Nepalese scripts
| Nepalese scripts |
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| Languages | Nepal Bhasa |
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Parent systems
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The Nepalese scripts are alphabetic writing systems of Nepal. They have been used primarily to write both the national Indo-European language of Nepali plus some Tibeto-Burman languages such as Newari (also known locally as Nepal Bhasa).
The older alphabets, known as Brahmic scripts, were in widespread use from the 10th to the early 20th-century A.C.E., but have since been largely supplanted by the modern script known as Devanagari. Of the older scripts, about 50,000 manuscripts written in Nepal Lipi have been archived.
Outside of Nepal, Brahmi scripts also have been used to write Sanskrit, Hindi, Maithili, Bengali and Braj Bhasha languages. They have reportedly been used to inscribe mantras on funerary markers as distant as Japan as well.
Nepal or Nepalese script appeared in the 10th century. The earliest instance is a manuscript entitled Lankavatara Sutra dated Nepal Era 28 (908 AD). Another early specimen is a palm-leaf manuscript of a Buddhist text the Prajnaparamita, dated Nepal Era 40 (920 AD). One of the oldest manuscript of Ramayana, preserved till date, was written in Nepal Script in 1041.
The script has been used on stone and copper plate inscriptions, coins (Nepalese mohar), palm-leaf documents and Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.
Among the different scripts based on Nepal script, Ranjana (meaning "delightful"), Bhujinmol ("fly-headed") and Prachalit ("ordinary") are the most common.
Ranjana is the most ornate among the scripts. It is most commonly used to write Buddhist texts and inscribe mantras on prayer wheels, shrines, temples, and monasteries. The popular Buddhist mantra Om mani padme hum (meaning ("Hail to the jewel in the lotus" in Sanskrit) is often written in Ranjana.
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Wikipedia