The answer is India \u2013 and Cambridge. Among the many millions of objects held across the University\u2019s eight museums, Botanic Garden, Centre for South Asian Studies, and University Library, are a huge number of wonders related to the world\u2019s largest democracy. The stories behind some of these singular objects are being told in a\u00a0series<\/a>\u00a0of short films.<\/p>\n The first film in the series takes us to Cambridge University Library. Over the course of six centuries the UL\u2019s collection has grown from a few dozen volumes on a handful of subjects into an extraordinary accumulation of several million books, maps, manuscripts and journals. The library is also home to an significant collection of Buddhist works, amongst which is one very important Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript. Buddhism was born in the ancient kingdom of Magadha, now in Bihar, India during the 5th century BCE, making it one of the world\u2019s oldest continuously practised religions. This manuscript is about a thousand years old and has one of the most famous titles in world literature \u2014 the A\u1e63\u1e6das\u0101hasrik\u0101 Praj\u00f1\u0101p\u0101ramit\u0101 or The Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines. The Perfection of Wisdom offers a path to enlightenment.<\/p>\n