Development of hermeneutic ideas in european philosophy and specific features of philosophical commentaries in India

The paper deals with origin and development of Hermeneutics as a philosophical discipline with its own methods and notions. The history of Hermeneutics discovers the dramatic changes of its key-notions 'interpretation' and 'meaning of a text' for human existence. Till now the main subject of hermeneutic studies in the world are the sacred texts of various religious traditions. The most eminent representative of the contemporary religious Hermeneutics is today the Austrian scholar Gerhard Oberhammer, who is not only a specialist in the Indian Studies, but also created the new trend in the religious Hermeneutics, titled "Transcendental Hermeneutics of Religion".