A proud second’: Unesco provides Bhagavad Gita, Natyashastra manuscripts to Reminiscence of World Register

Manuscripts of Bhagavad Gita and Bharat Muni’s Natyashastra are amongst 74 new documentary heritage collections which have been added to UNESCO’s Reminiscence of the World Register.

Entries on scientific revolution, girls’s contribution to historical past and main milestones of multilateralism from 72 nations and 4 worldwide organisations are included within the register, in keeping with UNESCO.

The register consists of books, manuscripts, maps, images, sound or video recordings as a documentary heritage of humanity.

The event comes on World Heritage Day on April 18.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a publish on X, on Friday described the inscriptions as ”a proud second for each Indian the world over”.

”The inclusion of the Gita and Natyashastra in UNESCO’s Reminiscence of the World Register is a worldwide recognition of our timeless knowledge and wealthy tradition. The Gita and Natyashastra have nurtured civilisation, and consciousness for hundreds of years. Their insights proceed to encourage the world,” he mentioned.

A proud second for each Indian the world over!

The inclusion of the Gita and Natyashastra in UNESCO’s Reminiscence of the World Register is a worldwide recognition of our timeless knowledge and wealthy tradition.

The Gita and Natyashastra have nurtured civilisation, and consciousness for… https://t.co/ZPutb5heUT

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 18, 2025

Preserved on the Bhandarkar Oriental Analysis Institute and codified across the 2nd century BC, the Natyashastra of Bharat Muni is ”an epitome of the Natyaveda, an oral physique of data of performing artwork containing 36,000 verses often known as the Gandharvaveda,” the UNESCO mentioned in its quotation checklist in regards to the new inscriptions.

Bharat Muni makes a ”groundbreaking assertion in Natyashastra, asserting that ’no which means can blossom forth with out rasa’, a profound contribution to world literature,” it mentioned.

The Natyashastra embodies a complete algorithm that outline natya (drama), abhinaya (efficiency), rasa (aesthetic expertise), bhava (emotion), sangita (music), amongst others, thus articulating the character of Indian theatre, poetics, aesthetics, dance and music.

The ”Manuscript assortment of Bhagavadgita: historical samgraha-grantha of Indian thought with worldwide readership and affect” additionally now finds a spot within the coveted UNESCO register.

”The Bhagavadgita, containing 700 verses in 18 chapters, is embedded throughout the Bhismaparva of the epic Mahabharata. It takes the type of a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna with armies lined up for the good battle supposed to free Arjuna of dejection (visada),” the quotation learn.

Bhagavad Gita is a central textual content within the steady, cumulative historical mental Indian custom, synthesising numerous thought actions resembling Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and Carvaka, it mentioned.

”Attributable to its philosophical breadth and depth, the Bhagavadgita has been learn for hundreds of years throughout the globe and translated into many languages,” the quotation added.

Union Tradition Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat additionally took to X on Friday saying this was a ”historic second for Bharat’s civilisational heritage”.

This international honour celebrates India’s ”everlasting knowledge and inventive genius, the minister mentioned.

”These timeless works are greater than literary treasures — they’re philosophical and aesthetic foundations which have formed Bharat’s worldview and the best way we predict, really feel, stay, and categorical. With this, we now have 14 inscriptions from our nation on this worldwide register,” he posted and shared some photos of the 2 texts.

On Thursday, UNESCO added 74 new documentary heritage collections to its Reminiscence of the World Register, bringing the entire variety of inscribed collections to 570, the world physique mentioned.

Collections are added to the register by a choice of UNESCO’s govt board, following the analysis of nominations by an unbiased worldwide advisory committee.

Among the many newly inscribed collections, fourteen pertain to scientific documentary heritage.

Ithaf Al-Mahbub, submitted by Egypt, paperwork the Arab world’s contributions to astronomy, planetary motion, celestial our bodies, and astrological evaluation in the course of the first millennium of our period, UNESCO mentioned.

The archives of Charles Darwin (United Kingdom), Friedrich Nietzsche (Germany), Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (Germany) — which include the very first recorded X-ray images — and Carlos Chagas (Brazil), a pioneer in illness analysis, have additionally been included.

A number of collections doc key moments in worldwide cooperation, together with the Geneva Conventions (1864-1949) and their protocols (1977-2005) (Switzerland), the Common Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations), and the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (Namibia), a worldwide reference for press freedom, the UNESCO mentioned within the assertion.

”Documentary heritage is a necessary but fragile ingredient of the reminiscence of the world. Because of this UNESCO invests in safeguarding — such because the libraries of Chinguetti in Mauritania or the archives of Amadou Hampate Ba in Cote d’Ivoire — shares greatest practices and maintains this register that information the broadest threads of human historical past,” UNESCO’s Director-Basic Audrey Azoulay mentioned.

The Everlasting Delegation of India to UNESCO additionally acknowledged the inscriptions of historical Indian texts on the Register and thanked UNESCO.