Kalamulasastra

Kalamulasastra programme consists of publication of text-critical editions and translations of fundamental texts relating to the Indian arts ranging from architecture, sculpture, painting to music, dance, theatre along with their scientific and technical commentaries. This is conceived as a series of 108 texts with original translation with glossaries. Twenty-seven texts in fifty-nine volumes have been already published under this series.Scholars both from India and abroad are involved in this task. The procedure adopted is to assign each text to one or more specialists in the concerned field, who are supplied with all the printed and manuscript material related to a particular text and they have access to the databases of Kala Nidhi.

Each volume contains a critical introduction, a note on the critical apparatus utilised, a historical placement of the author, the critically edited text with variant readings, with an English translation in facing pages, including annotations, a glossary of technical terms, indexes, bibliography and illustrations wherever possible.

After completing the Kalatattvakosa programme in the first phase, the Kala kosa Division will continue with the glossary project on another 500 fundamental terms, with a view to launch the project of Encyclopaedia of the Arts in the second phase. By that time firsthand reference material in respect of all disciplines as also sufficient supplementary data supplied by the Janapada Sampada highlighting the prayoga aspects, will be culled. The academic scheme of the encyclopaedia will be structured on the basis of relating theory with practice, textual with oral traditions. Under Kalamulasastra programme another set of fundamental texts will be taken up for preparing critical edition and translation. Under this programme has been also documented the rare traditional rituals in video and audio formats.