stella kramrisch was born on may 29, 1896, in nikolsburg, now mikulov, in austria. she was trained as a ballet dancer growing up in austria. when kramrisch was about 10 her parents moved to vienna. one day she came across a translation of the bhagavadgita: "i was so impressed it took my breath away." she had found what she wanted to do in her life. she enrolled at the university of vienna, studying at the department of art history with professors max dvořák and josef strzygowski. she focused her studied on indian art and culture. thus she learned sanskrit and read philosophy, literature and anthropology. in 1919, she successfully completed her studies by earning her doctorate.