INTRODUCTION
His Highness Maharaja Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad ill ( 11 3- 1863 to 6- 2 - 1939 A.D. ) had a dream to have an independent library of manuscripts in His State. This dream became true when the Oriental Institute was established independently in 1927, being separated from the Central Library, Baroda. Later on, Baroda the Institute got affiliated to the Maharaja Sayajirao University ofBaroda, Vadodara, with its establishment in 1949.
While addressing the Seventh All India Oriental Conference held on 27th December, 1933 at Baroda, His Highness Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad illhad said:
"Inmy State also, I have endea voured to give encouragement to that branch of research work which I consider to be the most substantial and of the highest value at the present juncture
I mean, the publication of original works of oriental literature, including Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, and even Persian, in a special series called the Gaekwad's Oriental Series." ( Speeches
&Addresses of His Highness Sayaji Rao ill , Maharaja of Baroda , Vol.ill, p.673 ).
The value of Manuscripts is evidently clear from the speech of the Maharaja. Similarly, emphasising the value of this literary heritage, the Report of the Sanskrit Commission 1956- 57 quotes the following observation by Jawahar Lal Nehru :
" If I was asked what is the greatest treasure which India possesses and what is her finest heritage, I would answer unhesitatingly - it is the Sanskrit Language and Literature, and all that it contains. This is a magnificent inheritance, and so long as this end ures and influences the life of our people, so long the basic genius of India will continue.''
This greatest treasure of India, of which Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and Nehru had said, lies hidden in the Man uscripts. They are a precious component of our cultural and literary heritage. Ancient lovers of knowledge have dedicated their lives to create written records of knowledge and laboured hard to preserve them for posterity. Today all those records help us in understanding the history and culture of our country. Therefore, the importance of the literary treasure enshrined in the Manuscripts cannot be gainsaid. The Oriental Institute of Baroda is known all over the world for the preservation of Manuscripts and their publication through Gaekwad's Oriental Series. It is one of the well-organized and richest Manuscripts -repositories in the world . Since its inception the Institute has been acquiring Manuscripts from various parts of India and now the collection has reached more than 30000. As an indispensable tool for critical editing and research, it was necessary to compile a consolidated alphabetical inventory of Manuscripts of Sanskrit, Prakrit and other works and their authors.
