Georg Bühler

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Georg Bühler

Johann Georg Bühler (born July 19, 1837 in Borstel near Nienburg , † April 8, 1898 in Lindau ) was a German Indologist who dealt with ancient Indian languages ​​and ancient Indian law.

life and work

Bühler studied among other things ancient languages, Sanskrit , Persian , Arabic and archeology in Göttingen and received his doctorate in 1858 with a study on Greek linguistics . During a two-year stay in London , he worked as a tutor and librarian. In 1863 he was appointed professor of oriental languages ​​at Elphinstone College in Bombay . He studied Sanskrit intensively with an Indian scholar and was soon fluent in it. In 1880 he returned to Europe and taught as a professor of Indian philology and archeology at the University of Vienna , where he worked until the end of his life.

During his time in India he worked together with Franz Kielhorn as the editor of the Bombay Sanskrit Series and edited some parts of the Panchatantra . He specialized in the search for valuable Sanskrit manuscripts and, through his extraordinary knowledge of the language, gained access to Indian scholars and their libraries, which were previously closed to foreigners. Later other German Indologists such as Albrecht Weber and Hermann Jakobi researched the manuscripts he had sent.

Bühler devoted a lot of time to deciphering inscriptions and researching Indian law, for which he wrote some authoritative works such as the translation of the Laws of Manu (The laws of Manu) in the Oxford series Sacred Books of the East . His guide to the elementary course in Sanskrit , which first appeared in 1883 and continued until the end of the 20th century , also became a standard work . was published in numerous new editions. In his last years he was mainly active as editor of the Encyclopedia of Indo-Aryan Research / Outline of Indo-Aryan Philology and Classical Studies .

Publications (selection)

  • Prakrit dictionary Paiyalacchinamamala ("Contributions to the knowledge of the Indo-European languages", Göttingen 1878)
  • Declaration of the Ashokainschrift ("Journal of the German Oriental Society ", 1883-1893)
  • The roots of the Dhatupatha not found in literature ("Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes", 1894)
  • On the origin of the Kharosthi alphabet (ibid. 1895)
  • Digest of hindu law cases (1867–1869; 1883)
  • Panchatantra with English notes ("The Bombay Sanscrit Series", 1868; 1891)
  • Apastambiya Dharmasutra (1868–1871; 1892–1894)
  • Catalog of sanskrit manuscripts from Gujarat (4 vol., 1871–1873)
  • Dachakumaracharita, with English notes ("Sanscrit Series" no. 10, 1873, 1887; II, with P. Peterson)
  • Vikramankacharita with an introduction (1875)
  • Detailed report of a tour in Kashmir (1877)
  • Sacred laws of the Aryas (I, 1879; II, 1883; vols. 2 and 14, "The Sacred Books of the East ")
  • Third book of sanscrit (1877; 1888)
  • Guide to the Sanskrit Elementary Course (1883)
  • Inscriptions from the caves of the Bombay presidency ("Archaeological Reports of Western India", 1883)
  • Paleographic remarks on the Horrinzi palmleaf manuscript ("Anecdota Oxoniensia", 1884)
  • The laws of Manu translated ("The Sacred Books of the East ", vol. 25, 1886)
  • Translation of the Dhauli and Jaugada versions of the Ashoka edicts ("Archeological Reports of Southern India", vol. I, 1887)

In the writings of the Vienna Academy of Sciences :

  • About a collection of Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts (1881)
  • About the Age of the Kashmiri Poet Somadeva (1885)
  • About an inscription by King Dharasena of Valabhi (1886)
  • About a new inscription by Gurjara King Dadda II (1887)
  • Via a Sendrakain script
  • About the Indian sect of the Jainas
  • About the Navasahasankacharita of Padmagupta (1888, with Th. Zachariae)
  • About the Sukrtasamkirtana of Arisimha (1889)
  • The Indian Inscriptions and the Age of Indian Art Poetry (1890)
  • Indian studies: I. The Jagaducarita of Sarvananda, a historical romance from Gujarat (1892); II. Contributions to the history of the Mahabharata (with J. Kirste); III. On the origin of the Brahmi alphabet (1895)

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Georg Bühler  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Bühler, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bühler, Johann Georg (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Indologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Borstel near Nienburg
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 1898
Place of death Lindau