Each manuscript is made of assembled palm leaves, covered in handwritten inscriptions whose origins date back to the fourth and fifth centuries. They were gathered by scientists over the 30 years following the founding of the Institute. Over 8,000 manuscripts are stored within this library.
A team of Indologists watch over the precious collection. These sacred texts are studied at the French Institute of Pondichery, in southern India. His cult gave birth to Shivaism, a branch of Hinduism that obeys teachings which have been passed down through the centuries within these mysterious manuscripts. Yet within the pantheon of Hinduism, one of the principal gods is Shiva, master of destruction and reproduction, the supreme yogi. At times, these divinities have taken different forms, and have been invoked by prayers inspired by everyday life. They say that India’s identity was forged in the link between gods and humanity.
