Nepalese scripts

Nepalese scripts (Nepal Lipi: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐁𑐏𑐮, Devanagari: नेपाल आखल) are a family of alphabetic writing systems employed historically in Nepal Mandala by the indigenous Newar people for primarily writing Nepal Bhasa. It is also used for transcribing Sanskrit.Tuladhar, Prem Shanti (2000). Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Itihas: The History of Nepalbhasa Literature. Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. . Page 306.

These scripts were in widespread use from the 10th to the early 20th-century, but have since been largely supplanted by the modern script known as Devanagari. Of the older scripts, about 50,000 manuscripts written in Newar script have been archived.Nepal-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project

History

Pre development Prior to development of Nepalese scripts, people in the Nepal Mandala used the following scripts which are shared within the South Asian region.Shakyavansha, Hemraj (1993, eighth edition). Nepalese Alphabet. Kathmandu: Mandas Lumanti Prakashan. Brāhmī script – Ashoka period Purva Licchavi Script – prior Licchavi period Uttara Licchavi Script – later Licchavi period (6th–11th or 12th century)

The Newari script is an evolution of the old Eastern script, which also led to the Bengali–Assamese, Maithili and Oriya scripts.

Early usage and development The 'Nepal Script' or 'Nepalese script' appeared in the 10th century.Sakya, Hemaraj (2004) Svayambhū Mahācaitya: The self-arisen great Caitya of Nepal. Svayambhu Vikash Mandal. , . Page 607. Retrieved 29 March 2012. The earliest instance is a manuscript entitled Lankavatara Sutra dated Nepal Era 28 (908 CE), written in the Newar script. Another early specimen is a palm-leaf manuscript of a Buddhist text the Prajnaparamita, dated Nepal Era 40 (920 CE).Shrestha, Rebati Ramanananda (2001). Newah. Lalitpur: Sahityaya Mulukha. Page 86. One of the oldest manuscript of Ramayana, preserved till date, was written in the Newar script in 1019.

The script has been used on stone and copper plate inscriptions, coins (Nepalese mohar), palm-leaf documents and Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts. Among the famed historical texts written in Nepalese scripts are Gopal Raj Vamshavali, a history of Nepal written in 1389 using the Bhujimol script;Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Malla, Kamal P. (1985). The Gopala Rājavamsāvalī. Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GmbH. the Nepal-Tibet Treaty of 1775, written in the Newar script; and a letter dated Nepal Era 535 (1415 CE) sent by Chinese Emperor Tai Ming to Shakti-simha-rama, a feudatory of Banepa, written in the Ranjana script.Tamot, Kashinath (2009). Sankhadharkrit Nepal Sambat. Nepal Mandala Research Guthi. . Pages 68–69.

Besides the Kathmandu Valley and the Himalayan region in Nepal, the Ranjana script is used for sacred purposes in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh. The Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet is ornamented with mantras embossed in Ranjana script, and the panels under the eaves are numbered using Newar script.Tuladhar, Kamal Ratna (second edition 2011). Caravan to Lhasa: A Merchant of Kathmandu in Traditional Tibet. Kathmandu: Lijala and Tisa. . Page 115.

Decline In 1906, the Rana regime banned Nepal Bhasa, Nepal Era and Nepalese scripts from official use as part of its policy to subdue them, and the script fell into decline. Authors were also encouraged to switch to Devanagari to write Nepal Bhasa because of the availability of moveable type for printing, and Newar script was pushed further into the background.Tuladhar, Prem Shanti (2000). Nepal Bhasa Sahityaya Itihas: The History of Nepalbhasa Literature. Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. . Page 14. However, the script continued to be used for religious and ceremonial purposes till the 1950s.

Revival After the Rana dynasty was overthrown and democracy established in 1951,Brown, T. Louise (1996). The Challenge to Democracy in Nepal: A Political History. Routledge. , . Page 21. restrictions on Nepal Bhasa were lifted. Attempts were made to study and revive the old scripts, and alphabet books were published. Hemraj Shakyavamsha published an alphabet book of 15 types of Nepalese alphabets including Ranjana, Bhujimol and Pachumol. Page 3.

In 1952, a pressman Pushpa Ratna Sagar of Kathmandu had moveable type of Newar script made in India. The metal type was used to print the dateline and the titles of the articles in Thaunkanhe monthly. In 1989, the first book to be printed using a computer typeface of Newar script, Prasiddha Bajracharyapinigu Sanchhipta Bibaran ("Profiles of Renowned Bajracharyas") by Badri Ratna Bajracharya, was published.

Types The scripts known to have been used by the Newar people and dynasties of pre-Gorkha Nepal (i.e., Nepala Mandala) are as follows:

Rañjana style Rañjana script Flat-headed style Newar script Pāchūmol script Hiṁmol script Kuṁmol script Curve-headed style Bhujiṁmol script Golmol script Kveṁmol script Litumol script

Among the different scripts based on Nepalese scripts, Ranjana (meaning "delightful"), Bhujinmol ("fly-headed") and Newar also known as 'Prachalit' ("prevalent") are the most common. Page 87. Ranjana is the most ornate among the scripts. It is most commonly used to write Buddhist texts and inscribe mantras on prayer wheels, shrines, temples, and monasteries. The popular Buddhist mantra Om mani padme hum (meaning ("Hail to the jewel in the lotus" in Sanskrit) is often written in Ranjana.

Description

Consonants Newar Rañjanā 𑐎 क ka 𑐏 ख kha 𑐐 ग ga 𑐑 घ gha 𑐒 ङ ṅa 𑐴𑑂𑐒 ह्ङ ṅha 𑐔 च ca 𑐕 छ cha 𑐖 ज ja 𑐗 झ jha 𑐘 ञ ña 𑐴𑑂𑐘 ञ्ह ñha

Newar Rañjanā 𑐚 ट ṭa 𑐛 ठ ṭha 𑐜 ड ḍa 𑐝 ढ ḍha 𑐞 ण ṇa 𑐴𑑂𑐞 ह्ण ṇha 𑐟 त ta 𑐠 थ tha 𑐡 द da 𑐢 ध dha 𑐣 न na 𑐴𑑂𑐣 ह्न nha

Newar Rañjanā 𑐥 प pa 𑐦 फ pha 𑐧 ब ba 𑐨 भ bha 𑐩 म ma 𑐴𑑂𑐩 ह्म mha 𑐫 य ya 𑐬 र ra 𑐴𑑂𑐬 ह्र rha 𑐮 ल la 𑐴𑑂𑐮 ह्ल lha 𑐰 व va

Newar Rañjanā 𑐱 श śa 𑐲 ष ṣa 𑐳 स sa 𑐴 ह ha 𑐎𑑂𑐲 क्ष kṣa 𑐟𑑂𑐬 त्र tra 𑐖𑑂𑐘 ज्ञ jña

The compound letters kṣa, tra and jña are often regarded as separate letters that are taught together with the other letters. Since the Newari language lacks retroflex consonants, the letters ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa and ṣa are used only in loanwords. The same applies to the letter śa. Newari, on the other hand, has a number of sonorant consonants that are pronounced with creaky voice (ṅha, ñha, ṇha, nha, mha, rha and lha). They are written in compound letters consisting of "ha" combined with the letter for the corresponding modal sonorant.

Contextual forms

Some letters have alternative forms that are used when combined with certain vowel diacritics or included in a consonant cluster.

Letter bha and ha changes appearance when combined with any of the vowel diacritics u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ and ḹ. Letter ja and ra forms ligatures together with the vowels u and ū. Vowels u changes appearance when combined with the letters ga, ta, bha and śa.

Compound letters

Consonant clusters are written by writing several consonant letters together in complex ligatures. How they are written depends on the shape of the letters and some letters have alternative shapes that are used depending on their position in the cluster.

Vowels Newar Rañjanā 𑐀 अ a 𑐁 आ ā 𑐂 इ i 𑐃 ई ī 𑐄 उ u 𑐅 ऊ ū

Newar Rañjanā 𑐆 ऋ ṛ 𑐇 ॠ ṝ 𑐊 ए e 𑐋 ऐ ai 𑐌 ओ o 𑐍 औ au

Newar Rañjanā 𑐀𑐫𑑂 अय् ay 𑐁𑐫𑑂 आय् āy 𑐊𑐫𑑂 एय् ey

The vowel ṛ which in Sanskrit stands for syllable forming [ṛ] is used in Newar script to write the syllable ri.

In Newari, the vowels a and ā are pronounced with different vowel qualities. In order to write their long equivalents, some diacritics have been given partially different properties than what is otherwise usual in Brahmic scripts.

Letter Name Transcription Description Newar Rañjanā Sanskrit Newari 𑐀𑑅 visarga lyuphuti अः aḥ Usually used to indicate that a vowel is followed by an h-sound. In Newari it is used instead of marking a long vowel. 𑐀𑑃 candrabindu milaphuti अँ am̐ Marks a nasal vowel. 𑐀𑑄 anusvāra sinhaphuti अं aṃ In other words, it can be seen as a combination of visarga and chandrabindu.

Vowel diacritics Newar Some of the vowel diacritics have different appearances depending on whether the consonant has a top line or not. There are seven consonants without top lines: ga, ña, ṭha, ṇa, tha, dha and śa.

a aḥ ā āḥ i ī u ū ṛ ṝ e ai o au am̐ aṃ कka 𑐎 𑐎𑑅 𑐎𑐵 𑐎𑑅 𑐎𑐶 𑐎𑐷 𑐎𑐸 𑐎𑐹 𑐎𑐺 𑐎𑐻 𑐎𑐾 𑐎𑐿 𑐎𑑀 𑐎𑑁 𑐎𑑃 𑐎𑑄 गga 𑐐 𑐐𑑅 𑐐𑐵 𑐐𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐶 𑐐𑐷 𑐐𑐸 𑐐𑐹 𑐐𑐺 𑐐𑐻 𑐐𑐾 𑐐𑐿 𑐐𑑀 𑐐𑑁 𑐐𑑃 𑐐𑑄

Rañjanā The vowel diacritics can have up to three different appearances depending on which consonant they are combined with. The rules for ka are also used for ja, kṣa and jña. The rules for ga also apply to kha, ña, ṭha, ṇa, tha, dha and sha. The rules for ba are used for other letters.

Letter numerals

Nepalese manuscripts used a system of letters to stand for numbers, although the exact correspondence between letter and number value changed over time. In 1883, Cecil Bendall published a table of Nepalese letter numerals based on different dated Nepalese manuscripts from Cambridge University Library.

Current use Newar script is available in Unicode as Newa script. It is the official script used to write Nepal Bhasa. Ranjana script has been proposed for encoding in Unicode.

The letter heads of Kathmandu Metropolitan City,An example of a letter head in Kathmandu Metropolitan City Lalitpur Metropolitan City,An example of a letter head in Lalitpur Metropolitan City Bhaktapur Municipality,An example of a letter head in Bhaktapur Municipality Madhyapur Thimi MunicipalityAn example of a letter head in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality ascribes its names in Ranjana Script.

In India, the official script for Newar language is Newar script.

Gallery

Nepalese scripts

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