Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) and His Sanskrit Grammar
Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) and His Sanskrit Grammar

The Missed Chance

Author(s): Małgorzata Wielińska-Soltwedel
Subject(s): Theology and Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Heinrich Roth; Grammatica linguae Sanscretanae; Sārasvata; early European Sanskrit grammars; history of Indology
Summary/Abstract: Heinrich Roth is the author of the first known European Sanskrit grammar. Although his work is unique in its perfection and the author’s palpable admiration for and dependence on the indigenous Indian tradition (especially on the Sārasvata system), it has not yet been published and consequently has had little impact on the history of Indology. This paper attempts to highlight the great loss that Sanskrit studies have suffered as a result of this omission. It does so by analysing the first chapter of Roth’s treatise on the basis of the edition and translation currently being prepared by Johannes Schneider (Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities). After a detailed analysis, which includes the explanation of technical vocabulary, and after dealing with the general features of Roth’s grammar and his supposed and actual errors or inconsistencies, the way Roth presents his material is compared with the description in other early European grammars: four Latin (Hanxleden, Pons, Paulinus’ "Siddharubam" and "Vyàcarana") and four English (Colebrooke, Carey, Wilkins, Forster). The paper concludes with the slightly speculative question of what would have happened if Roth’s grammar had been published during his lifetime and had received the interest and recognition it deserved.

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