The Nay Science: A History of German Indology

490 Pages·2014·3.281 MB·English

by  Vishwa Adluri, Joydeep Bagchee

Th e Nay Science

Th e Nay Science
A History of German Indology
! !
"

Vishwa   Adluri
and
Joydeep Bagchee
!
!
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adluri, Vishwa.
Th e nay science : a history of German Indology / Vishwa Adluri and Joydeep Bagchee.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–993136–1 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 978–0–19–993134–7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Hindu philosophy—Study and teaching—Germany—History—18th century. 2. Hindu
philosophy—Study and teaching—Germany—History—19th century. 3. Mahabharata—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 4. Bhagavadgita—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Bagchee,
Joydeep. II. Title.
BL1108.7.G3A37 2013
294.5(cid:9)9210460943—dc23
2013012873
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To all mothers
Once upon a time I studied theology . . . with the greatest interest,
and then found I did not have the faith required for the pulpit, and
thereupon transferred over to history
Jacob Burckhardt, “Letter to Friedrich von Preen, 7 July 1878.”
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue xi
Introduction 1
A History of German Indology 1
Th e History of German Indology as a History of Method 7
Th e Origins of the Historical-Critical Method in the Neo-Protestantism
of the Eighteenth Century  1 1
Defi ning the Scope of Inquiry 1 9
Plan of Study 25
1. Th e Search for an Urepos 30
Introduction 30
Th e First Phase of German Gītā Reception 31
Th e Birth of German Mahābhārata Studies  40
Ideas of Heroic Epic 48
Th e Indo-Germanic Epic 53
Th e Birth of Modern Mahābhārata Studies 6 5
Holtzmann’s Legacy to Gītā Studies 7 1
2. Th e Search for German Identity 73
Introduction 73
Th e Genesis of Holtzmann’s Mahābhārata  7 5
Polemics against the Brahmans 7 7
Ideas of Critical Reconstruction 79
Ideas of Epic Composition 83
Ideas of Religious Confl ict 86
Ideas of Textual Corruption 91
Ideas of Historical Distortion 98
Ideas of Enlightened Religion  103
Ideas of Religious Persecution 108
Ideas of Religious Corruption 112
Ideas of Racial Contamination 1 21
Evaluating Holtzmann’s Textual Project 1 25
Mahābhārata Criticism after Holtzmann  140
A Problem of Reception  149
viii CONTENTS
3. Th e Search for the Original Gītā 156
Introduction 156
Th e Gītā Reemerges 157
Th e Pantheistic Gītā of Adolf Holtzmann 1 63
Pantheism and the Bhagavadgītā  171
Th e Th eistic Gītā of Richard Garbe 176
Ideas of Bhāgavata Religion 1 91
Th e Epic Gītā of Hermann Jacobi 200
Defending Philosophical Pantheism 207
Th e K (cid:17) (cid:18) (cid:16)a Gītā of Hermann Oldenberg 217
Resistances to Modernity 224
A Revelation and a Mystery 2 31
Th e Trinitarian Gītā of Rudolf Otto 242
God Reveals Himself  250
An Auto-Didact among Auto-Didacts 259
Th e Āryan Gītā of Jakob Wilhelm Hauer 2 67
By Reason of Race 274
Th e Method Becomes Autonomous 277
Th e Prejudices Are Institutionalized 296
An Essay in Understanding? 297
4. Th e Search for a Universal Method 314
Introduction 314
Th e Scientization of Protestant Th eology in the Critical Method 315
Th e Secularization of Protestant Th eology in the Study of the
History of Religions 324
Th e Institutionalization of Protestant Th eology in Indology 347
5. Problems with the Critical Method 356
Introduction 356
Steps toward a Scientifi c Indology 358
Steps toward a Positivist Philology 365
Construing the (Natural) Scientifi c Character of Philology 372
Historicism and the Seductions of Positive Sociology 381
Empiricism and the Search for General Propositions 393
Criticisms of the Positivistic Notion of Truth 403
Kant’s Critical Turn and the Signifi cance of Apriorism 410
Rethinking the Scientifi c Character of the Human Sciences 413
Conclusion: Gandhi on the Gītā 433
Bibliography 447
Index 473
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Vishnu S. Sukthankar, Shripad K. Belvalkar, Franklin Edgerton, and other scholars
at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute laid the foundation for this book with
the Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata. Th is book is dedicated to their scholarship.
Th ere are many people who infl uenced the writing of this book. We would like to
gratefully acknowledge them here. First and foremost, we owe a debt to our teach-
ers Reiner Schürmann, Joan Stambaugh, Gail Soff er, and Arbogast Schmitt. Alf
Hiltebeitel and Madeleine Biardeau taught us to read the Mahābhārata thought-
fully. Arbogast Schmitt’s magisterial critique of modern rationality in Die Moderne
und Platon was a constant source of inspiration. We are indebted to Alf Hiltebeitel,
Graham Schweig, and Patrick Olivelle for reading this manuscript and off ering con-
structive criticism. We would like to acknow ledge the encouragement we received
from colleagues and friends Greg Bailey, Sushil Mittal, and Bruce Millen Sullivan,
and Sumit Guha. Th e enthusiastic support of Madhavi Kolhatkar, Wendy Doniger,
and Bob Goldman was especially crucial in the fi nal stages of this book. We are deeply
grateful to Carmen Hendershott at the New School for Social Research for her assis-
tance with the Reiner Schürmann Papers. Saroja Bhate, Neera Mishra, and many oth-
ers made it possible for us to present our work ā no bhadrā(cid:17) kratavo yantu viśvata (cid:17) . . . .
Th e fi nal form of this book owes much to the careful reading and comments of
Doug McGetchin and Brad Herling. Peter Park read an early draft, directed our atten-
tion to source materials, raised helpful questions, and inspired us to tighten up our
manuscript in a whole host of areas. Our families bravely bore us through years of
research, when we were practically incommunicado. We pay our respects to the mem-
ory of Indrasena and Suguna Adluri and to the memory of Sumati Bhandarkar, whose
love sustains this work. We thank Sandeep and Aruna Bagchee, whose love sustains
us even now. Joachim Eichner bore the brunt (and cost) of this painstaking study. Th e
book owes him a great deal. Gratitude is also due to Th omas Komarek for his patience
and support. Many wonderful family members and friends—Manfred and Milly
Eichner, Deepanshu Bagchee, Sudeep and Padmini Bagchee, Mijako Nierenköther, and
Christoph Boschan—showed their support in various ways. Satish Karandikar, Roman
Palitsky, Susan Ginsburg, Bob Buckland, and Sam Maclaine helped with various aspects
of the book. Rosemary Shojaie did an outstanding job copy editing the book; its fi nal
appearance is due in no small measure to her eff orts. We remember Marilyn Guarch,
who is surely watching over this book. Barbara Sproul and the Program in Religion
at Hunter College for their patience, understanding, and for the intellectual dialogue.
Finally, Cynthia Read, Senior Editor at Oxford University Press, deserves special recog-
nition for her patience and professionalism during this book’s long gestation.