The Oriental Institute has been a distinguished centre of postgraduate teaching and research since its inception. The vision for establishing the Institute was conceived in 1893 by His Highness Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, who recognized the need to collect, preserve, and promote the rich heritage of India’s ancient manuscripts and rare books. On 1 September 1927, this vision took concrete shape with an establishment of the Oriental Institute.
The Oriental Institute houses a vast treasure of 31,453 rare, important, and illustrated manuscripts and approximately 1,00,000 printed books, including numerous rare and valuable old editions. Since its inception, the Institute has developed a rich and diverse collection of manuscripts and books covering a wide range of subjects. Many of these materials are unique and are rarely found elsewhere. Scholars from across India and abroad visit the Institute to consult its rich collection of manuscripts and books for their research.
Scholars were invited to critically edit ancient works on the basis of manuscripts, which subsequently led to their publication under the prestigious Gaekwad’s Oriental Series. With the objective of making the wealth of knowledge accessible to the wider public, His Highness also established a Translation Branch with a generous endowment of two lakh rupees. Through this initiative, important Sanskrit and other classical works were translated and published in various vernacular languages under different Mala Series.
After the establishment of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1949, the Oriental Institute became the integrated part of the University. Since then, the Institute has continued its work of preserving manuscripts, promoting research, and spreading India’s rich cultural heritage. The Gaekwad’s Oriental Series and other Mala Series continue to be published.
Over the years, the Institute has published and circulated 75 volumes of the Journal of the Oriental Institute (JOI) and 63 volumes of Sv?dhy?ya, marking a rich and continuing legacy of academic excellence and the dissemination of knowledge in the field of Oriental Studies.
The Institute serves as an important centre for scholars and researchers from across India and abroad, who consult its manuscripts and books for their academic and research work. Research and publication are the principal activities of the Institute. It undertakes the critical study, editing, and publication of significant works in Oriental Studies and Indology, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of India’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
Critical Edition Wing
This Section is engaged in preparing critical editions of Pur??a texts. A critical edition of a text is a humble attempt to remove all irregularities, corruptions, conflations etc. and to give as far as possible a pure, authentic and the oldest form of the text based on available authentic manuscripts of a particular text.
From 1951 to 1975, a critical edition of the great epic V?lm?ki-R?m?ya?a was prepared and published in seven volumes, covering its seven K???as—B?la, Ayodhy?, Ara?ya, Ki?kindh?, Sundara, Yuddha, and Uttara. The work was completed over a period of 25 years with the assistance of more than 25 scholars and financial support from the UGC. The Bare Text, containing only the constituted text of the V?lm?ki-R?m?ya?a, was also published separately in one volume. The Pada-Index of the V?lm?ki-R?m?ya?a was published in three separate volumes.
After the successful completion of the project of the Critical Edition of the Valmiki-Ramayana in 1975, on the suggestion of UGC, a permanent critical edition department was established which has so far completed ‘Vi?n?upur?n?a’ (in two vols.) and ‘M?rkandeyapur?n?a’ (in three vols.). The work on ‘Gay?m?h?tmya’ is under progress. The Institute has also undertaken the major project of preparing the critical edition of the ‘V?yupur?n?a’.
Manuscript Section
The Manuscript Section is the heart of the Institute and houses a rich repository of more than 31,453 manuscripts in various languages and scripts, written on materials such as palm-leaf, birch-bark, and paper. It also possesses a valuable collection of illustrated manuscripts and ancient writing materials, some of which are displayed in the Section’s exhibition hall. The collection has been enriched by hundreds of manuscripts donated by scholars and pandits from Baroda and neighbouring regions, and continues to grow through such generous contributions.
The Manuscript Collection of the Oriental Institute represents the rich intellectual heritage of Ancient India, coveres approximately 46 subjects including the Vedas, Upani?ads, Dharma??stras, Sm?tis, Ny?ya, S??khya, Yoga, M?m??s?, Ved?nta, Dar?ana, Vy?kara?a, Itih?sa, G?t?, Pur??as, M?h?tmya, Vrata, Bhakti, Stotra, S?hitya, K?ma??stra, Sa?g?ta, Jyoti?a, ?ilpa, ?yurveda, Tantra, and Buddhist and Jain literature, along with Persian works.
The manuscripts are written in various scripts, predominantly Devanagari, as well as ??rad?, Grantha, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Persian, Arabic and Urdu and different languages like Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati, Marathi, Persian etc. They are preserved on diverse materials such as paper, palm-leaf and birch-bark. The collection also includes illustrated manuscripts, ancient writing materials, and manuscript copies acquired from renowned manuscript libraries.
The Institute has undertaken digitization of manuscripts and provides digital copies to research scholars worldwide on a chargeable basis. Modern and traditional conservation techniques are employed to protect the manuscripts from deterioration. Five volumes of the Catalogue of Alphabetical List of Manuscripts have been published. All manuscripts are duly registered in accession registers and are available for scholarly consultation on the Institute's premises. Under the prestigious Gaekwad’s Oriental Series, 190 works have been published based on unpublished, rare, valuable, and ancient manuscripts.
Total No. of Manuscripts: 31453
Paper manuscripts: 28305
Palm Leaf Manuscripts: 3,016
Birchbark Manuscript: 1
Metal: 4
Illustrated Manuscripts: 127
Oldest dated Manuscripts: 1274 A.D. (Ramalacint?man?i, Acc.no. 21477)
Catalogues of Mss: An Alphabetical List of Manuscripts in the Oriental Institute, Vadodara
- Vol. I, 1942 (1999 reprint).
2. Vol. II, 1950 (1999 reprint).
3. Vol. III, 1998.
4. Vol. IV, 2008.
5. Vol. V, 2020.
Manuscript Conservation Centre
As a major depository of manuscripts, the Oriental Institute has undertaken significant initiatives for their digitization, preservation and conservation. Earlier, under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), New Delhi, 30,296 manuscripts were digitized in two phases under the Digitization of Manuscripts Project, completed in 2018. The Institute also received support from NMM under the Manuscript Preservation and Conservation Project, through which a Manuscript Conservation Centre was established at the Oriental Institute in 2019. Preventive and curative conservation measures were undertaken to safeguard the manuscripts from deterioration.
In addition, MoU signed with NMM, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, on 8 July 2022, led to the establishment of a Manuscript Resource Centre (MRC) at the Oriental Institute. The Centre undertakes manuscript surveys and online cataloguing through the NMM portal, covering institutional and private collections across Gujarat, and conducts awareness programmes to promote the importance of manuscripts as valuable sources of India's history and cultural heritage.
Gyan Bharatam Mission
Since September 2025, these activities have been continued under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, following the signing of an MoU between the Oriental Institute and Gyan Bharatam, Ministry of Culture. The Oriental Institute has been designated as a Cluster Centre, under which following activities are carried out:
Digitization
The digitization of manuscripts is being carried forward under the Gyan Bharatam Mission. To date, 1,410 manuscripts have been digitized, while 1,554 manuscripts remain to be digitized. Digitized copies are made available to research scholars in India and abroad on a chargeable basis and are securely shared with them through Google Drive as per their research requirements.
Conservation
Alongside digitization, preventive and curative conservation of manuscripts is also being undertaken. The conservation measures include cleaning and dusting of folios, de-acidification, provision of new covers and accession slips, protective wrapping, and lining of brittle or damaged folios with Japanese tissue paper. These systematic measures help ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of the Institute’s valuable manuscript heritage.
Printed Section:
The library of the institute is named as ‘Printed Section’. It has a collection of more than 1, 00,000 printed old and rare books on Indology and research Journals of different reputed institutions of India and foreign countries. The collection covers diverse subjects and continues to grow with the addition of new books and scholarly publications. The Printed Section functions as a reference library, providing access to its resources to scholars, students, researchers, and other interested readers from India and abroad. Books and other study materials may be consulted on the library premises, and digital copies of selected materials are also made available to researchers, as required.
Publications of the Institute
Books:
Gaekwad’s Oriental Series (GOS) - 190 books
M.S. University Oriental Series - 23 books
M.S. University Research Series- 16 books
Gujarati Publication Series (including five mala series)- 651 books
- Shri Sayaji Sahityamala- 386
- Shri Sayaji Gramavikasamala-36
- Shri Sayaji Balajnanamala-213
- Shri Sayaji Shishujnanamala- 08
- Matushri Jamnabai Smarak Granthmala- 08
Research Journals:
1. Journal of the Oriental Institute (75 Volumes)
2. Sv?dhy?ya- Multilingual Journal- (63 Volumes)
Major Projects/ Milestones:
1. The Critical Edition of R?m?yan?a (1951-1975)
2. The Critical Edition of Vi?n?upur?n?a (1980-1996)
3. The Critical Edition of M?rkan?deyapur?n?a (1996- 2016)
4. The Critical Edition of Gay?m?h?tmya (a part of V?yupur?n?a) - in progress
5. The Critical Edition of V?yupur?n?a - in progress
Translation Branch
This section owes its existence to the princely donation of rupees Two Lakhs made by the late Maharaja Sayajirao at the session of the fourth Gujarati Literary conference held at Baroda in 1912 for publication of popular literature in Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. In 1931, this section, which was originally a branch of the Commissioner of Education, was annexed to the Oriental Institute. The activities of this section may be tabulated as under:
Shri Sayaji Sahitya mala: For Adults
Shri Sayaji Balajnanamala: for juveniles
Shri Sayaji Gramavikasamala: For rural upliftment
Shri Shishujnanamala: For children
Matushri Jamanabai Smaraka Granthamala: For Women
More than 650 books have been published so far on a variety of topics, and the section has well served its purpose of popularizing knowledge among masses. One book is generally published from the interest of the Fund.
Research Projects Undertaken at the Institute
The Oriental Institute serves as an important research centre for Prof. Rabindra Kumar Panda and Dr. Sharmila Bagchi, who are independently undertaking advanced research under the Shastrachudamani Project, funded by the Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi. The Institute provides a conducive academic environment and access to its rich manuscript and library resources to facilitate their scholarly research.
International Scholars and Research Engagements
The Oriental Institute has been a valued centre of research and academic engagement for scholars from India and abroad, particularly in the fields of Indology, Ved?nta, and Pur??ic Studies. Among the distinguished researchers who have visited the Institute are Elizabeth Rohlman, Fulbright Ph.D. Researcher from the University of Calgary, Canada, who pursued research on the Sarasvat? Pur??a; Priya Kothari, Fulbright-Nehru Student Researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, who conducted research on Ved?nta and Pu??i Devotion in the Vallabha Samprad?ya; and Chris Schmitz and Joseph Duffy from the University of Calgary, Canada, who undertook research in the area of Pur??ic Studies. Their association with the Institute reflects its rich scholarly resources and its continuing role as a centre for advanced research in Sanskrit and Indological studies.