Sharada script Śāradā 𑆯𑆳𑆫𑆢𑆳
The word śāradā in Sharada script
Script type	Abugida
Time period	700 CE –present (almost extinct)[1]
Direction	left-to-right
Region	India, Pakistan, Central Asia
Languages	Sanskrit, Kashmiri
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi Gupta Sharada script
Child systems	Takri Landa
Sister systems	Siddham, Tibetan,[2][3] Kalinga, Bhaiksuki
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Shrd (319), ​Sharada, Śāradā
Unicode
Unicode alias	Sharada
Unicode range	U+11180–U+111DF
The theorised Semitic origins of the Brahmi script are not universally agreed upon.

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The Śāradā, 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.^[4][1][5] Originally more widespread, its use became later restricted to Kashmir, and it is now rarely used except by the Kashmiri Pandit community for religious purposes.

The Gardez Ganesha, 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 Mahāvināyaka" was consecrated by the Shahi King Khingala of Khatriya Country Modern Part of Punjab Pakistan and Afghanistan. ^[6]

It is a native script of Kashmir and is named after the goddess Śāradā or Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the main deity of the Sharada Peeth temple.^[7]

History

Bakhshali manuscript

Om in Sharada script

The Bakhshali manuscript uses an early stage of the Sharada script.^[4] 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^{[clarification needed]} inscription mentioning the, Turk Shahis, king Khingala of Oddiyana.^[8] At the historic Markula Devi Temple, the goddess Mahishamardini has a Sharada inscription of 1569 CE.^[9]

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.^[10] With the last known inscription dating to 1204 C.E., the early 13th century marks a milestone in the development of Sharada.^[10] 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.^[10]

Letters

Vowels

Consonants

Numerals

Sharada script uses its own signs for the positional decimal numeral system.

Image gallery

Unicode

Śāradā script was added to the Unicode Standard in January, 2012 with the release of version 6.1.^[11]

The Unicode block for Śāradā script, called Sharada, is U+11180–U+111DF: