Vidyapati manuscript, stolen from KSDSU in 2003, remains untraced

Patna: Even as the state govt rolls out plans to safeguard manuscripts, a priceless palm-leaf copy of the Bhagavat Purana—transcribed by Mahakavi Vidyapati in Tirhuta in 1428 and stolen from Darbhanga Sanskrit University in 2003—remains untraced. This rare manuscript was first discovered by Darbhanga Maharaja Rameshwar Singh in 1916–17 during a survey he initiated to locate Mithila’s ancient texts.

INTACH Bihar co-convenor Shiv Kumar Mishra said that during the survey, two significant manuscripts were found at the house of a resident in Jogiyara village of Darbhanga district—the Bhagavat Purana transcribed by Mahakavi Vidyapati and the Vishnu Purana transcribed by philosopher Pakshadhar Mishra in 1464 AD.


“Maharaja kept the Bhagavat Purana in his personal collection, while the Vishnu Purana was handed over to the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Patna, where it is still preserved. Later, Maharaja Kameshwar Singh deposited the Bhagavat Purana with Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, but it was stolen in 2003 along with several other manuscripts and documents,” Mishra said. He added that Vidyapati’s handwritten manuscript is a rare heritage of Bihar whose theft must be thoroughly investigated and the artefact recovered and restored to the university, with strict action against the culprits.

The matter resurfaced after Darbhanga resident and activist Pankaj Kumar wrote a detailed letter in Dec last year to the Bihar chief minister, Union home minister, state home minister, DGP, Darbhanga DM and SSP, and also sent a copy to the governor.

In the letter, Pankaj highlighted years of alleged inaction despite clear directives from senior police officers. The manuscripts were stolen in 2003, and an FIR was lodged on Nov 29 the same year. A preliminary chargesheet was filed in 2004. The case took a major turn when the Hajipur customs department recovered some manuscripts, revealing new facts and additional accused.

According to the letter, the then Darbhanga SSP, in letter no. 04 dated Sept 29, 2010, named then customs superintendent of Hajipur, Santosh Kumar Singh, Pappu Thakur alias Ashutosh Jha of Darbhanga, and two unidentified persons as being involved in what was described as organised crime. The SSP had also issued instructions for supplementary investigation, arrests, CDR analysis and filing of a supplementary charge sheet.

However, the letter alleged that even eight years after the 2010 directives—between 2010 and 2018—and in the years following, no meaningful action was taken. The case reportedly remains pending at the police station level, while the court continues to wait for a final report.

After this renewed complaint, the Vigilance department in Jan this year forwarded the matter to the Home department for action as per rules. The communication was sent by Vigilance department additional secretary Ramashankar to the additional chief secretary of the Home department.