A legacy of knowledge
Since its establishment, the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library has served as an invaluable repository of intellectual treasures. This library boasts an outstanding collection of approximately 21,000 Oriental manuscripts and 250,000 printed books, making it one of the largest repositories of its kind in existence. Muhammad Bakhsh established this repository under its current name of Muhammadiyya Library. Muhammad Bakhsh entrusted his library to his son Khuda Bakhsh who fulfilled his dying wish by opening it up for public access across India. Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh's generosity in providing his collection to make Patna accessible has ensured its continued existence today. Now with ambitious plans in mind, the Khuda Bakhsh Library aspires to become India's first library to digitise handwritten works for online access and dissemination - further adding value and accessibility for residents of Patna.
A repository of stories
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library stands as an oasis for stories that span time and space, featuring unique manuscripts found nowhere else in the world and providing each artefact a vital piece of history. Scholars from around the globe flock to this library, drawn in by its vast wealth of knowledge and resources. Visitors are transported back in time with exquisite Mughal paintings, intricate calligraphy, and ornate book decorations that transport them back to an age of artistic brilliance. The library boasts an eclectic collection, from rare documents about Timurid dynasty to Arabic and Urdu manuscripts like those written on deer skin as well as approximately forty Sanskrit manuscripts written on palm leaves - each piece telling its own tale from history's past awaiting to be unearthed by those eager to unlock its mysteries.