PM Modi receives Sanskrit grammar written by Croatian missionary in 1790

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently received from his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic a reprint of Vezdin’s Sanskrit grammar – the first printed Sanskrit grammar written in Latin in 1790 by Croatian scientist and missionary Filip Vezdin during his time spent in India.

• An Indologist of Croatian nationality, Ivan Filip Vezdin came to Malabar as a missionary in 1774 and later became the Vicar-General on the Malabar Coast.
• He is credited with publishing the first printed Sanskrit grammar in 1790. A plaque to commemorate him was unveiled in Trivandrum in 1999.