[INDOLOGY] Roque Mesquita (1937-2016)

[Himal Trikha]

Dear list members,

This is to convey the sad news that Roque Mesquita of Vienna (“Madhva’s 
Unknown Sources”) passed away peacefully on September 22nd after a long 
illness. He leaves behind his wife Erika and their children Sushila, 
Dominik and Sunanda.

Born and educated in Goa, India, Roque deepened his theological 
education at the Gregorian University, Rome, before taking up the study 
of Indology at the University of Vienna with Gerhard Oberhammer. He 
initially specialized in Viśiṣṭādvaita­ve­dān­ta and completed his 
doctoral dissertation (1971) and habilitation (1988) on Yāmuna, 
particularly on the Saṃvitsiddhi.

Roque was a member of the faculty of the Institute for Indology from 
1972 until his retirement in 2002. He studied Madhva’s works from the 
mid-nineties onwards, publishing several monographs and engaging in 
lively discussions on his research as long as his health permitted. His 
last article “Rejoinder II: Madhva's Unknown Literary Sources” appeared 
in 2014 in the Rivista di Studi Orientali 87. His final book was seen 
through the press by his family: “Studies on Madhva’s 
Viṣṇutattvanirṇaya”, New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan 2016, 308 pages.

Indologists from Vienna have lost a dear and gentle colleague and a 
patient teacher of Sanskrit: Roque was in charge of the introductory 
Sanskrit courses for decades and many of us learned to love and respect 
this language through him.

His friendly and good-spirited nature will be very much missed.

Himal Trikha