Willibald Kirfel

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Willibald Kirfel (born January 29, 1885 in Reifferscheid ; † October 16, 1964 in Bonn ) was a German Indologist who made significant contributions to the research of the Puranas and Indian cosmography .

Life

He studied Indology in Bonn from 1904 to 1908 and initially worked as a librarian at the university library before taking over the chair of his teacher Hermann Jakobi at the University of Bonn as a full professor .

Early on he devoted himself to one of his most important fields of research, the cosmography of the Brahmins , Jainas and Buddhists . In 1920 he published his habilitation thesis on The Cosmography of the Indians , which was reprinted in 1967 .

Kirfel also studied the Puranas intensively and tried to work out those passages which appear again and again in different variants in numerous texts. He published the result of his research in the title Das Purânapancalakshana, Attempt at a Text History . Many more articles on Purana topics followed, as well as books on the symbolism of Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism . Together with H. Hilgenburg, he translated the Ashtângahridayasamhitâ , an important treatise on medicine .

Fonts

  • Cosmography of the Indians , Bonn 1920
  • The Purânapancalakshana, attempt at a text history , Bonn 1927
  • Krishna's childhood story in the Puranas (1926)
  • Symbolism of Buddhism (1959)
  • Symbolism of Hinduism and Jainism (1959)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kirfel, Willibald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Indologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Reifferscheid
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1964
Place of death Bonn