Descriptive list of manuscripts pertaini

Descriptive list of manuscripts pertaining to Mathematics and Astronomy in the
Thunchan Manuscripts Repository, University of Calicut.
Dr. N. K. Sundareswaran
(Associate Professor)
&
Ms P. Resmi,
Dept. of Sanskrit,
University of Calicut,
Kerala 673 635

Introduction
The Thunchan Manuscript repository, University of Calicut, is one of the
notable manuscript libraries in Kerala. It contains more than 12,000 manuscripts
written in different scripts like Grantha, old Malayalam, and Tamil. The contents of
these manuscripts also vary widely, ranging from cookery and dietetics to á¡stric
disciplines Ny¡ya, Vy¡kara¸a and JyotiÀa.
The services of Prof. N. V. P. Unithiri in procuring a majority of these
manuscripts are here noteworthy. The services rendered by Prof. Purushothaman
Nair and Edamana Kesavan Namboothiri in preparing the catalogues of these
manuscripts are also to be remembered.
At present, there are four catalogues, two of which are in printed form and

the remaining in paper transcript, the details of which are given below. But still, a
complete catalogue with a thorough descriptive analysis is a desideratum. Here in
the following pages, a detailed descriptive list of manuscripts pertaining to
Mathematics and Astronomy is furnished.
Details of existing catalogue
1. Catalogue of Manuscripts, Dr .M.S. Menon (Gen. Ed.) & N.V.P. Unithiri (Ed.),
Department of Sanskrit, University of Calicut, 1985.
2. T¡½iyolagranthas£ci (Vol.1), Prof. Sukumar Azhicode (Gen Ed.) & Dr. M.M.
Purushottaman Nair (Ed.), Department of Malayalam, University of Calicut, 1985.
3. T¡½iyolagranthas£ci (Vol. 2), Prof. Sukumar Azhicode (Gen Ed.) & Dr. M.M.
Purushottaman Nair (Ed.), Department of Malayalam, University of Calicut, 1986.

4. List of Palm leaf Manuscripts, an unpublished work of Dr. M. M. Purushottaman
Nair.
5. An untitled and unpublished work of Edamana Kesavan Namboothiri.
Notable Findings Made
The following are the notable findings which emerged during the preparation
of this list:
1. There are two hundred manuscripts pertaining to mathematics and astronomy, thirty
four of which deal with mathematics. There are a lot of manuscripts of

Muh£rttapadav¢ and K¡lad¢pakam. Eight manuscripts have the subjects of
Ka¸akkus¡ram and Ka¸akkatik¡ram.
2. It is noticed that many of the manuscripts have a different subject from the one
recorded in the available catalogues. For details, see the remarks in the entry
numbers in the present list. Here is an example: Ga¸itakriy¡kramam is recorded as
Ga¸anaprak¡ram Ma¸iprav¡½am in written catalogue edited by Dr. M. M.
Purushottaman Nair.
3. There are two manuscripts of Va¶a¿¿eri Parame¿varan’s commentary of L¢l¡vat¢
which were hitherto unnoticed.
4. Mah¢dhara’s Vivara¸a commentary on L¢l¡vat¢ is the lone mathematical work
written by an author outside Kerala.
5. The manuscript number 3556 (Entry no.6 in the present list of astronomical works)
is that of Gha¶¢gopa’s Malayalam commentary on Ëryabha¶¢ya.
6. There are two Malayalam commentaries on Tantrasa´graha, the celebrated work of
N¢laka¸¶ha Somayaji and one of these two seems to be Yuktibh¡À¡ of JyeÀ¶hadeva.
7. The manuscript number X99 (Entry no.16 in the present list of mathematical works)
is titled as K¤tsnaga¸ita by Edamana Kesavan Namboothiri. But it is discovered to
be that of Yuktibh¡À¡.

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About The Present List
In the present descriptive list of manuscripts, there are ten columns. The first
column is serial number. The last column contains the detailed remarks about the
condition of the manuscript, new findings regarding the subject, details regarding
whether the text is complete or not etc. The remaining columns (i.e. from second to
the ninth) contain the title, the manuscript number as is given in the outer cover of
the manuscript, size, number of folios, number of lines in each folio, number of
letters per line, script and the language of the manuscript.
There are two written catalogues available in the Thunchan Manuscripts Library
which have not been published yet. The present list mentions catalogue prepared by
Dr. M. M. Purushottaman Nair as Written catalogue Book-1 and the one prepared
by Sri. Edamana Kesavan Namboothiri as Book-2, for convenience.

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