♦ A rare 233-year-old Sanskrit manuscript of Valmiki's Ramayana has been gifted to the Ram Katha museum in Ayodhya, the Culture Ministry said on 21 January 2026. In a landmark cultural handover, Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor of the Central Sanskrit University, presented the manuscript of the Valmikiramayanam (with the Tattvadipikatika) to Nripendra Misra, Chairman of the Executive Council of Prime Ministers Museum and Library.

♦ The manuscript, authored by Adi Kavi Valmiki with a classical commentary (tika) by Maheshvara Tirtha, is written in Sanskrit (in Devanagari script).

♦ The manuscript, previously loaned to Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, has now been permanently gifted to the Antarrashtriya Ram Katha Sangrahalaya (International Ram Katha Museum), Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.