Adolf Friedrich Stenzler (July 9, 1807 – February 27, 1887) was a German

Indologist 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'') is ...

born in

Wolgast Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...

. He initially studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

Oriental languages Asia is home to hundreds of languages comprising several families and some unrelated isolates. The most spoken language families on the continent include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Japonic, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turkic, ...

at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

under

Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten (10 September 1792, in Altenkirchen – 18 August 1860, in Greifswald) was a German orientalist born in Altenkirchen on the island of Rügen. He was the son of ecclesiastic Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten (1758–1 ...

(1792–1860), then furthered his education at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

with

Franz Bopp Franz Bopp (; 14 September 1791 – 23 October 1867) was a German linguistics, linguist known for extensive and pioneering comparative linguistics, comparative work on Indo-European languages. Early life Bopp was born in Mainz, but the pol ...

(1791–1861) and at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

under

August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...

(1767–1845). In 1829 he earned his doctorate, then continued his studies in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he attended lectures by

Antoine-Léonard de Chézy Antoine-Léonard de Chézy (15 January 177331 August 1832) was a French orientalist and one of the first European scholars of Sanskrit. Biography He was born at Neuilly. His father, Antoine de Chézy (1718–1798), was an engineer who finall ...

(1773–1832) and

Silvestre de Sacy Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist. Life and works Early life Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...

(1758–1838). Afterwards, he worked in the library of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in London. In 1833 he was appointed associate professor of Oriental languages at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, where in 1847 he became a full professor. At Breslau he was an instructor of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, later giving classes on

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and

comparative linguistics Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness implies a common origin or proto-language and comparative linguistics aim ...

. From 1836 onward, he worked as

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the university library. His students at Breslau included

Lucian Scherman Lucian Scherman (October 10, 1864, in Posen – May 29, 1946, in Hanson, Massachusetts) was a German Indologist, curator of the Ethnology Museum in Munich, and also a professor at the University there. Studies and academic work Scherman was the ...

(1864-1946), Franz Kielhorn (1840-1908),

Richard Pischel Richard Pischel (18 January 1849 – 26 December 1908) was a German Indologist born in Breslau. In 1870 he received his doctorate from the University of Breslau under the guidance of Adolf Friedrich Stenzler (1807-1887). His graduate thesis w ...

(1849-1908) and

Thomas Rhys Davids Thomas William Rhys Davids (12 May 1843 – 27 December 1922) was a Welsh 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. Ea ...

(1843-1922). Stenzler was a pioneer of Sanskrit studies in Germany. He published the Latin translations of two of

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 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 Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

's most famous poems - Raghuvamsa and Kumarasambhava. In 1868 he published his best written work, a highly regarded textbook on Sanskrit

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

and

vocabulary A vocabulary (also known as a lexicon) is a set of words, typically the set in a language or the set known to an individual. The word ''vocabulary'' originated from the Latin , meaning "a word, name". It forms an essential component of languag ...

, titled ''Elementarbuch der Sanskrit-Sprache''. He made significant contributions in his research of

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akadem ...

in regards to law and medicine. In 1866 he became a corresponding member in the

Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when French ...

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

'', sources listed as: *
Stenzler, Adolf Friedrich
In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 4. Auflage. Band 15, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig/ Wien 1885–1892, S. 292. **

''Stenzler, Adolf Friedrich''
In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 36, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, S. 59–61. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenzler, Adolf Friedrich 1807 births 1887 deaths People from Wolgast People from Swedish Pomerania German Indologists German librarians Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Breslau German male non-fiction writers