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Indology refers to the academic study of the languages, texts, history and cultures of the Indian subcontinent, and as such a subset of Asian studies. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. Asian studies, a term that has largely replaced the older Oriental studies, is concerned with the Asian peoples their cultures languages history and politics

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.

Contents

Overview

Indology overlaps to some extent with many other areas of study, applying their techniques to the South Asian case. These include cultural or social anthropology, cultural studies, historical linguistics, philology, textual criticism, literary history, history, philosophies and the study of the religions of South Asia, such as the Vedic religion, Hinduism, including Shaivism and Vaishnavism (both of which are versions of what is commonly called "Hinduism"), Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, folk and tribal religions, etc. Cultural anthropology is one of four fields of Anthropology (the holistic study of humanity) as it developed in the United States. Social anthropology is the branch of Anthropology that studies how currently living human beings behave in social groups Cultural studies is an academic discipline which combines Political economy, Communication, Sociology, Social theory, Literary theory Historical linguistics (also called diachronic linguistics) is the study of language change See Comparative linguistics for the narrower field of "comparative philology" Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in The history of literature is the historical development of Writings in Prose or Poetry which attempt to provide Entertainment, enlightenment History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos This article discusses the historical religious practices in the Vedic time period see Hinduism and Indian religions for details Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Shaivism, also spelled "Saivism" names the oldest of the four sects of Hinduism. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars principally as Rama and Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Sikhism ( IPA: or; ਸਿੱਖੀ sikkhī, IPA:) founded on the teachings of Nanak and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century , besides the indigenous forms of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam in South Asia. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

Finally it may include the study of South Asian sciences, arts, architecture, agriculture (vṛksāyurveda), martial arts, etc. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation

Scholars who call themselves Indologists often place special value on a thorough knowledge of the languages of India, especially the classical languages such as Sanskrit, 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 of philology, to be a prerequisite for contributing meaningfully to the indological research and a characteristic feature of Indology as a field. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Pali ( ISO 15919 / ALA-LC: Pāḷi is a Middle Indo-Aryan language or Prakrit of India. Prakrit (also transliterated as Pracrit) ( Sanskrit: prākṛta प्राकृत (from pra-kṛti प्रकृति according to one Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. See Comparative linguistics for the narrower field of "comparative philology"

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, the latter making more use of contemporary language sources and sociological approaches.

The term Indology or (in German) Indologie [1] 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.

History

The beginnings of Indology date back to the Iranian (Khwarezmia, N. Uzbekistan) historian and anthropologist Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048). [1] In his Kitab fi Tahqiq ma l'il-Hind (Researches on India), he not only recorded the political history of India and military history of India, but also covered India's cultural, scientific, social and religious history in detail. This article is about the history of South Asia prior to the Partition of British India in 1947 India has a long military history dating back several millennia The culture of India has been shaped by the long History of India, its unique geography and the absorption of customs traditions and ideas from some of its neighbors For information on only the Major religions in India see Major religions in India. [2]

In the wake of 18th century pioneers like Henry Thomas Colebrooke or August Wilhelm Schlegel, Indology as an academic subject emerges in the 19th century, in the context of British India, together with Asian studies in general affected by the romantic Orientalism of the time. Henry Thomas Colebrooke ( June 15, 1765 - March 18, 1837) was an English Orientalist. August Wilhelm (later von) Schlegel ( September 8, 1767 &ndash May 12, 1845) was a German Poet, For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British Asian studies, a term that has largely replaced the older Oriental studies, is concerned with the Asian peoples their cultures languages history and politics Orientalism refers to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers designers and artists and can also refer to a sympathetic stance The Société Asiatique was founded in 1822, the Royal Asiatic Society in 1824, the American Oriental Society in 1842, and the German Oriental Society (Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft) in 1845, the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies [[2]] in 1949. The Société Asiatique is a French Learned society dedicated to the study of Asia. The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (RAS was according to its Royal Charter of August 11, 1824 The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. The Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG in English the German Oriental Society, is a scholarly organization dedicated to studies of Asia and the broader

Systematic study and editorial activity of Sanskrit literature became possible with the St. Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Petersburg Sanskrit-Wörterbuch during the 1850s to 1870s. Translations of major Hindu texts in the Sacred Books of the East began in 1879. 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 Otto von Bohtlingk's edition of Panini's grammar appeared in 1887. Otto von Böhtlingk ( May 30 1815 - April 1 1904) was a German Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, born in Pāṇini ( IAST: Pāṇini Dēvanāgarī: sa पाणिनि a Patronymic meaning "descendant of {{IAST|Paṇi}} " was an ancient Max Müller's edition of the Rigveda appeared in 1849-75. For the Danish Colonel Max Müller see Second War of Schleswig. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" In 1897, Sergey Oldenburg launched a systematic edition of key Sanskrit texts, "Bibliotheca Buddhica". Sergey Fyodorovich Oldenburg (Серге́й Фёдорович Ольденбу́рг 26 September, 1863 near Nerchinsk - 28 February

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 [3], Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [4], Journal of the American Oriental Society [5], Journal asiatique [6], the Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG) [[7]], Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens [8], Journal of Indian Philosophy [9], Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, "Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies" (Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu), Bulletin de l'Ecole Français d'Extrême Orient [10], 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
Living

References

  1. ^ Zafarul-Islam Khan, At The Threshold Of A New Millennium – II, The Milli Gazette. Utrecht University ( Universiteit Utrecht in Dutch) is a University in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  2. ^ M. S. Khan (1976). "al-Biruni and the Political History of India", Oriens 25, p. 86-115.

Further reading

Publication series

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See also

External links

Institutes
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