THANJAVUR MAHARAJA SERFOJI'S SARASVATI MAHAL LIBRARY

The great Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar once wrote,

"Thottanai Thurum Manarkeni Mandahrku
Kattranai Thurum Arivu",

which Rev. Dr. G U Pope translated in English as

"In Sandy soil, when deep you delve,
                                                   You reach the springs below;
The more you learn, the freer streams of wisdom flow".

This certainly holds true for Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Sarasvati Mahal Library - a conglomeration of different cultures and a treasure trove of knowledge put together by the successive dynasties of Nayaks and Marathas of Thanjavur.  One among the few surviving medieval libraries of the world it has been mentioned as "the most remarkable library in India" in Encylopedia Brittanica's survey of Libraries of the World.

Founded as the royal palace library during the reign of the Nayaks of Thanjavur between the years 1535 AD and 1675 AD, it was named as 'Sarasvati Bhandar' (Collection place of manuscripts).  The Maratha rulers contributed to the development of the library, which was situated within the premises of the palace, after they captured Thanjavur in 1675 AD till 1855 AD.

The name Maharaja Serfoji, which is part of the library's name, can be traced to the Maratha King Maharaja Serfoji II, an eminent scholar he had taken a special interest in developing the library.  It is said that he undertook a pilgrimage to Banares and employed many pandits (scholars) to buy and copy large number of works from all renowned centres of Sanskrit learning in North India.  Thanks to his efforts the library boasts of an extensive Sanskrit manuscript collection of 36, 326 titles, a good part of which was collected by Maharaja Serfoji II.

The library, which was declared as an institution of national importance in 1983, was made a registered society in the same year.  The society comprises ex-officio members of both Central and State governments, nominated scholars, a member of the royal family and the Director of the library.  The Education Minister of Tamil Nadu, who is also the Secretary of the Society, chairs the Society. The Government of India funds the developmental activities of the library, while the State Government takes care of the maintenance of the library.

The library's manuscript department has a rich collection of manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi which were further bolstered when the library came into possession of the private libraries of several important scholars and personalities living in and around Thanjavur.  Maharaja Serfoji himself started the reference books department of the library and nearly 4500 books in English, French, Latin, Italian and other language collected by him find place here.  The library also has its own printing press to publish the rare and unpublished manuscripts into printed book form.  The Reprography department and Computer Centre of the library take care of preserving the rare pieces of literature by microfilming and digitising.

Working Hours: 10 a.m. to 5. 30 p.m, six days of the week.

Holidays: Wednesdays, Government Holidays and all National Holidays.

Address: Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji Sarasvati Mahal Library, Thanjavur 613 009.
Phone: 04362 34107
Fax: 04362 33568
E-mail: sarasvatimahal@vsnl.com

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