Publication and Identification
The first Marathi translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published on 1 November 2004 by Manjul Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, an institution well known for producing high-quality Indian translations of some of the world’s most popular literary works. The exact size of the first printing is unknown. It can, however, be identified by the absence of any reference to later printings on the copyright page; the second (2006) and third (2010) printings are easily distinguished by explicit references in English noting the printing.

Translator and Cover Artwork
The book was translated by Bal Urdhwareshe, and this is the only title in the Harry Potter series that he translated. The edition uses the Mary GrandPré cover artwork, originally created for the American adaptation of the book.

Later Printings and the Second Marathi Translation
In 2018, Manjul released what was described on the copyright page as the fourth printing of the Marathi translation, followed by a fifth printing in 2021. Because these were identified as later impressions, translation collectors seeking every separate translation of Philosopher’s Stone who owned a fourth or fifth printing initially considered Marathi “ticked off” their list, as it appeared to meet their collecting criteria.

However, it was later realised within the collecting community that the fourth and fifth printings actually contained an entirely new translation by a different translator, Manjusha Amdekar, who had also translated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into Marathi.

Once it became clear that this was a new and distinct translation, collectors began competing to locate copies of the first three printings, which represent the original translation, and prices for the first Marathi translation rose almost overnight. Interestingly, the second translation retains the same ISBN number and the same cover artwork as the first. More surprisingly—and suspiciously—there is no mention on the Manjul website of there being a new Marathi translation at all.

Sean McLennon, who runs the Potterglot website and is an expert on Harry Potter translations, has speculated that the ISBN remaining unchanged and the absence of any acknowledgement of a new translation or translator may be an attempt to avoid a potential rights dispute with The Blair Partnership, J.K. Rowling’s representatives. He may be right.

The 2002 Unauthorised Marathi Edition
Two years before Manjul’s authorised publication, there was significant fanfare surrounding what appeared to be a new Marathi translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In May 2002, a seemingly authorised edition was published by Pushpa-Prakashan Ltd (Pune) on 15 May 2002, in an edition of 2,000 copies, priced at Rs200. Sanjay Sanowane of the publishing house told Gulf News that they had obtained an agreement with Rowling’s representatives to publish the book in Marathi in exchange for 10% of sales. This claim later proved to be false.

Legal Action and Aftermath
On 27 June 2003, police arrested Vinod Sonwani, director of Pushpa-Prakashan Ltd, and seized 653 copies of illegal Marathi translations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, valued at a reported Rs1,31,000 (approximately $1,500 USD). A lawsuit was subsequently brought by J.K. Rowling, through her legal representatives in India, against both the publisher and the translator, Vikas Shulka.

The case was settled, and at a hearing on 3 February 2006 at the Delhi High Court, a compromise was recorded. The defendants acknowledged that they had illegally translated Rowling’s works from English into Marathi, agreed to cease all infringing activity, and undertook to contribute Rs75,000 towards Rowling’s legal fees. It is likely that copies of this unauthorised translation, sold to the public before enforcement action was taken, still exist today.

Conclusion
This complex publication history makes the first Marathi translation one of the most significant—and misunderstood—Harry Potter translations.