View source for Social:Kharosthi

{{Short description|Ancient script of Central and South Asia}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Kharosthi
| type        = Abugida
| native_name = {{script|khar|𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌}}
| sample      = File:YingpanKharoshthi.jpg
| caption     = 
| languages   = {{plainlist|
*[[Social:Gāndhārī language|Gandhari Prakrit]]
*[[Social:Pali|Pali]]
*[[Social:Saka language|Saka]]
*[[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]]}}
| fam1        = [[Social:Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Social:Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinaitic script]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| sisters     = {{plainlist|
*[[Social:Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean alphabet]]
*[[Social:Brahmi script|Brahmi script]]
*Syriac alphabet
*[[Social:Palmyrene alphabet|Palmyrene alphabet]]
*Mandaic alphabet
*[[Social:Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi scripts]]
*[[Social:Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian alphabet]]}}
| time        = 4th century BCE – 3rd century CE
| iso15924    = Khar
| unicode     = [http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10A00.pdf U+10A00–U+10A5F]
| footnotes   = Kharosthi is widely held to be a derivation of Aramaic, whereas the Semitic origins of the Brahmic scripts are not universally agreed upon.<ref name="CUP"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bühler |first1=Georg |title=The Origin of the Kharoṣṭhī Alphabet |journal=Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes |date=1895 |volume=9 |pages=44–66 |jstor=23860352 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kharosthi Script |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Kharosthi_Script/ |website=World History Encyclopedia }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kharoshti: writing system |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kharoshti |website=Britannica }}</ref>{{sfn|Salomon|1998|p=20}}
| fam4        = [[Social:Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic alphabet]]
}}
{{Contains special characters
| special    = uncommon [[Unicode]] characters
| fix        = Help:Multilingual support#Kharosthi
| image      = Replacement character.svg
| link       = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character
| alt        = <?>
| compact    = yes
}}
[[File:Kharoshthi letters.jpg|thumb|Kharoshthi letters.]]
{{Numeral systems}}

The '''Kharoṣṭhī script''' (Kharosthi: {{script|khar|𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌}}, also spelled '''Kharoshthi'''), also known as the '''Gāndhārī script''',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leitich |first1=Keith A. |title=Buddhism and Jainism |chapter=Kharoṣṭhī Script |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |date=2017 |pages=660–662 |doi=10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_238 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_238 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-024-0851-5 |language=en}}</ref> was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various peoples from the north-western outskirts of the [[Earth:Indian subcontinent|Indian subcontinent]] (present-day {{wipe|Pakistan}}) to [[Place:Central Asia|Central Asia]] via Afghanistan.<ref name="CUP">{{cite journal |jstor=25209596 |title=The Kharosthi Alphabet |author=R. D. Banerji |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=April 1920 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=193–219|doi=10.1017/S0035869X0014794X |s2cid=162688271 }}</ref> An abugida, it was introduced at least by the middle of the 3rd century BCE, possibly during the 4th century BCE,{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=11–13}} and remained in use until it died out in its homeland around the 3rd century CE.<ref name="CUP"/>

It was also in use in [[Biology:Bactria|Bactria]], the [[History:Kushan Empire|Kushan Empire]], [[Place:Sogdia|Sogdia]], and along the Silk Road. There is some evidence it may have survived until the 7th century in Khotan and Niya, both cities in East Turkestan.

==History==
[[File:Brahmic script travel from India.png|thumb|Routes of ancient scripts of the subcontinent traveling to other parts of Asia (Kharosthi shown in blue)]]
The name Kharosthi may derive from the Hebrew ''kharosheth'', a Semitic word for writing,<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/> or from Old Iranian ''*xšaθra-pištra'', which means "royal writing".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=H. W. |title=A Half-Century of Irano-Indian Studies |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1972 |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=99–110 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00157466 |jstor=25203366 |s2cid=163349913 }}</ref> The script was earlier also known as "'''Indo-Bactrian script'''", "'''Kabul script'''" and "'''Arian-Pali'''".<ref>"When these alphabets were first deciphered, scholars gave them different names such as 'Indian-Pali' for Brahmi and 'Arian-Pali' for Kharosthi, but these terms are no longer in use." in {{cite book |last1=Upāsaka |first1=Sī Esa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P19jAAAAMAAJ |title=History of palæography of Mauryan Brāhmī script |last2=Mahāvihāra |first2=Nava Nālandā |date=2002 |publisher=Nava Nālanda Mahāvihāra |isbn=9788188242047 |page=6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://bigenc.ru/linguistics/text/2126248 Kharosthi]. ''Great Russian Encyclopedia''.</ref>

Scholars are not in agreement as to whether the Kharosthi script evolved gradually, or was the deliberate work of a single inventor. An analysis of the script forms shows a clear dependency on the [[Social:Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic alphabet]] but with extensive modifications. Kharosthi seems to be derived from a form of Aramaic used in administrative work during the reign of Darius the Great, rather than the monumental [[Social:Cuneiform|cuneiform]] used for public inscriptions.<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/> One theory suggests that the Aramaic script arrived with the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley in 500 BCE and evolved over the next 200+ years to reach its final form by the 3rd century BCE where it appears in some of the Edicts of Ashoka. However, no intermediate forms have yet been found to confirm this evolutionary model, and rock and coin inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE onward show a unified and standard form. An inscription in Aramaic dating back to the 4th century BCE was found in Sirkap, testifying to the presence of the Aramaic script in present-day Pakistan. According to Sir John Marshall, this seems to confirm that Kharoshthi was later developed from Aramaic.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/cu31924024121125 A Guide to Taxila, John Marshall, 1918]</ref>

While the derived Brahmi scripts remained in use for centuries, Kharosthi seems to have been abandoned after the 2nd–3rd century AD. Because of the substantial differences between the Semitic-derived Kharosthi script and its successors, knowledge of Kharosthi may have declined rapidly once the script was supplanted by Brahmi-derived scripts, until its re-discovery by Western scholars in the 19th century.<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform/>

The Kharosthi script was deciphered separately almost concomitantly by James Prinsep (in 1835, published in the ''Journal of the Asiatic society of Bengal'', India)<ref>{{cite book |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol IV 1835 |pages=327–348 |url=https://archive.org/details/JournalOfTheAsiaticSocietyOfBengalVolIv1835/page/n391/mode/2up |language=English}}</ref> and by Carl Ludwig Grotefend (in 1836, published in ''Blätter für Münzkunde'', Germany),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grote |first1=Hermann |title=Blätter für Münzkunde. Hannoversche numismatische Zeitschrift. Hrsg. von H. Grote |date=1836 |publisher=Hahn |pages=309–314 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hVtfAAAAcAAJ |language=de}}</ref> with Grotefend "evidently not aware" of Prinsep's article, followed by Christian Lassen (1838).{{sfn|Salomon|1998|pp=210–212}} They all used the bilingual coins of the [[History:Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greek Kingdom]] (obverse in Greek, reverse in [[Social:Pali|Pali]], using the Kharosthi script). This in turn led to the reading of the Edicts of Ashoka, some of which were written in the Kharosthi script (the Major Rock Edicts at Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi).<ref name=brahmi_cuneiform>{{cite journal |last1=Dias |first1=Malini |last2=Miriyagalla |first2=Das |title=Brahmi Script in Relation to Mesopotamian Cuneiform |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka |date=2007 |volume=53 |pages=91–108 |jstor=23731201 }}</ref>

The study of the Kharosthi script was recently invigorated by the discovery of the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, a set of [[Biology:Birch bark manuscript|birch bark manuscript]]s written in Kharosthi, discovered near the Afghan city of Hadda just west of the Khyber Pass in {{wipe|Pakistan}}. The manuscripts were donated to the British Library in 1994. The entire set of British Library manuscripts are dated to the 1st century CE, although other collections from different institutions contain Kharosthi manuscripts from 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Salomon |title=Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations |date=2018 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-61429-185-5 |page=1 |quote=…Subsequent studies have confirmed that these and other similar materials that were discovered in the following years date from between the first century BCE and the third century CE… }}</ref><ref>University of Washington. [https://asian.washington.edu/early-buddhist-manuscripts-project "The Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project"]: "...These manuscripts date from the first century BCE to the third century CE, and as such are the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts as well as the oldest manuscripts from South Asia..." Retrieved 18 September 2021.</ref> making them the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered.

==Characteristics==
[[File:Dhrama Dipi inscription in the Shahbazgarhi First Edict in the Kharosthi script.jpg|thumb|The words ''"Dhrama-Dipi"'' ("Inscription of the Dharma") in Kharosthi, in Edict No.1 of the Shahbazgarhi Major Rock Edict of Ashoka (circa 250 BCE).<ref>{{cite book |title=Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch |date=1925 |pages=56–57 |url=https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n197/mode/2up |language=Sanskrit}}</ref>]]
[[File:Artemidoros coin obverse with transliteration.jpg|thumb|Kharoshthi on a coin of Indo-Greek king Artemidoros Aniketos, reading "Rajatirajasa Moasa Putasa cha Artemidorasa".]]
Kharosthi ({{script|khar|𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌}}, from right to left ''Kha-ro-ṣṭhī'') is mostly written right to left (type A).

Each syllable includes the short /a/ sound by default{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}, with other vowels being indicated by diacritic marks. Recent epigraphic evidence{{Citation needed|date=March 2019|reason=see highlighted by Professor Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, but need to be more specific than that}} has shown that the order of letters in the Kharosthi script follows what has become known as the Arapacana alphabet. As preserved in [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] documents, the alphabet runs:{{Citation needed|date=March 2019|reason=see highlighted by Professor Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, but need to be more specific than that}}

:''a ra pa ca na la da ba ḍa ṣa va ta ya ṣṭa ka sa ma ga stha ja śva dha śa kha kṣa sta jñā rtha (''or'' ha) bha cha sma hva tsa gha ṭha ṇa pha ska ysa śca ṭa ḍha''

Some variations in both the number and order of syllables occur in extant texts.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019|reason=see highlighted by Professor Richard Salomon of the University of Washington, but need to be more specific than that}}

Kharosthi includes only one standalone vowel character, which is used for initial vowels in words.{{Cit|date=March 2019}} Other initial vowels use the ''a'' character modified by diacritics. Using epigraphic evidence, Salomon has established that the vowel order is /a e i o u/, akin to Semitic scripts, rather than the usual vowel order for Indic scripts /a i u e o/. Also, there is no differentiation between long and short vowels in Kharosthi. Both are marked using the same vowel markers.

The alphabet was used in [[Biology:Gandharan Buddhism|Gandharan Buddhism]] as a mnemonic for remembering a series of verses on the nature of phenomena. In Tantric Buddhism, the list was incorporated into ritual practices and later became enshrined in mantras.

==Vowels==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | !! colspan=4 | ''Initial'' !! colspan=4 | ''Diacritic''
|-
! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! Image !! Text !! colspan=2 | With 'k'
|-
| rowspan=2 align=left | Unrounded || align=left | low central || [[File:Kharosthi_a.svg|19px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} || a || /ə/ || — || — || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐}}}} || ka
|-
| align=left | high front || [[File:Kharosthi_i.svg|19px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨁}}}}|| i || /i/ || [[File:Буква I (залежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi vowel sign I.svg|14px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨁}}}} || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨁}}}} || ki
|-
| align=left | Rounded || align=left | high back || [[File:Kharosthi_u.svg|19px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨂}}}} || u || /u/ || [[File:Буква U (залежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi vowel sign U.svg|15px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨂}}}} || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨂}}}} || ku
|-
| colspan=2 align=left | Syllabic vibrant || colspan=4 | || [[File:Буква складове R (залежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi vowel sign vocalic R.svg|15px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨃}}}} || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨃}}}} || kr̥
|-
| rowspan=2 align=left | Mid || align=left | front unrounded || [[File:Kharosthi_e.svg|20px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨅}}}} || e || /e/ || [[File:Буква E (залежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi vowel sign E.svg|14px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨅}}}} || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨅}}}} || ke
|-
| align=left | back rounded || [[File:Kharosthi_o.svg|20px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨆}}}} || o || /o/ || [[File:Буква O (залежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi vowel sign O.svg|14px]] || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨆}}}} || {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨆}}}} || ko
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Vowel diacritic placement<ref name="L203314R2"/>
|-
! Vowel !! Position !! Example !! Applies to
|-
| rowspan=3 align=center | -i || horizontal || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨁}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨁}}}} || a, n, h
|-
| diagonal || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨁}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨁}}}} || k, ḱ, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j, ñ, ṭ, ṭh, ṭ́h, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, t, d, dh, b, bh, y, r, v, ṣ, s, z 
|-
| vertical || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨠}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨁}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨠𐨁}}}} || th, p, ph, m, l, ś
|-
| rowspan=3 align=center | -u || attached || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨂}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨂}}}} || a, k, ḱ, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j, ñ, ṭ, ṭh, ṭ́h, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, t, th, d, dh, n, p, ph, b, bh, y, r, l, v, ś, ṣ, s, z
|-
| independent || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨱}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨂}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨱𐨂}}}} || ṭ, h
|-
| ligatured || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨨}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨂}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨨𐨂}}}} || m
|-
| rowspan=2 align=center | -r̥ || attached || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨃}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨃}}}} || a, k, ḱ, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j, t, d, dh, n, p, ph, b, bh, v, ś, s
|-
| independent || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨨}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨃}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨨𐨃}}}} || m, h
|-
| rowspan=4 align=center | -e || horizontal|| align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨅}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨅}}}} || a, n, h
|-
| diagonal || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨅}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨐𐨅}}}} || k, ḱ, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j, ñ, ṭ, ṭh, ṭ́h, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, t, dh, b, bh, y, r, v, ṣ, s, z
|-
| vertical || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨠}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨅}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨠𐨅}}}} || th, p, ph, l, ś
|-
| ligatured || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨡}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨅}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨡𐨅}}}} || d, m
|-
| rowspan=2 align=center | -o || diagonal|| align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨆}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨀𐨆}}}} || a, k, ḱ, kh, g, gh, c, ch, j, ñ, ṭ, ṭh, ṭ́h, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, t, th, d, dh, n, b, bh, m, r, l, v, ṣ, s, z, h
|-
| vertical || align=center | {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨤}}}} + {{huge|{{script|khar|𐨆}}}} → &lrm;{{huge|{{script|khar|𐨤𐨆}}}} || p, ph, y, ś
|}

==Consonants==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Occlusives<ref name="WWS"/>
|-
! rowspan=3 | !! colspan=7 | {{sc|Voiceless}} {{sc|Plosives}} !! colspan=7 | {{sc|Voiced}} {{sc|Plosives}} !! colspan=4 rowspan=2 | {{sc|Nasals}}
|-
! colspan=4 | ''Unaspirated'' !! colspan=3 | ''Aspirated'' !! colspan=4 | ''Unaspirated'' !! colspan=3 | ''Aspirated''
|-
! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! IPA !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! IPA
|-
| align=left | Velar || [[File:Kharosthi_k.svg|18px]] || {{huge|𐨐}} || k || /k/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨑}} || kh || 19px || {{huge|𐨒}} || g || /ɡ/ || [[File:Kharosthi_gh.svg|19px]]|| {{huge|𐨓}} || gh || colspan=4 | 
|-
| align=left | Palatal || [[File:Kharosthi_c1.svg|19px]] || {{huge|𐨕}} || c || /c/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨖}} || ch || 18px || {{huge|𐨗}} || j || /ɟ/ || colspan=3 | || [[File:Kharosthi_ny.svg|19px]]|| {{huge|𐨙}} || ñ || /ɲ/
|-
| align=left | Retroflex || [[File:Kharosthi_tt.svg|19px]] || {{huge|𐨚}} || ṭ || /ʈ/ || 18px || {{huge|𐨛}} || ṭh || 18px || {{huge|𐨜}} || ḍ || /ɖ/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨝}} || ḍh || [[File:Kharosthi_nn.svg|19px]]|| {{huge|𐨞}} || ṇ || /ɳ/
|-
| align=left | Dental || [[File:Kharosthi_t.svg|19px]] || {{huge|𐨟}} || t || /t/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨠}} || th || 19px || {{huge|𐨡}} || d || /d/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨢}} || dh || [[File:Kharosthi_n.svg|19px]]|| {{huge|𐨣}} || n || /n/
|-
| align=left | Labial || [[File:Kharosthi_p.svg|19px]] || {{huge|𐨤}} || p || /p/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨥}} || ph || 19px || {{huge|𐨦}} || b || /b/ || 19px || {{huge|𐨧}} || bh || [[File:Kharosthi_m.svg|19px]]|| {{huge|𐨨}} || m || /m/
|}

There are two special modified forms of these consonants:<ref name="L203314R2">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03314-kharoshthi.pdf|title=L2/03-314R2: Proposal to Encode Kharoshthi in Plane 1 of ISO/IEC 10646|date=2003-09-18|first1=Andrew|last1=Glass|first2=Stefan|last2=Baums|first3=Richard|last3=Salomon}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! Image !! Text !! Trans.
|-
| align-left | Modified form || [[File:Kharosthi kk.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨲}}</span> || ḱ || [[File:Kharosthi ttth.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨳}}</span> || ṭ́h
|-
| align-left | Original form || [[File:Kharosthi_k.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐}}</span> || k || [[File:Kharosthi_tth.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨛}}</span> || ṭh
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Sonorants and fricatives<ref name="WWS"/>
|-
! rowspan=2 | !! colspan=4 | ''Palatal'' !! colspan=4 | ''Retroflex'' !! colspan=4 | ''Dental'' !! colspan=4 | ''Labial''
|-
! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! IPA !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! IPA !! Image !! Text !! Trans. !! IPA
|-
| Sonorants || [[File:Kharosthi_y.svg|17px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨩}}</span> || y || /j/ || 18px || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨪}}</span> || r || /r/ || 18px || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨫}}</span> || l || /l/|| [[File:Kharosthi_v.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨬}}</span> || v || /ʋ/
|-
| Sibilants || [[File:Kharosthi_sh.svg|17px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨭}}</span> || ś || /ɕ/ || 17px || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨮}}</span> || ṣ || /ʂ/ || [[File:Kharosthi_s.svg|17px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨯}}</span> || s || /s/ || colspan=4 |
|-
! rowspan=3 | !! colspan=4 | ''Other''
|-
| [[File:Буква ZА (незалежний знак). Письмо кхароштхі. Kharoshthi letter ZA.svg|18px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨰}}</span> || z || ?
|-
| [[File:Kharosthi_h.svg|16px]] || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨱}}</span> || h || /h/
|}

==Additional marks==

Various additional marks are used to modify vowels and consonants:<ref name="L203314R2"/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Mark !! Trans. !! Example !! Description
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨌}}</span> || ◌̄ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨨}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨌}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨨𐨌}}</span>|| align=left | The vowel ''length mark'' may be used with -a, -i, -u, and -r̥ to indicate the equivalent long vowel (-ā, -ī, -ū, and r̥̄ respectively).  When used with -e it indicates the diphthong -ai.  When used with -o it indicates the diphthong -au.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨍}}</span> || ◌͚ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨯}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨍}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨯𐨍}}</span> || align=left | The vowel modifier ''double ring below'' appears in some Central Asian documents with vowels -a and -u.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02364-doublering.pdf|title=L2/02-364: Proposal to add one combining diacritic to the UCS|date=2003-09-29|first1=Andrew|last1=Glass|first2=Stefan|last2=Baums|first3=Richard|last3=Salomon}}</ref> Its precise phonetic function is unknown.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨎}}</span> || ṃ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨀}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨎}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨀𐨎}}</span> || align=left | An anusvara indicates nasalization of the vowel or a nasal segment following the vowel. It can be used with -a, -i, -u, -r̥, -e, and -o.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨏}}</span> || ḥ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨏}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐𐨏}}</span> || align=left | A visarga indicates the unvoiced syllable-final /h/. It can also be used as a vowel length marker. Visarga is used with -a, -i, -u, -r̥, -e, and -o.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨸}}</span> || ◌̄ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨗}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨸}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨗𐨸}}</span>  || align=left | A ''bar above'' a consonant can be used to indicate various modified pronunciations depending on the consonant, such as nasalization or aspiration. It is used with k, ṣ, g, c, j, n, m, ś, ṣ, s, and h.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨹}}</span> || {{nobr|◌́ or ◌̱ }} || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨒}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨹}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨒𐨹}}</span> || align=left |  The ''cauda'' changes how consonants are pronounced in various ways, particularly fricativization.  It is used with g, j,  ḍ, t, d, p, y, v, ś, and s.
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨺}}</span> || ◌̣ || align=center | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨨}}</span> + <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨺}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨨𐨺}}</span> || align=left | The precise phonetic function of the ''dot below'' is unknown.  It is used with m and h.
|-
| rowspan=5 | <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨿}}</span> || rowspan=5 | (n/a) || || align="left" | A virama is used to suppress the inherent vowel that otherwise occurs with every consonant letter. Its effect varies based on situation:
|-
| align=center | &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨢}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨁}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨿}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨢𐨁𐨐𐨿}}</span> || align="left" |When not followed by a consonant the virama causes the preceding consonant to be written as a subscript to the left of the letter before that consonant.<br> 
|-
| align=center | &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨿}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨮}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐𐨿𐨮}}</span>
| rowspan=3  align=left |When the virama is followed by another consonant, it will trigger a combined form consisting of two or more consonants.<br>This may be a ligature, a special combining form, or a combining full form depending on the consonants involved.<br>The result takes into account any other combining marks.
|-
| align=center | &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨯}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨿}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨩}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨯𐨿𐨩}}</span>
|-
| align=center | &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨿}}</span> + &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨟}}</span> → &lrm;<span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐨐𐨿𐨟}}</span>
|}

==Punctuation==

Nine Kharosthi punctuation marks have been identified:<ref name="L203314R2"/>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Sign !! Description !! Sign !! Description !! Sign !! Description
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩐}}</span> || align=left | dot || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩓}}</span> || align=left | crescent bar || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩖}}</span> || align=left | danda
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩑}}</span> || align=left | small circle || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩔}}</span> || align=left | mangalam || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩗}}</span> || align=left | double danda
|-
| <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩒}}</span> || align=left | circle || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩕}}</span> || align=left | lotus || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩘}}</span> || align=left | lines
|}

==Numerals==
Kharosthi included a set of numerals that are reminiscent of [[Roman numerals]].{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} The system is based on an additive and a multiplicative principle, but does not have the subtractive feature used in the Roman numeral system.<ref>Graham Flegg, ''Numbers: Their History and Meaning'', Courier Dover Publications, 2002, {{ISBN|978-0-486-42165-0}}, p. 67f.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Numerals<ref name="L203314R2"/>
|-
! Value !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 10 !! 20 !! 100 !! 1000
|-
| Image || [[File:Kharosthi 1.svg|18px]] || 18px || 18px || 18px || 18px || 18px || 18px || [[File:Kharosthi 1000.svg|18px]]
|-
| Text || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩀}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩁}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩂}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩃}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩄}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩅}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩆}}</span> || <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩇}}</span>
|}

The numerals, like the letters, are written from right to left. There is no zero and no separate signs for the digits 5–9.  Numbers in Kharosthi use an additive system.
For example, the number 1996 would be written as 1000 4 4 1 100 20 20 20 20 10 4 2 (image: {{nobr|[[File:Kharosthi 2a.svg|18px]]18px18px18px18px18px18px18px18px18px18px[[File:Kharosthi 1000.svg|18px]],}} text: <span lang="xx-Khar">{{huge|𐩇𐩃𐩃𐩀𐩆𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩅𐩄𐩃𐩁}}</span>).
 
{{clear}}

==Unicode==

{{Main|Kharoshthi (Unicode block)}}

Kharosthi was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in March, 2005 with the release of version 4.1.

The Unicode block for Kharosthi is U+10A00–U+10A5F:


==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi
File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi 01.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi
File:Kharoshti script on a wooden plate, National Museum, New Delhi 02.jpg|Kharosthi script on a wooden plate in the National Museum of India in New Delhi
File:Kharosthi script on wood, Niya, 3rd century AD - National Musem, New Delhi - IMG 2216.JPG|Kharosthi script on wood from Niya, 3rd century CE
File:Niya BLH170 OR821114231424 W.jpg|Double-wedged wooden tablet in [[Social:Gāndhārī language|Gandhari]] written in Kharosthi script, 2nd to 4th century CE
File:佉卢文木牍.jpg|Wooden tablet inscribed with Kharosthi characters (2nd–3rd century CE).  Excavated at the Niya ruins in [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]], China. Collection of the Xinjiang Museum.
File:Loulan kharosthi document.jpg|Wooden Kharosthi document found at [[History:Loulan Kingdom|Loulan, China]] by Aurel Stein
File:Fragmentary Buddhist text - Gandhara birchbark scrolls (1st C), part 31 - BL Or. 14915.jpg|Fragmentary Kharosthi Buddhist text on birchbark (Part of a group of early manuscripts from [[Biology:Gandhara|Gandhara]]), first half of 1st century CE.  Collection of the British Library in [[Place:London|London]]
File:MenanderCoin.jpg|Silver bilingual tetradrachm of Menander I (155-130 BCE).  ''Obverse:'' Greek legend, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ (BASILEOS SOTEROS MENANDROU), literally, "Of Saviour King Menander".  ''Reverse:'' Kharosthi legend: MAHARAJA TRATARASA MENADRASA "Saviour King Menander". Athena advancing right, with thunderbolt and shield. [[Place:Taxila|Taxila]] mint mark.
File:KingGurgamoyaKhotan1stCenturyCE.jpg|Coin of King Gurgamoya of [[History:Kingdom of Khotan|Khotan]] (1st century CE).  ''Obverse'': Kharoshthi legend "Of the great king of kings, king of Khotan, Gurgamoya.  ''Reverse'': Chinese legend: "Twenty-four grain copper coin".
File:Coin of Menander Dikaiou.jpg|Coin of Menander II Dikaiou ''Obverse'': Menander wearing a diadem. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ "King Menander the Just".  ''Reverse'': Winged figure bearing diadem and palm, with halo, probably Nike. The Kharoshthi legend reads MAHARAJASA DHARMIKASA MENADRASA "Great King, Menander, follower of the [[Philosophy:Dharma|Dharma]], Menander".
File:Hashtnagar Pedestal Rajar Bodhisattva Gandhara 384 exhib British Museum.jpg|The Indo-Greek Hashtnagar Pedestal symbolizes [[Philosophy:Bodhisattva|bodhisattva]] and ancient Kharosthi script. Found near Rajar in [[Biology:Gandhara|Gandhara]], {{wipe|Pakistan}}. Exhibited at the British Museum in London.
File:Mathura Lion Capital Detail.jpg|Mathura lion capital with addorsed lions and [[Social:Prakrit|Prakrit]] inscriptions in Kharoshthi script
File:Han dynasty Kharoshthi inscription.jpg|Fragments of stone well railings with a Buddhist inscription written in Kharoshthi script (late Han period to the [[History:Three Kingdoms|Three Kingdoms]] era). Discovered at Luoyang, China in 1924.
File:Ashoka edict shahbaz-garhi1.png|Portion of Emperor [[History:Ashoka|Ashoka]]'s Rock Edicts at Shahbaz Garhi
File:Ashoka edict shahbaz-garhi2.png|Portion of Emperor Ashoka's Rock Edicts at Shahbaz Garhi
File:Document on Wooden Tablet written in Kharosthi Script (cropped).jpg|Document on Wooden Stick written in Kharoshthi script, 3rd-4th century CE.  
</gallery>

==See also==
*Brahmi
*History of Afghanistan
*History of Pakistan
*[[Social:Pre-Islamic scripts in Afghanistan|Pre-Islamic scripts in Afghanistan]]

==Further reading==
*[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_r2ctAAAAYAAJ Kaschgar und die Kharoṣṭhī (1903)]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[File:ISO 639 Icon pra.svg|thumb|right|180px|Icon for Wikipedia links to pages in the Prakrit Languages]]

==Further reading==
*Dani, Ahmad Hassan. ''Kharoshthi Primer'', Lahore Museum Publication Series – 16, Lahore, 1979
*Falk, Harry. ''Schrift im alten Indien: Ein Forschungsbericht mit Anmerkungen'', Gunter Narr Verlag, 1993 (in German)
*Fussman's, Gérard. ''Les premiers systèmes d'écriture en Inde'', in Annuaire du Collège de France 1988–1989 (in French)
*Hinüber, Oscar von. ''Der Beginn der Schrift und frühe Schriftlichkeit in Indien'', Franz Steiner Verlag, 1990 (in German)
*Nasim Khan, M.(1997).	Ashokan Inscriptions: A Palaeographical Study. Atthariyyat (Archaeology), Vol. I, pp.&nbsp;131–150. Peshawar
*Nasim Khan, M.(1999). Two Dated Kharoshthi Inscriptions from Gandhara. Journal of Asian Civilizations (Journal of Central Asia), Vol. XXII, No.1, July 1999: 99–103.
*Nasim Khan, M.(2000).  An Inscribed Relic-Casket from Dir. The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. V, No. 1, March 1997: 21–33. Peshawar
*Nasim Khan, M.(2000). Kharoshthi Inscription from Swabi – Gandhara. The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. V, No. 2. September 1997: 49–52. Peshawar.
*Nasim Khan, M.(2004). Kharoshthi Manuscripts from Gandhara. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. XII, Nos. 1 & 2 (2004): 9–15. Peshawar
*Nasim Khan, M.(2009). Kharoshthi Manuscripts from Gandhara (2nd ed.. First published in 2008.
* {{cite journal |last1=Norman |first1=Kenneth R. |title=The development of writing in India and its effect upon the Pāli canon |journal=Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens |date=1992 |volume=36 |pages=239–249 |jstor=24010823 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=New Evidence for a Gāndhārī Origin of the Arapacana Syllabary |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1990 |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=255–273 |doi=10.2307/604529 |jstor=604529 }}
* {{cite journal |id={{Gale|A14474853}} |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=An additional note on Aracapana |journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1 April 1993 |volume=113 |issue=2 |pages=275–277 |doi=10.2307/603034 |jstor=603034 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |chapter=Kharoṣṭhī syllables used as location markers in Gāndhāran stūpa architecture |pages=181–224 |editor1-last=Faccenna |editor1-first=Domenico |title=Architetti, Capomastri, Artigiani: L'organizzazione Dei Cantieri E Della Produzione Artistica Nell'Asia Ellenistica : Studi Offerti a Domenico Faccenna Nel Suo Ottantesimo Compleanno |date=2006 |publisher=Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente |isbn=978-88-85320-36-9 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=On the Origin of the Early Indian Scripts |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1995 |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=271–279 |id={{ProQuest|217141859}} |doi=10.2307/604670 |jstor=604670 }}

==External links==
*[https://gandhari.org Gandhari.org] Catalog and Corpus of all known Kharoṣṭhī (Gāndhārī) texts
*[http://www.indoskript.org Indoskript 2.0], a paleographic database of Brahmi and Kharosthi
*[https://gandhari.org/tmp/glass_2000.pdf A Preliminary Study of Kharoṣṭhī Manuscript Paleography] by Andrew Glass, University of Washington (2000)


[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]

{{Sourceattribution|Kharosthi}}