Richard Pischel was a German Indologist who was a native of Breslau.

In 1870 he received his doctorate from the University of Breslau under the guidance of Adolf Friedrich Stenzler

Adolf Friedrich Stenzler

Adolf Friedrich Stenzler was a German Indologist who was a native of Wolgast.He initially studied theology and Oriental languages at the University of Greifswald under Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten , then furthered his education at the University of Berlin with Franz Bopp and afterwards...

 (1807-1887). His graduate thesis was De Kalidasae Cakuntali recensionibus (On the Recension

Recension

Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...

s of Kālidāsa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

's Shakuntala

Shakuntala

In Hindu mythology Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the Mahabharata and dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Etymology:Rishi Kanva found her in forest as a baby surrounded by Shakunta birds...

). In 1875 he received an appointment to the University of Kiel

University of Kiel

The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...

, where he was a professor of 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...

 and comparative linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

.

From 1885 to 1902 Pischel was professor of Indology

Indology

Indology is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent , and as such is a subset of Asian studies....

 and comparative linguistics at the University of Halle. At Halle he collaborated with Karl Friedrich Geldner

Karl Friedrich Geldner

Karl Friedrich Geldner was a German linguist best known for his analysis and synthesis of Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts.-Biography:...

 (1852-1929) on important Vedic

Vedas

The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....

 studies (Vedische Studien; three volumes). In 1900 he was appointed rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University, and from 1886 to 1902 he was director and librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 of the Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (German Oriental Society).

In 1902 he was appointed professor of Indology at the University of Berlin. He died on December 26, 1908 in Madras shortly after setting foot in India, where he was scheduled to give a series of lectures. One of Pischel's better known works was the masterful Grammatik der Prakrit-Sprachen (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 the Prakrit

Prakrit

Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...

 languages) (1900). Two years prior to his death, he published a book on the teachings of Buddha

Buddha

In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

titled Leben und Lehre des Buddha.