1823-1900
Max Mueller is one of the best-known Indologists, partly because of his successful efforts to address the general public. He repeatedly drew attention to the uniqueness of the Veda and awakened interest in Indology among educated people. What he claimed to be the object and aim of philology was certainly his own aim too, "to learn what man is, by learning what man has been."
Friedrich Max Mueller was born on 6.12.1823 in Dessau. His father, Wilhelm Mueller (1794-1827), was a librarian, whose lyrics were well known at the time. Max Mueller studied classical philology and philosophy at Leipzig University and was induced by Hermann Brockhaus to learn Sanskrit. In 1844, he went to Berlin in order to study with Bopp and Schelling. A year later, he went to Paris, where he attended E. Burnouf's classes on the Rigveda. "A new world was opened up to me", Mueller wrote in his autobiography. He decided to publish the Rigveda together with Sayana's commentary. In 1846, Max Mueller went to London, where the East India Company agreed to bear the expenses of printing this work. The first volume was published in 1849 when Mueller was only 26 years of age. Other volumes followed in 1854,1856,1862 and 1874. The first edition of 500 copies was sold very quickly and the Maharaja of Vijayanagara agreed to bear the expenses of the second edition. Four volumes of Rigveda Samhita, the Sacred Hymns of the Brahmans, together with the commentary of Sayanacharya, were published in London under the patronage of the Maharaja of Vijayanagara, Sir Pasupati Anand Gajapati Ray. Several editions of the Rigveda in the Bombay Sanskrit Series were based on this work. Max Mueller translated Hymns to the Maruts or storm-gods in the first volume of the Rigveda translation; the translation, however, was not continued.
In 1859, Mueller published A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature "so far as it illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Aryans" (Reprint 1926). In the introduction he compared India and Greece and stressed the importance of the Rigveda as "the most ancient book of the Aryan family." He divided Vedic history into four periods and his book into four corresponding chapters. Chapter I deals with the "Sutra period". He discusses the difference between Sruti and Smriti ("revelation and tradition"), also the Vedangas, particularly Nirukta ("etymology"). One passage is devoted to Kalpa (“ritual”) in which Mueller shows the relationship between the four classes of priests and the four Vedas. This is followed by a list of the gotras, the families of Brahmins. Chapter II is devoted to the Brahmana period, the Aranyakas and Upanishads. In Chapter III, "The Mantra period", Mueller deals with older and younger hymns of the Rigveda. One passage has the title "The introduction of writing"; Mueller was of opinion that before the time of Panini and before the spread of Buddhism in India writing for literary purposes was absolutely unknown. In Chapter IV, "The Chandas period", Mueller says: "There is a monotheism that precedes the polytheism of the Veda"; there is only one Divine Being, which is addressed under different names.
Max Mueller was a brilliant speaker and was often invited to speak on Indological subjects. These lectures were meant both for the general public and scholars. They were collected in book form; among them are Chips from a German workshop, 4 volumes, 1867-75. Mueller thought that the history of religion was more important than the history of language and that the true history of mankind is the history of religion. Besides the Veda, Mueller also studied the religious books of the Parsees, the Zend-Avesta, and that of the Buddhists, the Tripitaka. His lectures - Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the religions of India and Introduction to the Science of Religion were also published in book form.
Max Mueller's chief work in the field of history of religion is the publication of religious scriptures in translations in the Sacred Books of the East, which appeared in two series of 50 volumes together. He had initiated this work at the International Congress of Orientalists in 1874. He himself contributed the translation of the principal Upanishads, which appeared in volume / and volume XV, Vedic hymns, and the Dhammapada Vol. 50 contains an index to both series.
After fourteen editions of Max Mueller's Lectures on the Science of Language had appeared from 1846 onwards, the work was published in two volumes under the title Science of Language, 1891.
Mueller's famous book India - what it can teach us is based on his lectures for candidates of the Indian Civil Service, on whom he wished to impress the importance of ancient Indian culture. Of special value was the chapter on "the Renaissance of Sanskrit Literature". Mueller saw a break in the development of literature after the invasion of the Sakas and the introduction of Buddhism and Jainism. A renaissance set in with the Guptas who favoured Brahmanical religion and encouraged Sanskrit literature. This theory stimulated Indian chronological research. On account of the evidence of inscriptions, Mueller revised it later. He also wrote a Sanskrit grammar for beginners and handbooks for the study of Sanskrit.
Mueller's studies of Sanskrit literature also led him to Buddhist literature. Two Japanese students, who had come to England for Sanskrit studies, helped him obtain ancient palm leaf manuscripts, which had been kept in the Horiuji Monastery in Nara. They were published as Buddhist texts from Japan. The Dharmasamgraha is a compendium of Buddhist technical terms, the publication of which was compieieu uy mucnti anti inc cany death of his Japanese student Kasawara.
Mueller's last great work was The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, published in London in 1899, a year before his death. This was the first work, which discussed all the philosophical systems of India.
Mueller's influence in the field of his studies was decisive. His fundamental work was of great consequence for the comparative study of languages as well as for the science of religions. It is noteworthy that he not only contributed to Indological studies himself but also helped young scholars by donating his university salary as prizes. He subsidized Zimmer's Altindisches Leben ("Life in ancient India") and J. Hertel's Pancatantra. He also took keen interest in the political development of India in his time. When he died, on 28.10.1900 in Oxford the most distinguished men paid glowing tributes to his scholarly personality and humane character. L. Tilak wrote: "In him India has lost the warmest friend, the wisest lover, and the most enthusiastic admirer...".
Mueller's Autobiography, A Fragment, was published posthumously in 1901. His wife, Georgia Mueller published the Life and Letters of Friedrich Max Mueller, in 2 volumes, London, 1902