Jay Tirhuta

Revitalising the Tirhuta Script (Mithilakshar) for  modern-day usage 

 

Leveraging Research, Design, and Technology  

For creating a pool of resources that would help in easy adoption of the Tirhuta script (Mithilakshar)

Why you should care about the Tirhuta Script? 

Here, I would like to share why I care about the Tirhuta script. I sincerely hope that my reasons will align with yours. Or perhaps you already have some reasons which I would be interested in knowing. 

The Maithili language, my mother tongue, is prominently spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Nepal. The traditional script of the Maithili language is known as the Tirhuta script or Mithilakshar. In our community, writing using the Mithilakshar is considered important, especially for ceremonial and religious purposes. Despite this, finding people who can write and read text written in the Tirhuta script is very difficult. Most of the ancient classic texts, stone inscriptions, and manuscripts from Bihar, Jharkhand, and southern Nepal are written in this script. Around 900 manuscripts of Kangyur - words of Buddha (Buddha Mool Vachan) and around 3500 manuscripts of Tengyur - Commentaries on Kangyurs (words of Buddha) are written in the Tirhuta script. Varnaratnakar (1324) by Jyotireshwar Thakur, preserved at the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, and creations of the Maithil Kavi Kokil- Vidyapati Thakur (1350-1440), the great polymath-poet-saint, are written in the Tirhuta script. Thousands of manuscripts brought by Mahapandit Rahul Sanskritayan, preserved at the Bihar Research Society, are written in the Tirhuta Script. And there are lakhs of Tirhuta manuscripts preserved at various organizations in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Nepal. The ‘Panji’ or the genealogical records of this region is also maintained in the Tirhuta script. 

The only way to explore this region’s hidden treasure trove of the traditional Indian Knowledge system is by revitalizing the Tirhuta script. It holds cultural ties, and the regional essence and preservation of the same for the future are essential. Maithili was included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 2003, and in 2014, it was included in the Unicode. Still, it is poorly represented in the modern-day context. Therefore, my goal is to significantly contribute to the Tirhuta script's preservation through high-quality research, design, and technology.  

 Resources for learning, adoption and propagation of Tirhuta Script. 

Mithilakshar Lekhan Abhyas Pustak

A practice workbook for Mithilakshar

Mithilakshar Lekhan Vidhi

Slide decks demonstrating steps to write the Tirhuta script (Mithilakshar) Varnmala 


Maithili Sahitya Sansthan's Website 

The organisation has been exploring and highlighting  hidden and forgotten cultural heritage of Mithila through various research activities.


Tirhuta Keyboard Layout Design 

One can install this Tirhuta Script Keyboard layout design to MacOS and type using the script.  For other platforms, Keyman app can be explored.


Demo Videos 

a collection of demonstration videos on Mithilakshar YouTube Channel  


Font  

Noto Sans Tirhuta is an open source font that can be used on Android, iOS and web.