The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, abbreviated BORI, is located in Pune at the junction of Law College Road and Bhandarkar Road. It was founded in 1917 to commemorate the activities of Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925), regarded as the founder of Orientology( = Indology?) in India. The institute is well known for its collection of old Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts. It is also known for preparing a reference copy of the Mahabharat based on the most ancient and varied copies available.

The institute came into news when it was ransacked in January 2004 by an irate mob, made up of members of the Marathi nationalist youth movement, the Shambaji Brigade, named after Shivaji's elder son, angered by the apparent help provided by the institute's staff (in translating manuscripts) to a Western writer Dr. James Laine who had apparently included objectionable and off-color anecdotes from popular Marathi culture and folk traditions about Shivaji's parentage and life in his book.

See also

Indology

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