Heinrich Roth
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Roth was a missionary
and pioneering Sanskrit
scholar.
, from 1635 to 1639 Heinrich Roth studied Rhetoric
at the University of Dillingen
and Philosophy
at the Jesuit college in Innsbruck
. In 1639, he became a Jesuit in Landsberg
, and from 1641 to 1645 taught at the University of Munich, before returning to Dillingen to start theological
studies, which he completed in Ingolstadt
in 1649. The same year, he was ordained priest
in Eichstätt
.
On behalf of Francesco Piccolomini, in 1649 Roth was assigned to the so-called Ethiopian mission to India. Traveling by the land route via Smyrna
(1650) and Isfahan
, he arrived in Goa
by 1652. He worked first on the Island of Salsette off Goa, where from time to time he acted as Portuguese interpreter. He was then sent on an embassy by one of the native princes, and via Uttarakhand
finally reached the Mughal Empire
and its residence in Agra in 1654. Acting as rector of the Jesuit residence in Agra since 1659, he was involved in the persecution under Shah Jahan
and Aurangzeb
.
Next to learning the Persian
, Kannadian and Hindustani
languages, Roth at Agra for several years also acquired a profound knowledge of classical Sanskrit
grammar and literature from local pandits. The French explorer and philosopher Francois Bernier
, who got acquainted with Roth in these years, got to appreciate him as one versed in expert knowledge of the culture and philosophy of religions in India
In 1662, joined by fellow Jesuit Johann Grueber
, who was on his way back from China, Roth revisited Europe by the land route via Kabul
, and arrived in Rome
in February 1664. Athanasius Kircher
, in his monumental work China illustrata, published their itinerary, Roth’s description of the Sanskrit alphabet, and some short excerpts of Roth’s other works. Traveling north to Germany, Roth held some public lectures in Neuburg
on the history and culture of the Mughal Empire, excerpts of which subsequently appeared in print. In Vienna
, Roth succeeded in gaining financial support from emperior Leopold I
to have his Sanskrit grammar – the first such work ever compiled by a European, which Roth had completed in Agra by 1660 – appear in print, but the project was stopped by the Jesuit Superior General
Giovanni Paolo Oliva
.
Ordered by Oliva to set up a Jesuit mission in Nepal
, Roth traveled back via Constantinople
and Surat
, returning to Agra by 1666, where he died in 1668 before he could embark on the Nepalese mission. His gravesite is still visible at the Padri Santos chapel in Lashkarpur, a suburb of Agra.
alphabets, on Vedanta
and on Vishnu
. Also, a total of 35 letters, written by Roth from India and during his travel back to Europe, survive at the Royal Library of Belgium
in Brussels.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and pioneering Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
scholar.
Life
Having been born and raised in Augsburg, where his father Konrad Roth (died 1637) worked as Doctor utriusque iuris for the Prince-BishopricPrince-Bishopric of Augsburg
The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, which belonged to the Swabian Circle.-Early period:...
, from 1635 to 1639 Heinrich Roth studied Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
at the University of Dillingen
University of Dillingen
The University of Dillingen, at Dillingen an der Donau in southern Germany, existed from 1551 to 1803. It was located in Swabia, then a district of Bavaria.-Foundation:...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the Jesuit college in Innsbruck
Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck
The Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck is a grammar school, or Gymnasium in Innsbruck, Tyrol, founded in 1562 by the Jesuits in the course of the counter-reformation. Thus, it is the oldest school in Western Austria and one of the oldest schools in the German-speaking world.- 16th – 17th Century :At...
. In 1639, he became a Jesuit in Landsberg
Landsberg am Lech
Landsberg am Lech is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech....
, and from 1641 to 1645 taught at the University of Munich, before returning to Dillingen to start theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
studies, which he completed in Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
in 1649. The same year, he was ordained priest
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
in Eichstätt
Eichstätt
Eichstätt is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany. The...
.
On behalf of Francesco Piccolomini, in 1649 Roth was assigned to the so-called Ethiopian mission to India. Traveling by the land route via Smyrna
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
(1650) and Isfahan
Isfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
, he arrived in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
by 1652. He worked first on the Island of Salsette off Goa, where from time to time he acted as Portuguese interpreter. He was then sent on an embassy by one of the native princes, and via Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
finally reached the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and its residence in Agra in 1654. Acting as rector of the Jesuit residence in Agra since 1659, he was involved in the persecution under Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
and Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
.
Next to learning the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Kannadian and Hindustani
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
languages, Roth at Agra for several years also acquired a profound knowledge of classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
grammar and literature from local pandits. The French explorer and philosopher Francois Bernier
François Bernier
François Bernier was a French physician and traveller. He was born at Joué-Etiau in Anjou. He was the personal physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for around 12 years during his stay in India....
, who got acquainted with Roth in these years, got to appreciate him as one versed in expert knowledge of the culture and philosophy of religions in India
In 1662, joined by fellow Jesuit Johann Grueber
Johann Grueber
Johann Grueber was an Austrian Jesuit missionary and astronomer in China, and noted explorer.-Life:...
, who was on his way back from China, Roth revisited Europe by the land route via Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, and arrived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in February 1664. Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
, in his monumental work China illustrata, published their itinerary, Roth’s description of the Sanskrit alphabet, and some short excerpts of Roth’s other works. Traveling north to Germany, Roth held some public lectures in Neuburg
Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau, literally Neuburg on the Danube River, is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany.-Divisions:The municipality has 16 divisions:-History:...
on the history and culture of the Mughal Empire, excerpts of which subsequently appeared in print. In Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Roth succeeded in gaining financial support from emperior Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
to have his Sanskrit grammar – the first such work ever compiled by a European, which Roth had completed in Agra by 1660 – appear in print, but the project was stopped by the Jesuit Superior General
Superior General of the Society of Jesus
The Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...
Giovanni Paolo Oliva
Giovanni Paolo Oliva
Giovanni Paolo Oliva was an Italian Jesuit priest, elected 11th Superior General of the Society of Jesus....
.
Ordered by Oliva to set up a Jesuit mission in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Roth traveled back via Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
, returning to Agra by 1666, where he died in 1668 before he could embark on the Nepalese mission. His gravesite is still visible at the Padri Santos chapel in Lashkarpur, a suburb of Agra.
Work
Heinrich Roth’s Sanskrit grammar, that he had completed by 1660 in Latin language under the title Grammaticca linguae Sanscretanae Brachmanum Indiae Orientalis (the manuscript of which is preserved today at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome) and that was augmented by preliminary studies for a complete Sanskrit-Latin dictionary, made him a pioneering scholar in modern Sanskrit studies in Europe. Further works include studies on the Hindustani and DevanagariDevanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
alphabets, on Vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
and on Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. Also, a total of 35 letters, written by Roth from India and during his travel back to Europe, survive at the Royal Library of Belgium
Royal Library of Belgium
The Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most important cultural institutions in Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy...
in Brussels.
Editions of Roth’s work
- Arnulf Camps/Jean-Claude Muller (Edd.), The Sanskrit grammar and manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth, S.J. (1620–1668). Facsimile edition of Biblioteca Nazionale, Rome, Mss. Or. 171 and 172, Leiden, 1988. (includes a complete list of Roth’s surviving works and references to where parts of them have previously been printed)
Studies on Roth
- Arnulf Camps, The Sanskrit Grammar and Manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth S. J. (1620–1668). Introduction. The History of his Sanskrit Manuscripts. In: Arnulf Camps, Studies in Asian mission history 1956-1998, Leiden/Boston/Köln, 2000, pp. 84–104.
- Claus Vogel, Heinrich Roth, in: Neue Deutsche BiographieNeue Deutsche BiographieNeue Deutsche Biographie is a biographical reference work published in German by the Historical Committee at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and printed by Duncker & Humblot in Berlin. It is the successor to the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie...
22, 2005, pp. 106 sq. (German) online - Claus Vogel, The Jesuit missionary Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) and his burial place at Agra. In: Lars Göhler (Ed.): Indische Kultur im Kontext. Rituale, Texte und Ideen aus Indien und der Welt. Festschrift für Klaus Mylius.Wiesbaden, 2005, pp. 407–412.
- Claus Vogel, An old letter from Surat written by German Jesuit Heinrich Roth. In: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteBhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteThe Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on July 6, 1917 to honor the life and work of Dr. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar , long regarded as the founder of Indology in India...
58, 1987, pp. 609–619. - Claus Vogel, Die Vorarbeiten des Jesuitenmissionars Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) zu einem Sanskrit-lateinischen Wörterbuch. In: Helmut Eimer (Ed.): Vicitrakusumañjali. Festschrift für Richard Othon Meisezahl anläßlich seines achtzigsten Geburtstages. Bonn, 1986, pp. 131–146. Shortened English version: Claus Vogel, The preliminary work done by Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) on a Sanskrit-Latin dictionary. In: Aligarh Journal of Oriental Studies 4, No. 1, 1987, pp. 69–74.
- Bruno Zimmel, P. Heinrich Roths SJ Expedition nach Nepal. In: Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen an der Donau 70, 1968, pp. 64-78 (German).