The Bhujimol script (or ''Bhujinmol'',

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: or ) is the most ancient form of

Nepal script Nepalese scripts ( Nepal Lipi: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮 𑐁𑐏𑐮, Devanagari: नेपाल आखल) are alphabetic writing systems employed historically in Nepal Mandala by the indigenous Newars for primarily writing Nepal Bhasa. It is also ...

. It is also one of the most common varieties of the Nepal alphabet. The Bhujimol script has been used to write

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Etymology

The term Bhujinmol means "fly-headed", from the Nepal Bhasa words "bhujin", meaning "housefly", and "mol", meaning "head". The "head" is the horizontal line that is put above each letter, and Bhujimol refers to its rounded shape.

Characteristics

File:Devimahatmya Sanskrit MS Nepal 11c.jpg,

Bhujimol script, palm-leaf MS of the

Devimahatmya The ''Devi Mahatmya'' or ''Devi Mahatmyam'' ( sa, देवीमाहात्म्यम्, devīmāhātmyam, Glory of the Goddess) is a Hindu philosophical text describing the Goddess as the supreme power and creator of the universe. It is ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, 11th century.

File:Bhujimol and Devanagari.jpg,

Chart of Bhujimol script vowel letters, with Devanagari and Latin correspondences.

Recent findings

In 2003, a brick was discovered in

Chabahil Chabahil ( ne, चाबहिल) (also Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward 07) is an ancient neighborhood in northeast Kathmandu in Nepal. It is famous for its Licchavi stupa, called the Dhando Chaitya, considered by many historians to be the o ...

, in the course of reconstruction of the Chabahil Stupa or Dhando

Chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...

, bearing inscriptions in both

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

and Bhujimol: The upper face is inscribed with ''Cha Ru Wa Ti'' in Brahmi, and with ''Cha Ru Wa Ti Dhande / He Tu Pra Bha'' in Bhujimol script. There are

Swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

marks at the two ends of the upper face with a

Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

mark in between. The brick measures 35.5cm x 23cm x 7cm and weighs 8.6kg. The brick may date to as early as the 3rd century BC. The previously earliest known inscription in the Kathmandu Valley dates from the 6th century and is installed at

Changu Narayan Changu Narayan is an ancient Hindu temple, located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu or Dolagiri in Changunarayan Municipality of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 7 miles (or 12km) east of Kathmandu and a few miles ...

. The inscription is interpreted to refer to Charumati, a daughter of emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

References

Alphabets Nepalese culture Newar Writing systems of Newar language {{Writingsystem-stub