Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas Manuscripts Enter UNESCO Register, Ayodhya Kand Survives

• Illustrated manuscripts of Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas were inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register in May 2024.
• The inscription included a 16th-century manuscript believed to be by Tulsidas and an 18th-century Arabic translation, highlighting its global impact.
• Only the Ayodhya Kand, a 165-page section of the original Ramcharitmanas, survives today, preserved in Rajapur, Uttar Pradesh.
• Six other kands were lost centuries ago when a disciple, attempting to flee, threw the manuscript into the Ganga River.
• The surviving Ayodhya Kand underwent chemical treatment by ASI in 2004 and was laminated with Japanese paper for preservation, now kept in a vault.

Why It Matters: UNESCO recognizes Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, highlighting the fragile survival of its original Ayodhya Kand.