About Us

Due to family division Motilal Banarsidass Publications has been divided into 4 parts(4 brothers). MLBD Publications (www.mlbd.com), our roots stay the same. We continue to maintain the quality and faith of our authors, readers and people connected to us, hence maintaining the legacy of our great grandfathers who gave their life n fortune to the business.

Motilal Banarsidass Publications (MLBD) is a leading Indian publisher on Sanskrit and Indology since 1903, located in New Delhi, India. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religion, philosophy, history, culture, arts, architecture, archaeology, language, literature, linguistics, musicology, mysticism, yoga, tantra, occult, medicine, astronomy, astrology and other related subjects, and to date have published over 25,000 works.

MLBD was first established in Lahore in 1903 by Lala Motilal Jain, a descendant of the family  of court jewellers to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Amritsar. Motilal borrowed Rs. 27 from his wife’s savings that she had earned from her knitting work, to start a bookshop selling Sanskrit books in ‘Said Mitha Bazar’ in Lahore. He named it after his eldest son Motilal Banarsidass Jain, who later took charge of the publishing business.

WALL OF FAME

-In 1911, Motilal Banarsidass Publications(Now MLBD Publications) opened a branch at Mai Sewan Bazar, Amritsar, under the supervision of Lala Sundarlal Jain, another son of Lala Motilal Jain, after after the untimely death of Lala Banarasidass in 1912.

Soon a printing unit was set up and the publishing house was established.

-In 1937, a branch was started in Patna at the suggestion of former President Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Subsequently, during the Partition of India a riot burnt down the Lahore shop.

–Post independence, the family moved to India and initially stayed at Bikaner and Patna, before moving to Varanasi in 1950, where it set up shop in 1951, and finally shifted base to Delhi in 1958.

-In 1962, Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan presenting his Thesis published by MLBD to the first Prime Minister of India in the early 1960s with young Amitabh Bachchan in the background.

-In 1965 The Second President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan being honoured by Lala Sunderlal Jain Ji.

– In 1992, Shri Shantilal Jain was awarded the Padma Shri by the Govt. of India, the first ever Padma award for outstanding community service through publishing.

Book Presented to Dr.Manmohan Singh By Late Shri Shantilal Jain.

MLBD celebrated its centenary in the year 2003. Centenary Celebrations at MLBD’s Bangalore Branch by Shri NP Jain from MLBD along with then Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Ramakrishna Hegde

-The Wisdom of Vasistha written by author Raghunandan being presented to then President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2004

In 2021, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi released a Manuscript with commentaries by 21 scholars on shlokas of Srimad Bhagavadgita. Jammu & Kashmir Lt. Governor Shri Manoj Sinha was also present on the occasion along with Dr Karan Singh, the Chairman Trustee of Dharmarth Trust, J&K..

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister lauded the work done by Dr. Karan Singh on Indian philosophy. He added that his effort has revived the identity of Jammu and Kashmir, which has led the thought tradition of the entire India for centuries. He said thousands of scholars have dedicated their whole lives for in depth study of the Gita, which can be clearly seen in the analysis of different interpretations on every verse of a single scripture and the expression of so many mystics. He added that it is also a symbol of India’s ideological freedom and tolerance, which motivates every person to have his own viewpoint.

Srimad Bhagavadgita – 11 Volume Set With 21 Rare Sanskrit Commentaries in Original Calligraphy Commissioned – By Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir (HB) — By Dr. Karan Singh (Prolegomena), Dr. Kamal K Mishra (Editorial Intro.)

-In 2023, Mind and Music: Demystifying Thumri Maestros, By Meenakshi Prasad (Author) Book Launch By (Guest of Honor)Dr. Karan Singh, Rama Pandey, Prayag Shukla, Shovana Narayan

-In 2024, Book – Opera Omnia 12 Volumes By Raimon Panikkar (Author), Milena Carrara Pavan (Editor), Dr. Karan Singh (Foreword), Kapila Vatsyayan (Foreword), Felix Machado(Keynote Speaker) was launched at the Spanish Embassy, Institute Cervantes,New Delhi. Elena Perez-Villanueva del Caz(Guest of Honor), Dr. Karan Singh(Chief Guest),
Milena Carrara Pavan(Editor) with Mr. Rajeev Prakash Jain (Key Person MLBD Publication) and his son Mr. Pranav Jain presented the Book.

Its noted publications are the 100 volumes of the Mahapuranas, Sacred Books of the East (50 Volumes) edited by Max Müller; Bibliotheca Buddhica (30 Volumes in 32 pts); Ramcharitmanas with Hindi and English translation, the Manusmriti in ten volumes and the Sanskrit lexicon, and Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies (7 volumes). It also brings out books based on research and study conducted at organisations such as the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).