Manuscripts of Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata and the Arthashastra are inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register

5 November 2026

Three Indian works now appear on the Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register of UNESCO, which lists documentary heritage from this part of the world.
The three are the epic Mahabharata, the Arthashastra of Kautilya on governance and statecraft, and Rajatarangini, the 12th-century chronicle written by Kalhana.
The announcement, with photographs of the UNESCO certificates, came from PIB Culture.
According to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the decision was reached in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the 11th Session of that regional register was held.
Nomination dossiers for each of the three works were drawn up by the same centre.
India now holds six inscriptions in the Regional Register.
For Jammu and Kashmir the significance lies in Rajatarangini, the oldest chronicle of the rulers of Kashmir that still survives.