Bihar Research Society
Till about a few years ago, the BRS has been visited by scholars from across the world for research on history, languages, literature and Buddhist studies. The rich repository of BRS includes around 10,000 manuscripts, which were brought back from Tibet by famous scholar Rahul Sankrityayan and donated to the BRS during the period of 1929-38.
BRS is the second oldest research institute in the country after Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Rahul Sankrityayan’s collection in BRS possession include manuscripts written in gold, rare manuscripts that were taken to Tibet between 7th and 11th century from ancient Nalanda and Vikramshila universities before they were destroyed, about 600 thanka paitings and hundreds of unique books pertaining to ancient history and theology. Owing to its rich collection, the Naritasan Institute of Buddhist Studies, Narita City, Japan, had collaborated with the BRS in 1989 for publication of Rahul Sankrityayan’s manuscripts in Sanskrit. The Tohoku University, Japan, had published the catalogue for collection of Sankrityayan’s manuscripts in the late seventies, said a research scholar.
The BRS, then called as Bihar and Orissa Research Society, had set up the historic Patna Museum in 1917 in its own premises as private entity near Patna High Court building. Both the institutes were shifted in its current building in 1927 on Budh Marg. BRS was allocated southern portion of the Patna Museum premises. Later, Bihar government took over the Patna Museum along with the part of BRS building, which housed it. The state government also took over the BRS in 2009 and made it part of the Patna Museum. (Adapted from Source July 31, 2023)
