Tirhuta script
| Tirhuta 𑒞𑒱𑒩𑒯𑒳𑒞𑒰 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Script type | |
Time period | c. 7th century–present day[1] |
| Direction | left-to-right  |
| Languages | Maithili, Sanskrit |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Sister systems | Bengali–Assamese, Odia |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Tirh (326), Tirhuta |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Tirhuta |
| U+11480–U+114DF Final Accepted Script Proposal | |
Tirhuta, also called Mithilakshar or Maithili script, was traditionally used to write the Maithili language, spoken by about 35 million people in the Mithila region. It was also used for writing Sanskrit. Tirhuta belongs to the same script family as Bengali–Assamese, Newari, Odia, and Tibetan.[4][5]
History
[change | change source]
The Lalitavistara, an old Buddhist text, mentions the Vaidehi script. Around the late 600s AD, big changes happened in the writing style used in the northeast of India. This change first appeared in the writings of King Adityasena. Over time, the eastern version of this new script became the Maithili script, which later became popular in places like Assam, Bengal, and Nepal.[1]
The earliest written evidence of the Maithili script comes from the 7th century AD. It appears in inscriptions by King Adityasena on the Mandar Hill Stone in Bounsi, Banka district, Bihar. These inscriptions are now kept in the Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar and are important for understanding the early form of the Maithili script.[1] The script has been used throughout Mithila from Champaran to Deoghar.[6]
Current status
[change | change source]
The use of the Maithili script has been declining over the past 100 years, which has also led to a decline in the culture. Even though Maithili is recognized by the constitution, its growth is held back because the script is not widely used today.[6]
Today, the Maithili language is mostly written in the Devanagari script, but the Tirhuta script is still occasionally used by religious pundits and culturally aware families for ceremonial letters (pātā), documents, and cultural events, with ongoing efforts to revive and expand its use.[4][7]
Maithili was officially recognized as one of Nepal’s 14 provincial languages and was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution in 2003, confirming its status as an independent language. However, only the Devanagari script is officially used today.[7][8]
Letters
[change | change source]Consonant letters
[change | change source]| Brahmic scripts |
|---|
| The Brahmic script and its descendants |
Tirhuta script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system.
Image Gallery
[change | change source]-
7th Century AD, Mandar Parvat inscriptions of Tirhuta -
Tirhuta script found on Mandar Parvat -
Image showing early Tirhuta writing in 7th century AD, Mandar Hills inscriptions -
Table showing various alphabets used in Mithila -
Varṇa Ratnākara manuscript in Maithili script -
A Sanskrit Shloka written in three characters of Mithila -
Hand written Mithilakshara scripts -
Inscription of King Narasimha of the Oinwar dynasty in the Tirhuta script at the Kandaha Sun Temple in Saharsa district, (c. 1435 A.D.)
Unicode
[change | change source]Tirhuta script was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.Template:Unicode chart Tirhuta
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chaudhary, Radha Krishna (1976). "A Survey Of Maithili Literature". Archive.org. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "s9789" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Daniels, Peter T. (January 2008). Writing systems of major and minor languages.
- ↑ Salomon, Richard (1998). Indian Epigraphy. p. 41.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "An overview of Tirhuta script of Maithili language of India and Nepal". Script Source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name ":1" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "Ancient language Maithili is on the verge of decline, government takes steps to revive its importance". India Today. 12 February 2019.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Education (11 February 2019). "The MHRD constituted a Committee in the year 2018 for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts". Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name ":3" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 7.0 7.1 India Mysore, CIIL. "SCRIPT AND SPELLING of Maithili language". LIS-India. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name ":2" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution". Raj bhasa Vibhag Government of India.