Works of Austrian indologist discussed

ALLAHABAD: The 150th centenary lecture on 'Moriz Winternitz - His work and life' was held at Allahabad Museum on Tuesday.
Director, Allahabad Museum, Rajesh Purohit said that the Museum is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of renowned Indologist Moriz Winternitz, an Austrian, who lived between 1863-937.
Professor Debabrata Chakrabarti, University of Calcutta, Kolkata was invited to deliver the lecture.
Moriz Winternitz was an outstanding scholar who wrote on religion, folk-lore, the epics and Sanskrit literature. He is best remembered for his 'History of Indian Literature', a work in three volumes, which is considered indispensable for teachers and students.
Winternitz was also one of the co-sponsors of a critical edition of the Mahabharata, a project that held his attention throughout his life. Winternitz was born on December 23, 1863 in Horn, Lower Austria into the family of a merchant. In 1880, he went to Vienna where he began to study Indology.
In 1921, Rabindranath Tagore, whom Winternitz greatly admired, visited Prague. On his invitation, Winternitz spent a year at Vishvabharati University, Shantiniketan. He lectured and travelled extensively in India. He retired from the University of Prague in 1934 and died on January 9, 1937.