Karani or Chhata was a handwritten cursive writing system historically used to write the Odia language[2][3][4] primarily for court, land, temple and accounting records, and other administrative purposes.[5] Karani was quite different from[6] the printed form, the Odia script, which replaced it.[5] Karani gradually became unintelligible to the readers of the latter.[7] The writers historically belonged to the Karan caste group who were designated to use Karani.[5] The script was used in the Odia-speaking regions during British Raj including the Orissa Tributary States. Both the names "karani" and "karana" are derived from "karani", a metal stylus used for writing on palm leaf.[8][9] Historical records from mid-eighteenth century were written in this script.[10] Karani was written both on palm leaves and paper.
| Karani script Karaṇī akṣara କରଣି ଅକ୍ଷର | |
|---|---|
 Karani script sample from Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha | |
| Script type | |
Time period | c. 1700 - 1900s CE[1] |
| Languages | Odia language |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Odia script (cursive style)
|
History
editKarani is often explained as "karaninabaja" or "chhata", a "running" script with mistakes introduced by the Karanas, making it less standard. The script also did not use spaces between words and lacked punctuations, both allowing the writers to write fast, but making it hard to decipher later.[11]
Influence on modern Odia script
edit| Vowel Letter | Diacritic forms |
|---|---|
| For the vowel ଇ (short i), the standard Odia diacritic form is ି. Eg- For consonant କ (ka) - କି (ki) But for these consonants - ଖ (kha), ଥ (tha), ଧ (dha), the equivalent ଇ diacritic from Karani script is also used. |
ଖି (khi) ଥି (thi) ଧି (dhi) |
Gallery
edit-
Karani script sample from Jnanamandala -
Karani script sample from Jnanamandala -
Karani script letters -
Karani script letters -
Karani writing
References
edit- ^ "CHAPTER - IV: DEVELOPMENT OF ORIYA SCRIPT, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE" (PDF). Shodhganga. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ Tripāṭhī, Kunjabihari (1962). The Evolution of Oriya Language and Script. Utkal University. p. 33. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ Chitararijan Behera (2012). "ପ୍ରାଚୀନ ସାହିତ୍ୟଗ୍ରନ୍ଥ ସଂପାଦନା-୧" (PDF). Shodhganga. Utkal University. p. 56. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet a key to the history of mankind. p. 366.
- ^ a b c Pattanayak, D. P. (1991). "Linguistic and Religious Identity in India". India International Centre Quarterly. 18 (4): 101–106. ISSN 0376-9771. JSTOR 23002249.
- ^ Young, A.H. (1912). First Lessons in Oriya (in French). Orissa Mission Press. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
- ^ Jnanamandal. Cuttack: Jnanamandal Publications. 1 December 1960. pp. 17, 18.
- ^ Rath, Saraju (2012). "The Oriya Script: Origin, Development and Sources". International Institute for Asian Studies.
- ^ "Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha by Gopal Chandra Praharaj (Preface + All 7 Volumes)". archive.org. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ Tanabe, Akio (December 2005). "The system of entitlements in eighteenth-century khurda, Orissa: Reconsidering 'caste' and 'community' in late pre-colonial India". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 28 (3): 345–385. doi:10.1080/00856400500337768.
- ^ Shankar, B., Mishra, P., Sagnika, S., Pattanaik, A. "Engaging with an Indian Epic: A Digital Approach". International Journal of Computer Applications. 975: 8887.