Charles Henry Tawney (1837–1922) was an English educator and scholar, primarily known for his translations of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
classics into English. He was fluent in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
, and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
; and in India also acquired
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
Tawney was the son of Rev. Richard Tawney, and educated at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
; where he was a
Cambridge Apostle
The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The ...
and worked as a Fellow and Tutor for 4 years, until he moved to India for health reasons. He married Constance Catharine Fox in 1867 and had a large family. One of his children, born 30 November 1880 in Calcutta, was Richard Henry or R. H. Tawney. From 1865 to his retirement in 1892 he held various educational offices, most significantly Principal of Presidency College for much of the period of 1875-1892. His translation of ''
Kathasaritsagara
The ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva.
...
'' was printed by the
Asiatic Society of Bengal
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the ...
in a small series called
Bibliotheca Indica
''Bibliotheca Indica'' is a series of "books belonging to or treating of Oriental literatures and contains original text editions as well as translations into English, and also bibliographies, dictionaries, grammars, and studies" on Asia-related ...
between 1880 and 1884.
One of the professors of Presidency College during Tawney's tenure was
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose
(;, ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a biologist, physicist, botanist and an early writer of science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contribution ...
. Initially Tawney, along with the Director of Public Instruction, was reluctant to appoint Bose to the post which in those days was usually reserved for Europeans. Bose worked in a temporary post for the first three years. After this, Tawney, along with the Director of Public Instruction, Sir Alfred Croft, recognized the value of Bose's professorial work and his unyielding principles. Through their efforts Bose's position was made permanent.
After retirement, Tawney was made Librarian of the India Office.
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
whose first edition was published in 1875 and second edition in 1891.
His other works include:
* Bhavabhūti: ''Uttara-rāma-carita'' (1874) — a play
*''Two Centuries of Bhartṛihari'' (1877) — two collections of ethical and philosophico-religious stanzas online
*Somadeva: '' Kathā Sarit Sāgara'' (1880-1884) — the massive collection of legends and tales Vol I online
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...