Bihar government to translate and publish original Buddhist manuscripts brought back by Rahul Sankrityayan.

Why in news?

• Bihar government is in the process to translate and publish hundreds of original Buddhist manuscripts from Nalanda and Vikramshila, saved during the burning of the ancient universities in the 12th and 13th centuries by Bakhtiyar Khilji’s army and later brought back to India from Tibet by Rahul Sankrityayan.

About Rahul Sankrityayan

• A traveller and literary polymath, he was universally called Mahapandit (great scholar) as he knew nearly 30 languages, but he almost wrote in Hindi.
• Wrote “Madhya Asia Ka Itihas” (History of Central Asia); “Volga Se Ganga” (From Volga to Ganga); a grammar and primer of Tibetan in Sanskrit.
• Made a pioneering contribution in preserving and reconstructing the philosophical works of Buddhist logicians like Dharmakirti, Asang and Subandhu.
• His travels prompted him to write travelogues and he is considered ‘father of Hindi travel literature’.
• Awarded by Sahitya Akademi (1958) & Padma Bhushan.