- Indology
Indology refers to the academic study of the languages, texts,
history andculture s of theIndian subcontinent , and as such a subset ofAsian studies .Indology may also be known as Indic studies or Indian studies, or South Asian studies, although scholars and university administrators sometimes have only partially overlapping interpretations of these terms.
Indology would not typically include the study of contemporary economy, government, or politics of South Asia, except insofar as these express issues that are deeply embedded in South Asian history, and may be illuminated by indological methods and insights.
Overview
Indology overlaps to some extent with many other areas of study, applying their techniques to the
South Asia n case. These include
cultural orsocial anthropology ,cultural studies ,historical linguistics ,philology ,textual criticism ,literary history ,history ,
philosophies and the study of thereligion s ofSouth Asia , such as the Vedic religion,Hinduism , includingShaivism andVaishnavism (both of which are versions of what is commonly called "Hinduism"),Jainism ,Buddhism ,Sikhism , folk and tribal religions, etc., besides the indigenous forms ofJudaism ,Zoroastrianism ,Christianity andIslam in South Asia.Finally it may include the study of South Asian
science s,art s,architecture , agriculture (vṛksāyurveda), martial arts, etc.Scholars who call themselves Indologists often place special value on a thoroughknowledge of the languages of
India , especially the classical languages such asSanskrit ,Pāli ,Prakrit , or classical Tamil, or Persian, and they consider a knowledge of one or more of these languages, coupled with a knowledge of the methods ofphilology , to be a prerequisite for contributing meaningfully to the indological research and a characteristic feature of Indology as a field.Thus, Indology is the intellectual pursuit of all things Indic, with a focus on the interpretation of the past and its outcomes in the present. Some scholars distinguish "Classical Indology" from"Modern Indology", the former more focussed on Sanskrit and other ancient language sources, thelatter making more use of contemporary language sources and sociological approaches.
The term "Indology" or (in German) "Indologie" is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy.
Indologie
Indologie in the Netherlands was the study of history, literature and philosophy of Indonesia. The study prepared Dutchmen for colonial civil service in the Netherlands Indies. It was taught in Delft and Utrecht.Fact|date=September 2008
History
The beginnings of Indology date back to the Iranian anthropologist and historian
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048).Zafarul-Islam Khan, [http://milligazette.com/Archives/15-1-2000/Art5.htm At The Threshold Of A New Millennium – II] , "The Milli Gazette".] In his "Kitab fi Tahqiq ma l'il-Hind" ("Researches on India"), he not only recorded the politicalhistory of India andmilitary history of India , but also covered India's cultural, scientific, social and religious history in detail.M. S. Khan (1976). "al-Biruni and the Political History of India", "Oriens" 25, p. 86-115.] He was also the first to study theanthropology of India, engaging in extensiveparticipant observation with various Indian groups, learning their languages and studying their primary texts, and presenting his findings withobjectivity andneutrality using cross-cultural comparisons.Akbar S. Ahmed (1984), "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist", "RAIN" 60: 9-10]In the wake of 18th century pioneers like
Henry Thomas Colebrooke orAugust Wilhelm Schlegel , Indology as an academic subject emerges in the 19th century, in the context ofBritish India , together withAsian studies in general affected by the romanticOrientalism of the time. TheSociété Asiatique was founded in 1822, theRoyal Asiatic Society in 1824, theAmerican Oriental Society in 1842, and the German Oriental Society (Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft ) in 1845, the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies [http://www.jaibs.jp/English/english.html] in 1949.Systematic study and editorial activity of
Sanskrit literature became possible with the St. Petersburg "Sanskrit-Wörterbuch" during the 1850s to 1870s. Translations of major Hindu texts in theSacred Books of the East began in 1879.Otto von Bohtlingk 's edition of Panini's grammar appeared in 1887.Max Müller 's edition of theRigveda appeared in 1849-75. In 1897,Sergey Oldenburg launched a systematic edition of key Sanskrit texts, "Bibliotheca Buddhica".Professional literature and associations
Indologists typically attend conferences such as the American Association of Asian Studies, the American Oriental Society annual conference, the World Sanskrit Conference, and national-level meetings in the UK, Germany, India, Japan, France and elsewhere.
They may routinely read and write in journals such as 'Indo-Iranian Journal" [http://www.springer.com/uk/home?SGWID=3-102-70-35758435-detailsPage=journal|description&changeHeader=true&SHORTCUT=www.springer.com/journal/10783/about] , "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society" [http://www.royalasiaticsociety.org/journal.html] , "Journal of the American Oriental Society" [http://www.umich.edu/~aos/frntmtr.htm] , "Journal asiatique" [http://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=journal.php&code=JA] , the Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG) [http://www.dmg-web.de/Redaktion.html] , "Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens" [http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/0084-0084] , "Journal of Indian Philosophy" [http://www.springer.com/uk/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=3-40109-70-35501059-0] , "Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute","Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies" (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu), "Bulletin de l'Ecole Français d'Extrême Orient" [http://www.maisonneuve-adrien.com/collections/coll_bulletin_efeo.htm] ,and others.
They may be members of such professional bodies as the American Oriental Society, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Société Asiatique, the Deutsche Morgenlāndische Gesellschaft and others.
Prominent Indologists
Famous Indologists include:
;Deceased
*
Dr.D.C.Varshney (1933-2000)
*Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048)
*Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
*William Jones (1746-1794)
*Charles Wilkins (1749-1836)
*Colin Mackenzie (1753-1821)
*Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
*August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845)
*James Mill (1773-1836).
*Horace Hayman Wilson (1786-1860)
*Franz Bopp (1791-1867)
*Robert Caldwell (1814 -1891)
*Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893)
*Hermann Gundert (1814-1893)
*Robert Caldwell (1815-1891)
*Otto von Bohtlingk (1815-1904)
*Monier Monier-Williams (1819-1899)
*Rudolf Roth (1821-1893)
*Max Müller (1823-1900)
*Albrecht Weber (1825-1901)
*Ralph T. H. Griffith (1826-1906)
*Ferdinand Kittel (1832-1903)
*Edwin Arnold (1832-1904)
*Georg Bühler (1837-1898)
*Julius Eggeling (1842-1918)
*Vincent Smith (1848-1920)
*Hermann Jacobi (1850-1937)
*Kashinath Trimbak Telang (1850-1893)
*Frederick Eden Pargiter (1852-1897)
*Hermann Oldenberg (1854-1920)
*Arthur Anthony McDonell (1854-1930)
*Maurice Bloomfield (1855-1928)
*Mark Aurel Stein (1862-1943)
*Moriz Winternitz (1863-1937)
*Fyodor Shcherbatskoy (1866-1942)
*John Hubert Marshall (1876-1958)
*Arthur Berriedale Keith (1879-1944)
*Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880-1972)
*Pierre Johanns (1882-1955)
*Heinrich Zimmer (1890-1943)
*Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976)
*James Darmesteter (1849-1894)
*Dasharatha Sharma (1903-1976)
*Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
*Murray Barnson Emeneau (1904-2005)
*Paul Thieme (1905-2001)
*Jean Filliozat (1906-1982)
*Alain Danielou (1907-1994)
*F B J Kuiper (1907-2003)
*Thomas Burrow (1909-1986)
*Arthur Llewellyn Basham (1914-1986);Living
*Dr.Surendra Kaur Varshney (b.1944),founded D.C.Varshney Institute of Indology(http://spirituallegalism.co.in) and has written over 200 books.
*Ram Sharan Sharma (b. 1919), Founding Chairperson ofIndian Council of Historical Research ;Professor Emeritus ,Patna University
*Ahmad Hasan Dani (b.1920)
*George L. Hart ,University of California, Berkeley
*Bhadriraju Krishnamurti (b. 1928),Osmania University
*Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (b.1941)
*Iravatham Mahadevan ,Indian Council of Historical Research
*Axel Michaels (b.1949),University of Heidelberg
*Asko Parpola (b. 1941),University of Helsinki (emeritus)
*Romila Thapar (b. 1931),Jawaharlal Nehru University (emerita)
*Michael Witzel (b. 1943),Harvard University
*Stanley Wolpert
*Kamil Zvelebil (b. 1927),University of Utrecht (emeritus)References
Further reading
*Heinz Bechert, Georg von Simson - "Einführung in die Indologie. Stand, Methoden, Aufgaben" - ISBN 3-534-05466-0.
*Jean Filliozat and Louis Renou - "L'inde classique" - ISBN B0000DLB66.
*Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde, Berlin und Leipzig, Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher verleger, 1920*Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the origins of Vedic culture. (2001) Oxford University Press
*Chakrabarti, Dilip: Colonial Indology, 1997, Munshiram Manoharlal: New Delhi.
*Halbfass, W. India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding. SUNY Press, Albany: 1988
*Edmund Leach. "Aryan Invasions Over Four Millennia". In"Culture Through Time" (edited by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Stanford University Press, 1990)
*Gauri Viswanathan, 1989, Masks of Conquest
*Pollock, Sheldon. Deep Orientalism?: Notes on Sanskrit and Power Beyond the Raj. In: Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament: Perspectives on South Asia, eds. Carol A. Breckenridge and Peter van der Veer. Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
*Trautmann, Thomas. 1997. Aryans and British India, University of California Press, Berkeley.
*Vogel, C. (ed.). Literatur und Kultur, zur Geschichte der Sanskritphilologie, Wiesbaden 1977
*Windisch, E. Geschichte der sanskrit-philologie und indischen altertumskunde. Strassburg. Trübner, K.J., 1917-1920Publication series
* Sri Garib Dass Oriental Serie (Sri Satguru Publications)
* Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica Series (Sri Satguru Publications),etc. additions, quotationsSee also
*
Dravidian studies
*Greater India
*Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , Pune
*Sanskrit
*Sanskrit in the West
*Buddhism in the West
*Sinology
*Indomania External links
* [http://www.indology.net/ www.indology.net]
* [http://indology.info/ www.indology.info]
*http;//www.indianbookscentre.com
*http;//www.indologystudies.blogspot.com
*http;//www.srisatgurupublications.blogspot.com
* [http://www.indologie.uni-halle.de/Sards2/index.php?page=search.php SARDS 2: Database containing bibliographic references to South Asia research articles]
* [http://www.giffordlectures.org/Browse.asp?PubID=TPPHYR&Volume=0&Issue=0&ArticleID=5 The Veda as Studied by European Scholars] (Gifford Lectures Online);Institutes
* [http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/abt/IND/ Heidelberg]
* [http://www.indologie.uni-halle.de/ Halle]
* [http://www.indologie.uni-mainz.de/ Mainz]
* [http://www.ifpindia.org/-Indology-.html French Institute of Pondicherry]
* [http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/indologie/ Tübingen]
* [http://www.indologie.unizh.ch/ Zürich]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.