Abel Bergaigne

Abel Henri Joseph Bergaigne (31 August 1838 – 6 August 1888) was a French Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit. He wrote a number of books related to religion and philosophy. He published the beginning of a study on grammatical construction, which is regarded for its historical development. Languages included Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Germanic languages and others.[1]

Biography

Born in Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, on 31 August 1838. After his father, he took a job in Registration service; however, his rising interest in literature and science led him to abandon the job.[2]

In 1867, Bergaigne became a coach in Sanskrit. By 1877, he became a lecturer in Sorbonne, and in 1885, he was appointed as a professor of Sanskrit and comparative linguistic. Apart from Vedas, he had also translated Bhagavada Gita.[3]

He died on 6 August 1888.[4]

Legacy

His interpretation of Rigveda brought him worldwide fame. He was regarded as the leading Orientalist of France[5] for his period. His work has influenced people such as Sylvain Lévi, Paul Mus, and others.[6]

One review described his book La Religion Védique D'après Les Hymnes Du Rig-Veda as "an acute, careful, and comprehensive work by an able scholar."[7]

Notable works
  • La Religion Védique D'après Les Hymnes Du Rig-Veda, 1878
  • Inscriptions sanscrites du Cambodge, 1882
  • La division en adhyayas du Rig-Veda, 1888

References
  1. Henri Weil. The Order of Words in the Ancient Languages Compared with that of the Modern Languages. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 9.
  2. François Pouillon, Dictionnaire des orientalistes, Karthala Éditions, 2008, p.|90.
  3. Carrie Noland (2010). Agency and Embodiment: Performing Gestures/Producing Culture. Harvard University. p. 226. ISBN 9780674054387.
  4. Adalbert Bezzenberger; Walther Prellwitz (1890). Beiträge zur Kunde der Indogermanischen Sprachen ..., Volume 16. R. Peppmüller. p. 349.
  5. Current Literature: Jul.-Dec.1888, Volume 1. Current Literature Publishing Company. p. 473.
  6. Thomas A. Idinopulos; Edward A. Yonan (1996). The Sacred and Its Scholars: Comparative Methodologies for the Study of Primary Religious Data. Brill. p. 32.
  7. Charles Lowe; Henry Wilder Foote; John Hopkins Morison; Henry H. Barber; James De Normandie; Joseph Henry Allen. The Unitarian Review, Volume 23. p. 558. Originally from University of Michigan
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.