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{{Short description|Dutch Indologist (1905–1991)}}
{{expand language|langcode=fr|langcode2=nl|topic=bio|Jan Gonda|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix = 
| name = Jan Gonda
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Jan_Gonda_(1972).png
| image_size =
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| caption = A portrait of Gonda from his 1972 {{lang|de|[[Festschrift]]}}
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1905|4|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]], [[South Holland]], [[The Netherlands]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|7|28|1905|4|17|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], [[The Netherlands]]
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| alma_mater = [[Utrecht University]]
| thesis_title = Δείκνῡμῐ{{r|ensink}}
| thesis_url =
| thesis_year = 1929
| school_tradition =
| doctoral_advisor = {{ill|Carl Vollgraff|fr|Carl Wilhelm Vollgraff}}
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| influences = 
| discipline = [[Indo-European linguistics]]
| sub_discipline = [[Indology]]
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}}
'''Jan Gonda''' (14 April 1905 – 28 July 1991) was a Dutch [[Indologist]] and the first Utrecht professor of Sanskrit.<ref name=gondaobit/> He was born in [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]], in the [[Netherlands]], and died in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]].{{r|hwb}}<ref name=ensink>{{cite journal |last1=Ensink |first1=J. |date=1992 |title=Jan Gonda († 1991) and Indonesian Studies |journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde |volume=148 |issue=2 |pages=209–219 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90003151 |doi-access=free }}</ref> He studied with [[Willem Caland]] at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 {{lang|nl|[[Universiteit Utrecht]]}}) and from 1932 held positions at Utrecht and Leiden. He held the positions of Chair of Sanskrit succeeding Caland from 1929, as well as of Indology from 1932.<ref name=gondaobit/> He published scholarly articles on Indian Sanskrit and Indonesian Javanese texts for sixty years.<ref name=gondaobit/> In 1952, he published his monumental work on ''Sanskrit in Indonesia''.<ref name=gondaobit/> His contributions to philology and Vedic literature has been oft-cited.<ref name=gondaobit/>

Gonda is recognized as one of the 20th century's leading scholars of Asian language, literature and religion, particularly on texts and topics related to Hinduism and Buddhism. He wrote with ease and elegance in Dutch, English and German, and had a breath-taking range of interests from the ancient literature of [[Indonesia]] and [[India]] to [[comparative religion]] and [[philology]]. Like many Orientalists of the 20th century, Gonda never visited Asia although some of his publications appeared under the auspices of the "Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen", e.g. his comparative study on the Kavi-edition of the "Bhīşmaparwa", printed in Bandung (Java), 1937.

However, his lack of field experience was compensated for by his knowledge of Indic literature and his empathy for the religious culture of Asia. Among his many students was [[J. A. B. van Buitenen|{{nowrap|J. A. B.}} {{nowrap|van Buitenen}}]], who moved to the [[University of Chicago]] in 1961. [[Henk Bodewitz]] succeeded Gonda as the chair of Sanskrit at Utrecht in 1976.<ref>A. Griffiths and Jan E. N. Houben, 'H.W.Bodewitz: Bibliography 1969-2004,' ''Indo-Iranian Journal'' 47 (2004): 121-31.</ref>

Gonda left a [[bequest]] to [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]], of which he was member since 1957,<ref name=gondaobit>{{cite web|url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00000458 |title=J. Gonda (1905 - 1991) |language=nl |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> and in 1992 the Gonda Foundation was set up in his name. The foundation offers publication subsidies and grants to projects relating to Indology, the size of the grants and scope of activities being determined by the return on invested capital. The Gonda Lectures and Gonda Indological Series are also named in his honour.

Gonda died suddenly on 28 July 1991.<ref name=hwb>{{cite journal | last=Bodewitz | first=H. W. |author-link=Henk Bodewitz | title=JAN GONDA (14 APRIL 1905 – 28 JULY 1991) | journal=Indo-Iranian Journal | publisher=Brill | volume=34 | issue=4 | year=1991 | issn=0019-7246 | jstor=24655600 | pages=281–286 | doi=10.1163/000000091790083706 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24655600 | url-access=subscription | access-date=9 July 2024}}</ref> Along with [[F. B. J. Kuiper|{{nowrap|F. B. J.}} Kuiper]], Gonda has been credited with helping elevate Dutch Indology and its related disciplines internationally.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bodewitz |first=H. W. |author-link=Henk Bodewitz |date=n.d. |title=Franciscus Bernardus Jacobus Kuiper |url=https://dwc.knaw.nl/DL/levensberichten/PE00001424.pdf |website=Digital Web Center for the History of Science in the Low Countries |location=Amsterdam |publisher=[[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |pages=76–84 |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref>

==Publications==
Gonda produced a substantial number of books and articles during his long career. The most useful starting point is Jan Gonda, ''Selected Studies'', 6 vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975–1991). These volumes contain most of his key articles.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.knaw.nl/en/funds-and-prizes/j-gonda-fund The Gonda Fund] at the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] website
* [https://www.knaw.nl/en/academy-funds-and-prizes/gonda-lectures-and-gonda-studies The Gonda Lectures] at the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] website
*[http://www.brill.com/publications/gonda-indological-studies Gonda Indological Series] at the Brill website
*Gonda entry at the "[https://www.dutchstudies-satsea.nl/deelnemers/gonda-jan/ Dutch Studies on South Asia, Tibet and Classical Southeast Asia]" website

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonda, Jan}}
[[Category:Dutch Indologists]]
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Utrecht University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Gouda, South Holland]]
[[Category:University of Chicago faculty]]

Jan Gonda - Revision history

Davidwnl at 17:00, 21 December 2025