# Three Indian texts added to UNESCO Asia-Pacific register 2026-11-05T16:11:35+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Kalhana's Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata, and Kautilya's Arthashastra have been inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) Regional Register. The decision was taken at the 11th session of MOWCAP in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) said. The Ministry of Culture called it 'a proud moment for India's cultural and literary heritage'. Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, IGNCA member secretary, announced the development. The nominated Rajatarangini manuscript, a 12th-century chronicle of Kashmir in Sharada script, is held at the Oriental Research Library, Srinagar. The Arthashastra, a treatise on governance attributed to Kautilya, is a 16th-century palm-leaf manuscript in Grantha script at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru. The Mahabharata entry is a roughly 400-year-old birch-bark manuscript in Sharada script at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. In 2024, the Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra and Sahrdayaloka-Locana were inscribed. With the latest additions, India's total inscriptions in the regional register have risen to six. The recognition comes amid efforts under the Gyan Bharatam Mission to digitise India's manuscript heritage. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three sources present the MOWCAP inscription as a positive development, but Times Now and Orissa Post lead with the ministry's celebratory tone, while Times of India foregrounds the IGNCA's role and the Gyan Bharatam Mission. Times Now provides the most detail on the manuscripts' physical characteristics, such as script and material, which the others omit. Orissa Post is the only outlet to mention that PIB Culture shared UNESCO certificates. There is no conflict between sources, the coverage is uniform in its neutral reporting of the event and its official framing. The next concrete step is the ongoing digitisation effort under the Gyan Bharatam Mission. The story is a straightforward announcement, with no critical or partisan framing across outlets. The key difference is depth: Times Now offers granular descriptions of the manuscripts, while Times of India emphasises the intellectual traditions and the mission. Orissa Post is the briefest, focusing on the official announcement. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Leads with ministry celebration but adds detailed manuscript description - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with IGNCA role and Gyan Bharatam Mission - orissapost.com (neutral report) Brief official announcement, quotes PIB Culture This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Update, 5 November 2026: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-11-05T17:27:00+00:00. Tags: Arthashastra, IGNCA, Mahabharata, MOWCAP, Rajatarangini, UNESCO Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rajatarangini-mahabharata-arthashastra-enter-unesco-asia-pacific-register/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rajatarangini-mahabharata-arthashastra-enter-unesco-asia-pacific-register/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/