Saraswathi Mahal Library
Tags : Forts & Palaces
Timings : 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Lunch break: 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Closed on Wednesday and National Holidays
Time Required : Less than 1 hour
Entry Fee : No entry fee
Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur Overview
Saraswathi Mahal Library, also known as the Serfoji Sarasvati Mahal Library, is a medieval library described by the Britannica Encyclopaedia as "the most remarkable library of India". It is one of the few medieval libraries still in existence today and holds a large collection of books, art, paintings, maps, and manuscripts.
The library section is restricted to scholars only, but the digitized catalogs have been made available online for anyone academically or professionally interested in looking up. With prior permission, they can access the vast collection of knowledge the library possesses. For the public, the library museum is quite a treat. Though not as big as the actual library, it has enough to mesmerize the visitors with its historic charm.
As you step in the well-maintained and organized museum, you will be transported back to the era of Nayaks and Marathas. Stories of gods and goddesses, birds and animals, saints and sages, wars and weapons - everything is depicted in the collections of the museum. There is an audio-visual show as well, which narrates the history of Thanjavur and all its rulers in chronological order, giving a clear idea to the visitors about the background and context of the library and its origin.
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Collections at Saraswathi Mahal Library
Other than that, there are rare books in English, French and German as well as a few books on musical notations - all from the personal collections of King Serfoji II. These books can be considered the influence of his guardian father, Saint Schwartz, for whom he even built a church in Thanjavur. There are also around 1,342 bundles of records, written in Modi script on paper, on the Maratha rule and administration and their day-to-day financial, political, cultural and social activities.
Saraswathi Mahal Library Museum
Among the number of rare items displayed in the museum, some are - Dr Samuel Johnson's dictionary (1784), the first pictorial bible printed in Amsterdam (1791), ancient maps and atlas of the word, the theory of evolution diagram and explanation by Charles Le Brun, letters of William Torin of London, a buyer and patron of the library during King Serfoji's time, Lavoisier's Elements of Chemistry, and a couple of earliest town planning documents of Thanjavur.
