Museum

The museum houses different kinds of manuscripts covering multiple number of subjects like literature, music, dance, medicine, science and astrology. In writing material Bansapatra (Bamboo leaves), Talpatra (plam leaves) and Kagaj (Paper) has been used. The works scribed on talpatra belong to Bengal and Orissa while paper manuscripts, are mostly from Braj region . The holy verses of Quran coated with golded ink is a rare work of san1Islamic calligraphy.

The displayed works of great Sanskrit poets were scribed in varying ages. Remarkable Jaina Manuscripts too are displayed. Braj region has been a land of Braj language right from the beginning of 14th Century, therefore the works of saints and their principles are found in Braj language. Inspite of this, important works of poets like Sursagar by Surdas, Bihari Satsai by Bihari too deserve to be looked at. Urdu transcription of Sursagar is a rare manuscript.


The native rulers of different States issued decress pertaining to land grant for construction of temples and spontaneous functioning of it from time to time. In this context Muslim fermans are important, particularly the ferman issued by Akbar the great.

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A few glimpses of the stages of Braj Culture are also visible here, in which iconographical features of deities and their bedeckings are important. In the category of ornaments the Makuta (head-ornament), Chandrika (necklace) Kundala (ear-rings), and ritualistic pots as well as material used in worship, are salient features of display.


At the occasion of important festivals, the paintings executed on Pitra Praksha in barlintar with dry-colours comprising flowers, cow-dung and stone powder is known as Sanjhi. In this form of painting, a coherence is visible between art and spirituality. At the end, the activities conducted by Vrindavan Research Institute are introduced on a panel, focusing on performance of the activities conducted by The institute. The aim of this Institute is to invoke a sense of awareness and respect for preservation of cultural heritage.

Most of the miniatures in the collection belong to the Kangra, Chitore and Mughal school of art, and are mainly religious or historical in subject matter. A number of rare and valuable paintings have recently been acquired. There are hundreds of old stamps, postcards, envelopes and letters in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali, especially from the period 1870 to 1930. Such correspondence is of historical and philatelic interest as it does not only supply occasional details relating to provenance of manuscripts and the history of priestly families, but also yields interesting sidelights on the postal services in India.

A number of coins from the 16th to 19th centuries add to the interest of the collection for historians of the Mughal or early British Period in India. One coin has been assessed as belonging to the Kusana period (2nd century A.D. and another to the Indo-Greek period 2nd century B.C.)