Maha Sila Viravong ( lo, ສິລາ ວິຣະວົງສ໌) was a Lao scholar of traditional

Lao literature The people of Laos have a rich literary tradition dating back at least six hundred years, with the oral and storytelling traditions of its peoples dating back much earlier. Lao literature refers to the written productions of Laotian peoples, its ém ...

, history, and culture. In the 1930s, backed by the Buddhist Institute in Vientiane and the Buddhist Academic Council, he added an additional set of characters to the

Lao script Lao script or Akson Lao ( lo, ອັກສອນລາວ, links=no ) is the primary script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. Its earlier form, the Tai Noi script, was also used to write the Isan language, b ...

, in order to support Pali and Sanskrit, thereby filling the missing gaps in the existing script. While the Buddhist Institute published books that utilised these extended Indic characters, they did not see widespread usage, and fell out of usage by 1975. In 2019, the extended Indic characters were added to Unicode 12. He designed the current Flag of Laos in 1945.

Personal life

Three of his children,

Douangdeuane Bounyavong Douangdeuane Bounyavong ( lo, ດວງເດືອນ ບຸນຍາວົງສ; ''Dūangdư̄an Bunyāvong''; born 11 June 1947, also known by her maiden name Douangdeuane Viravong), pen name Dok Ked ''(Dō̜kkēt)'', is a Laotian writer. She ...

Dara Viravong Dara Viravong Kanlagna or Dara Viravong; Douangchampa (born 1940) is a Lao writer. She was involved with work that led to the creation of the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. Life Kanlagna was born in Laos in 1940. Her father, Sila Viravong, ...

and Pakian Viravong are prominent Laotian writers.

References

{{Authority control People from Roi Et province 1905 births 1987 deaths Laotian writers Culture of Laos Laotian people of Thai descent