Context: More than 900 Yakshagana scripts, including the ones printed in 1905 and 1907, have now been digitised and made available online for free, thanks to the voluntary community effort by some Yakshagana lovers who did it under Yakshavahini, a registered trust.

About Yakshagana

• Yakshagana is a traditional Indian theatre form, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Karnataka.
• It is a combination of dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.
• It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre during the period of the Bhakti movement.
• It is based on mythological stories, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indian traditions.
• The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata i.e.Draupadi swayamvar, Subhadra vivah, Abhimanyu vadh, Karna-Arjun yuddh and from Ramayana i.e. Raajyaabhishek, Lav-kushYuddh, Baali-Sugreevayuddha and Panchavati.
• It is sometimes simply called “the play” in Tulu Language.
• Yakshagana is strongly influenced by the Vaishnava Bhakti movement.
• Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.

About National Mission for Manuscripts

• It was established in February 2003, by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. 
• A unique project in its programme and mandate, the Mission seeks to unearth and preserve the vast manuscript wealth of India. 
• India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations.
• The Mission has the mandate of identifying, documenting, conserving and making accessible the manuscript heritage of India. 
• It is a National level comprehensive initiative which caters to the need of conserving manuscripts and disseminating knowledge contained therein. 
• It is working towards fulfilling its motto, ‘conserving the past for the future’. It has emerged as a movement, undoubtedly the most popular and effective among all the heritage conservation initiatives in the country.