Una traduzione fondamentale per l’orientalistica europea all’inizio del XIX secolo: le Upanishad di Anquetil-Duperron

A Pivotal Translation for European Orientalism in the Early 19th Century: The Upanishads by Anquetil-Duperron. The late 18th century brought significant changes in perception of Indian civilization by the Europeans. In particular, this period was a turning point in the interest of the cultured French elite for the Indian world: it saw a mutation from the “universalism” of Enlightenment authors towards the orientalism of the specialist scholars in Asian studies. The work of the French orientalist Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731-1805), a pioneer of modern Indian studies, revisit fascination and curiosity towards the Indian customs and religions. In 1801-1802, Duperron publish in Latin his translation of the Upanishads, taken from the Persian anthology Sirr-e-Akbar (“The Great Secret”), edited in 1657 by the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh. At the beginning of the 19th century, for the educated European elite, the Latin translation of the Upanishads is considered an essential work to know and describe the Indian civilization, and it influences even Schopenhauer's reflections.