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 život, while in Sanskrit - đivita (điva).

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. Snježana Božić 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 Naš Gandhi (Our Gandhi).

Stjepan Radiić with his grandchildren

Vladimir Paleček handing over the keys of the ambulance car to Mother Teresa.
Father Ante Gabrić 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 Paleček, lijevo dr. Sheoray Singh Jain, a desno Damir Mejovšek,
skupljaju pomoć za Međunarodni fond "Gladno dijete" na Jelačićevom trgu u Zagrebu.

Vladimir Paleček, a lijevo od nje je Sulehni Jain, supruga dr. Sheoray SIngh Jaina i majka Nite Jain.
Snimljeno u kući Međunarodnog fonda "Gladno dijete" blizu Autobusnog kolodvora (Dubravkin trg br. 11),
sada sjedište Crvenog križa.

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. Čuva se u Nacionalnoj i sveučilišnoj knjižnici (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 reče: Ka zemlja naib-
liže jest raju? Moistar reče: "Tako nam kni-
ge govore Svetago Pisma, da tamo nigdor
nemore priti. Jere jesu okolu prvelike gori
i v nih leže preljuti zveri i prstrašne zm
zmije i te brane tam priti. I poli tog
leži 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 tečet iz jedne gore ka ri...olus i teče v
...vleno more. I tu jest teško priti zač 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 široka da est v nei velikih pogla-
vnih kralevstvi 30 i 4. I v nei esu ljudi
različni. Edni su takmo 2 lakta visoke i ti
ljudi vojuju proti nam. I v toi zemli est 2 oto-
ka Kriša i Gliris i v teju est mnogo zlata. I es
ta krik vsvego leta zelena. I to est va vsakom
našem 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 leže. 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 š nimi se snedaju i tako se vese-
le obnih. I poli toga leži 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 požare velike. I tako otpodje one zmie i potom z-
beru prpar i ot toga požara očrne prpar. A od nature e
bjel. I oni ljudi ki ga zbiraju bivaju živi 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 lisičimi 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 črni. 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 čine sen nad sobu od noge..
I takoi esu edni ki imaju edan rog vaski ih na svo-
em čele i pod tem rogom edno oko. Mlai reče: bivaju
li ti ljudi na vkup da se ne pobiju? Moistr reče: 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-
šni zveri i preljute zmie. Mlai reče: kako to more
biti vede nam tako knige svedoče da smo vs-
i ot ednoga človeka početi 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 reče: Adam  est bil naimudrei
nere e bil ni edan človek na svete. Razve mudroga
Solomona. I kada bje Adam iz raja izagnan, tad-
a on znaše vseh zljedi korenija i nih zale natu-
re i bješe edno zele takovo da gda bi ga bila ž-
ena okusila tude bi bila promenila plod nee
tela nature. I tada Adam ukaza svoim hćeram
ne jesti toga zelje. I vinu ta edna hći Ada-
mla nebudući mudra. Da norica i poče 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 vrže v dile na hrbat a drugi-
m se brani i siječe. I kada mu bude trudan ta rog tad-
a ga vrže na hrbat a on dvignet ki e čil i opet se
nim rie. I to zvjere se ne boi nikogare razve ča e črno
a močno est kako na zemli tako va vodje. I ošče est v toi zem-
li edan zvjer ki se zove manastarijus. Ima gla-
vu kako človek a telo kako ona rep kako svina. Ima edan ro-
g na čele, 4 noge dlg i est svetal kako drag-
i kamen ki latinski zovet se karbonkulus i est
oštr kako britva. I ta zvjer est tuliko ljut ča 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-
če železo. Mlai reče: 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 reče: Partija, se počne pri toi re-
cje ka se zove Tigra. I v toi zemli leži edan grad
ki se zove Persida. I v tom gradu počeše naiprvo čari
biti is te zemle prihodi edan kamen ki žge kako kopri-
va. I ošće est v toi zemli edan kamen ki v noći sveti
kako oganj. I govori se latinski silous. I toga kamena
pribiva i upada kako mjeseca. Mlai reče: povei mi ob
toi zemli ka se zvoe Mesopotamija. Moistr reče: Meso-
potamija zovet se po dveju reku ka tečeta [dvojina!] skoze tu ze-
mlju. I v toi zemli leži edan grad ki se zove Nonive,
a to est Nevonnit. I ta grad est tuliko širok kuliko i dlg
i est tuliko dlg ča more človek tri dni preiti prek nega.
I v toi zemli est Babilon, i toga grada est zid
širok 50 lakat a dveste lakat est visok.  I est
ta grad 60 mil širok 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 leži 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 leži edna go-
ra imenem Libanus. I pri toi gore leži Jardan ki s-
e počene 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 Omišalj 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 Mihaljević, Fellow of the Croatian Academy of Sciences.

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

Josip Marić (1807-1883)

Ivana Brlić Mažuranić: Apprentice Hlapić (Šegrt Hlapić), published in Bengali in 2005.
Translated from its Espernato edition (prepared by Maja Tiišljar) into Bengali by Dr Probal Dasgupta.
Many thanks to Spomenka Štimec for kindly sending us this information and the photo.
Apprentice Hlapić by Ivana Brlić Mažuranić 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 Livljanić 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 "Naš 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 Ježić, 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 Andrijanić, with editorial board consisting of Professor Mislav Ježić, Dr. Ružica Čičak-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 Žubrinić