Otto von Bohtlingk
Encyclopedia
Otto von Böhtlingk was a German Indologist and Sanskrit scholar. His magnum opus
was a Sanskrit dictionary.
, Russia
. Having studied (1833-1835) Oriental languages, particularly Arabic
, Persian
and Sanskrit
, at the University of Saint Petersburg, he continued his studies in Germany, first in Berlin
and then (1839-1842) in Bonn
.
Returning to Saint Petersburg in 1842, he was attached to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and was elected an ordinary member of that society in 1855. In 1860 he was made Russian state councillor, and later privy councillor with a title of nobility.
In 1868 he settled at Jena
, and in 1885 moved to Leipzig
, where he resided until his death.
. His first great work was an edition of the Sanskrit grammar
of Panini, , with a German commentary
, under the title Acht Bücher grammatischer Regeln (Bonn, 1839-1840). This was in reality a criticism of Franz Bopp
's philological methods.
This work was followed by:
His magnum opus
was his great Sanskrit-German dictionary, Sanskrit-Wörterbuch (7 vols., Saint Petersburg, 1853-1875; shortened ed. (without citations) 7 vols, Saint Petersburg, 1879-1889), which with the assistance of his two friends, Rudolf Roth
(d. 1895) and Albrecht Weber
(b. 1825), was completed in 23 years.
He also published several smaller treatises, notably one on Vedic accent
, Über den Accent im Sanskrit (1843). Also notable are his Sanskrit-Chrestomathie (Saint Petersburg, 1845; 2d ed., 1877-97), and an edition with translation of a treatise on Hindu poetics by Daṇḍin
, Kāvyādarsa (Leipzig, 1890). Böhtlingk took up Panini's grammar again, 47 years after his first edition, when he republished it with a complete translation under the title Panini's Grammatik mit Übersetzung (Leipzig, 1887).
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
was a Sanskrit dictionary.
Biography
He was born in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Having studied (1833-1835) Oriental languages, particularly Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, 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...
and 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...
, at the University of Saint Petersburg, he continued his studies in Germany, first in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and then (1839-1842) in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
.
Returning to Saint Petersburg in 1842, he was attached to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and was elected an ordinary member of that society in 1855. In 1860 he was made Russian state councillor, and later privy councillor with a title of nobility.
In 1868 he settled at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, and in 1885 moved to Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, where he resided until his death.
Scholarship
Böhtlingk was one of the most distinguished scholars of the nineteenth century, and his works are of pre-eminent value in the field of Indian and comparative philologyPhilology
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...
. His first great work was an edition of the Sanskrit grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of Panini, , with a German commentary
Commentary (philology)
In philology, a commentary is a line-by-line or even word-by-word explication usually attached to an edition of a text in the same or an accompanying volume. It may draw on methodologies of close reading and literary criticism, but its primary purpose is to elucidate the language of the text and...
, under the title Acht Bücher grammatischer Regeln (Bonn, 1839-1840). This was in reality a criticism of Franz Bopp
Franz Bopp
Franz Bopp was a German linguist known for extensive comparative work on Indo-European languages.-Biography:...
's philological methods.
This work was followed by:
- Vopadevas Grammatik (Saint Petersburg, 1847)
- Über die Sprache der JakutenYakutsYakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....
(Saint Petersburg, 1851) - Indische Sprüche, a series of Sanskrit apothegms and proverbial verses (2nd ed. in 3 parts, Saint Petersburg, 1870-1873, to which an index was published by Blau, Leipzig, 1893)
- a critical examination and translation of Chandogya-upanishadUpanishadThe Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main or old Upanishads...
(Saint Petersburg, 1889) - a translation of Brihad-Aranyaka-upanishadUpanishadThe Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main or old Upanishads...
(Saint Petersburg, 1889)
His magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
was his great Sanskrit-German dictionary, Sanskrit-Wörterbuch (7 vols., Saint Petersburg, 1853-1875; shortened ed. (without citations) 7 vols, Saint Petersburg, 1879-1889), which with the assistance of his two friends, Rudolf Roth
Rudolf Roth
Rudolf von Roth was a German Indologist, founder of the Vedic philology. His chief work is a monumental Sanskrit dictionary, compiled in collaboration with Otto von Böhtlingk.-Biography:He was educated at the universities of Tübingen and Berlin...
(d. 1895) and Albrecht Weber
Albrecht Weber
Albrecht Friedrich Weber was a German Indologist and historian.He was born in Breslau, where his father was a Professor of Political Economy. He studied in that town, Bonn, and in Berlin, 1842-1845, busying himself especially with literature and Sanskrit archaeology. He received a doctor's degree...
(b. 1825), was completed in 23 years.
He also published several smaller treatises, notably one on Vedic accent
Vedic accent
The tone accent of Vedic Sanskrit, or Vedic accent for brevity, is traditionally divided by Sanskrit grammarians into three qualities, udātta "raised" , anudātta "not raised" and svarita "sounded" .-The accents:Udātta marks the place of the inherited PIE accent...
, Über den Accent im Sanskrit (1843). Also notable are his Sanskrit-Chrestomathie (Saint Petersburg, 1845; 2d ed., 1877-97), and an edition with translation of a treatise on Hindu poetics by Daṇḍin
Dandin
Dandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
, Kāvyādarsa (Leipzig, 1890). Böhtlingk took up Panini's grammar again, 47 years after his first edition, when he republished it with a complete translation under the title Panini's Grammatik mit Übersetzung (Leipzig, 1887).