Abstract

AYURVEDIC MANUSCRIPTOLOGY IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

Ayurvedic manuscripts represent a significant repository of traditional medical knowledge, preserving diverse information related to disease concepts, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, pharmacology and regional medical practices. Despite their scholarly importance, many manuscripts remain inaccessible due to physical deterioration, script diversity, inadequate cataloguing and limited availability of trained experts. The emergence of Digital Humanities has introduced innovative approaches for the preservation, organization and dissemination of manuscript resources through digitization, digital repositories, metadata management and online accessibility. More recently, Artificial Intelligence has expanded the scope of manuscript research by facilitating script recognition, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), automated text analysis and knowledge extraction from large textual collections. These technologies have transformed manuscriptology from a primarily preservation-oriented discipline into a dynamic field of digital scholarship and computational research. However, technological interventions cannot replace the interpretative expertise required for the contextual understanding of Ayurvedic texts. This article examines the role of Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in Ayurvedic manuscriptology, highlighting their applications, opportunities, challenges and future prospects. It argues that the meaningful integration of traditional manuscript scholarship with contemporary digital technologies can contribute significantly to the preservation, accessibility and revitalization of Ayurvedic knowledge for future generations.

Keywords: Ayurvedic Manuscriptology, Digital Humanities, Artificial Intelligence, Optical Character Recognition, Natural Language Processing.