J. A. B. van Buitenen
Encyclopedia
Johannes Adrianus Bernardus van Buitenen (21 May 1928 - 21 September 1979) was an Indologist at the University of Chicago
where he was the George V. Bobrinskoy Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. His interests ranged widely over literature, philosophy and philology but toward the end of his career he focused primarily on the Mahābhārata.
Van Buitenen studied with Jan Gonda
at the Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 Universiteit Utrecht). He received his doctorate, cum laude, on 23 October 1953 and immediately departed for India where he stayed until 1956. From 1959 to 1961 he was reader in Indian philosophy at Utrecht but found he had little interest in the position or in staying in the Netherlands. As a consequence he happily accept an invitation to take a position at the University of Chicago and remained there until his death in 1979 at the age of fifty-one. van Buitenen contributed to the training of several able scholars in the USA, among them James L. Fitzgerald
(Brown University
), Walter O. Kaelber, Michael D. Willis, Bruce M. Sullivan (Northern Arizona University
) and Bruce Lincoln
(University of Chicago
).
Tales of Ancient India.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1959.
1962
The Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad: A Critical Essay, with Text, Translation and Commentary. The Hague, 1962.
1968
Two Plays of Ancient India: The Little Clay Cart and the Minister's Seal. New York, 1968.
1968
Rāmānuja on the Bhagavadgītā: a condensed rendering of his Gītābhāṣya with copious notes and an introduction. Delhi, 1968.
(Previously published in 1953 as the author's proefschrift, Utrecht Rijksuniversiteit).
1971
Yāmuna’s Āgamaprāmāṇya: or, Treatise on the Validity of Pañcarātra. Madras, 1971.
1973
The Mahabharata, Volume 1,
Book 1: The Book of the Beginning.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1973.
1975
The Mahabharata, Volume 2,
Book 2: The Book of Assembly; Book 3: The Book of the Forest.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1975.
1978
The Mahabharata, Volume 3,
Book 4: The Book of the Virata; Book 5: The Book of the Effort.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1978.
1981
The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen, edited by James L. Fitzgerald. Chicago, 1981
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he was the George V. Bobrinskoy Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. His interests ranged widely over literature, philosophy and philology but toward the end of his career he focused primarily on the Mahābhārata.
Van Buitenen studied with Jan Gonda
Jan Gonda
Jan Gonda, a celebrated Orientalist and Indologist, was born in Gouda in the Netherlands on 14 April 1905 and died in Utrecht on 28 July 1991. He studied with Willem Caland at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht and from 1932 held positions at Utrecht and Leiden.Gonda is recognized as one of the twentieth...
at the Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 Universiteit Utrecht). He received his doctorate, cum laude, on 23 October 1953 and immediately departed for India where he stayed until 1956. From 1959 to 1961 he was reader in Indian philosophy at Utrecht but found he had little interest in the position or in staying in the Netherlands. As a consequence he happily accept an invitation to take a position at the University of Chicago and remained there until his death in 1979 at the age of fifty-one. van Buitenen contributed to the training of several able scholars in the USA, among them James L. Fitzgerald
James L. Fitzgerald
James L. Fitzgerald is an Indologist at Brown University. He studied at the University of Chicago, receiving his B.A. in 1971, his M.A. in Sanskrit in 1974 and his Ph.D. in Sanskrit and South Asian Civilizations in 1980. At Chicago he studied primarily with J. A. B. van Buitenen. From 1978...
(Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
), Walter O. Kaelber, Michael D. Willis, Bruce M. Sullivan (Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...
) and Bruce Lincoln
Bruce Lincoln
Bruce Lincoln is Caroline E. Haskell Professor of the History of Religions in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.For many years his primary scholarly concern was the study of Indo-European religion, where his work came to criticize the ideological presuppositions of research on...
(University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
).
Books
1959Tales of Ancient India.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1959.
1962
The Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad: A Critical Essay, with Text, Translation and Commentary. The Hague, 1962.
1968
Two Plays of Ancient India: The Little Clay Cart and the Minister's Seal. New York, 1968.
1968
Rāmānuja on the Bhagavadgītā: a condensed rendering of his Gītābhāṣya with copious notes and an introduction. Delhi, 1968.
(Previously published in 1953 as the author's proefschrift, Utrecht Rijksuniversiteit).
1971
Yāmuna’s Āgamaprāmāṇya: or, Treatise on the Validity of Pañcarātra. Madras, 1971.
1973
The Mahabharata, Volume 1,
Book 1: The Book of the Beginning.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1973.
1975
The Mahabharata, Volume 2,
Book 2: The Book of Assembly; Book 3: The Book of the Forest.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1975.
1978
The Mahabharata, Volume 3,
Book 4: The Book of the Virata; Book 5: The Book of the Effort.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen. Chicago, 1978.
1981
The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata.
Translated by J. A. B. van Buitenen, edited by James L. Fitzgerald. Chicago, 1981
Selected Articles
- ‘Studies in Sāṃkhya (I)’. JAOS 76, 1956. pp. 153–57.
- ‘Studies in Sāṃkhya (II)’. JAOS 77. 1957. pp. 15–25.
- ‘Studies in Sāṃkhya (III)’. JAOS 77, 1957. pp. 88–107.
- ‘The Name “Pañcarātra”’. History of Religions 1, 1962. pp. 291–99.