Hendrik Wilhelm "Henk" Bodewitz (born 13 October 1939) is a Dutch Sanskrit scholar. He was a professor at the Universities of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

and later

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

between 1976 and 2002.

Career

Bodewitz was born in

Gramsbergen Gramsbergen ( Dutch Low Saxon: ''Grambarge'') is a small Dutch city on the Vechte, located in the municipality of Hardenberg and the province of Overijssel. The town is located on corridors of different transportation modes: The N34 (Zwolle - E ...

on 13 October 1939. Between 1952 and 1958 he attended the gymnasium in

Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In ...

. He obtained a degree in classical languages at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

in 1963 and subsequently a further degree in Indo-Iranian studies in 1966. Bodewitz started working at Utrecht University as an assistant professor of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, 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-cul ...

in 1966. He did so for two years and then became an associate professor at Leiden University, which he remained until 1976. In 1973 Bodewitz earned his PhD under

Jan Gonda Jan Gonda (14 April 1905 – 28 July 1991) was a Dutch Indologist and the first Utrecht professor of Sanskrit. He was born in Gouda, in the Netherlands, and died in Utrecht. He studied with Willem Caland at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 199 ...

at Utrecht University. In 1976 he was appointed as full professor of Sanskrit and Indo-European linguistics and he succeeded Gonda in that position. In 1988 his teaching assignment was changed to Indian and Iranian languages and cultures, especially Sanskrit. In 1992 his chair was scrapped in a reorganization in which the departments of Sanskrit of Utrecht and Leiden merged. Bodewitz was able to assume the professorship of Sanskrit at Leiden University the same year. He took up early emeritus status in 2002 due to the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system in the Netherlands. When he left he was the last full professor of Sanskrit in the Netherlands. Bodewitz was elected a 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 ...

in 1987. In 1988 he was a founding member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodewitz, Henk 1939 births Living people Dutch Indologists Leiden University faculty Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Hardenberg Dutch Sanskrit scholars Utrecht University alumni Utrecht University faculty