Name: Michael Witzel
Place of Birth: Schwiebus, Germany
Date of Birth: 1943
Permanent Address:
Michael Witzel
Wales Professor of Sanskrit
Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University
2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA
Phone: 617-496 2990 (direct line) ; 495 3295, 496 8570, fax 617 - 496 8571
Email: Witzel@fas.harvard.edu
Education:
University of Tuebingen (Germany), 1965-1967 (P.Thieme, H.-P. Schmidt): Indology, Indo-European, Japanology
University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, (Germany), 1967-1971 (K.Hoffmann, J.Narten, B.Forssman, G.Klingenschmitt) concentration: Indology, Indo-Iranian philology and linguistics; Indo-European linguistics, Japanology
M.A. 1971, Erlangen; Ph.D. 1972, Erlangen
Dissertation: Das Katha-Aranyaka, textkritische Edition mit Uebersetzung und Kommentar. Erlangen 1972; Advisor (Promotor): K. Hoffmann
Sanskrit Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1972/1973: Mimamsa philosophy (teaching medium Sanskrit)
Professional Experience:
Teaching positions held
1972 Assistant Professor of Indology, University of Tuebingen, Germany 1978-1980 Associate Professor of Sanskrit ("gewoon lector in het Sanskriet"), University of Leiden, The Netherlands 1981-1986 Professor of Sanskrit language and literature ("hoogleraar in het Sanskriet en zijn letterkunde") University of Leiden, The Netherlands 1986-1987 Visiting Professor of Sanskrit, Harvard University 1987- Harvard University, Wales Professor of Sanskrit Editorial work
1975- Founding editor (with four colleagues) of: Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik (Journal, and monograph series) 1979-1983 Joint Editor; 1983- Editor-in-chief (with J. W. de Jong, and since 1990, H.W. Bodewitz, O. von Hinueber), Indo-Iranian Journal 1985- Editor (together with J.C. Heesterman): Memoirs of the Kern Institute, Leiden (No.3 sqq.) 1990- Editor, Harvard Oriental Series 1990 Ed. of: W. Caland, Kleine Schriften (= Glasenapp-Stiftung, Bd. 27, Wiesbaden 1990 1995- Founder and Editor-in-Chief of: Electronic Jounal for Vedic Studies (EJVS) ejvs-list@shore.net; http://www.shore.net/~india/ejvs 1995- Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, ed. Albrecht Wezler and Michael Witzel. Berlin/New York (de Gruyter). (Vol.1: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy) 1995- Managing Editor, International Journal of Tantric Studies (IJTS) ijts-list@shore.net; http://www1.shore.net/~india/ijts 1997 Ed. of: F.B.J.Kuiper, Selected Writings on Indian Philology and Linguistics, New Delhi, 1997, pp. 556 1997 Ed. of. Inside the Texts - Beyond the Texts. Proceedings of the First International Vedic Workshop, June 1989, Harvard University, Cambridge (HOS-Opera Minora) Other Employment
1972-1977 Director of the "Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project", a joint venture of the Department of Archeology, (Ministry of Education, His Majesty's Government of Nepal)
and the German Oriental Society and the German Research Association (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn), at Kathmandu1974-1977 Director of the Nepal Research Centre of the German Oriental Society, Kathmandu 1989/1990 Research Fellow, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University
Prizes, Awards, Professional Societies:
1979-1981 Chairman, Department of South & Central Asian and Old – and Middle Iranian, University of Leiden 1982-1986 Chairman, Dutch Indological Association 1987-1995 Chair, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University 1992-1996 Chair, Committee on South Asian Studies, Harvard University
Publications:
1. Jungavestisch apaxedra- im System der avestischen Himmelsrichtungsbezeichnungen.MSS 30, (1972), pp. 163-191
2. Das Pravargya-Brahmana der Katha-Schule des Schwarzen Yajurveda. M.A. thesis, Erlangen 1971, pp. 170
3. On the reconstruction of the authentical Paippalada-Samhita. Journal of the Ganganath Jha Research Institute, Vol. XXIX (1973) pp. 463-488; [Part II:] Vol. XXXII (1976) pp. 137-168
4. Das Katha-Aranyaka, textkritische Edition mit Uebersetzung und Kommentar. PhD thesis, Erlangen 1972; partially printed ("Teildruck"), Erlangen-Kathmandu 1974, pp. XXVI, 185
5. On some unknown systems of marking the Vedic accents. Vishvabandhu Commemoration Volume (=Vishveshvaranand Indological Journal, Vol. XII), 1974, pp. 472-508
6. Eine fuenfte Mitteilung ueber das Vadhula-Sutra. Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik (StII), Vol. 1, 1975, pp. 75-108
7. Zur Geschichte der Rajopdhyayas von Bhaktapur. Folia Rara. Festschrift W. Voigt, ed. by H. Franke et al., Wiesbaden 1976, pp. 155-175
8. On the history and the present state of Vedic tradition in Nepal. Vasudha, Vol. XV, No. 12, Kathmandu 1976, pp. 17-24; 35-39
9. An unknown Upanisad of the Krsna Yajurveda: The Katha-Siksa-Upanisad. Journal of the Nepal Research Centre, Vol. 1, Wiesbaden-Kathmandu 1977, pp. 135
10. On Magical thought in the Veda [Inaugural Lecture]. Leiden: Universitaire Pers, 1979, pp. 22
11. Die Katha-Siksa-Upanisad und ihr Verhaeltnis zur Krsnavalli der Taittiriya-Upanisad. WZKS Vol. XXIII (1979) pp. 5-28 [=introduction, text, transl/P>
12. On the location of the Licchavi Capital of Nepal. Festschrift fuer P.Thieme (= StII 5/6) 1980, pp. 311-337
13. Die Katha-Siksa-Up.. , WZKS XXIV (1980), pp. 21-82 [continuation of No. 11: discussion]
14. Materialien zu den vedischen Schulen: I. Ueber die Caraka-Schule. StII 7 (1981), pp. 109-132. [=Pt.1: History of the Caraka School].
15. Review of: D. Maue, Brhadaranyakopanisad. Giessen 1976. ZDMG 130 (1980), pp. 613-616
16. Early Eastern Iran and the Atharvaveda. Persica IX (1980), pp. 86-128
17. Review of: J. Gonda, The Mantras of the Agnyupasthana and the Sautramani. Amsterdam 198o: Kratylos Vol. XXVI (1981/2), pp. 80-85
18. Ueber die Caraka-Schule [continuation. of No.14: ch.2-4: position of the school, texts, present state of this lost Sakha] StII 8/9 (1982), pp. 171-240
(19.) Ueber sankhu und padbisa, in: A. Wezler, Zum Verstaendnis von Chandogya-Upanisad 5.1.12, StII 8/9 (1982), pp. 15-188
20. Anunasika in medieval Veda tradition. (Materials on Vedic sakhas, 3) IIJ 25 (1983) p. 19
21. The Rgveda-Samhita as known to AV-Par. 46. (Materials on Vedic sakhas, 4) IIJ 25 (1983), pp. 238-239
22. Rgvedisch udumbala. IIJ 25 (1983), pp. 239-240
23. An unknown Yajurveda-Samhita. (Materials on Vedic sakhas, 6) IIJ 27 (1984), pp. 105-106
24. The earliest form of the concept of rebirth in India, (Summary). 31st CISHAAN (Tokyo-Kyoto) ceedings, ed. by T.Yamamoto, Tokyo 1984, pp. 145-146
25. Buddhist forms of fire ritual (homa) in Nepal and Japan. (Summary). 31st CISHAAN (Tokyo-Kyoto), Proceedings, ed. by T.Yamamoto, Tokyo 1984, p.135
26. On the origin of the literary device of the "frame story" in Old Indian literature, (Sum). 31st CISHAAN (Tokyo-Kyoto), Proceedings, ed. by T.Yamamoto, Tokyo 1984, p. 534
27. On searching for, describing and editing of Vedic manuscripts, (Summary). 31st CISHAAN (Tokyo-Kyoto), Proceedings, ed. by T.Yamamoto, Tokyo 1984, pp. 1098-1099
28. Sur le chemin du ciel. Bulletin des Etudes indiennes, Vol. 2 (1984), pp. 213-279
29. Die muendliche Tradition der Paippaladins von Orissa. Festgabe fuer K. Hoffmann, I. = MSS 44 (1985), pp. 259-287
30. Die Atharvavedatradition und die Paippalada-Samhita. ZDMG, Supplementband VI (XXII. Deutscher Orientalistentag, Tuebingen, March 1983), Stuttgart 1985, pp. 256-271
31. Regionale und ueberregionale Faktoren in der Entwicklung vedischer Brahmanengruppen in Mittelalter. (Mater. zu den ved. Schulen, 5). Regionale Tradition in Suedasien, ed. by H. Kulke and D. Rothermund (= Beitraege zur Suedasienforschung 104), Heidelberg 1986, pp. 37-76
32. Agnihotra-Rituale in Nepal. Formen kulturellen Wandels und andere Beitraege zur Erforschung des Himalaya, ed. B. Koelver u. S. Lienhard, St. Augustin: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag 1986, pp. 157-187
33. Review of: S.V. Ganapati, Sama Veda (Delhi 1982), in: ZDMG 136 (1986) p. 149
34. Zu den Namen einiger vedischer Schulen. (Mat. zu den ved. Schulen, 2). StII 10 (1983/85), pp. 231-237
35. On the Archetype of Patanjali's Mahabhasya. IIJ 29 (1986), pp. 249-259
36. On the origin of the literary device of the 'Frame Story' in Old Indian literature. Hinduismus und Buddhismus, Festschrift fuer U. Schneider, ed. by H.Falk, Freiburg 1987, pp. 380-414
37. On the localisation of Vedic texts and schools (Materials on Vedic sakhas, 7). India and the Ancient world. History, Trade and Culture before A.D. 650. P.H.L. Eggermont Jubilee Volume, ed.by G. Pollet, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 25, Leuven 1987, pp. 173-213, 2 maps
38. JB palpulani. The structure of a Brahmana tale. Fel. Vol. B.R. Sharma, ed. by M.D. Balasubrahmaniam, Tirupati (Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha) 1986, ca. 189-216
39. The coronation rituals of Nepal, with special reference to the coronation of King Birendra in 1975. Heritage of the Kathmandu Valley. Proceedings of an International Conference in Luebeck, June 1985, ed. by Niels Gutschow and Axel Michaels. (Nepalica 4, hg. von B. Koelver u. S. Lienhard). St. Augustin (VGH Wissenschaftsverlag) 1987, 417-467
40. The case of the shattered head. Festschrift fuer W. Rau, (= StII 13/14), Reinbek 1987, pp.363- 415
41. Tracing the Vedic dialects. in: Colette Caillat, Dialects dans les litteratures indo-aryennes. Actes du Colloque International organise par UA 1058 sous les auspices du C.N.R.S avec le soutien du College de France, de la Fondation Hugot du College de France, de l'Universite de Paris III, du Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres, Paris (Fondation Hugot) 16-18 Septembre 1986. Paris (College de France, Institut de Civilisation Indienne) 1989, pp. 97-264
42. The Realm of the Kurus: Origins and Development of the First State in India. Nihon Minami Ajia Gakkai Zenkoku Taikai, Hokoku Yoshi, [Summaries of the Congress of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies], Kyoto 1989, pp. 1-4
43. Kumano.kara Woruga.made. (From Kumano to the Volga, in Japanese) Zimbun 36, Kyoto 1990, p. 4-5
(43a.) Ed., introduction, and Index of: W. Caland, Kleine Schriften (Glasenapp-Stiftung, Bd. 27) Stuttgart 1990, pp. XXXIII, 786.
44. Ushi.wo meguru Indojin.no kagae (On the concept of the sacredness of the Cow in India; in Japanese) Has 1991, No.1, The Association of Humanities and Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, 1991, No.1, p. 9-20
45. On Indian historical writing: The case of the Vamsavalis. Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, No. 2, 1990, p.1-57
46. Notes on Vedic dialects, 1. Zimbun, Annals of the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, 67 (1991) Kyoto 1991, 31-70
47. Review: Swati Datta (nee Sen Gupta), Migrant Brahmanas in Northern India. Their Settlement and General Impact c. A.D. 475-1030. Delhi (Motilal Bantheidass) 1989, pp. XV, 270. in: Journal of the Economy of the Near East, 35, pp. 364-366
48. Review: Zur Schulzugehoerigkeit von Werken der Hinayana-Literatur. Zweiter Teil (Symposien zur Buddhismusforschung, III, 2). (ed.) Heinz Bechert. Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Goettingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse, Dritte Folge, No. 154. Goettingen : Vandenhoek & Ruprecht. 1987. p. 301-434. JAOS 1991, 581-583
49. Meaningful ritual. Structure, development and interpretation of the Tantric Agnihotra ritual of Nepal. Ritual, State and History in South Asia. Essays in honour of J.C. Heesterman, ed. A.W. van den Hoek, D.H.A. Kolff, M.S.Oort, Leiden 1992, 774-827
50. Review article: Alfred Hillebrandt, Kleine Schriften, ed. R. P. Das, Wiesbaden (Steiner) 1987. Journal of the American Oriental Society 112.4 (1992) pp. 611-618
51. Nepalese Hydronomy: Towards a history of settlement in the Himalayas. Proceedings of the Franco-German Conference at Arc-et-Senans, June 1990. Paris 1993, pp. 217-266
52. Review article: Swati Datta (nee Sen Gupta), Migrant Brhmanas in Northern India. Their Settlement and General Impact c. A.D. 475-1030. Delhi (Motilal Bantheidass) 1989, pp. XV, 270. in: Journal of the American Oriental Society 114, 1994, pp. 264-268
53. Kashmiri manuscripts and pronunciation. in: Studies on the Nilamata-Purana, ed. by Y. Ikari, Kyoto 1995, pp. 1-53
54. The Kashmiri Brahmins. in: Studies on the Nilamata-Purana, ed. by Y. Ikari, Kyoto 1995, pp. 211- 268
55. Looking for the heavenly casket. Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 1.2 (1995) (EJVS 1-2)
56. Early Indian History: Linguistic and Textual Parameters. in: Language, Material Culture and ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, (Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, ed. Albrecht Wezler and Michael Witzel, Vol. 1) Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 85-125
57. Rgvedic history: poets, chieftains and politics. in: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity. The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, ed. G. Erdosy, (Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, ed. Albrecht Wezler and Michael Witzel, Vol. 1) Berlin/New York (de Gruyter) 1995, 307-352
57a. Editorials, EJVS 1-1, 1-2 (May and June 1995) www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs
57b. Tantra and Dharma Teachers from Kashmir. International Journal of Tantric Studies (IJTS) IJTS 1-3 (1996), www1.shore.net/~india/ijts; http://www.asiatica.org/publications/ijts/58. Early Sanskritization , Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS), vol. 1, 4, Dec. 1995, www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs.
59. How to enter the Vedic mind? Strategies in Translating a Brahmana text. Translating, Translations, Translators From India to the West. (Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora, 1) Cambridge : Harvard Oriental Series 1996.
60. Looking for the heavenly casket, Fs . P. Thieme, StII 20, 1996: 531-544, [expanded version of no. 55]
61. Introduction, In: F.B.J. Kuiper, Selected Writings on Indian Linguistics and Philology, ed. by A. Lubotsky, M.S. Oort, M. Witzel, Amsterdam- Atlanta: Rodopi 1997, pp. ix-xxvi
62. Early Sanskritization. Origins and development of the Kuru State. B. Koelver (ed.), Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India. Muenchen : R. Oldenbourg 1997, 27-52
62a. Early Sanskritization, reprint Journal of the Indological Association of South Afrifa (JIASA) of : Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS), vol. 1,4, Dec. 1995, http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs.
63. Sarama and the Panis. Origins of Prosimetric Exchange in Archaic India. Joseph Harris and Karl Reichl (eds.), Prosimetrum: Crosscultural Perspectives on Narrative in Prose and Verse, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer 1997, 397-409
64. Macrocosm, Mesocosm, and Microcosm. The persistant nature of 'Hindu' beliefs and symbolical forms . in S. Mittal (ed.), IJHS Symposium on Robert Levy's MESOCOSM, International Journal of Hindu Studies, 1.3 Dec. 1998, 501-53 (http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/ijhs/abs01-03.htm)
65. No Sati, Little Dowry: The lot of Women in the Vedic Period . IJTS 2: 4 (Dec. 1966) http://www.asiatica.org/publications/jsaws/
65b. Reprint of no. 65 in: Journal of South Asia Women Studies: 1995 - 1997. Enrica Garzilli (ed.) . Milan: Asiatica Association 1997: 159-169
66. The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu. (Materials on Vedic Sakhas 8). In: Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts. New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas. Harvard Oriental Series. Opera Minora, vol. 2. Cambridge 1997, 257-345 *pdf
67. M. Witzel (ed.) Introduction. In: Inside the texts, Beyond the Texts. New Approaches to the Study of the Vedas. (Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora 2). Cambridge 1997 *pdf
68. Classical Studies and Indology. In: H. Nakatani (ed.) Reconstitution of Classical Studies. Special Issue : A Report on the First Symposium towards a Reconstitution of Classical Studies, No. 3. 3/11/ Heisei 11 /[1999]: 16-36
69. Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India. Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C. in : J. Bronkhorst & M. Deshpande (eds.), Aryans and Non-Non-Aryans, Evidence, Interpretation and Ideology. Cambridge (Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora 3). 1999, 337-404 *pdf
70. Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan (Rgvedic, Middle and Late Vedic). EJVS Vol. 5,1, Aug. 1999, 1-67 (http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs)
71. Early Sources for South Asian Substrate Languages. Mother Tongue (extra number), October 1999, pp.1-70 [longer, slightly revised version of no. 70] *pdf
72. Sapta rsayah - The Big Dipper (ursa maior) In: H. Nakatani (ed.) Reconstitution of Classical Studies . No. 4. 4/11/ Heisei 11 / [1999]: 36
73. The Pleiades and the Bears, viewed from inside the Vedic Texts. EJVS 5,2 Dec. 1999. (http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs)
74. Comments on Srinivasan, Mother Tongue V, 1999 [August 2000], 119-140 [on: L.A.Srinivasan, An Enquiry about Sumerian Words, MT V, 109-=118]
75. Die sprachliche Situation Nordindiens in vedischer Zeit. Indoarisch, Iranisch, und die Indogermanistik, Arbeitstagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft 1997 in Erlangen; hg. B. Forssman & Robert Plath. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert 2000, 543-579
76. The Home of the Aryans. Anusantatyai. Fs. fuer Johanna Narten zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. A. Hintze & E. Tichy. (Muenchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, Beihefte NF 19) Dettelbach: J.H. Roell 2000, 283-338 *pdf
77. Little Words with Profound Meaning. Review of Dr. Madhusudan Mishra, From Indus to Sanskrit, (Part One)
Delhi : Yugank Publishers 1996 (SAAVADHAANAPATTRA 1) EJVS Vol. 7, issue 1 (March 2001)78. WESTWARD HO! The Incredible Wanderlust of the Rgvedic Tribes
Exposed by S. Talageri. A Review of: Shrikant G. Talageri, The Rigveda. A historical analysis. part 1 part 2 part 3 (Saavadhaanapattra no. 2) EJVS 7-2, March 31, 200179. Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts. EJVS 7-3 May 25, 2001 *pdf
80. ADDENDUM TO EJVS 7-3, notes 45-46 EJVS 7-4 *pdf
81. A first link between the Rgvedic Panjab and Mesopotamia: s'imbala/s'almali, and GISgisimmar? Fs. A. Parpola, Helsinki 2001
82. Sanskrit. In: Facts About the World's Languages: an Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present, ed. by J. Garry and C. Rubino. New York /Dublin: H.W. Wilson Co. 2001, pp. 611-622
83. Comparison and Reconstruction : Language and Mythology. MT VI 2001, 45- 62
84. PrajatantuHaranandalahari . Fs, M.Hara. Reinbek 2001
Vedic Hinduism (together with S. Jamison), in.: A. Sharma, Studies on Hinduism, Univ. of Virginia Press
Yajnavalkya as ritualist and philosopher, and his personal language. Fs. H.-P. Schmidt
Medieval Veda Tradition as Reflected in Nepalese Manuscripts. NGMPP Fs.
The myth of the hidden sun in India Japan – and beyond. Proceedings of a conference on Mythology held at Hamilton, Ontario, March 1993
Aryan Questions. In an edited vol. (Curzon Publ.), ed. by Bryant & Patton
Possehl, G. and M. Witzel. 2001. "Vedic." In P.N. Peregrine and M. Ember, eds., Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.
etc., etc.
"The Vedic Literature" in: Vaisnavism. Contemporary Scholars Discuss the Gaudiya Tradition.
Ed. by Steven Rosen. Foreword by Edward Dimock, Jr. New York 1992, 19-26A few minor reviews, and contributions on Indian literature in Kindler's Literaturlexikon, Muenchen 1972/73 and 1991/2 as well as incidental contributions to local publications.
---, and S. Farmer, Horseplay in Harappa. The Indus Valley Decipherment Hoax.
Frontline [Chennai] Vol. 17 :: No. 19, Oct. 13, 2000, 4-14
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1720/fl172000.htm
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1720/17200040.htm---, and S. Farmer, [Follow up]: New Evidence on the 'Piltdown Horse' Hoax
Vol. 17 :: No. 23, November 11 - 24, 2000, pp. 126-129
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1723/fl172300.htm
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1723/17231220.pdf
[complete update: http://www.safarmer.com/frontline/ ]Summary of the Decipherment Hoax in OUTLOOK, Nov 6, 2000: A Bushy Tail: The Piltdown Horse
Wild guesses, fantasy as fact, outright fraud-that's the staple of revisionist 'Hindu' historians http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20001106&fname=Opinion%20(F)&sid=1