Anthropology · a Light

He learned Sanskrit to describe Hinduism in its own words

Al-Biruni finished his book on India around 1030. He had gone there with Mahmud of Ghazna's campaigns, but what he wrote was not a conqueror's report. He learned Sanskrit, read the Puranas and the Bhagavad Gita, sat with Brahmins, and stated his method at the start: he would report what Hindus themselves say, in their own terms, and would not argue with them in the telling. He compared their astronomy with Greek astronomy, described their weights, calendars, castes and festivals, and noted where he thought they were mistaken and where he thought his own side was. The book is still used by historians as the best outside account of eleventh century India.

Al-Biruni · c. 1030 CE