The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, was founded on July 6, 1917 in the honor of the work of Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarakar, the foremost pioneer of scientific Orientology in India.
Orientology is the study of the indigenous lore and wisdom of the ancient East or the 'Orient'. The Institute concerns itself with research activity in the field of Orientology with a vision to enlighten the world about the all - comprehensive knowledge generated in the East especially in India.
The institute has one of the largest collections of rare books and manuscripts spanning over 1,25,000 books and 28,000 manuscripts collected in a period of 90 years covering practically every aspect of Orientology. This collection covers several language and scripts such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Indian regional languages, Classical, Asean and European languages.
