UNESCO adds Mahabharata, Arthashastra and Rajatarangini to Memory of the World register
The listing was approved at the register's 11th session in Jakarta, and the IGNCA prepared all three nominations.
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UNESCO has inscribed manuscripts of the Mahabharata, Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Kalhana’s Rajatarangini on its Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register, India’s culture ministry announced on Thursday, 5 November 2026. The listing was approved at the register’s 11th session in Jakarta, Indonesia, and lifts India’s entries on the regional list to six.
What the Memory of the World listing covers
The regional register is run by UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific committee for documentary heritage, known as MOWCAP. It lists documents, archives and manuscripts that matter to the region’s history. Sites and buildings go on a different list, the World Heritage list, which is the one most people know.
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi prepared the nomination files for all three works, an official told PTI. PIB Culture posted photos of the UNESCO certificates on X and called the listing “a moment of immense pride for India”.
Key facts
- 3 works added: an epic, a treatise on statecraft and a chronicle of Kashmir.
- 6: India’s total entries on the Asia-Pacific register after this round (PTI).
- 11th: the session of the regional register, held in Jakarta, that approved them.
- 12th century: when Kalhana composed his chronicle of the kings of Kashmir.
Mahabharata, Arthashastra and Rajatarangini: what each text is
The epic that tradition credits to the sage Veda Vyasa is one of India’s two great Sanskrit epics. Its story of the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas turns on questions of duty, right conduct and loyalty to family. Inside it sits the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna’s dialogue with Arjuna before the battle.
Kautilya, also called Chanakya, is credited with the second work. It is a manual of government.
Its chapters deal with administration, tax, diplomacy, war, intelligence networks and law. Historians read it for its picture of how ancient Indian kingdoms raised money and ran their affairs.
Kalhana wrote the third text in Sanskrit. It is regarded as one of the earliest full historical chronicles of Kashmir, recording the region’s kings, dynasties and court politics, and it remains a standard source on the valley’s early history.
What people said
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat welcomed the listing on X on Thursday. He said the three works reflected India’s traditions of writing history, of philosophy and of statecraft, and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the wider recognition of India’s heritage.
In Srinagar, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha welcomed the inclusion of Kalhana’s chronicle on Friday, describing it as a proud moment for Jammu and Kashmir and the nation. He said the recognition also placed a duty on people today to preserve and promote such texts for future generations.
Leaders across Jammu and Kashmir’s literary and academic circles also welcomed the decision, with several pointing to it as recognition of the region’s intellectual history.
What happens next
The three manuscripts now join India’s three earlier entries on the Memory of the World regional register. Officials told PTI the inscriptions give the country’s historical and political thought wider international acknowledgement. More heritage and culture news is in our Entertainment section and on the India page.
The listing gives formal international standing to three texts that Indian students, scholars and civil service aspirants study closely, and adds weight to work on conserving and digitising them. In Jammu and Kashmir, leaders including LG Manoj Sinha have presented the Rajatarangini's inclusion as recognition of the region's own intellectual heritage.