Dr. Mehner receives renowned research award for Indology!

Dr. Mehner receives renowned research award for Indology!

On October 17, 2025, Dr. Maximilian Mehner, an Indologist from the Philipps University of Marburg, was awarded the research prize of the German Oriental Society (DMG) at the 35th German Orientalist Day in Erlangen. This prestigious honor is endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded jointly with Dorian Pastor by the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Mehner was recognized for his outstanding research on Indian intellectual history.

The focus of his work is the hitherto little-researched Sanskrit text “Vīraratnaśekharaśikhā”, which was written by the Kashmiri scholar Sāhibrām. Sāhibrām lived until 1872 and created the work on behalf of Ranbir Singh, the second ruler of the Dogra dynasty. The text is an adaptation of the Persian royal mirror “Aḫlāq-i Muḥsinī”, which was written in the early 16th century by Kamāl ad-Dīn Ḥusain Wāʿiẓ Kāšifī in Herat, during the Timurid period. This work has received wide recognition in various parts of the Islamic world and South Asia and consists of 40 chapters, each dedicated to a characteristic of the ideal ruler.

Research projects and cultural connections

Dr. Mehner has presented an annotated first edition and a translation of selected chapters of the “Vīraratnaśekharaśikhā”. He deals intensively with Sāhibrām's translation strategy, which links political, religious and philosophical themes. The text's character poems are also rich in puns and complex lyrical forms.

Part of Mehner's research activities take place as part of the DFG project “Sāhibrām's Adaptation of the Aḫlāq-i Muḥsinī”. This interdisciplinary project was initiated between the Indology and Iranian Studies departments at the Philipps University of Marburg and examines the Indo-Persian cultural transfer in 19th century India. An accompanying platform will address topics such as Indo-Persian text transfers and the relevance of Sanskrit and Persian in 19th century Kashmir. Visit the Blog about this project.

The Importance of Indology

The discipline of Indology is comprehensively dedicated to the languages, cultures and history of the Indian cultural area. Its roots go back to the 18th century, when the study and translation of classical Sanskrit texts became increasingly important. Eminent scholars such as Wilhelm von Humboldt and Franz Bopp contributed to the development and establishment of modern Indology, and the first German professor of Indology was August Wilhelm Schlegel in Bonn in 1818.

Mehner's work illustrates the essential role of Indology in today's humanities research. Using interdisciplinary approaches, Indology seeks not only to evaluate historical texts, but also to integrate modern Indian national languages ​​and their literatures. This synergy promotes understanding of cultural, political and social trends in the Indian context.

Marburg Indology has established itself as an internationally recognized center for the editorial and textual criticism of ancient Indian sources and is central to understanding the Indo-Persian cultural dialogue as manifested in the work of Sāhibrām and other 19th-century scholars. Your commitment is supported by the outstanding research and projects such as that of Dr. Mehner shaped.