Nepal Bhasa renaissance (

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

: नेपालभाषा पुनर्जागरण) was the movement to revive and modernize the

language during the period 1909 to 1941. The movement was spontaneous and not orchestrated. However, the sum total of activities conducted during this era had a profound impact on the overall course of the language development.Title:नेपालभाषा साहित्यया इतिहास, Author:प्रेमशान्ति तुलाधर, Nepalbhasa Academy publications

Factors and influences

Many factors had an impact in the Nepal Bhasa renaissance, including: * the repression of Nepal Bhasa and its banning from official use by the

Rana regime Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah dynasty, Shah monarch to a figurehead and making List of Prim ...

; * the first generation of modern Nepalese scholars' attempts to modernize the Nepal Bhasa language; * Hindu and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

literary movements in India and Nepal; * The regional language movement of Bengal

Renaissance figures

The most prominent people of this era were * Nisthananda Bajracharya *

Siddhidas Mahaju Siddhidas Mahaju ( ne, सिद्धिदास महाजु) (alternative name: Siddhidas Amatya) (15 October 1867 – 29 December 1929) was a Nepalese poet and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He was at the forefront in the end ...

Jagat Sundar Malla Jagat Sundar Malla (1882 - 1952) () was a Nepalese teacher and writer who dedicated his life to the education of the common people.. Malla opened a school in his home defying government repression as the Rana regime disapproved of any move to spr ...

Yogbir Singh Kansakar Yogbir Singh Kansakar ( ne, योगवीरसिं कंसकार) (alternative name: Jogbir Singh Kansakar) (16 April 1885 - 29 March 1942) was a Nepalese poet, social reformer and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He worked to ...

* Shukraraj Shastri, one of the four martyrs of the Nepalese revolution that toppled the

* Dharmaditya Dharmacharya Nisthananda, Siddhidas, Jagat Sundar and Yogbir Singh are considered as the

Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa ( ne, नेपालभाषाका चार स्तम्भ, Newar: नेपाल भाषाया प्यंगः थां) are the four leaders who spearheaded the campaign to revive the Newar langua ...

Activities

Various activities marked the renaissance era.

Publication

Nisthananda Bajracharya authored and printed the first printed book in Nepal Bhasa called Ek Binshati Pragyaparmita in 1909.Nepal Bhasa Manka Khala
/ref> He brought printing type from Kolkata, did the typesetting, proof-reading and printing himself.

Standardization of grammar

Sukraraj Shastri published the first grammar book in Nepal Bhasa (in N.S. 1048, Kaulaathwa 10) called "Nepalbhasa byakaran".थकालिम्ह वैय्याकरण शुक्रराज शास्त्री, Author Dr. Sundar Krishna Joshi, Page 35, Shukraraj Topical Hospital Memorial -2057 Before that, grammar was limited to manuscripts and traditional teachings with wide variability. This publication initiated a standardization of grammar. Publication of Nepal Bhasa reader aided in further standardization of vocabulary. The publication of dictionary and English-Nepal Bhasa translation by Jagat Sundar Malla helped in standardization of vocabulary.Newsletter3
/ref>

Translation

To increase the literary treasure of the language, translations of various literature was initiated in this era. Some of them are as follows * Lalitvistara, a Sanskrit Buddhist text based on the Buddha's life story was translated by Nisthananda Bajracharya, one of the four pillars of Nepal Bhasa during this era. *Hindu epic

Ramayan The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

by Siddhidas Mahaju, *

Aesop's fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended t ...

by Jagat Sundar Malla

Education

Jagat Sundar Malla was a pioneer of modern education. He turned his own house into a free school. To overcome the lack of teaching materials, he wrote many course books himself, including an English-Nepal Bhasa-English dictionary and translated Aesop's Fables in 1915 into Nepal Bhasa. Poet Yogbir Singh Kansakar stressed female education.

Research

Scientific research on the language began in this period. It was identified that Nepal Bhasa is a Sino-Tibetan language and not an Indo-Aryan language (as was believed) in this era. Various ancient manuscripts were collected and researched during this era.

Literature

Modern literature was introduced into Nepal Bhasa during this era. Modern prose and poetry were established and epic writing were firmly reestablished during this era.

Activism and identity

Renaissance marked the revival of the term "Nepal Bhasa" to name the language rather than the Khas imposed term "Newari". Figures like Dhammaditya Dhammacharya were active and conscious about the proper nomenclature of the language.

Literary samples

Some of the lines from Sajjan Hridayabharan of

( N.S.987-N.S.1050) read as follows

:सज्जन मनुष्या संगतनं मूर्ख नापं भिना वै :पलेला लपते ल वंसा म्वति थें ल सना वै

which state that even a moron can improve with the company of good people just like even a drop of water appears like a pearl when it descends upon the leaves of a lotus plant.

Impact

Much of the literary activities conducted in modern era were a propagation of the activities initiated in this era. The era created a new breed of modern writers. Unlike medieval era or dark era writers, these writers were commoners and not aristocrats. Hence, literature reached the grass-roots level of society. Some of the most prominent impacts of the activities of this era are *The epic ''Sugata Saurabha'' by

Chittadhar Hridaya Chittadhar Hridaya ( ne, चित्तधर हृदय; born Chittadhar Tuladhar; 19 May 1906 – 9 June 1982) was a Nepalese poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest literary figures from Nepal in the 20th century. The title of Kavi Kes ...

Harvard University Press: Sugata Saurabha: An Epic Poem from Nepal on the Life of the Buddha by Todd T. Lewis
/ref> is the greatest epic written in the language along the lines of Nisthananda Bajracharya. *The

Nepal Bhasa movement Nepal Bhasa movement (Newar: नेपालभाषा आन्दोलन) refers to the struggle for linguistic rights by Newar speakers in Nepal in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbors. The campaign aims to in ...

which helped establish Nepal Bhasa as a national language of Nepal after the 2006 democratic movement was along the lines of the movement of Dharmaditya Dharmacharya.

References

{{Nepal Bhasa renaissance Newar language Language revival