Kharosthi

{{Short description|Ancient script of Central and South Asia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox Writing system | name = Kharosthi | type = Abugida | native_name = 𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌 | sample = File:YingpanKharoshthi.jpg | caption = | languages = {{plainlist| *Gandhari Prakrit *Pali *Saka *Sanskrit}} | fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs | fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic script | fam3 = Phoenician alphabet | sisters = {{plainlist| *Nabataean alphabet *Brahmi script *Syriac alphabet *Palmyrene alphabet *Mandaic alphabet *Pahlavi scripts *Sogdian alphabet}} | time = 4th century BCE – 3rd century CE | iso15924 = Khar | unicode = [http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10A00.pdf U+10A00–U+10A5F] | footnotes = | fam4 = Aramaic alphabet }} {{Contains special characters | special = uncommon Unicode characters | fix = Help:Multilingual support#Kharosthi | image = Replacement character.svg | link = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character | alt = <?> | compact = yes }} {{alphabet}} {{Numeral systems}}

'''Kharosthi script''' ({{langx|pgd|{{script|Khar|𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌 𐨫𐨁𐨤𐨁}}|kharoṣṭhī lipi}}), also known as the '''Gandhari script''' ({{langx|pgd|{{script|Khar|𐨒𐨌𐨣𐨿𐨢𐨌𐨪𐨁𐨌 𐨫𐨁𐨤𐨁}}|gāndhārī lipi|label=none}}),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leitich |first1=Keith A. |title=Buddhism and Jainism |chapter=Kharoṣṭhī Script |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |date=2017 |pages=660–662 |doi=10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_238 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_238 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-024-0851-5 |language=en}}</ref> was an ancient Indic script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of the north-western Indian subcontinent, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kharoshti {{!}} Indo-Parthian, Brahmi Script, Prakrit {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kharoshti |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>"When these alphabets were first deciphered, scholars gave them different names such as 'Indian-Pali' for Brahmi and 'Arian-Pali' for Kharosthi, but these terms are no longer in use." in {{cite book |last1=Upāsaka |first1=Sī Esa |last2=Mahāvihāra |first2=Nava Nālandā |title=History of palæography of Mauryan Brāhmī script |date=2002 |publisher=Nava Nālanda Mahāvihāra |isbn=9788188242047 |page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P19jAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=11–13}} Primarily used by the people of Gandhara in various parts of South Asia and Central Asia, Kharosthi remained in use until it died out in its homeland around the 5th century CE.<ref name="CUP">{{cite journal |jstor=25209596 |title=The Kharosthi Alphabet |author=R. D. Banerji |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=April 1920 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=193–219|doi=10.1017/S0035869X0014794X |s2cid=162688271 }}</ref> It was also in use in Bactria, the Kushan Empire, Sogdia, and along the Silk Road. There is some evidence it may have survived until the 7th century in Khotan and Niya, both cities in Tarim Basin.

==History== thumb|Routes of ancient scripts of the subcontinent traveling to other parts of Asia (Kharosthi shown in blue) The name Kharosthi may derive from the Hebrew {{lang|he-Latn|kharosheth}}, a Semitic word for writing,<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/>{{quotation needed|date=January 2026}} or from Old Iranian {{lang|ira|*xšaθra-pištra}}, which means "royal writing".<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Bailey |first1 = H. W. |title = A Half-Century of Irano-Indian Studies |journal = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date = 1972 |volume = 104 |issue = 2 |pages = 99–110 |doi = 10.1017/S0035869X00157466 |jstor = 25203366 |s2cid = 163349913 }}</ref> The script was earlier also known as ''Indo-Bactrian script'', ''Kabul script'' and ''Arian-Pali''.<ref>"When these alphabets were first deciphered, scholars gave them different names such as 'Indian-Pali' for Brahmi and 'Arian-Pali' for Kharosthi, but these terms are no longer in use." in {{cite book | last1 = Upāsaka | first1 = Sī Esa | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P19jAAAAMAAJ | title = History of palæography of Mauryan Brāhmī script | last2 = Mahāvihāra | first2 = Nava Nālandā |date=2002 |publisher=Nava Nālanda Mahāvihāra |isbn=9788188242047 |page=6 | language = en }}</ref><ref>[https://bigenc.ru/linguistics/text/2126248 Kharosthi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908224512/https://bigenc.ru/linguistics/text/2126248 |date=8 September 2022 }}. ''Great Russian Encyclopedia''.</ref>

Scholars are not in agreement as to whether the Kharosthi script evolved gradually, or was the deliberate work of a single inventor. An analysis of the script forms shows a clear dependency on the Aramaic alphabet but with extensive modifications. Kharosthi seems to be derived from a form of Aramaic, which was used in administrative work during the reign of Darius the Great (in contrast with the monumental Old Persian cuneiform used for public inscriptions).<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/> One theory suggests that the Aramaic script arrived with the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley in 500 BCE and evolved over the next 200+ years to reach its final form by the 3rd century BCE where it appears in some of the Edicts of Ashoka. However, no intermediate forms have yet been found to confirm this evolutionary model, and rock and coin inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE onward show a unified and standard form. An inscription in Aramaic dating back to the 4th century BCE was found in Sirkap, testifying to the presence of the Aramaic script in present-day Pakistan. According to Sir John Marshall, this seems to confirm that Kharoshthi was later developed from Aramaic.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cu31924024121125 A Guide to Taxila, John Marshall, 1918]</ref>

While the Brahmi script remained in use for centuries, Kharosthi seems to have been abandoned after the 2nd–3rd century AD. Because of the substantial differences between the Semitic-derived Kharosthi script and its successors, knowledge of Kharosthi may have declined rapidly once the script was supplanted by Brahmi-derived scripts, until its re-discovery by Western scholars in the 19th century.<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/>

The Kharosthi script was deciphered separately almost concomitantly by James Prinsep (in 1835, published in the ''Journal of the Asiatic society of Bengal'', India)<ref>{{cite book | title = Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol IV 1835 | pages = 327–348 | url = https://archive.org/details/JournalOfTheAsiaticSocietyOfBengalVolIv1835/page/n391/mode/2up | language = en }}</ref> and by Carl Ludwig Grotefend (in 1836, published in {{lang|de|Blätter für Münzkunde}}, Germany),<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Grote | first1 = Hermann | title = Blätter für Münzkunde. Hannoversche numismatische Zeitschrift. Hrsg. von H. Grote | date = 1836 | publisher = Hahn | pages = 309–314 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVtfAAAAcAAJ | language = de }}</ref> with Grotefend "evidently not aware" of Prinsep's article, followed by Christian Lassen (1838).{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=210–212}} They all used the bilingual coins of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (obverse in Greek, reverse in Pali, using the Kharosthi script). This in turn led to the reading of the Edicts of Ashoka, some of which were written in the Kharosthi script (the Major Rock Edicts at Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi).<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform>{{cite journal | last1 = Dias | first1 = Malini | last2 = Miriyagalla | first2 = Das | title = Brahmi Script in Relation to Mesopotamian Cuneiform | journal = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka | date = 2007 | volume = 53 | pages = 91–108 | jstor = 23731201 }}</ref>

The study of the Kharosthi script was recently invigorated by the discovery of the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, a set of birch bark manuscripts written in Kharosthi, discovered near the Afghan city of Hadda just west of the Khyber Pass in Pakistan. The manuscripts were donated to the British Library in 1994. The entire set of British Library manuscripts are dated to the 1st century CE, although other collections from different institutions contain Kharosthi manuscripts from 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE,<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Richard | first1 = Salomon | title = Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations | date = 2018 | publisher = Simon and Schuster | isbn = 978-1-61429-185-5 | page = 1 | quote = …Subsequent studies have confirmed that these and other similar materials that were discovered in the following years date from between the first century BCE and the third century CE… }}</ref><ref>University of Washington. [https://asian.washington.edu/early-buddhist-manuscripts-project "The Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project"]: "...These manuscripts date from the first century BCE to the third century CE, and as such are the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts as well as the oldest manuscripts from South Asia..." Retrieved 18 September 2021.</ref> making them the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered.

==Alphabet== {{More citations needed|date=June 2019}} [[File:Dhrama Dipi inscription in the Shahbazgarhi First Edict in the Kharosthi script.jpg|thumb|The words ''inscription of the dharma'' ({{langx|pra|𐨢𐨌𐨨𐨡𐨁𐨤𐨁|dhrāma dipu|label=Prakrit}}) in Edict No. 1 of the Major Rock Edict of Ashoka (circa 250 BCE).<ref>{{cite book |title=Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch |date=1925 |pages=56–57 |url=https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n197/mode/2up}}</ref>]]

Kharosthi is mostly written right to left. Some variations in both the number and order of syllables occur in extant texts.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019|reason=see highlighted by Professor Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, but need to be more specific than that}}

The Kharosthi alphabet is also known as the arapacana alphabet, and follows the order.

:''a ra pa ca na'' :''la da ba ḍa ṣa'' :''va ta ya ṣṭa'' :''ka sa ma ga stha'' :''ja śva dha śa kha'' :''kṣa sta jñā rtha (''or'' ha)'' :''bha cha sma hva tsa'' :''gha ṭha ṇa pha ska'' :''ysa śca ṭa ḍha''

This alphabet was used in Gandharan Buddhism as a mnemonic for the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, a series of verses on the nature of phenomena; this is analogous to the Shiva Sutras of Brahmic scripts. In modern Himalayan and East Asian Buddhism, the first line ''arapacana'' is preserved in the mantra of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom.

===Consonants=== {|class="wikitable letters-table letters-violet" |+<ref name="WWS"/><ref name="L203314R2">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03314-kharoshthi.pdf|title=L2/03-314R2: Proposal to Encode Kharoshthi in Plane 1 of ISO/IEC 10646|date=18 September 2003|first1=Andrew|last1=Glass|first2=Stefan|last2=Baums|first3=Richard|last3=Salomon}}</ref> |- | rowspan=2| ! colspan=2|Unvoiced ! colspan=2|Voiced ! rowspan=2|Nasal ! rowspan=2|Semivowel ! rowspan=2|Sibilant ! rowspan=2|Fricative |- ! Unaspirated ! Aspirated ! Unaspirated ! Aspirated |- ! scope=row | Velar |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨐|iso=k|ipa={{IPAslink|k}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨑|iso=kh}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨒|iso=g|ipa={{IPAslink|ɡ}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨓|iso=gh}} | | | |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨱|iso=h|ipa={{IPAslink|h}}}} |- ! scope=row | Palatal |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨕|iso=c|ipa={{IPAslink|c}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨖|iso=ch}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨗|iso=j|ipa={{IPAslink|ɟ}}}} | |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨙|iso=ñ|ipa={{IPAslink|ɲ}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨩|iso=y|ipa={{IPAslink|j}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨭|iso=ś|ipa={{IPAslink|ɕ}}}} ! |- ! scope=row | Retroflex |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨚|iso=ṭ|ipa={{IPAslink|ʈ}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨛|iso=ṭh}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨜|iso=ḍ|ipa={{IPAslink|ɖ}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨝|iso=ḍh}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨞|iso=ṇ|ipa={{IPAslink|ɳ}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨪|iso=r|ipa={{IPAslink|r}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨮|iso=ṣ|ipa={{IPAslink|ʂ}}}} ! |- ! scope=row | Dental |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨟|iso=t|ipa={{IPAslink|t}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨠|iso=th}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨡|iso=d|ipa={{IPAslink|d}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨢|iso=dh}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨣|iso=n|ipa={{IPAslink|n}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨫|iso=l}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨯|iso=s}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨰|iso=z}} |- ! scope=row | Labial |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤|iso=p|ipa={{IPAslink|p}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨥|iso=ph}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨦|iso=b|ipa={{IPAslink|b}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨧|iso=bh}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨|iso=m|ipa={{IPAslink|m}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨬|iso=v}} | | |- ! scope=row | Other |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨲|iso=ḱ}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨳|iso=ṭ́h}} | | | | | | |}

A bar above a consonant {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨸}}}} can be used to indicate various modified pronunciations depending on the consonant, such as nasalization or aspiration. It is used with k, ṣ, g, c, j, n, m, ś, ṣ, s, and h.

The ''cauda'' {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨹}}}} changes how consonants are pronounced in various ways, particularly fricativization. It is used with g, j, ḍ, t, d, p, y, v, ś, and s.

The dot below {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨺}}}} is used with m and h, but its precise phonetic function is unknown.

===Vowels and syllables=== [[File:Artemidoros coin obverse with transliteration.jpg|thumb|Kharoshthi on a coin of Indo-Greek king Artemidoros Aniketos, reading ''Maues, King of kings and son of Artemidorus'', ({{langx|pgd|{{Script|Khar|𐨪𐨗𐨟𐨁𐨪𐨗𐨯𐨨𐨆𐨀𐨯𐨤𐨂𐨟𐨯𐨕𐨪𐨿𐨟𐨅𐨨𐨁𐨡𐨆𐨪𐨯 }}|Rajatirajasa Moasa putasa cha Artemidorasa}}). <ref name="OB">{{cite journal |last1=Bopearachchi |first1=Osmund |title=Was Indo-Greek Artemidoros the son of Indo-Sctythian Maues? |journal=Numismatika Kronika |date=September 2008 |issue=27 |pages=25–36 |access-date=18 August 2024|url=https://www.academia.edu/14260604}}</ref>]] Kharosthi includes only one standalone vowel character, which is used for initial vowels in words.{{cn|date=March 2019}} Other initial vowels use the ''a'' character modified by diacritics. Each syllable includes the short /a/ sound by default{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}, with other vowels being indicated by diacritic marks.

Long vowels are marked with the diacritic {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨌}}}}. An anusvara {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨎}}}} indicates nasalization of the vowel or a nasal segment following the vowel. A visarga {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨏}}}} indicates the unvoiced syllable-final /h/. It can also be used as a vowel length marker. A further diacritic, the ''double ring below'' {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨍}}}} appears with vowels -a and -u in some Central Asian documents, but its precise phonetic function is unknown.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02364-doublering.pdf|title=L2/02-364: Proposal to add one combining diacritic to the UCS|date=29 September 2003|first1=Andrew|last1=Glass|first2=Stefan|last2=Baums|first3=Richard|last3=Salomon}}</ref>

Salomon has established that the vowel order is /a e i o u/, akin to Semitic scripts, rather than the usual vowel order for Indic scripts /a i u e o/.

{| class="wikitable letters-table letters-violet" |+ Vowels<ref name="WWS">{{cite book | title=The World's Writing Systems | year=1996 | editor1-first=Peter T. | editor1-last=Daniels | editor1-link=Peter T. Daniels | editor2-last=Bright | editor2-first=William | editor2-link=William O. Bright | publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc | isbn=978-0195079937 | pages=373–383|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/373 }}</ref> ! ! colspan="6" |Vowels ! colspan="3" |Other syllable{{br}}diacritics

|- !diacritics |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌|note={{efn|group=vowels|There is no diacritic form of this vowel as consonants include an inherent {{IPA|/a/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}} vowel.}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌𐨅}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌𐨁}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌𐨆}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌𐨂}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=◌𐨃}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch= 𐨎}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨏}} |- !short vowels |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀|note=a|ipa=/ə/}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨅|ipa=/e/|note=e{{efn|name=ei|group=kvowels|The vowels {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨅}}}} and {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨁 }}}} are written horizontally when combined with {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨀}}}}, {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨣}}}}, or {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨱}}}}}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨁|ipa=/i/|note=i{{efn|name=ei|group=kvowels}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨆|ipa=/o/|note=o}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨂|ipa=/u/|note=u}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨃|ipa=/r̩/|note=r̥}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨎|note=aṃ}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨏|note=aḥ}} |- !long vowels |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨌|note=ā|ipa=/aː/}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨅𐨌|note=ai|ipa=/ɐi̯/}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨁𐨌|ipa=/iː/|note=ī}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨆𐨌|ipa=/ɐu̯/|note=au}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨂𐨌|ipa=/uː/|note=ū}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨃𐨌|ipa=/r̩ː/|note=r̥̄}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨌𐨎|note=āṃ}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨀𐨌𐨏|note=āḥ}} |- !examples with {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨤}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤|note=pa}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨅|note=pe{{efn|group=kvowels|The vowel {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨅}}}} is written vertically when combined with {{Script|Khar|{{angbr|𐨠}}, {{angbr|𐨤}}, {{angbr|𐨥}}, or {{angbr|𐨫}}}}}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨁||note=pi{{efn|group=kvowels|The vowel {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨁 }}}} is written as a small vertical stroke when combined with {{Script|Khar|{{angbr|𐨠}}, {{angbr|𐨤}}, {{angbr|𐨥}}, {{angbr|𐨨}}, {{angbr|𐨫}}, or {{angbr|𐨭}}}}}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨆|note=po{{efn|group=kvowels|The vowel {{angbr|{{Script|Khar| ◌𐨆}}}} is written vertically when combined with {{Script|Khar|{{angbr|𐨤}}, {{angbr|𐨥}}, {{angbr|𐨩}}, or {{angbr|𐨭}}}}}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨂|note=pu}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨃|note=pr̥}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨎|note=paṃ}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨤𐨏|note=paḥ}} |- !examples with {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨨}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨|note=ma}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨅|note=me}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨁|note=mi}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨆|note=mo}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨂|note=mu{{efn|group=kvowels|Combining {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨨 + ◌𐨂}}}} produces this unique ligature, {{angbr|{{Script|Khar|𐨡 + ◌𐨂}}}} also produces a unique ligature, {{angbr|{{Script|Khar |𐨡𐨂}}}}}}}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨃|note=mr̥}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨎|note=maṃ}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐨨𐨏|note=maḥ}} |} {{notelist|group=kvowels}}

==Additional marks==

Various additional marks are used to modify vowels and consonants:<ref name="L203314R2"/> {| class="wikitable letters-violet" |- ! Mark !! Trans. !! Example !! Description |- | {{huge|𐨌}} || ◌̄ || align=center | {{huge|𐨨}} + {{huge|𐨌}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨨𐨌}}|| align=left | The vowel ''length mark'' may be used with -a, -i, -u, and -r̥ to indicate the equivalent long vowel (-ā, -ī, -ū, and r̥̄ respectively). When used with -e it indicates the diphthong -ai. When used with -o it indicates the diphthong -au. |- | {{huge|𐨍}} || ◌͚ || align=center | {{huge|𐨯}} + {{huge|𐨍}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨯𐨍}} || align=left | The vowel modifier ''double ring below'' appears in some Central Asian documents with vowels -a and -u.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02364-doublering.pdf|title=L2/02-364: Proposal to add one combining diacritic to the UCS|date=2003-09-29|first1=Andrew|last1=Glass|first2=Stefan|last2=Baums|first3=Richard|last3=Salomon}}</ref> Its precise phonetic function is unknown. |- | {{huge|𐨎}} || ṃ || align=center | {{huge|𐨀}} + {{huge|𐨎}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨀𐨎}} || align=left | An anusvara indicates nasalization of the vowel or a nasal segment following the vowel. It can be used with -a, -i, -u, -r̥, -e, and -o. |- | {{huge|𐨏}} || ḥ || align=center | {{huge|𐨐}} + {{huge|𐨏}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨐𐨏}} || align=left | A visarga indicates the unvoiced syllable-final /h/. It can also be used as a vowel length marker. Visarga is used with -a, -i, -u, -r̥, -e, and -o. |- | {{huge|𐨸}} || ◌̄ || align=center | {{huge|𐨗}} + {{huge|𐨸}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨗𐨸}} || align=left | A ''bar above'' a consonant can be used to indicate various modified pronunciations depending on the consonant, such as nasalization or aspiration. It is used with k, ṣ, g, c, j, n, m, ś, ṣ, s, and h. |- | {{huge|𐨹}} || {{nobr|◌́ or ◌̱ }} || align=center | {{huge|𐨒}} + {{huge|𐨹}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨒𐨹}} || align=left | The ''cauda'' changes how consonants are pronounced in various ways, particularly fricativization. It is used with g, j, ḍ, t, d, p, y, v, ś, and s. |- | {{huge|𐨺}} || ◌̣ || align=center | {{huge|𐨨}} + {{huge|𐨺}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨨𐨺}} || align=left | The precise phonetic function of the ''dot below'' is unknown. It is used with m and h. |- | rowspan=5 | {{huge|𐨿}} || rowspan=5 | (n/a) || || align="left" | A virama is used to suppress the inherent vowel that otherwise occurs with every consonant letter. Its effect varies based on situation: |- | align=center | &lrm;{{huge|𐨢}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨁}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨐}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨿}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨢𐨁𐨐𐨿}} || align="left" |When not followed by a consonant the virama causes the preceding consonant to be written as a subscript to the left of the letter before that consonant. |- | align=center | &lrm;{{huge|𐨐}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨿}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨮}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨐𐨿𐨮}} | rowspan=3 align=left |When the virama is followed by another consonant, it will trigger a combined form consisting of two or more consonants. This may be a ligature, a special combining form, or a combining full form depending on the consonants involved. The result takes into account any other combining marks. |- | align=center | &lrm;{{huge|𐨯}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨿}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨩}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨯𐨿𐨩}} |- | align=center | &lrm;{{huge|𐨐}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨿}} + &lrm;{{huge|𐨟}} → &lrm;{{huge|𐨐𐨿𐨟}} |}

==Punctuation==

Nine Kharosthi punctuation marks have been identified:<ref name="L203314R2"/>

{| class="wikitable letters-violet" |- |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩐|note=dot}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩓|note=crescent bar}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩖|note=danda}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩑|note=small circle}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩔|note=mangalam}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩗|note=double danda}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩒|note=circle}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩕|note=lotus}} |{{letter|s=Khar|ch=𐩘|note=lines}} |}

==Numerals== Kharosthi included a set of numerals that are reminiscent of Roman numerals and Psalter Pahlavi Numerals.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} The system is based on an additive and a multiplicative principle, but does not have the subtractive feature used in the Roman numeral system.<ref>Graham Flegg, ''Numbers: Their History and Meaning'', Courier Dover Publications, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-486-42165-0}}, p. 67f.</ref> {| class="wikitable letters-violet" |+ Numerals<ref name="L203314R2"/> |- |{{letter|s=Khar|note=1|ch=𐩀}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=2|ch=𐩁}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=3|ch=𐩂}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=4|ch=𐩃}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=10|ch=𐩄}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=20|ch=𐩅}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=100|ch=𐩆}} |{{letter|s=Khar|note=1000|ch=𐩇}} |}

The numerals, like the letters, are written from right to left. There is no zero and no separate signs for the digits 5–9. Numbers are written additively, so, for example, the number 1996 would be written as {{Script|Khar|𐩇𐩃𐩃𐩀𐩆𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩄𐩃𐩁}}.

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|italics1=no |𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩄𐩃𐩁 𐩃𐩃𐩀𐩆 𐩇 | <nowiki>(2+4+10+20+20+20+20) +</nowiki> <nowiki>100x(1+4+4) +</nowiki> <nowiki>1000</nowiki> |}}

==Unicode==

Kharosthi was added to the Unicode Standard in March 2005 with the release of version 4.1.

The Unicode block for Kharosthi is U+10A00–U+10A5F:

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" h widths="160"> File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi 01.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi 02.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi File:Kharosthi script on wood, Niya, 3rd century AD - National Musem, New Delhi - IMG 2216.JPG|Kharosthi script on wood from Niya, 3rd century CE File:Niya BLH170 OR821114231424 W.jpg|Double-wedged wooden tablet in Gandhari written in Kharosthi script, 2nd to 4th century CE File:佉卢文木牍.jpg|Wooden tablet inscribed with Kharosthi characters (2nd–3rd century CE). Excavated at the Niya ruins in Xinjiang, China. Collection of the Xinjiang Museum. File:Loulan kharosthi document.jpg|Wooden Kharosthi document found at Loulan, China by Aurel Stein File:Fragmentary Buddhist text - Gandhara birchbark scrolls (1st C), part 31 - BL Or. 14915.jpg|Fragmentary Kharosthi Buddhist text on birchbark (Part of a group of early manuscripts from Gandhara), first half of 1st century CE. Collection of the British Library in London File:MenanderCoin.jpg|Silver bilingual tetradrachm of Menander I (155-130 BCE). ''Obverse:'' Greek legend, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU), literally, "Of Saviour King Menander". ''Reverse:'' Kharosthi legend: MAHARAJA TRATARASA MENADRASA "Saviour King Menander". Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield. Taxila mint mark. File:KingGurgamoyaKhotan1stCenturyCE.jpg|Coin of King Gurgamoya of Khotan (1st century CE). ''Obverse'': Kharoshthi legend "Of the great king of kings, king of Khotan, Gurgamoya. ''Reverse'': Chinese legend: "Twenty-four grain copper coin". File:Coin of Menander Dikaiou.jpg|Coin of Menander II Dikaiou ''Obverse'': Menander wearing a diadem. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ "King Menander the Just". ''Reverse'': Winged figure bearing diadem and palm, with halo, probably Nike. The Kharoshthi legend reads MAHARAJASA DHARMIKASA MENADRASA "Great King, Menander, follower of the Dharma, Menander". File:Hashtnagar Pedestal Rajar Bodhisattva Gandhara 384 exhib British Museum.jpg|The Indo-Greek Hashtnagar Pedestal symbolizes bodhisattva and ancient Kharosthi script. Found near Rajar in Gandhara, Pakistan. Exhibited at the British Museum in London. File:Mathura Lion Capital Detail.jpg|Mathura lion capital with addorsed lions and Prakrit inscriptions in Kharoshthi script File:Han dynasty Kharoshthi inscription.jpg|Fragments of stone well railings with a Buddhist inscription written in Kharoshthi script (late Han period to the Three Kingdoms era). Discovered at Luoyang, China in 1924. File:Ashoka edict shahbaz-garhi1.png|Portion of Emperor Ashoka's Rock Edicts at Shahbaz Garhi File:Ashoka edict shahbaz-garhi2.png|Portion of Emperor Ashoka's Rock Edicts at Shahbaz Garhi File:Document on Wooden Tablet written in Kharosthi Script (cropped).jpg|Document on Wooden Stick written in Kharoshthi script, 3rd-4th century CE. </gallery>

==Further reading== {{Commons category|Kharoshthi}} *[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_r2ctAAAAYAAJ Kaschgar und die Kharoṣṭhī (1903)]

==References== {{Reflist}} thumb|right|180px|Icon for Wikipedia links to pages in the Prakrit Languages

==Further reading== * {{Cite book |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hassan |title=Kharoshthi Primer |year=1979 |series=Lahore Museum Publication Series |volume=16 |location=Lahore Museum |oclc=10695864}} * {{cite book | title=The World's Writing Systems | year=1996 | editor1-first=Peter T. | editor1-last=Daniels | editor1-link=Peter T. Daniels | editor2-last=Bright | editor2-first=William | editor2-link=William O. Bright | publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc | isbn=978-0195079937 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/373 373–383] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/373 }} * {{Cite book |last=Falk |first=Harry |title=Schrift im alten Indien: Ein Forschungsbericht mit Anmerkungen |publisher=Gunter Narr |year=1993 |isbn=978-3-8233-4271-7 |series=Script Oralia |volume=56 |location=Tübingen |lang=de}} * {{Cite book |last=Fussman |first=Gérard |title=Annuaire du Collège de France 1988–1989 |pages=507–514 |chapter=Les premiers systèmes d'écriture en Inde |lang=fr}} * {{Cite book |last=von Hinüber |first=Oscar |title=Der Beginn der Schrift und frühe Schriftlichkeit in Indien |publisher=Franz Steiner |year=1990 |isbn=978-3-515-05627-4 |lang=de}} * {{Cite book |title=Kharoshthi Manuscripts from Gandhara |publisher=Higher Education Commission of Pakistan |year=2009 |editor-last=Nasim Khan |editor-first=M. |edition=2nd}} * {{Cite journal |last=Nasim Khan |first=M. |year=2004 |title=Kharoshthi Manuscripts from Gandhara |journal=Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=XII |issue=1–2 |pages=9–15}} * {{Cite journal |last=Nasim Khan |first=M. |date=July 1999 |title=Two Dated Kharoshthi Inscriptions from Gandhara |journal=Journal of Asian Civilizations |volume=XXII |issue=1 |pages=99–103}} * {{Cite journal |last=Nasim Khan |first=M. |date=September 1997 |title=Kharoshthi Inscription from Swabi – Gandhara |journal=The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=V |issue=2 |pages=49–52}} * {{Cite journal |last=Nasim Khan |first=M. |date=March 1997 |title=An Inscribed Relic-Casket from Dir |journal=The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=V |issue=1 |pages=21–33}} * {{Cite book |last=Nasim Khan |first=M |title=Atthariyyat |year=1997 |volume=I |location=Peshawar |pages=131–150 |chapter=Ashokan Inscriptions: A Palaeographical Study}} * {{Cite journal |last=Norman |first=Kenneth R. |date=1992 |title=The development of writing in India and its effect upon the Pāli canon |journal=Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens |volume=36 |pages=239–249 |jstor=24010823}} * {{Cite journal |last=Salomon |first=Richard |date=1990 |title=New Evidence for a Gāndhārī Origin of the Arapacana Syllabary |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=255–273 |doi=10.2307/604529 |jstor=604529}} * {{Cite journal |last=Salomon |first=Richard |date=1 April 1993 |title=An additional note on Aracapana |journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=275–277 |doi=10.2307/603034 |jstor=603034 |id={{Gale|A14474853}}}} * {{Cite book |last=Salomon |first=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3}} * {{Cite book |last=Salomon |first=Richard |title=Architetti, Capomastri, Artigiani: L'organizzazione Dei Cantieri E Della Produzione Artistica Nell'Asia Ellenistica : Studi Offerti a Domenico Faccenna Nel Suo Ottantesimo Compleanno |date=2006 |publisher=Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente |isbn=978-88-85320-36-9 |editor-last=Faccenna |editor-first=Domenico |pages=181–224 |chapter=Kharoṣṭhī syllables used as location markers in Gāndhāran stūpa architecture}} * {{Cite journal |last=Salomon |first=Richard |date=1995 |title=On the Origin of the Early Indian Scripts |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=271–279 |doi=10.2307/604670 |jstor=604670 |id={{ProQuest|217141859}}}}

==External links== *[https://gandhari.org Gandhari.org] Catalog and Corpus of all known Kharoṣṭhī (Gāndhārī) texts *[http://www.indoskript.org Indoskript 2.0] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528070959/http://indoskript.org/ |date=28 May 2022 }}, a paleographic database of Brahmi and Kharosthi *[https://gandhari.org/tmp/glass_2000.pdf A Preliminary Study of Kharoṣṭhī Manuscript Paleography] by Andrew Glass, University of Washington (2000)

Category:Ancient history of Afghanistan Category:Obsolete writing systems Category:Ancient history of Pakistan Category:Abugida writing systems Category:Right-to-left writing systems