to some data, it had about 700,000 titles. Historical records reveal three types of libraries in ancient period. They are libraries attached to palaces/courts, educational centers, and religious centers.

Keywords:

Ancient India, book, script, writing materials, mahavihara, palace/court libraries, libraries in educational centers, libraries in religious centers

Submitted: 15th February 2019
Correction to the manuscript: 10th March 2019
Accepted for publication: 15th March 2019

Books and Libraries in Ancient India by Anđela Stošić is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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