
Tara Prakashana, a non-profit trust, has opened India’s first 3D printing laboratory for the preservation of ancient manuscripts. In an unprecedented initiative, the world’s oldest copy of the Bhagavad Gita is being printed using advanced 3D printing technology, ensuring its preservation for hundreds of years.
Though complete details about the 3D printer and how it will be implmented in this project is not yet clear, the work will soon begin and more details will be shared. For this new project, the trust will be using an FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) 3D printer, which prints physical parts in three dimensions using polymer filaments. The 3D printer will be used to reproduce ancient manuscripts.
This effort will ensure the sacred text’s integrity and historical significance for future generations. The laboratory was opened by Dr. Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor of Central Sanskriti University in New Delhi.
3D Printing Laboratory for Manuscript Preservation
Tara Prakashana’s 3D printing laboratory is outfitted with cutting-edge technology that allows for the precise replication and preservation of ancient manuscripts. This innovative approach addresses the critical need to protect India’s rich literary heritage in the face of environmental and physical degradation.
“Technology can be used for both positive and negative purposes. Naturally, these polymers have a lasting property that has been used to preserve knowledge for several centuries by Dr. Mukund and his team at Tara Prakashana.”
– Dr. Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskriti University, New Delhi
Dr. Varakhedi continued, “This is the first application of 3D printing towards manuscript preservation in India, and I see applications of this across India to preserve our culture and knowledge. This is the next generation of technology applied to preservation that requires research and widespread application.”
“We at Tara Prakashana have been researching for the last 2 decades on preservation technology that will combine the benefits of ancient preservation techniques that enabled longevity, like palm leaf manuscripts, with newer digital techniques that enable ease of replication and distribution.”
– Prof. P. R. Mukund, Founding Trustee, Tara Prakashana
Prof. P. R. Mukund, added, “We believe 3D printing for manuscript preservation offers both longevity and ease of distribution, and hence we are launching it at our center in India for the first time. Our first project on this technology is preserving the oldest copy of the Bhagavad Gita for posterity.”
About Tara Prakashana: Tara Prakashana is a non-profit trust founded in Bangalore in 2006 by Prof. P.R. Mukund under the guidance of his Guru, Late Shri Bannanje Govindacharya, with the sole purpose of preserving and disseminating Vedic knowledge.
Tara Prakashana has saved over 3300 manuscripts over the course of 16 years by utilising cutting-edge technologies such as multi-spectral imaging. It has distributed lakhs of free copies of Dr. Mukund’s booklets on the fundamentals of Vedic thought and spirituality worldwide, across all demographics and communities.