Hermann Oldenberg (31 October 1854 – 18 March 1920) was a German scholar of

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

, and Professor at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

(1898) and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

(1908).

Work

Oldenberg was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. His 1881 study on

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, entitled ''Buddha: Sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde'', based on

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

texts, popularized Buddhism and has remained continuously in print since its first publication. With

T. W. Rhys Davids Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was an English scholar of the Pāli language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies. ...

, he edited and translated into English three volumes of

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...

texts, two volumes of the (Vedic) Grhyasutras and two volumes of Vedic hymns on his own account, in the monumental

Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ...

series edited by

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

. With his ''Prolegomena'' (1888), Oldenberg laid the groundwork to the philological study of the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...

. In 1919 he became a foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. He died in

Selected publications

* Oldenberg, Hermann, ''Die Religion des Veda''. Berlin 1894; Stuttgart 1917; Stuttgart 1927; Darmstadt 1977 * Oldenberg, Hermann, trans. Müller, Max, ed
''Vedic Hymns''
part 2: Hymns to Agni. The

, vol. 46, Oxford, Clarendon Press 1897. Reprint: Low Price Publications 1996, . * Oldenberg, Hermann, trans./ed
"The Dîpavaṃsa
An Ancient Buddhist Historical Record, London: Williams and Norgate 1879. * Oldenberg, Hermann
Buddha: his life, his doctrine, his order
London, Williams 1882. * Oldenberg, Hermann, trans., Max Müller, ed. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XXIX
"The Grihya-sûtras, rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies"
part 1, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1886 * Oldenberg, Hermann, trans. Müller, Max, trans. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XXX
"The Grihya-sûtras, rules of Vedic domestic ceremonies"
part 2, Oxford, The Clarendon press 1892 * Rhys Davids, T. W.; Oldenberg, Hermann, trans. (1881–85). ''Vinaya Texts'', ''Sacred Books of the East'', volumes XIII, XVII & XX, Clarendon/Oxford. Reprint: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi (Dover, New York
Vol. XIII, Mahavagga I-IVVol. XVII, Mahavagga V-X, Kullavagga I-IIIVol. XX, Kullavagga IV-XII

References

External links

* 1854 births 1920 deaths German Indologists German scholars of Buddhism German male non-fiction writers Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Writers from Hamburg German Sanskrit scholars Pali–English translators Sanskrit–English translators {{Germany-theologian-stub

Work

Selected publications

References

Further reading

External links