Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MOW register, ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahrdayāloka-Locana
Mains level: NA
Why in the news?
The Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra and Sahrdayaloka-Locana have been included in ‘UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific regional register’.
About UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World (MOW) Asia-Pacific regional register’
| Details | |
| History and Establishment | Initiated in 1992 by UNESCO.
Asia-Pacific Regional Committee (MOWCAP) was set up in 1998. |
| Parent Organization | Overseen by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). |
| Objective | To safeguard, preserve, facilitate access to, and increase awareness of documentary heritage. Focuses specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. |
| Examples of Inscribed Items | Includes items like Japan’s “Sugihara’s Visas for Life”, Australia’s “Mabo Case Manuscripts”, and Vietnam’s “Ba Chuc Massacre Archives”. |
| Impact and Outreach | Supports preservation, digitization, accessibility of documents; provides grants and organizes workshops, meetings, and exhibitions to promote knowledge sharing. |
Reference
About the Texts
-
Ramcharitmanas:
- Written by Tulsidas in the 16th century, the Ramcharitmanas is an epic poem in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi, and is a retelling of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana.
- It narrates the life of Lord Rama, his virtues, the ideals of Dharma, and his reign during Ram Rajya.
- Hanuman Chalisa is a combination of 40 verses from the same epic.
-
Panchatantra:
- The Panchatantra is a collection of ancient Indian animal fables that dates back to at least the 3rd century BCE.
- Originally written in Sanskrit by Vishnu Sharma.
- Its stories are crafted as simple yet vibrant narratives that aim to impart practical life lessons through the interactions of anthropomorphized animals.
-
Sahrdayaloka-Locana
- The Sahrdayaloka-Locana is a Sanskrit treatise on poetics written by Jagannatha Paṇḍitaraja in the 17th century.
- It is considered one of the most important works of Sanskrit literary criticism.
- The text discusses the concept of “Sahrdaya“, which refers to a sensitive or discerning reader or critic.
PYQ:[2016] With reference to the cultural history of India, the memorising of chronicles, dynastic histories and epic tales was the profession of who among the following? (a) Shramana (b) Parivraajaka (c) Agrahaarika (d) Maagadha |
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