MÖGLING, Herrmann Friedrich. Brackenheim, Schwaben 29.5.1811 — Esslingen 10.5.1881. German Missionary and Indologist (Kannaḍa Scholar), 25 years in India. Born in a religious family of Swiss (Basel) origin, his father was teacher, later minister. Educated at Oehringen Lyceum (where his father taught) he obtained a thorough training in classics. At the age of 18 he started studies at seminary, then theology at Tübingen (met Gundert and Weigle there), but after five years, in 1834, went through a dramatic religious crisis and moved to mission school of Basel. After a period in England for learning the language he left for India in fall 1836 and arrived at Mangalore on 6.12.1836. Together with Hebich he founded the Southern Mahratta Mission in Dharwar, adopted Indian life style and started a school. Learning quickly and well Kannaḍa he became school inspector to the government, but also preached in bazars and was often ill. In 1838-52 he worked in Mangalore for Basel Mission as teacher and preacher. Now he started collecting and putting others to collect and editing old Kannaḍa manuscripts, a work which was financed by the rich Casamajor (a retired judge), then by W. Elliot. In 1845 visited Europe, in 1850 severely ill. In 1852 he founded on his own and with the help of contributions by local English an independent Coorg Mission and became its head until 1858 when he gave it over to Basel Mission. Hon. Ph.D. 1858 Tübingen. In December 1860 he left for Europe where he had earlier sent his wife and children. Back in Germany he worked 7 years as Minister in Heilbronn. Retired in 1869 he settled in Esslingen to prepare a Bible commentary in Kannaḍa. Married Pauline Bacmeister (1825–1861, —> Weigle’s widow), with four stepchildren, as widower remarried in 1863 Bertha Schmid, two children. Beside Kannaḍa he knew Sanskrit and Tulu.
Publications: Editions of classical Kannaḍa texts publ. as Bibliotheca Carnatica. 1-6. 1848-51 (starting with Lakṣmīśa’s Jaiminibhārata).
– Coorg Memoires, an account of Coorg and of the Coorg Mission. 5+222 p. Bangalore 1855.
– Rajendraname. A History of Coorg. In Kannada, with an English transl. by Lieut. R. Abercrombie, ed. by H. F. Moegling. 1-2. Mangalore 1857.
– “Lieder Kanaresischer Sänger I. Proben von Purandara Dâsa und Kanaka Dâsa”, ZDMG 14, 1860, 502-516 (introd. & transl.); “id. II. Kanaresischer Text des ersten Dutzend. Dâsarapadagalu”, ZDMG 18, 1864, 241-261; “Lakṣmîça, Erstes und zweites Kapitel des altkanaresischen Jeimini Bharata, eine Ueberarbeitung des Açvamedhaparva des Mahâbhârata … aus dem Kanaresischen umgeschrieben, wörtlich übersetzt und mit Erklärungen versehen”, ZDMG 24, 1870, 309-324; 25, 1871, 22-41; 27, 1873, 364-396.
– Das Kurgland und die englische Mission in Kurg. 334 p. Basel 1866.
Sources: Brückner et al., Indienforschung im Zeitenwandel. 2003, 34-41 (photo on p. 24); Ledderhose, A.D.B. 22, 1885, 47-52; *H. Gundert, H. Mögling, ein Missionsleben in der Mitte des Jahrhunderts. Calw 1882; Wikipedia with two portraits.
*A. Frenz, Eine Reise in die Religionen : Herrmann Mögling (1811-1881) Missionar und Sprachforscher in Indien zum 200. Geburtstag = A journey into religions: Herrmann Mögling (1811-1881), missionary and linguist in India, on the occasion of his 200th birth anniversary. 399 p. Heidelberg 2011.