Sharada script

The Śāradā (also spelled Sarada or Sharada) script is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. The script was widespread between the 8th and 12th centuries in the northwestern parts of Indian Subcontinent (in Kashmir and neighbouring areas), for writing Sanskrit and Kashmiri. Although originally a signature Brahminical script created in the valley, it was more widespread throughout northwestern Indian subcontinent, and later became restricted to Kashmir, and is now rarely used, except by the Kashmiri Pandit community for religious purposes. , a 6th-century marble Ganesha found in Gardez, Afghanistan, now at Dargah Pir Rattan Nath, Kabul. The Sharada inscription says that this "great and beautiful image of " was consecrated by the Turk Shahi king Khingala.

The Śāradā (also spelled Sarada or Sharada) script is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. The script was widespread between the 8th and 12th centuries in the northwestern parts of Indian Subcontinent (in Kashmir and neighbouring areas), for writing Sanskrit and Kashmiri. Although originally a signature Brahminical script created in the valley, it was more widespread throughout northwestern Indian subcontinent, and later became restricted to Kashmir, and is now rarely used, except by the Kashmiri Pandit community for religious purposes. , a 6th-century marble Ganesha found in Gardez, Afghanistan, now at Dargah Pir Rattan Nath, Kabul. The Sharada inscription says that this "great and beautiful image of " was consecrated by the Turk Shahi king Khingala. ]] ==History== The Bakhshali manuscript uses an early stage of the Sharada script. The Sharada script was used in Afghanistan as well as in the Himachal region in India. In Afghanistan, the Kabul Ganesh has a 6th to 8th century Proto-Sharada inscription mentioning the, Turk Shahis, king Khingala of Oddiyana. From the 10th century onwards, regional differences started to appear between the Sharada script used in Punjab, the Hill States (partly Himachal Pradesh) and Kashmir. Sharada proper was eventually restricted to very limited ceremonial use in Kashmir, as it grew increasingly unsuitable for writing the Kashmiri language. With the last known inscription dating to 1204 C.E., the early 13th century marks a milestone in the development of Sharada. The regional variety in Punjab continued to evolve from this stage through the 14th century; during this period it starts to appear in forms closely resembling Gurmukhī and other Landa scripts. By the 15th century, Sharada had evolved so considerably that epigraphists denote the script at this point by a special name, Devāśeṣa. At the historic temple of Mirkula Devi (also Mrikula Devi) in Lahaul, [Himachal Pradesh], the goddess Mahishamardini has a Sharada inscription of 1569 CE. Although originally a script restricted to only Brahmins, Sharda was later spread throughout the larger Hindu population in Northwestern Indian subcontinent, as Hinduism became the dominant religion in the region again. ==Letters== ===Vowels=== ===Consonants=== ==Numerals== Sharada script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system. ==Image gallery== File:Sharada-Vowels.jpg|Sharada vowels File:Sharada-Consonants.jpg|Sharada consonant signs File:Die Sprachenhalle 1.jpg|Sanskrit (above; devanagari script) and Kashmiri language (below; sharada script) File:Sarada Script of Kashmir.jpg|Old manuscript using Sharada script File:Sharadastotrafull.png|The Sharadastotra rendered in the style of handwritten manuscripts from the 17th to 19th century File:Kashmiri miniature painting of Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, and other Indic deities figuratively within the Sharada script Omkar glyph.jpg|Kashmiri miniature painting of Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, and other Indic deities figuratively within the Sharada script Omkar glyph File:Sanskrit manuscript 1219 Wellcome L0043910.jpg|Folio of the Citrabhânuçataka by Ratnakantha Rajanaka written in Sharada script, circa 17th century ==See also== Lipi – writing scripts in Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina texts Sharada Peeth in Kashmir ==References== ===Notes=== ===Works cited=== ==External links== Aksharamukha: Sharada script Saerji. (2009). Śāradā script: Akṣara List of the Manuscript of Abhidharmadīpa (ca. the 11th Century). Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts & Buddhist Literature, Peking University. Prevalence of the Śāradā Script in Afghanistan

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373754988 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.