Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu Manuscripts In K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute

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The present work is a descriptive catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu manuscripts preserved in the library of the K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna which was established by the government of Bihar in 1950 in the memory of a great historian and Jurist, Dr. K.P. Jayaswal, who inspired the historians of our country through his writings in the first half of the twentieth century. His contributions to Indian history, culture and polity are well known all over the world.

The credit for collecting these manuscripts largely goes to an equally great historian of our time, the late Professor S.H. Askari but for whose personal efforts it would not have been possible to have this rare collection of Persian Mss. in the Institute.

The total number of manuscripts in the library of the Institute is 137 which includes 4 Arabic, 11 Urdu and rest Persian. This collection of Mss is important for more than one reasons. Some of the Mss of this collection have not been studied as yet though their literary and historical importance are above board. This collection includes the works of leading poets and historians of India, Afghanistan and Iran who flourished during the Mughal and post-Mughal period. Some of the Mss of this collection are representative in character and some are, of course rare as no other copies of such works are known to be available in other libraries or collections in India.

I have tried my best to identify each and every work of this collection and have given other descriptive details after going through them thoroughly. But in few cases, I could not give details of some of the authors such as Diwan-e-Bezan, Diwan-e-Benishah, Diwane-e-Baligh and Diwan-e-Wahid Asfahani in spite of my best efforts although I am still trying to find the details and the same would be supplemented to the present edition as soon they will be available.

I acknowledge my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Bijoy Kumar Choudhary. Director of the Institute who amply helped me in the fruition of this project and whose help at each step served as pollen to my efforts. Last but not the least, D must express my gratefulness to the late Prof. P. N. Ojha who very kindly gave this task to me and Dr. Chittaranjan Prasad Sinha who encouraged me through- out in this venture.