English: The four layers of texts that make up the Vedas were composed between 1500 to 600 BCE. They are the oldest documented sacred literature of Hinduism. These were orally transmitted for centuries and likely written down sometime around the start of the common era. The above palm leaf manuscript pages are from Kerala, in Malayalam script, Sanskrit language. Such manuscripts were produced and preserved in Hindu temples.

The image is a part of endangered manuscripts preservation programme supported by Arcadia, a digitization initiative by SAHA: Stirring Action on Heritage and the Arts, with archival support provided by the British Library.

This is a photo of the 2D historic manuscript. Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines apply.