Balbodh

Balbodh (Marathi: बाळबोध, bāḷabōdha, IPA: [baːɭboːd̪ʱ], Translation: Understood by Children) is a slightly modified style of the Devanagari script used to write the Marathi language and the Korku language. What sets Balbodh apart from the Devananagari script used for other languages is the more frequent and regular use of both ळ /ɭ/ (retroflex lateral approximant) and र्‍ (called the eyelash reph/raphar).

The word Balbodh is a combination of the words ‘बाळ’ /baːɭ/ and ‘बोध’ /boːd̪ʱ/. ‘बाळ’ is a neuter noun derived from the Sanskrit word bāla "child". ‘बोध’ is a male noun and a tatsama meaning "perception".

As far as the Marathi literature is concerned, Baldobh can be assumed to be composed of "bal" meaning primary and "bodh" meaning knowledge. So Maathi Balbodh may be understood as the primrary knowledge of Marathi language. In primary knowledge, Mulakshare (Basic Letters), consisting of 12 vowels अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ अं अ (like A, E, I, O, and U in English) and 36 consonants in five groups (क वर्ग ,च वर्ग, ट वर्ग , त वर्ग and प वर्ग) and 11 individual consonants, are taught to children and illiterate persons through recitation and writing on slates.

Historically, the retroflex lateral approximant (ळ /ɭ/ ) existed in Vedic Sanskrit and was lost in Classical Sanskrit. Today the North Indian languages in which it exists are Oriya (ଳ), Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati (ળ), most varieties of Rajasthani, Bhili, some dialects of Lahnda (ਲ਼), most dialects of Western Pahari, Kumaoni, Haryanavi, and the Saharanpur dialect of Northwestern Kauravi. Of these, Konkani, Rajasthani, Bhili, and Kumaoni, Haryanavi, and the Saharanpur dialect of Northwestern Kauravi use the Devanagari script. The retroflex lateral approximant does not exist in most North Indian languages such as most Hindi dialects, Nepali, Garhwali, Bengali, Assamese, Kashmiri and most other Dardic languages, Sindhi, Kutchi, and Saraiki.

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