author
Sarat Chandra Das
1849–1917
A pioneering Indian explorer-scholar, he opened a rare window onto Tibet for readers in the late 19th century. His travels, language studies, and books helped introduce Tibetan culture and Buddhism to a much wider world.
1 Audiobook
Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet
by Sarat Chandra Das
About the author
Born in 1849 in Chittagong, Sarat Chandra Das became one of the best-known early Indian scholars of Tibetan language and culture. He studied in Calcutta and later served as headmaster of the Bhutia Boarding School in Darjeeling, where his work brought him into close contact with Tibetan teachers and traditions.
He is especially remembered for two journeys into Tibet, in 1879 and 1881–1882, at a time when the region was difficult for outsiders to enter. Drawing on those experiences, he wrote influential travel accounts and scholarly works, including Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet and a major Tibetan-English dictionary.
Das also played an important role in Buddhist studies in India through his interest in Tibetan texts and his wider efforts to share Himalayan and Buddhist learning with new readers. He died in 1917, leaving behind a body of work that still matters to historians of Tibet, exploration, and cross-cultural scholarship.