Professor
Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, Germany, attended high school in Hanover where he mastered
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, then university as a student of theology and philosophy at Göttingen, where he studied classical
philologyPhilology considers both form and meaning in linguistic expression, combining linguistics and literary studies.Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages...
,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
, Zend,
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
,
ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, and
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
. In 1858 he received his doctorate in eastern languages and
archaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
; his thesis explored the suffix
-tês in Greek grammar.
Professor
Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, Germany, attended high school in Hanover where he mastered
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, then university as a student of theology and philosophy at Göttingen, where he studied classical
philologyPhilology considers both form and meaning in linguistic expression, combining linguistics and literary studies.Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages...
,
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
, Zend,
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
,
ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, and
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
. In 1858 he received his doctorate in eastern languages and
archaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
; his thesis explored the suffix
-tês in Greek grammar. That same year he went to
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study Sanskrit manuscripts, and in 1859 onwards to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
where he remained until October 1862. This time was used mainly for the study of the
VedicThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. The texts are composed in Vedic Sanskrit and form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism....
manuscripts at the India Office and the
Bodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
at Oxford University. While in England, Bühler was first a private teacher and later (from May 1861) assistant to the Queen's librarian in
Windsor CastleWindsor Castle, in Windsor in the English country of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation...
.
In Fall 1862 Bühler was appointed assistant at the Göttingen library; he moved there in October. While settling in, he received an invitation via Prof.
Max MüllerFriedrich Max Müller , more commonly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion...
to join the Benares Sanskrit College in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Before this could be settled, he also received (again via Prof. Müller) an offer of Professor of Oriental Languages at the
Elphinstone CollegeElphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856 it is one of the oldest of colleges of the University of Mumbai. It is exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant...
, Bombay (now
MumbaiMumbai, formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper is the most-populous in the world, with approximately 14 million inhabitants. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it forms the world's 4th largest urban agglomeration, with around...
). Bühler responded immediately and arrived on February 10, 1863 in Bombay. Noted Sanskrit and legal scholar
Kashinath Trimbak TelangKashinath Trimbak Telang was an Indian judge and Indologist.-Biography:By profession an advocate of the high court, he also took a vigorous share in literary, social, municipal and political work, as well as in the affairs of the University of Bombay, over which he presided as vice-chancellor from...
was then a student at the college. In the next year Bühler became a Fellow of Bombay University and member of the Bombay Branch of the
Royal Asiatic SocietyThe Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, established to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...
. He was to remain in India until 1880. During this time he collected a remarkable number of texts for the Indian government and the libraries of
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
,
Cambridge UniversityThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, and Oxford University.
In the year 1878 he published his translations of the Paiyalachchhi, the oldest
PrakritPrakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Classical Sanskrit and other Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the...
dictionary, with glossary and translation. He also took responsibility for the translation of the
ApastambaThe Dharmasutra of Āpastamba forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Āpastamba. It contains thirty praśnas, which literally means ‘questions’ or books. The subjects of this Dharmasūtra are well organized and preserved in good condition...
, Dharmasutra etc. in Professor
Max MüllerFriedrich Max Müller , more commonly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion...
's monumental compilation and translation, the
Sacred Books of the EastThe Sacred Books of the East is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious writings, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910...
, vols. 2, 14, and 25.
On 8 April 1898 Buhler drowned in Lake Constance.
Selected publications
- Prakrit dictionary Paiyalacchinamamala ("Beiträge zur kunde der indogermanischen sprachen", Göttingen 1878)
- Erklärung der Ashokainschriften ("Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen gesellschaft", 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)
- Catalogue 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
The Sacred Books of the East is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious writings, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910...
")
- Third book of sanscrit (1877; 1888)
- Leitfaden für den elementarcursus des Sanskrit (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
The Sacred Books of the East is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious writings, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910...
", vol. 25, 1886)
- Translation of the Dhauli and Jaugada versions of the Ashoka edicts ("Archeological reports of Southern India", vol. I, 1887)
In the
Schriften der Wiener Akademie der Wissenschaften:
- Über eine sammlung von Sanskrit- und prakrit-handschriften (1881)
- Über das zeitalter des kashmirischen dichters Somadeva (1885)
- Über eine inschrift des königs Dharasena von Valabhi (1886)
- Über eine neue inschrift des Gurjara königs Dadda II (1887)
- Über eine Sendrakainschrift
- Über die indische sekte der Yainas
- Über das Navasahasankacharita des Padmagupta (1888, with Th. Zachariae)
- Über das Sukrtasamkirtana des Arisimha (1889)
- Die indischen inschriften und das alter der indischen kunstpoesie (1890)
- Indian studies: I. The Jagaducarita of Sarvananda, a historical romance from Gujarat (1892); II. Contributions to the history of the Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
(with J. Kirste); III. On the origin of the Brahmi alphabet (1895)
Category:1837 births
Category:1898 deaths
Category:University of Göttingen alumni
Category:University of Göttingen faculty
Category:German Indologists
B
Category:Articles lacking sources (Erik9bot)
de:Georg Bühler
pl:Georg Bühler
ru:Бюлер, Иоганн Георг
sv:Johann Georg Bühler