SIMON, Richard Nathan. Hamburg 10.9.1865 — Berlin 14. or 17.8.1934. German Indologist. Born in a family of Jewish origin, educated in Hamburg. In 1884-88 studied at Leipzig, Freiburg, Berlin, and Halle classical, German and Indian philology, in which his teachers were Windisch, Hardy, Weber and Pischel. Ph.D. 1888 Halle. After manuscript studies in London, Oxford and Paris PD 1892 Munich. From 1906 eo. Professor at Munich, but without proper salary also had to earn money as music critic in the Frankfurter Zeitung. Participated in the WW I as captain of militia, rised into major. In 1920 accepted a position at Government Statistical Office in Berlin. Married with a Baltic Baroness, divorced, at least one daughter.
Simon never got a sufficient university position, but was capable of doing important work even in his free time. Also after quitting the university he continued his research. Before his fatal illness he was able to achieve the German translation of his favourite text, the Sundarakaṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa, but the planned Grundriss volume on music remained unconcluded.
Publications: Diss. Über Rāmakṛshṇa’s Einleitung zum Saṁskāragaṇapati. 34 p. Halle 1888, the whole work publ. as Beiträge zur Kenntniss der vedischen Schulen. Kiel 1889; hab.diss. Über die Handschriften und Recensionen des Amaruçataka. 46 p. Bonn 1892 (with suppl. in ZDMG 49, 1895, 577-582).
– “Der çloka im Pāli”, ZDMG 44, 1890, 83-97; “Über einige Kommentatoren zu Sūtren des Weissen Yajurveda”, SBaAW 1895, 605-650.
– Edited: Amaruçataka in seinen Rezensionen dargestellt, mit einer Einleitung und Auszügen aus den Commentatoren versehen. 159 p. Kiel 1893.
– “Quellen zur indischen Musik”, ZDMG 56, 1902, 129-153 & 262-292 (on Dāmodara); “Die Notationen des Somanātha”, SBaAW 1903, 447-469; “Die Notation der vedischen Liederbücher”, WZKM 27, 1913, 305-346; “Zur Chronologie der indischen Musikliteratur”, ZII 2, 1923, 153-166.
– Edited: The Musical compositions of Somanātha. 33 p. Lp. 1904.
– Edited & translated: “Puṣpasūtra”, ABaAW 1:23:3, 1909, 481-780, with notes in ZDMG 63, 1909, 730-738.
– L. v. Schroeder: Kāṭhaka. Die Saṁhitā der Kaṭha-Śākhā. Index verborum von R. Simon. 6+234 p. Lp. 1912.
– Edited & translated: Pañcavidhānasūtra. 82 p. Indische Forschungen 5. Breslau 1913.
– “Lāṭyāyana VI, 10–VII, 13. Übersetzt und erklärt”, ZII 2, 1923, 1-33.
– A Sanskrit grammar distributed in mimeographed form to his students at Munich.
– Translated: Die Erzählung vom grossen Affen Hanumat. Rāmāyaṇa. Buch V. Hrsg. von R. Schmitt. 14+264 p. Saarbrücken 1977.
– Kleine Schriften. Hrsg. von R. Schmitt. 10+956 p. Glasenapp-St. 20. Wb. 1979.
Sources: H. v. Glasenapp, ZDMG 89, 1935, 255-259 (cf. his Lebensreise p. 43); Stache-Rosen 1990, 156; photo in Rau 83.
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