Indian Epigraphy c14.s1.14

c14.s1.14

Early medieval manuscripts of a large number of works copied in East India have been found in Nepal and Tibet. Of these, the Tibetan collection contains mostly Buddhist works, while both Buddhist and Brahmanical works are found in the Nepalese collection in large numbers. The discovery of many manuscripts in Nepal, which were copied in the dominions and during the reigns of the Pāla kings of Bengal and Bihar, is explained by the fact that, during the early days of the Muslim occupation of Eastern India, many scholars, afraid of Turkish persecution, fled to the north, especially to the Nepal region, together with the books in their family libraries. There is also evidence to show that professional copyists of one area were often employed for copying manuscripts in the neighbouring regions.¹