Sudhanwa Pathak MBBS

Hit me with the craziest Indian history facts you know.

Hit me with the craziest Indian history facts you know.

The ShrimadBhagwadGeeta was printed in Devanagari for the first time ever in our town Miraj in 1805CE

The First Sanskrit Book Printed in Devanagari Script: Shrimad Bhagwadgeeta (1805 CE, Miraj) Shrimad Bhagwadgeeta remains the first ever Sanskrit book to be printed on a press in Devanagari script. It is also the first one in Devanagari script. Its printing was commissioned in 1805 CE at Miraj by then chief of Miraj Jahgir, Gangadhar Govind Patwardhan. The tale goes that there was one person, a coppersmith by profession, from Pune who had very good handwriting. He was deputed by Nana Fadnavis to Calcutta to learn the art of making copper dies for types from the British. By the time he made those copper types in Devanagari, his patron unfortunately died. And then Peshwa Bajirao II refused patronage to him. Dejected, he sought patronage in Miraj under the Patwardhans, who granted him so. But 1800-1802 was a transition phase as Miraj Jahgir was split into Miraj and Sangli (then a small village that became the bigger Jahgir). By early 1804-5 everything had settled, and then the Miraj chief decided to buy his own printing press. The artisan was assigned the task to set it up. Shrimad Bhagwadgeeta was the first natural choice for the book to be printed. Thus it became the first Sanskrit book printed in Devanagari in 1805. And Miraj had this honour. (Source: Mr Vasantrao Agashe's article in Marathi, also verified by historian Mr Mansingrao Kumthekar) Mr Kumthekar's version is slightly different about this tale, and he being a noted historian of the Miraj region seems more authentic. Nana Phadnavis had planned to get the Geeta printed in Devanagari. He approached Charles Malet for the same, and with the help of Malet the first ever Devanagari types were made by local Pune artisans. But soon Malet left and Nana died. And the project took a backseat. But fortunately then the Miraj chief knew about the project and decided to take over it. He set up a press in Miraj and called over the artisan family with Devanagari types to Miraj. In Shravana of Shake 1727 (1805 CE) the first Devanagari Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta was printed in Miraj. Originally 100 such books were printed. One of the surviving books and the only known one is with Mr Kumthekar. Its picture is attached below.

His name was Satyendra Dubey. He topped Bihar in Class 10 and Class 12 board exams. He cleared JEE and went to IIT Kanpur. He joined the Indian Engineering Service. In 2002 he was posted as Project Director at the National Highways Authority of India in Jharkhand. His job was to oversee the Golden Quadrilateral highway project. India’s biggest infrastructure project at the time. What he found was shocking. Substandard materials. Inflated bills. Contractors looting public money. He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office exposing everything. He asked for one thing. That his identity be kept secret. The PMO leaked his name. On November 27 2003 he was shot dead in Gaya Bihar. He was 27 years old. Two years later India passed the Right to Information Act. Ten years later India passed the Whistleblowers Protection Act. Both laws exist because of Satyendra Dubey. He never got to see either of them.