PETROV, Pavel Jakovlevič. St.Petersburg 25.(7.)7.1814 — Moscow 7.(19.)9.1875. Russian Indologist and Arabic Scholar. Professor in Kazan and Moscow. Son of a poor schoolteacher, Jakov Osipovič Petrov, he was educated in St.Petersburg and Moscow and graduated (kand.) from Moscow University in 1832. Then he studied Oriental languages and Sanskrit (under Lenz) at St.Petersburg. In 1838-40 further studies under Bopp at Berlin, briefly visited London and Paris, too. After a period of unemployment he was in 1841-51 the first Professor (Adjunkt) of Sanskrit at Kazan University (where he was succeeded by Bollensen). In 1849-52 also Lektor of English language. In 1852-75 Professor (ord. from 1864) of Oriental Languages at Moscow University. Retired in May 1875. In Moscow he taught both Sanskrit and Arabic and Persian. Hon. Dr. 1864 St.Petersburg.
Petrov was a recluse who had very few friends (his fellow-student Trithen) and who published rather little. In Moscow he had been a fellow-student of V. G. Belinskij and shared his liberal and literary ideas. Petrov’s letters to him are preserved. In Indology he was interested in epics and dramas, also in the history of Kashmir, although the planned translation of the Rājataraṅginī remained unachieved. In addition to Sanskrit, he had also learned Bengali. At Kazan his students were mainly concentrating on Mongolian and Chinese, at Moscow they included included Djuvernua, Fortunatov, Korsch and V. F. Miller.
Publications: Translated into Russian: Sītāharaṇa. With grammatical analysis and a glossary. 1836 (apparently unpublished diss.).
– “Pribavlenie k katalogu sanskritskih rukopisej, nahodjaščihsja v aziatskom museume imperatorskoj akademij nauk”, Žurn. Min. Nar. Prosv. 12, 1836, 194-198 (supplement to Lenz’s catalogue); “Obozrenie arabskih, persidskih i tureckih rukopisej, nahodjaščihsja v biblioteke moskovskago universiteta”, Ibid. 13, 1837, 549-555.
– “Ob Upanišadah”, Žurn. Min. Nar. Prosv. 13, 1837, 536f. (on the Upaniṣads published by Poley); “O literature narodov zagangeskoj Indii”, Ibid. 31, 1841, 27f.; “O svojstvah i sostave sanskritskago jazyka”, Ibid. 33, 1842, 184-208; “O duhovnoj literature indusov”, Ibid. 48, 1845, 133-148.
– Transl. into Russian: “Mats’opak’anam ili skazanie o rybe”, Moskvitjanin 4:8, 1841, 404-409; “Pohiščenie Draupadi”, Otečestvennye zapiski 19:12, 1841, 185-197; “Skazanie o Savitri”, Moskvitjanin 6:12, 1841, 337-352; “Razbor sanskritskoj poèmy ‘Gita-govinda’ s otkrybkami iz nee”, Moskvitjanin 1:1, 1842, 120-129.
– “Programma dlja prepodavanija sanskritskago jazyka i literatury”, Učen. Zap. Kaz. univ. 2, 1842, 77-95.
– Edited: Atha Sītāharaṇam. 14 p. Kazan 1842; with transl. Ghaṭakarparam. G’ata-Karparam ili razvityj sosud. Liričeskaja poèma. 4+19 p. Kazan 1844.
– Sanskritskaja antologija. Otdelenie pervoe: izrečenija, otryvki epičeskie, skazki, otryvki opisatel’nye i liričeskie. 48 p. Kazan 1846.
– “O muzyke drevnih indusov”, St.Peterb. Vedom. 1849:18.
– Sanskritskaja gramatika. 1. Devanagarskij alfavit i čtenie. 14 p. Moscow 1865.
– Transl. “Radža-Tarangini, istoričeskaja poèma Kal’hanapandity”, Izv. Mosk. univ. 1865:1, 1-14; “Iz reki carej Kal’hany (vstuplenie)”, Ibid. 1872:1, 65-72.
Sources: Biogr. slovar’ Mosk. univ. 2, 1855, 225-227; Biobibl. slovar’ Kazan 1, 1904, 236f.; Bongard-Levin & Vigasin 1984, 67-71; *L. Mserianc, “K istorii sanskritologii v Rossii (neizdannye materialy k biografii Roberta Lenca i prof. Pavla Jak. Petrova). Posvjaščaetsja pamjati Franca Boppa”, Novyj Vostok 1, 1922, 309-315; G.N. Roerich, JGIS 12, 1945, 73; G.F. Šamov, “Sanskritologija v Kazanskom universitete v pervoj polovine XIX v.”, Problemy Vostokovedenija 1959:3, 117-122; *Id., “Russkij sanskritolog P. Ja. Petrov”, Očerki po ist. russkogo vostokovedenija 3, 1960, 126-146; A. S. Šofman, “Sanskritolog P. Ja. Petrov v Kazanskom universitete”, Učen. zap., Kaz. univ. 117:9, 1957, 53-58; *Vigasin et al., Istorija otečestvennogo vostokovedenija s serediny XIX veka do 1917 goda. Moscow 1997, 22-24; *Vigasin 2008, 89-103 with small photo; a few notes by Mehlitz are given in his article on Trithen in ZII 10, 1936; http://people-archive.ru/character/pavel-yakovlevich-petrov (in Russian); *Russian Vikipedija with photo.
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