The traditional knowledge (TK), a set of medicinal formulations, agricultural practices, cultural expressions and ecological wisdom that has evolved in indigenous and local communities over centuries takes a controversial place in the modern intellectual property (IP) landscape. India, with one of the richest TK heritages in the world, especially in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Yoga has been in the forefront of the universality of TK protection. Bio-piracy, the systematic misappropriation of Indian traditional knowledge, where foreign organizations patent knowledge already existing in classical Indian literature, led to the establishment of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a searchable, multi-lingual, electronically structured searchable database, which was intended to serve as prior art in international patent courts. This paper evaluates critically the architecture, institutional structure, legal foundation, success and weaknesses of TKDL. It also examines the international legal tools applicable to TK protection such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Nagoya Protocol, TRIPS Agreement, and WIPO Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) discussions, and outlines the most salient structural and political barriers to effective international TK protection. The approach to India is framed in terms of a comparative approach based on China, Brazil, South Africa, and Peru to locate the ways of reform. The paper concludes that although the TKDL is an essential defensive tool, India needs an integrated approach of a combination of robust sui generis positive protection law, reformed benefit-sharing systems, improved community management and a long-term effort to reform international law.