PROF. DR. LUDWIG ALSDORF (1904-1978) was probably the most versatile among Western Indologists of the 20th century.His Many-sided Vedic and Classical Sanskrit tests as well as Buddhist Pali literature and jaina Alpabhram`sa in which he had specialized. His command of indian language from the dialects of the Asoka inscriptions to modern vernaculars like Hindi and Urdu which he combined with a living knowledge of the historical, religious, artistic and literary developments on the subcontinent, gave him a rare universality.