LEKHA (Literary and Epigraphic Knowledge with Hermeneutics in Ayurveda)
LEKHA (Literary and Ethnographic Knowledge with Hermeneutics in Ayurveda) is a literary research project exploring the wealth of the writings of Ayurveda preserved in the form of manuscripts. This includes epigraphy, literary research as well as hermeneutics to unravel the ancient writings of Ayurveda.
THE DIGITAL ARCHIVES
AVTAR has digitized the major collections of medical manuscripts in the Calicut University of Kerala. More than 500 medical manuscripts have been digitized and are available in the archives of AVTAR. These manuscripts are in the process of being transcribed for publication. Work is also being initiated to prepare critical edition of the classical writings of Ayurveda, especially the works composed in Kerala.
THE PHYSICAL COLLECTIONS
AVTAR is in possession of physical copies of around 60 manuscripts, which is known as the Kunchu Varier Collections. Kunchu Varier was a famous personality in Kerala and his collections include important Ayurveda manuscripts which constitute more than half of the total manuscripts.
The Ayurvedic manuscripts in this collection have been catalogued and the other manuscripts are in the process of being catalogued. These manuscripts have also been digitized and are being transcribed for publication.
AVTAR is also developing a software tool that will enable scholars to magnify, decipher and transcribe the manuscripts in various scripts.
