ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Friedrich Schlegel, an ideologue of German Romanticism, including Romantic nationalism, who, at the same time, “not only introduced us to the study of Sanskrit but also justified that action” (Heine). The chapter describes Schlegel’s philosophy of language, specifically his distinction between organic and non-organic languages as the basis of his research strategy. As the central idea of the portrayal of Indian religion and philosophy by Schlegel, the chapter examines his understanding of them as the misread Revelation. Further, the chapter examines Schlegel’s concept of the India-rooted original people (Urvolk) as the bearers of the original language and the leading force of history. In this context, it traces the reconstruction by Schlegel of the Urvolk’s migration westward. In particular, it examines Schlegel’s view of the non-Indian peoples as Indian outcast (specifically, degenerated Kshatriyas) and analyzes his interpretation of the Laws of Manu as an alleged underpinning of this theory. On the other hand, the chapter highlights Schlegel’s hypothesis of a journey of a part of the Urvolk to the sacred mountain of Meru as a special scenario for the German ancestors’ migration. Finally, the chapter examines Schlegel’s theory of the split of the Urvolk into two opposite groups (God-seekers and nature-seekers) as the prototype of later social conflicts and the juxtaposition of the biblical and Indian narratives in his discourse.
