He introduced India to the West

Kanwarjit Singh Kang on Sir William Jones, whose study of comparative
linguistics led to an Oriental renaissance in the West

THE Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident, so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists; there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both Gothic and Celtic, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit, and the old Persian might be added to the same family."

Despite some disagreements among the linguists, this is the most quoted passage of Sir William Jones, a linguistic prodigy who knew 13 languages thoroughly and another 28 reasonably well, making him a hyper polyglot.

A pioneer in comparative linguistics and in shaping western respect for the cultures of the East, William Jones was born in London on September 28, 1746. He distinguished himself at Harrow and Oxford and devoted himself to the study of languages. Though only 21 years of age, he was already famous as an Orientalist. When King Christian VII of Denmark visited England in 1768, bringing with him a Persian manuscript on Nadir Shah, Jones was requested to translate it into French and the translation appeared under the title Histoire de Nader Chah in 1770.

After achieving a reputation as an Oriental scholar, out of financial necessity, he undertook the study of law and was called to the Bar in 1774. He pursued learning of law with distinction and was appointed commissioner of bankruptcy. Besides writing An Essay on the Law of Bailments, Jones translated the speeches of Isaeus from Greek on the Athenian right of inheritance.

In 1783, he was knighted and made a judge of the British Supreme Court at Kolkata where he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 for the scholarly study of Asia, particularly India. The society concerned itself not only with the history and literature but also with the scientific study of the region — in fact, all the works of "Man and Nature, whatever is performed by the one, or produced by the other" — embracing topics of botany, anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, chronology, ethnology, geography, music, literature, religion, mythology, languages, inscriptions, physiology, chess and other subjects. The society now has a priceless collection of nearly 40,000 manuscripts.

Inspired by the success of the Asiatic Society, such societies, devoted to Oriental studies, were established in England, America, France and Germany in the first half of the 19th century. In a way, Sir William Jones was the precursor of these societies, which led to the Oriental renaissance in the West.

Jones was led to his knowledge of Sanskrit through his interest in Hindu law. As a judge of the Supreme Court at Kolkata, he was convinced of the importance of consulting native legal sources for the proper dispensation of justice and devoted to the study of Sanskrit and soon learned it well enough to be able to translate into English the Manusamhita under the name of Institutes of Hindu Law. He also translated into English Kalidasa’s Shakuntla, a collection of fables entitled Hitopodesha, the Gitagovinda and considerable portion of the Vedas, besides editing the text of Kalidasa’s poem Ritusamhara. In addition, he wrote a Grammar of Persian Language, the Mohammedan Law of Succession and the Mohammedan Law of Inheritance.

Jones’ poetic pursuits made his range of academic interests and accomplishments more extraordinary. He published his translation of the seven ancient Arabic poems called Moallakat, and wrote nine poetic hymns to Hindu deities. His most prominent poetic work was the poem of Caissa, based on Scacchia Ludus (The game of Chess) written in 1510 by an Italian poet. Caissa initially repels the advances of the god of war, Mars. Spurned, Mars seeks the aid of the god of sports — Euphron, brother of Venus — who creates the game of chess as a gift for Mars to win Caissa’s favour. It was through this poem that Caissa has become the ‘patron goddess’ of chess players. Even the first Russian computer programme that won the World Computer Chess Championship was named Caissa.

Jones’ literary pursuits, together with his strenuous judicial work, told on his health after a 10 years’ stay in Bengal, and he died at Kolkata on April 27, 1794. His collected works were published five years after his death, The Works of Sir William Jones, in six volumes. "As a pioneer in Sanskrit learning and as the founder of the Asiatic Society, he rendered the language and literature of the ancient Hindus accessible to European scholars, and thus became the indirect cause of later achievements in the field of Sanskrit and comparative philology."

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