Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Newari script -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Ranjana
Type	Abugida
Spoken languages	Nepal Bhasa Sanskrit Tibetan
Time period	c. 1100–present
Parent systems	Proto-Canaanite alphabet [a]  → Phoenician alphabet [a]   → Aramaic alphabet [a]    → Brāhmī     → Gupta      → Nepal       → Mol        → Ranjana
Child systems	Soyombo
Sister systems	Prachalit Litumol
[a] The Semitic origin of the Brahmic scripts is not universally agreed upon.
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Ranjana script (syn: Kutila, Lantsa¹) is an abugida writing system developed as a derivate of Brāhmī in 11th century². It is primarily used for writing Nepal Bhasa but is also used in monasteries of India, Tibet, coastline China, Mongolia, and Japan³. It is usually written from left to right but the Kutakshar form is written from top to bottom⁴. It is considered to be the calligraphy form of Nepal scripts.

Development

It is a Brahmic script⁵ and shows similarities to the Devanagari script of northern India and Nepal. The script is also used in most of the Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries⁶. Along with the Prachalit script, it is considered as one of the scripts of Nepal⁷.

The holy book Arya Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra, lettered in gold ink, written by Bhiksu Ananda of Kapitanagar⁸ and dating back to the Nepal Sambat year 345 (1215 A.D.), illustrates the glorious history of the script.

It is the formal script of Nepal duly registered in the United Nation while applying for the free Nation. Therefore, it is vital script to all Nepalese as well.

Use

The script is used primarily to write Nepal Bhasa, though sometimes also used to write Sanskrit. In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions, it is famously used to write various mantras including the "Om mane padme hum"⁹¹⁰ mantra of Aryawalokirteshwar, the Mantra of Arya Tara "Om tare tuttare ture svaha", and the mantra of Manjushree "Om ara pa cana dhi"¹¹. The script is also used in Hindu scriptures¹².

In Tibet, the script is called Lantsa and used to write the original texts of Sanskrit¹³.

Recent Developments

After falling into disuse in the mid-20th century, the script has recently seen dramatically increased use. It is used by many local governments such as those of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Thimi Municipality, Kirtipur Municipality, Banepa Municipality, in signboards, letterpads, and such. Regular programs are held in the Kathmandu Valley to promote the script and training classes are held to preserve the language. The script is being endorsed by the Nepal Bhasa movement and is used for headings in newspapers and websites.

A Nepalese-German project is trying to conserve the manuscripts of Ranjana script¹⁴.

A Unicode block for the script has also been proposed by Evertype¹⁵.

See also

Numbers in Ranjana script

• Newa people
• Newa scripts
• Nepal Bhasa
• Brahmi Script

External links

• Ranjana script
• Newari/Ranjana script page on Omniglot
• Proposal for encoding Newari in Unicode
• Jwajalapa
• Example of script
• Manuscripts in Ranjana
• Ranjana script

References

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 21 November 2008, at 21:21.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Newari script".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Newari_script

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.