Kalhana's Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata and Kautilya's Arthashastra have been inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific, taking India's total inscriptions to six.

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• Three Indian classics, Kalhana's Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata and Kautilya's Arthashastra, were inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP).
• The decision was taken at the 11th session of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• The inscriptions were reported on November 5, and the culture ministry said they bring India's total entries in the regional register to six.
• MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed the recognition, calling it global recognition of India's timeless knowledge traditions.
• The Rajatarangini is Kalhana's 12th-century historical chronicle of Kashmir's rulers and holds a distinctive place in Indian history writing.
• The Mahabharata, traditionally attributed to Veda Vyasa, is among the world's longest epic narratives and a foundational text of Indian philosophy.
• Kautilya's Arthashastra is an authoritative work on governance and statecraft.
• Together the three works represent history, Dharma and philosophy, and statecraft, three dimensions of Indian thought.
• Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra and Sahridayaloka-Locana were inscribed in the same regional register earlier.
• UNESCO launched the Memory of the World programme in 1992, and MOWCAP, set up in 1998, maintains the Asia-Pacific Regional Register of documentary heritage.
• Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the inscription of the Rajatarangini.

Tags: UNESCOMemoryOfTheWorld, Rajatarangini, Arthashastra