ORI · About
History
From the Government Oriental Library of 1891 to a premier centre of Indological research.
The Oriental Research Institute (ORI), University of Mysore, is one of India’s oldest and most distinguished centres dedicated to the preservation, study, and promotion of India’s manuscript heritage.
Originally established in 1891 as the Government Oriental Library during the reign of His Highness Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X, the institution was founded under his visionary patronage to collect, preserve, and make accessible the literary, philosophical, scientific, and cultural treasures of the Indian knowledge tradition.
Following the establishment of the University of Mysore in 1916, the Government Oriental Library became an integral part of the University and gradually expanded its scope from a manuscript repository to a premier research institution.
ORI enjoys international recognition for the discovery and publication of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya by Mahāmahopādhyāya Dr. R. Shamasastry in the early twentieth century — a landmark that transformed the understanding of ancient Indian polity, administration, and economics.
With a legacy spanning more than a century, the Institute continues to advance Sanskrit studies, manuscriptology, textual scholarship, and Indian Knowledge Systems for present and future generations.