UV Swaminatha Iyer Library

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The UV Swaminatha Iyer Library

The UV Swaminatha Iyer Library (UVSL) ( Tamil : உ. வே.சாமிநாதையர் நூல் நிலையம் ) is a library in Chennai (Madras), the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . She has an important collection of Tamil manuscripts .

The UV Swaminatha Iyer Library goes back to the estate of UV Swaminatha Iyers (1855–1942). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he edited numerous works of classical Tamil literature that had previously only been preserved in manuscript form. Thereby he contributed significantly to the rediscovery of the Sangam literature and the epics Sivagasindamani , Silappadigaram and Manimegalai . For his text editions, Swaminatha Iyer collected numerous palm leaf manuscripts in various places in Tamil Nadu. After his death, his son Kalyanasundaram Iyer founded the UV Swaminatha Iyer Library in 1943 with the support of the theosophist Rukmini Devi Arundale . UV Swaminatha Iyer's collection of manuscripts and books formed the basis of the collection. The library was initially located on the premises of the Adyar Theosophical Society in Chennai. In 1967 it moved to its current location on the Kalakshetra Foundation campus in the Besant Nagar district .

The UV Swaminatha Iyer Library is privately owned but receives grants from the government of Tamil Nadu state. Today she owns around 2,200 palm leaf manuscripts, 850 paper manuscripts and 33,000 books. Along with the Government Oriental Manuscript Library (also in Chennai) and the Saraswati Mahal Library in Thanjavur , it is one of the most important collections of Tamil manuscripts.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Hindu, July 5, 2013: "Abode of legacy".
  2. ^ Eva Wilden: Manuscript, Print and Memory. Relics of the Caṅkam in Tamilnadu, Berlin, Munich, Boston: De Gruyter, 2014, p. 35.

literature

  • A Descriptive Catalog of Tamil Manuscripts in Mahāmahōpādhyāya Dr. V. Swāmināthaiyar Library. 4 volumes. Adyar, Madras: Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. V. Swaminathaiyar Library, 1956-1962. (Catalog of the manuscript collection)

Coordinates: 12 ° 59 ′ 28 ″  N , 80 ° 15 ′ 50 ″  E