Croatia - India
historical and cultural relations

For more information see Filip Vezdin (in Croatian)

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Source H. E. Raj Kumar Srivastava: Embassy of India, Zagreb Newsletter (ISSUE NO. 9: September 2023)
All Newsletters

Of course, there are slight differences in pronounciation. For example, LIFE in Croatian is ¾ivot, while in Sanskrit - ðivita (ðiva).

Angjelko (Angelik) Juraj Bedenik (1808-1865), Capuchin Franciscan, Croatian missionary and vicar apostolic in Agra, India.
The above tablet was raised in the city of Koprivnica, where Bedenik was born. He died in Agra, India.

Many thanks to Ms. Snje¾ana Bo¾iæ for her information about the above tablet on the wall of the church of St. Nicholas the bishop in Koprivnica, Croatia.

Romain Rolland's monograph Mahatma Gandhi, published in 1924 in Paris,
was translated that same year into Croatian (sic!), upon the initative of Stjepan Radic (1871-1928),
entitled as Na¹ Gandhi (Our Gandhi).

Stjepan Radiiæ with his grandchildren

Vladimir Paleèek handing over the keys of the ambulance car to Mother Teresa.
Father Ante Gabriæ on the right. Both photos are taken at the Archbishopric building in Zagreb,
just by the Zagreb Cathedral (many thanks to Mr. Marijan Lipovac for recognizing the site).

Mala Nita Jain, iza nje Vladimir Paleèek, lijevo dr. Sheoray Singh Jain, a desno Damir Mejov¹ek,
skupljaju pomoæ za Meðunarodni fond "Gladno dijete" na Jelaèiæevom trgu u Zagrebu.

Vladimir Paleèek, a lijevo od nje je Sulehni Jain, supruga dr. Sheoray SIngh Jaina i majka Nite Jain.
Snimljeno u kuæi Meðunarodnog fonda "Gladno dijete" blizu Autobusnog kolodvora (Dubravkin trg br. 11),
sada sjedi¹te Crvenog kri¾a.

Mahatma Gandhi with young Indira in 1924

Miro Gavran: The Doll (the original Croatian title is Lutka)






Translated by Srivastava Saurabh

Miro Gavran: When the Actor Dies (the original Croatian title is Kad umire glumac)

* * *

Petrisov zbornik iz 1468., vrhunski je spomenik hrvatske pisane kulture. Naziv je dobio prema jednom od vlasnika iz 19. st., Petrisu s otoka Krka. Èuva se u Nacionalnoj i sveuèili¹noj knji¾nici (NSK) u Zagrebu.

Indija
(India, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 198a)

Indus
(Ind river, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 198a)

p. 198a of the Petris Miscellany from 1468:

Mlai reèe: Ka zemlja naib-
li¾e jest raju? Moistar reèe: "Tako nam kni-
ge govore Svetago Pisma, da tamo nigdor
nemore priti. Jere jesu okolu prvelike gori
i v nih le¾e preljuti zveri i prstra¹ne zm
zmije i te brane tam priti. I poli tog
le¾i jedna zemla imenem Indija. I ta sje

p. 198b of the Petris Miscellany from 1468:

zove tim imenem pred noi vodi ka se zove Indus.
I ta rika teèet iz jedne gore ka ri...olus i teèe v
...vleno more. I tu jest te¹ko priti zaè est od jedne
strane Indus reka i est tuliko veliko velika i od
...u nje tuliko pustine da edva gdo more v trih
...h tamo priti ali videti. (F) Sija zemla
est tuliko ¹iroka da est v nei velikih pogla-
vnih kralevstvi 30 i 4. I v nei esu ljudi
razlièni. Edni su takmo 2 lakta visoke i ti
ljudi vojuju proti nam. I v toi zemli est 2 oto-
ka Kri¹a i Gliris i v teju est mnogo zlata. I es
ta krik vsvego leta zelena. I to est va vsakom
na¹em leti i ne dve lete. I poli toga esu zla-
te gore i toga zlata nemore dobiti nigdore skozi
velike zmie ke vu nih gorah le¾e. I meju tu goru ka
imenuet se Kaspius i meju morem i tu est kral Aleksan-
dar dvoe ljudi zatvoril. Nih ime est Gog i Magog.
I ti ljudi s nogo ne jidu nere sirovo meso. Jesu
v drugoi zemli Indii ljudi ki se zovu Manakobi.
I ti ljudi jesu 12 lakt visoki. I esu napr-
ed kako lav i perje imaju i parakle kako kajna.

...

  Two more pages (p. 199a) deal with India (written by a different hand), where the "third India" is described, starting from line 8.

p. 199a of the Petris Miscellany (1468):

e prijatele prizivaju i ¹ nimi se snedaju i tako se vese-
le obnih. I poli toga le¾i edna zemla v koi raste
prpar. I ta zemla est plna zmii i gadi. I kada ta
prpar bude zrela, tada stvore ti ljudi velike krade
ogna i po¾are velike. I tako otpodje one zmie i potom z-
beru prpar i ot toga po¾ara oèrne prpar. A od nature e
bjel. I oni ljudi ki ga zbiraju bivaju ¾ivi nere do
osam ljet a do trih ljet ljet imaju. V tretoi In-
dii esu ljudi ki imaju pete naprijed a prsti nazad.
A v rukah imaju po osam prstov i v nogah. I ti ljudi
imaju pase glavi a odjevaju se lisièimi repi.
I kada hote govoriti tada viju glavami kako ps-
i. I potli toga esu ljudi ki su iz mlada sedi, a k s-
tarosti su èrni. I potom esu ini ljudi ki imaju lje-
dnu nogu i ti brzo teku kako ptaci kada leti. I kad-
a na slnci sjede tada èine sen nad sobu od noge..
I takoi esu edni ki imaju edan rog vaski ih na svo-
em èele i pod tem rogom edno oko. Mlai reèe: bivaju
li ti ljudi na vkup da se ne pobiju? Moistr reèe: Bog
tako te ljudi est razdelil da se sniti na kup ne
mogu ni se boriti mogu a to est da su meju nimi vel-
ike vode i velike gore v kih esu preveliki i stra-
¹ni zveri i preljute zmie. Mlai reèe: kako to more
biti vede nam tako knige svedoèe da smo vs-
i ot ednoga èloveka poèeti to est ot Adama? Kako su ti lju-
di na takove parti razdeleni? I tako nepodebne

p. 199b of the Petris Miscellany (1468):

obraze imaju. Moistr reèe: Adam  est bil naimudrei
nere e bil ni edan èlovek na svete. Razve mudroga
Solomona. I kada bje Adam iz raja izagnan, tad-
a on zna¹e vseh zljedi korenija i nih zale natu-
re i bje¹e edno zele takovo da gda bi ga bila ¾-
ena okusila tude bi bila promenila plod nee
tela nature. I tada Adam ukaza svoim hæeram
ne jesti toga zelje. I vinu ta edna hæi Ada-
mla nebuduæi mudra. Da norica i poèe jesti.
Ot tjeh korjeni zelija itudi je da se premeni natur-
a ne ploda. I to bje v toi zemli ka se zove Indija.
I v toi zemi est edno zvere ko se zove gila.
I to zvere est napred kako lav a nazad est kako ve-
lblud [=deva, verbljud], tre [ter] ima 2 roga na glave svoei. I est vsa-
ki 2 lakta dlg. I kada se z drugim svadi ta-
da ta edan rog vr¾e v dile na hrbat a drugi-
m se brani i sijeèe. I kada mu bude trudan ta rog tad-
a ga vr¾e na hrbat a on dvignet ki e èil i opet se
nim rie. I to zvjere se ne boi nikogare razve èa e èrno
a moèno est kako na zemli tako va vodje. I o¹èe est v toi zem-
li edan zvjer ki se zove manastarijus. Ima gla-
vu kako èlovek a telo kako ona rep kako svina. Ima edan ro-
g na èele, 4 noge dlg i est svetal kako drag-
i kamen ki latinski zovet se karbonkulus i est
o¹tr kako britva. I ta zvjer est tuliko ljut èa koli
pred sobu utakne to vse rogom ubija. Is te zemle

p. 200a of the Petris Miscellany (1468):


Indija
(India, written in Croatian Glagolitic quickscript in the Petris Miscellany from 1468, on p. 200a)

prihodi edan kamen ki se zove jambar ki k sebje vle-
èe ¾elezo. Mlai reèe: Jure si mi mnogo povedal o b(oga)toi
zemli ka se zove Indija. Da povei mi ob toi zemli ka se
zove Partija. Moistr reèe: Partija, se poène pri toi re-
cje ka se zove Tigra. I v toi zemli le¾i edan grad
ki se zove Persida. I v tom gradu poèe¹e naiprvo èari
biti is te zemle prihodi edan kamen ki ¾ge kako kopri-
va. I o¹æe est v toi zemli edan kamen ki v noæi sveti
kako oganj. I govori se latinski silous. I toga kamena
pribiva i upada kako mjeseca. Mlai reèe: povei mi ob
toi zemli ka se zvoe Mesopotamija. Moistr reèe: Meso-
potamija zovet se po dveju reku ka teèeta [dvojina!] skoze tu ze-
mlju. I v toi zemli le¾i edan grad ki se zove Nonive,
a to est Nevonnit. I ta grad est tuliko ¹irok kuliko i dlg
i est tuliko dlg èa more èlovek tri dni preiti prek nega.
I v toi zemli est Babilon, i toga grada est zid
¹irok 50 lakat a dveste lakat est visok.  I est
ta grad 60 mil ¹irok vprjek ili v dilje ima sto vra-
t mjedenih. I v toi zemli est edna vlast imenem Ara-
bija i ot tude prihodi Tamjen Imuro. I v toi zemli est
edna gora ka se zove Orjeb. Na toi gore Bog da Moisjeju
zakon. I potom le¾i edna zemla ka se zove Surija. I v to-
i zemli est edan grad imenem Damask. I ta grad
postavi kral Avraam. I poli toga le¾i edna go-
ra imenem Libanus. I pri toi gore le¾i Jardan ki s-
e poèene vtoi zemli vkoi est Erusolim. I ta grad est us-

...

So, India is described in a little bit more than 3 pages of the Petris Miscellany (1468).
The name of India appears 5 times (in fact, six times; see just below), while the name of river Ind (Indus) twice.
According to Eduard Hercigonja (of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and arts), this book,
consisting of 700 pages, was written in the Ozalj region near Karlovac (south of the city of Zagreb).
Many thanks to the National and university Library, Zagreb, and to the creators of the glagoljica.hr portal.


* * *

The name of India appearing in the Breviary of Vitus of Omi¹alj dating from 1396,
kept in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. It can be seen on p. 400c (here, on line 5 on the right: "ot Indi-e").
Information by the courtesy of Milan Mihaljeviæ, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences.

Antun Mihanoviæ: Zusammenstellung von 200 Laut- und Sinnerwandten Wörtern des Sanskrites und Slawischen, Wien (Vienna) 1823.

Josip Mariæ (1807-1883)

Ivana Brliæ Ma¾uraniæ: Apprentice Hlapiæ (©egrt Hlapiæ), published in Bengali in 2005.
Translated from its Espernato edition (prepared by Maja Tii¹ljar) into Bengali by Dr Probal Dasgupta.
Many thanks to Spomenka ©timec for kindly sending us this information and the photo.
Apprentice Hlapiæ by Ivana Brliæ Ma¾uraniæ had two Bengali editions, then as a series in three parts published by Samatat journal in Calcutta,  as well as a separate edition published by Samathat sanstha in Calcutta (Kolkata).

(From the description of the above video)

Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was - Buddha? After ten years of research in a multitude of libraries worldwide, Katarina Livljaniæ and the ensemble Dialogos, faithfull to their exploratory and fearless spirit, bring yet another surprise from the less known medieval lands, after its award-winning albums such as Dalmatica: Chants of the Adriatic (A395), Lombards & Barbares (A319), La vision de Tondal (A329), Judith: A Biblical Story from Renaissance Croatia (Alpha702). It is the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha's life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs - incarnated by voice and instruments, sing the legend about the king's son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace - songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…

This project is a unique new experience: a multimedia ebook, in French and English, is included in this CD. It tells the story of Barlaam & Josaphat and leads the listener/reader through one of the most intriguing labyrinths of medieval world. Through a rich and original video, audio and iconographic material, it opens the doors into the artistic creative process which transformed a medieval legend into a music performance.

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

In 1468, a Croatian glagolitic book was hand-written, in which the name of India appears for the first time in the history of Croatian literature. In it, a pupil asked his teacher "Which land is the closest one to Paradise?". And the teacher answered: "There is a land surrounded with huge mountains and protected by dangerous animals. Its name is India. ... It consists of 34 large kingdoms..." The text about India in this book has three pages, and the name of India, written in the Croatian Glagolitic Script, appears six times.

It is hardly possible to enumerate all the fruits that Your ambassador years brought to deepening Croatian-Indian ties. Let me try to mention at least some of them, interesting from my own perspective.

1. Celebrating National Mathematics Day of India in Zagreb since December 2022, with participation of my esteemed colleagues from the University of Zagreb, and with active paricipation of Professor Dipendra Prasad, president of Indian Mathematical Society. The Math Day in India is dedicated to the memory of great Srinivasa Ramanujan.

2. Republishing the 1924 Croatian translation of the monograph entitled "Na¹ Gandhi", that is, "Our Gandhi". Its French original, published also in 1924, was "Mahatma Gandhi", written by Romain Rolland. Its Croatian translation seems to be the only one in which the title was so lovingly altered.

The projecct of republishing the book was initiation by my dear colleague and friend Mr. Joginder Singh Nijjar, with active participation of Mislav Je¾iæ, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well by the support of the Embassy of the Republic of India in Croatia.

3. To H. E. Raj Kumar Srivastava we owe a special gratitude for having initiated the project of publishing the monograph "Croatian-Indian Links", which was printed in 2022, on the occasion of 30 years since establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Its editor-in-chief was Professor Ivan Andrijaniæ, with editorial board consisting of Professor Mislav Je¾iæ, Dr. Ru¾ica Èièak-Chand, and myself.

Dear Mr. Ambassador, I wish You and Your beautiful family a good health, and many new fruits to come in the future.

Darko ®ubriniæ