why did william jones feel the need of indian history and philosophy and law?
why did william jones feel the need of indian history and philosophy and law?
William Jones was an important philologist of the late 18th century. He did a comparison of languages and discovered the ancestry of Greek and Latin to be in Sanskrit. During his service in the Indian sub-continent, he was awed by Indian culture, philosophy and law as written by ancient grammarians and philosophers. Indian culture and philosophy was still a mystery to the Europeans because the language of classical texts was Sanskrit and this was not yet learnt or mastered by foreigners and translated works were few. William Jones set up the Asiatic Society to unravel Indian philosophy to European scholars for comparative study of languages and religions and better understanding of the history, philosophy and law of the land. The Asiatic Society was a premier institution in such studies. It encouraged translation of the classic works and the Vedas from Sanskrit to English and other European languages because he understood that the classical texts held the key to understanding the Hindu society.
William Jones was an important philologist of the late 18th century. He did a comparison of languages and discovered the ancestry of Greek and Latin to be in Sanskrit. During his service in the Indian sub-continent, he was awed by Indian culture, philosophy and law as written by ancient grammarians and philosophers. Indian culture and philosophy was still a mystery to the Europeans because the language of classical texts was Sanskrit and this was not yet learnt or mastered by foreigners and translated works were few. William Jones set up the Asiatic Society to unravel Indian philosophy to European scholars for comparative study of languages and religions and better understanding of the history, philosophy and law of the land. The Asiatic Society was a premier institution in such studies. It encouraged translation of the classic works and the Vedas from Sanskrit to English and other European languages because he understood that the classical texts held the key to understanding the Hindu society.
