Jan Gonda
Encyclopedia
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 (since 1990 Universiteit Utrecht) and from 1932 held positions at Utrecht and Leiden.
Gonda is recognized as one of the twentieth century's leading scholars of Asian language, literature and religion. He wrote with ease and elegance in Dutch, English and German, and had a breath-taking range of interests from the ancient literature of Indonesia
and India
to comparative religion
and philology
. Like many Orientalists of his generation, Gonda never visited Asia. However, his lack of field experience was more than compensated for by his encyclopedic knowledge of Indic literature and his profound empathy for the religious culture of Asia. Among his many students, the most-gifted, at least in Indology, was J. A. B. van Buitenen
. However, van Buitenen had moved to the University of Chicago in 1961 and Henk Bodewitz eventually succeeded to the chair of Sanskrit at Utrecht in 1976.
Gonda left a bequest to Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
and in 1992 J. Gonda Foundation was set up in his name. The foundation offers publication subsidies and grants to projects relating to Indology, the size of the grants and scope of activities being determined by the return on invested capital. The Gonda Lectures and Gonda Indological Series are also named in his honour.
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and Indologist, was born in Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on 14 April 1905 and died in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
on 28 July 1991. He studied with Willem Caland
Willem Caland
Willem Caland was a Dutch Indologist. He studied in Leiden and graduated in 1882.In Indo-European studies, the term "Caland system" is named after him.-References:...
at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 Universiteit Utrecht) and from 1932 held positions at Utrecht and Leiden.
Gonda is recognized as one of the twentieth century's leading scholars of Asian language, literature and religion. He wrote with ease and elegance in Dutch, English and German, and had a breath-taking range of interests from the ancient literature of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
and philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. Like many Orientalists of his generation, Gonda never visited Asia. However, his lack of field experience was more than compensated for by his encyclopedic knowledge of Indic literature and his profound empathy for the religious culture of Asia. Among his many students, the most-gifted, at least in Indology, was J. A. B. van Buitenen
J. A. B. van Buitenen
Johannes Adrianus Bernardus van Buitenen 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...
. However, van Buitenen had moved to the University of Chicago in 1961 and Henk Bodewitz eventually succeeded to the chair of Sanskrit at Utrecht in 1976.
Gonda left a bequest to Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organisation dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands...
and in 1992 J. Gonda Foundation was set up in his name. The foundation offers publication subsidies and grants to projects relating to Indology, the size of the grants and scope of activities being determined by the return on invested capital. The Gonda Lectures and Gonda Indological Series are also named in his honour.