Indian Palaeography from about B.C. 350 to about A.D. 1300 c11.s2.t1.4

c11.s2.t1.4

from Western and Northern India. But in Nepāl the covers of particularly valuable MSS. sometimes are made of embossed metal; the MSS. (*pustaka*) which have been prepared in this manner are usually wrapped up in dyed or even embroidered cloth. Only in the Jaina libraries the palm-leaf MSS. sometimes are kept in small sacks of white cotton cloth, which again are fitted into small boxes of white metal. The collections of MSS., which frequently are catalogued, and occasionally, in monasteries and in royal courts, are placed under librarians, generally are preserved in boxes of wood or cardboard. Only in Kashmīr, where in accordance with Muhammadan usage the MSS. are bound in leather, they are put on shelves, like our books.