Tirhuta Mithilakshar 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 |
The Tirhuta also known as Mithilakshar or Maithili script has historically been used for writing the Maithili, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by almost 35 million people of cultural Mithila. It was also used to write Sanskrit language. [4] The scripts of Maithili, Bengali, Assamese, Newari, Odia and Tibetan are a part of the same family of scripts. [5]
The Lalitavistara, an ancient Buddhist text, mentions the Vaidehi script. A significant transformation occurred in the northeastern alphabet in the latter half of the 7th century AD. This evolution is first evident in the inscriptions of Adityasena. The eastern variant of this transformed script subsequently developed into the Maithili script, which gained prominence in regions like Assam, Bengal, and Nepal. [1]
The earliest recorded epigraphic evidence of the Maithili script dates back to the 7th century AD. It is found in the inscriptions of Adityasena on the Mandar Hill Stone, located in Bounsi, Banka district, Bihar. These inscriptions, now preserved in the Baidyanath Temple of Deoghar, provide a crucial glimpse into the early development of this script. [1]
It is one of the scripts of the broader North Eastern India. It had come to its current shape by the 10th Century AD. The oldest form of Mithilakshar is also found in the Sahodara stone inscriptions of 950 AD. The script has been used throughout Mithila from Champaran to Deoghar. [6]
A fragmentary inscription found in Simraungadh, the medieval capital of the Karnats of Mithila which dates back to the 12th century in Tirhuta script is also one of the oldest evidence of this script. [7]
The use of this script has been declining since the last 100 years, which is the primary reason for the cultures decline. Despite its constitutional status, the development of the Maithili language is hindered by the lack of a widely used script. [6]
Nowadays, the Maithili language is written almost exclusively in the Devanagari script, although Tirhuta is still sometimes used by religious Pundits and some culture – conscious families for writing ceremonial letters (pātā), documents & cultural affair, and efforts are underway to broaden the scope of its usage. [4] [8]
Tirhuta is yet to enter the area of printing technology. In the early 20th century some Sanskrit works were printed in this script through lithographic process. Later on Pusk Bhandar, Laheriasarai managed to forget a set of types and published a few works in Tirhuta, but could not go ahead. In the middle of the last century, All India Maithili Conference came with a new set of types and used it in the prestigious publication of Brihat Maithili Shabdakosha. [9] Electronic technology is yet out of reach for this script. [8]
The official recognition of Maithili as one of the 14 provincial official languages of Nepal [10] and its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 2003 have established it as a language with an independent identity. [11] However, currently Maithili in the Devanagari script is officially recognized. [8]
Brahmic scripts |
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The Brahmi script and its descendants |
Most of the consonant letters are effectively identical to Bengali–Assamese. The Unicode submission, for example, only bothered to create new graphic designs for 7 of the 33 letters: ⟨jh, ṭ, ḍh, ṇ, l, ś, h⟩.
Sign | Transcription | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Text | IAST | IPA | |
𑒏 | ক | ka | /kə/ | |
𑒐 | খ | kha | /kʰə/ | |
𑒑 | গ | ga | /gə/ | |
𑒒 | ঘ | gha | /gʱə/ | |
𑒓 | ঙ | ṅa | /ŋə/ | |
𑒔 | চ | ca | /t͡ʃə/ | |
𑒕 | ছ | cha | /t͡ʃʰə/ | |
𑒖 | জ | ja | /d͡ʒə/ | |
𑒗 | ঝ | jha | /d͡ʒʱə/ | |
𑒘 | ঞ | ña | /ɲə/ | |
𑒙 | ট | ṭa | /ʈə/ | |
𑒚 | ঠ | ṭha | /ʈʰə/ | |
𑒛 | ড | ḍa | /ɖə/ | |
𑒜 | ঢ | ḍha | /ɖʱə/ | |
𑒝 | ণ | ṇa | /ɳə/ | |
𑒞 | ত | ta | /t̪ə/ | |
𑒟 | থ | tha | /t̪ʰə/ | |
𑒠 | দ | da | /d̪ə/ | |
𑒡 | ধ | dha | /d̪ʱə/ | |
𑒢 | ন | na | /nə/ | |
𑒣 | প | pa | /pə/ | |
𑒤 | ফ | pha | /pʰə/ | |
𑒥 | ব | ba | /bə/ | |
𑒦 | ভ | bha | /bʱə/ | |
𑒧 | ম | ma | /mə/ | |
𑒨 | য | ya | /jə/ | |
𑒩 | র | ra | /rə/ | |
𑒪 | ল | la | /lə/ | |
𑒫 | ৱ | va | /ʋə/ | |
𑒬 | শ | śa | /ʃə/ | |
𑒭 | ষ | ṣa | /ʂə/ | |
𑒮 | স | sa | /sə/ | |
𑒯 | হ | ha | /ɦə/ |
Independent | Dependent | Transcription | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image | Text | Image | Text | IAST | IPA |
𑒁 | a | /а/ | |||
𑒂 | 𑒰 | ā | /аː/ | ||
𑒃 | 𑒱 | і | /і/ | ||
𑒄 | 𑒲 | ī | /іː/ | ||
𑒅 | 𑒳 | u | /u/ | ||
𑒆 | 𑒴 | ū | /uː/ | ||
𑒇 | 𑒵 | ṛ | /r̩/ | ||
𑒈 | 𑒶 | ṝ | /r̩ː/ | ||
𑒉 | 𑒷 | ḷ | /l̩/ | ||
𑒊 | 𑒸 | ḹ | /l̩ː/ | ||
𑒋 | 𑒹 | ē | /еː/ | ||
𑒺 | e | /е/ | |||
𑒌 | 𑒻 | аі | /аі/ | ||
𑒍 | 𑒼 | ō | /оː/ | ||
𑒽 | о | /о/ | |||
𑒎 | 𑒾 | аu | /аu/ |
Image | Text | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
𑒿 | chandrabindu | marks the nasalization of a vowel | |
𑓀 | anusvara | marks nasalization | |
𑓁 | visarga | marks the sound [h], which is an allophone of [r] and [s] in pausa (at the end of an utterance) | |
𑓂 | virama | used to suppress the inherent vowel | |
𑓃 | nukta | used to create new consonant signs | |
𑓄 | avagraha | used to indicate prodelision of an [a] | |
𑓅 | gvang | used to mark nasalization | |
𑓇 | Om | Om sign |
Tirhuta script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system.
Image | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Text | 𑓐 | 𑓑 | 𑓒 | 𑓓 | 𑓔 | 𑓕 | 𑓖 | 𑓗 | 𑓘 | 𑓙 |
Digit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Visual representation of the Maithili script, from its early inscriptions to contemporary handwriting.
Tirhuta script was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.
The Unicode block for Tirhuta is U+11480–U+114DF:
Tirhuta [1] [2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
U+1148x | 𑒀 | 𑒁 | 𑒂 | 𑒃 | 𑒄 | 𑒅 | 𑒆 | 𑒇 | 𑒈 | 𑒉 | 𑒊 | 𑒋 | 𑒌 | 𑒍 | 𑒎 | 𑒏 |
U+1149x | 𑒐 | 𑒑 | 𑒒 | 𑒓 | 𑒔 | 𑒕 | 𑒖 | 𑒗 | 𑒘 | 𑒙 | 𑒚 | 𑒛 | 𑒜 | 𑒝 | 𑒞 | 𑒟 |
U+114Ax | 𑒠 | 𑒡 | 𑒢 | 𑒣 | 𑒤 | 𑒥 | 𑒦 | 𑒧 | 𑒨 | 𑒩 | 𑒪 | 𑒫 | 𑒬 | 𑒭 | 𑒮 | 𑒯 |
U+114Bx | 𑒰 | 𑒱 | 𑒲 | 𑒳 | 𑒴 | 𑒵 | 𑒶 | 𑒷 | 𑒸 | 𑒹 | 𑒺 | 𑒻 | 𑒼 | 𑒽 | 𑒾 | 𑒿 |
U+114Cx | 𑓀 | 𑓁 | 𑓂 | 𑓃 | 𑓄 | 𑓅 | 𑓆 | 𑓇 | ||||||||
U+114Dx | 𑓐 | 𑓑 | 𑓒 | 𑓓 | 𑓔 | 𑓕 | 𑓖 | 𑓗 | 𑓘 | 𑓙 | ||||||
Notes |
Devanagari is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. Also simply called Nāgari, it is a left-to-right abugida, based on the ancient Brāhmi script. It is one of the official scripts of the Republic of India and Nepal. It was developed and in regular use by the 8th century CE and achieved its modern form by 1000 CE. The Devanāgari script, composed of 48 primary characters, including 14 vowels and 34 consonants, is the fourth most widely adopted writing system in the world, being used for over 120 languages.
The Brahmic scripts, also known as Indic scripts, are a family of abugida writing systems. They are used throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. They are descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India and are used by various languages in several language families in South, East and Southeast Asia: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolic, Austroasiatic, Austronesian, and Tai. They were also the source of the dictionary order (gojūon) of Japanese kana.
Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India and Nepal. It is native to the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as the Nepal's Koshi and Madhesh Provinces. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It is the second most commonly spoken language of Nepal. It is also one of the fourteen provincial official languages of Nepal.
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akademi, India's highest literary body, also has 24 recognised literary languages.
An official script is a writing system that is specifically designated to be official in the constitutions or other applicable laws of countries, states, and other jurisdictions. Akin to an official language, an official script is much rarer. It is used primarily where an official language is in practice written with two or more scripts. As, in these languages, use of script often has cultural or political connotations, proclamation of an official script is sometimes criticized as having a goal of influencing culture or politics or both. Desired effects also may include easing education, communication and some other aspects of life.
Vidyapati, also known by the sobriquet Maithil Kavi Kokil, was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier and royal priest. He was a devotee of Shiva, but also wrote love songs and devotional Vaishnava songs. He had knowledge of, and composed works in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha and Maithili.
Maithils, also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan cultural and ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the Mithila region, which comprises Northern and Eastern Bihar and Northeastern Jharkhand in India & in Nepal constituting Madhesh Province in addition to some terai districts of Bagmati and Koshi Provinces.
The Indian Classical languages, or the Śāstrīya Bhāṣā or the Dhrupadī Bhāṣā or the Abhijāta Bhāṣā (Marathi) or the Cemmoḻi (Tamil), is an umbrella term for the languages of India having high antiquity, and valuable, original and distinct literary heritage. The Government of India declared in 2004 that languages that met certain strict criteria could be accorded the status of a classical language of India. It was instituted by the Ministry of Culture along with the Linguistic Experts' Committee. The committee was constituted by the Government of India to consider demands for the categorisation of languages as Classical languages. In 2004, Tamil became the first language to be recognised as a classical language of India. As of 2024, 11 languages have been recognised as classical languages of India.
Mithila, also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothills of the Himalayas in the north. It comprises certain parts of Bihar and Jharkhand of India and adjoining districts of the Koshi Province, Bagmati Pradesh and Madhesh Province of Nepal. The native language in Mithila is Maithili, and its speakers are referred to as Maithils.
Siddhaṃ, also known in its later evolved form as Siddhamātṛkā, is a medieval Brahmic abugida, derived from the Gupta script and ancestral to the Nāgarī, Eastern Nagari, Tirhuta, Odia and Nepalese scripts.
Maithili literature is the entire collection of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Maithili language. The most famous literary figure in Maithili is the poet Vidyapati (1350–1450), who wrote his poems in the language of the people, i.e., Maithili, at a time when state's official language was Sanskrit and Sanskrit was being used as a literary language. The use of Maithili, instead of Sanskrit, in literature became more common after Vidyapati.
Gajendra Thakur is an Indian author. He writes in the Maithili language, a language spoken in Northern Bihar and South-Eastern Nepal. He is an author, lexicographer, historian ; and palaeographer, he has deciphered ancient and medieval palm leaf inscriptions in Tirhuta script of Maithili Language. These panjis are genealogical records of Maithil Brahmin community of Mithila region and contain details of around 100 inter-caste marriages. Besides it provides written historical records of people and personalities, hitherto considered mythical ones. Besides he deciphered scripts inscribed on temples/ dilapidated buildings throughout the length and breadth of Mithila.
Nandināgarī is a Brahmic script derived from the Nāgarī script which appeared in the 7th century AD. This script and its variants were used in the central Deccan region and south India, and an abundance of Sanskrit manuscripts in Nandināgarī have been discovered but remain untransliterated. Some of the discovered manuscripts of Madhvacharya of the Dvaita Vedanta school of Hinduism are in Nandināgarī script.
The Bengali–Assamese script, sometimes also known as Eastern Nagari, is an eastern Brahmic script, primarily used today for the Bengali and Assamese language spoken in eastern South Asia. It evolved from Gaudi script, also the common ancestor of the Odia and Trihuta scripts. It is commonly referred to as the Bengali script by Bengalis and the Assamese script by the Assamese, while in academic discourse it is sometimes called Eastern-Nāgarī. Three of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic—Bengali, Assamese, and Meitei—commonly use this script in writing; Bengali is also the official and national language of Bangladesh.
Jur Sital or Maithil New Year is the celebration of the first day of the Maithil new year also called Aakhar Bochhor. Maithils eat Bori with Bhaat and Sondesh on the day. This day which usually falls on 14th or 15th April on Gregorian calendar is celebrated by the Maithils and Tharu people of India and Nepal. This is also called Nirayana Mesh Sankranti and Tirhuta new year. The festive occasion is in keeping with the Tirhuta Panchang calendar used in the Mithila region.
Tirhuta Panchang is a calendar followed by the Maithili community of India and Nepal. This calendar is one of the many Hindu calendars. It is a tropical solar Hindu calendar in which the year begins on the first day of Baishakh month i.e. Mesh Sankranti. Every year, this day falls on 13/14 April of the Gregorian Calendar
Harisimhadeva was a King of the Karnat dynasty who ruled the Mithila region of modern-day parts of North Bihar in India and South Nepal.
The Karnats of Mithila or Karnata dynasty was a dynasty established in 1097 CE by Nanyadeva. The dynasty controlled the areas we today know as Tirhut or Mithila in the state of Bihar, India and adjoining parts of South Eastern Nepal. The main power centre of the Karnats was the citadel of Simraungadh which was situated on the Bihar-Nepal border. The city of Darbhanga also became the second capital during the reign of Gangadeva.
The Gaudi script, also known as the Proto-Bengali script or the Proto-Oriya script is an abugida in the Brahmic family of scripts. Gaudi script gradually developed into the Bengali-Assamese, Odia, and Tirhuta script.
Meitei input methods are the methods that allow users of computers to input texts in the Meitei script, systematically for Meitei language.