Eastern Nagari script
| Eastern Nagari |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | |
| Languages |
Assamese Bengali Bishnupriya Manipuri Meitei and others. |
|
Time period
|
c. 1100–present |
|
Parent systems
|
|
|
Sister systems
|
Bengali and Assamese |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| ISO 15924 | Beng, 325 |
|
Unicode alias
|
Bengali |
| U+0980–U+09FF | |
|
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
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Eastern Nagari script or Bengali-Assamese script or BA script defines the unified usage of the Bengali script and the Assamese script through minor variations within them, in various languages. Its usage is associated with the two main languages; Bengali and Assamese. Beside these two, this system has, throughout history, been used for other languages, such as Bishnupriya Manipuri, Meitei Manipuri and Kokborok. Many other languages like Khasi, Bodo, Karbi, Mising etc. were also written in this system in the past.
Eastern Nagari is less blocky and present a more sinuous shaping. Eastern Nagari is derived from the precursor script Siddham. The modern Eastern Nagari script was formalized in 1778 when it was first typeset by Charles Wilkins. In addition to differences in how the letters are pronounced in the different languages, there are some minor typographical differences between the version of the script used for Assamese and Bengali languages.
The Eastern Nagari script was originally not associated with any particular regional language, but was prevalent as the main script in the eastern regions of Medieval India. The script was also used to write Sanskrit. Epics of Hindu scripture, including the Mahabharata or Ramayana, were written in older versions of the Eastern Nagari script in this region. After the medieval period, the use of Sanskrit as the sole written language gave way to Pali, and the vernacular dialects of Pali eventually evolved into Bengali, Assamese and other related languages. Sankardev used the script in the 15th and 16th centuries to compose his oeuvre in Assamese and Brajavali the language of the Bhakti poets; and before him, Madhava Kandali used it to write the Assamese Ramayana in the 14th century. It was also used by the later Ahom kings to write the Buranjis, the Ahom chronicles, in the Assamese language. There is a rich legacy of East sub-continental literature written in this script, which is still occasionally used to write Sanskrit today.
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Wikipedia