What is "hastividyarnava"

The Hastividyārnava of Sukumar Barkaith is one of the best known illustrated manuscripts of Assam. Commissioned under the patronage of King Siva Singha (1713-1744 C.E.) and his Queen consort Phuleswari, it deals with the management and care of elephants in the royal stables. The Hastividyārnava is a work that arose in a matrix of disciplined study, prolonged observation and a precedent tradition, and the commission of such a treatise was perhaps considered important as the elephant played an important role in affirming the idea of monarchy and exercising state power.