author

Georg Bühler

1837–1898

A pioneering scholar of Sanskrit, Prakrit, and ancient Indian law, he helped open South Asian texts and inscriptions to modern readers. His work ranged from language teaching to manuscript study, and it left a lasting mark on Indology.

1 Audiobook

On the Indian Sect of the Jainas

On the Indian Sect of the Jainas

by Georg Bühler

About the author

Born in Borstel, Hanover, in 1837, Georg Bühler studied at Göttingen after first preparing for theology and philosophy. He became known for an exceptional command of languages, including Sanskrit and several other Asian and classical languages, which shaped the rest of his career.

Bühler spent important years in India, where he taught at Elphinstone College in Bombay and worked closely with manuscripts, inscriptions, and legal texts. He is especially remembered as a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law, and for making difficult material more accessible through research and teaching tools such as his Sanskrit primer.

Later he returned to Europe and held the chair of Sanskrit at Vienna. He died in 1898 near Lindau on Lake Constance, but his reputation endured through his contributions to Indology, epigraphy, and the study of Indian legal tradition.