PM inaugurates Samrat Samprati Museum in Gandhinagar: ‘Heritage, message holds profound significance for India, all of humanity’

“But Samrat Samprati was not merely a king but a bridge connecting India’s philosophy and practice. In India, rulers such as Samrat Samprati treated power as service and sadhana, expanding ahimsa from the throne, and propagating satya (Truth), asteya (non-stealing), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness) with utmost detachment and selflessness,” PM Modi asserted.

Named after Samrat Samprati Maharaj (224 to 215 BC), the grandson of Samrat Ashoka and a great figure of Jainism and a preacher of non-violence, the museum showcases the historical, cultural and spiritual legacy of Jainism.

The PM also noted that while the world has witnessed conflicts in the name of religion and sect, the museum presents all traditions together like a rainbow, Vedas, Puranas, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Darshana standing harmoniously side by side. “This can only happen in India,” he said.

The Samrat Samprati Museum is a must visit for all those passionate about history and culture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet on Tuesday. (Photo: X/Narendra Modi)

Recalling how India’s ancient universities such as Takshashila and Nalanda were once filled with lakhs of manuscripts, which were destroyed by foreign invaders driven by religious narrow-mindedness, Modi said, “In those difficult times, ordinary people preserved the remaining manuscripts generation after generation, and lauded the extraordinary dedication of Acharya Bhagwant Padmasagar Surishwarji Maharaj, who spent 60 years travelling from village to village and city to city, searching for manuscripts across the length and breadth of the country.

“Over three lakh manuscripts inscribed on palm leaves and birch bark, some hundreds of years old, are today safely compiled at Koba, representing a monumental service to India’s past, present, and future,” the PM added.

Highlighting the government’s commitment to manuscript preservation, the Prime Minister said that the ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ has been launched to ‘correct the neglect of previous governments, leveraging technology for digitisation, scientific preservation, scanning, chemical treatment, and digital archiving of ancient manuscripts’.

He also referred to his recent Mann Ki Baat episode, where he spoke about a nationwide survey enabling citizens to upload manuscripts preserved with them. “This campaign will play a significant role in collecting manuscripts scattered across every corner of the country,” PM Modi said.