Tirhuta Script

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 the Sanskrit language. The scripts of Maithili, Bengali, Assamese, Newari, Odia and Tibetan are a part of the same family of scripts.

History

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.
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.

It is one of the scripts of the broader Eastern South Asia. 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.

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.

Current status

The use of this script has been declining in 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.

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.

In the early 20th century some Sanskrit works were printed in this script through lithographic process. Later on ''Pusk Bhandar'', Laheriasarai managed to forge 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.

The official recognition of Maithili as one of the 14 provincial official languages of Nepal and its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 2003 have established it as a language with an independent identity. However, currently ''Maithili'' in the Devanagari script is officially recognised.

In June 2014, the Tirhuta script was added to the Unicode Standard from version 7.0. Although there is limited electronic font support, digitalisation efforts have started.

Letters

Consonant letters

Most of the consonant letters are effectively identical to Bengali–Assamese, with the exception of 7 of the 33 letters: , marked in pink. The consonants, along with their IAST and IPA transcriptions, are provided below.

Vowels

Other signs

Numerals

Tirhuta script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system.

Image Gallery

Visual representation of the Maithili script, from its early ''inscriptions'' to contemporary ''handwriting.''
File:Mandar parvat inscriptions of Tirhuta.jpg, ''7th Century AD,'' Mandar Parvat inscriptions of Tirhuta
File:Tirhuta script found on Mandar parbat.jpg, Tirhuta script found on Mandar Parvat
File:Tirhuta inscriptions at Mandar Parvat.jpg, Image showing early Tirhuta writing in 7th century AD, Mandar Hills inscriptions
File:Table showing various alphabets used in Mithila.png, Table showing various alphabets used in Mithila
File:Varṇa Ratnākara manuscript in the Library of Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.jpg, Varṇa Ratnākara ''manuscript in'' Maithili ''script''
File:Three scripts of Mithila.png, A Sanskrit Shloka written in three characters of Mithila
File:Mithilakshara Scripts hand writting.jpg, Hand written Mithilakshara scripts
File:Inscription of King Narsimha of the Oinwar dynasty of Mithila.jpg, 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

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:

References

External links

Tirhuta at Omniglot

{{Tirhut Division topics

Brahmic scripts
Culture of Mithila
Maithili language
Writing systems of Nepal