Siddhaṃ script
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Siddham script Siddhaṃ 𑖭𑖰𑖟𑖿𑖠𑖽 | |
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Script type | |
Time period | c. late 6th century[1]–c. 1200 CE[note 1] |
Direction | Left-to-right |
Languages | Sanskrit |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | |
Sister systems | Sharada,[2][3][5]Tibetan,[4]Kalinga,Bhaiksuki |
ISO 15924 | |
ISO 15924 | Sidd(302),Siddham, Siddhaṃ, Siddhamātṛkā |
Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Siddham |
U+11580–U+115FF Final Accepted Script Proposal | |
Brahmic scripts |
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TheBrahmi scriptand its descendants |
Siddhaṃ(alsoSiddhāṃ[7]), also known in its later evolved form asSiddhamātṛkā,[8]is a medievalBrahmic abugida,derived from theGupta scriptand ancestral to theNāgarī,Eastern Nagari,Tirhuta,OdiaandNepalesescripts.[9]
The wordSiddhaṃmeans "accomplished" or "perfected" inSanskrit.The script received its name from the practice of writingSiddhaṃ,orSiddhaṃ astu(may there be perfection), at the head of documents. Other names for the script includebonji(Japanese:Phạn tự) lit. "Brahma's characters "and" Sanskrit script "andChinese:Tất đàm văn tự;pinyin:Xītán wénzilit. "Siddhaṃ script".
History
[edit]TheSiddhamscript evolved from the Gupta Brahmi script in the late 6th century CE.[1]
ManyBuddhist textstaken to China along theSilk Roadwere written using a version of theSiddhaṃscript. This continued to evolve, and minor variations are seen across time, and in different regions. Importantly, it was used for transmitting the Buddhisttantratexts. At the time it was considered important to preserve the pronunciation of mantras, and Chinese was not suitable for writing the sounds of Sanskrit. This led to the retention of theSiddhaṃscript in East Asia. The practice of writing usingSiddhaṃsurvived in East Asia where Tantric Buddhism persisted.
Kūkaiintroduced theSiddhaṃscript to Japan when he returned from China in 806, where he studied Sanskrit withNalanda-trained monks including one known as Prajñā (Chinese:Bàn Nhược Tam Tạng;pinyin:Bōrě Sāncáng;734–c. 810). By the time Kūkai learned this script, the trading and pilgrimage routes over land to India had been closed by the expandingAbbasid Caliphate.[10]
In the middle of the 9th century, China experienced aseries of purgesof "foreign religions", thus cutting Japan off from the sources ofSiddhaṃtexts. In time, other scripts, particularlyDevanagari,replacedSiddhaṃin India, whileSiddhaṃ's northeastern derivative calledGaudievolved to become theEastern Nagari,Tirhuta,Odiaand also theNepalesescripts in the eastern andnortheasternregions ofSouth Asia,[11][12]leaving East Asia as the only region whereSiddhaṃis still used.
There were special forms of Siddhaṃ used in Korea that varied significantly from those used in China and Japan, and there is evidence that Siddhaṃ was written inCentral Asia,as well, by the early 7th century.
As was done with Chinese characters, Japanese Buddhist scholars sometimes created multiple characters with the same phonological value to add meaning to Siddhaṃ characters. This practice, in effect, represents a 'blend' of the Chinese style of writing and the Indian style of writing and allows Sanskrit texts in Siddhaṃ to be differentially interpreted as they are read, as was done with Chinese characters that the Japanese had adopted. This led to multiple variants of the same characters.[13]
Characteristics
[edit]Siddhaṃis anabugidarather than anAlpha bet,as each character indicates a syllable, including a consonant and (possibly) a vowel. If the vowel sound is not explicitly indicated, the short 'a' is assumed. Diacritic marks are used to indicate other vowels, as well as theanusvaraandvisarga.Aviramacan be used to indicate that the consonant letter stands alone with no vowel, which sometimes happens at the end of Sanskrit words.
Siddhaṃ texts were usually written from left to right then top to bottom, as with other Brahmic scripts, but occasionally they were written in the traditional Chinese style, from top to bottom then right to left. Bilingual Siddhaṃ-Japanese texts show the manuscript turned 90 degrees clockwise and the Japanese is written from top to bottom, as is typical of Japanese, and then the manuscript is turned back again, and the Siddhaṃ writing is continued from left to right (the resulting Japanese characters appear sideways).
Over time, additional markings were developed, including punctuation marks, head marks, repetition marks, end marks, special ligatures to combine conjuncts and rarely to combine syllables, and several ornaments of the scribe's choice, which are not currently encoded. Thenuqtais also used in some modern Siddhaṃ texts.
Vowels
[edit]Independent form Romanized As diacritic with Independent form Romanized As diacritic with 𑖆 ṛ 𑖎𑖴 𑖇 ṝ 𑖎𑖵 𑖈 ḷ 𑖉 ḹ
Consonants
[edit]Stop Approximant Fricative Tenuis Aspirated Voiced Breathy voiced Nasal Glottal 𑖮h Velar 𑖎k 𑖏kh 𑖐g 𑖑gh 𑖒ṅ Palatal 𑖓c 𑖔ch 𑖕j 𑖖jh 𑖗ñ 𑖧y 𑖫ś Retroflex 𑖘ṭ 𑖙ṭh 𑖚ḍ 𑖛ḍh 𑖜ṇ 𑖨r 𑖬ṣ Dental 𑖝t 𑖞th 𑖟d 𑖠dh 𑖡n 𑖩l 𑖭s Bilabial 𑖢p 𑖣ph 𑖤b 𑖥bh 𑖦m Labiodental 𑖪v
Conjuncts
[edit]kkṣ -ya -ra -la -va -ma -na 𑖎k 𑖎𑖿𑖧kya 𑖎𑖿𑖨kra 𑖎𑖿𑖩kla 𑖎𑖿𑖪kva 𑖎𑖿𑖦kma 𑖎𑖿𑖡kna 𑖨𑖿𑖎rk 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖧rkya 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖨rkra 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖩rkla 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖪rkva 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖦rkma 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖿𑖡rkna 𑖏kh total 68 rows.
- ↑ The combinations that contain adjoining duplicate letters should be deleted in this table.
𑖒𑖿𑖎ṅka 𑖒𑖿𑖏ṅkha 𑖒𑖿𑖐ṅga 𑖒𑖿𑖑ṅgha 𑖗𑖿𑖓ñca 𑖗𑖿𑖔ñcha 𑖗𑖿𑖕ñja 𑖗𑖿𑖖ñjha 𑖜𑖿𑖘ṇṭa 𑖜𑖿𑖙ṇṭha 𑖜𑖿𑖚ṇḍa 𑖜𑖿𑖛ṇḍha 𑖡𑖿𑖝nta 𑖡𑖿𑖞ntha 𑖡𑖿𑖟nda 𑖡𑖿𑖠ndha 𑖦𑖿𑖢mpa 𑖦𑖿𑖣mpha 𑖦𑖿𑖤mba 𑖦𑖿𑖥mbha
- Alternative forms of conjuncts that containṇ.
ṛ syllables
[edit]Some sample syllables
[edit]𑖨𑖿𑖎rka 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖯rkā 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖰rki 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖱rkī 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖲rku 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖳rkū 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖸rke 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖹rkai 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖺rko 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖻rkau 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖽rkaṃ 𑖨𑖿𑖎𑖾rkaḥ 𑖒𑖿𑖎ṅka 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖯ṅkā 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖰ṅki 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖱ṅkī 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖲ṅku 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖳ṅkū 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖸ṅke 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖹ṅkai 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖺ṅko 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖻ṅkau 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖽ṅkaṃ 𑖒𑖿𑖎𑖾ṅkaḥ
Usage
[edit]InJapan,the writing ofmantrasand copying/reading ofsutrasusing theSiddhaṃscript is still practiced in the esoteric schools ofShingon BuddhismandTendaias well as in the syncretic sect ofShugendō.The characters are known asBonji(Phạn tự,Chinese:Fànzì)orshittan(Tất đàm).TheTaishō Tripiṭakaversion of theChinese Buddhist canonpreserves theSiddhaṃcharacters for most mantras, and Korean Buddhists still writebījasin a modified form ofSiddhaṃ.A recent innovation is the writing of Japanese language slogans on T-shirts using Bonji. JapaneseSiddhaṃhas evolved from the original script used to write sūtras and is now somewhat different from the ancient script.[14][15][16]
It is typical to seeSiddhaṃwritten with a brush, as with Chinese writing; it is also written with a bamboo pen. In Japan, a special brush called abokuhitsu(Phác bút,Cantonese:pokbat)is used for formalSiddhaṃcalligraphy. The informal style is known as "fude"(Bút,Cantonese: "moubat" ).
Siddhaṃ fonts
[edit]Siddhaṃis still largely a hand written script. Some efforts have been made to create computer fonts, though to date none of these are capable of reproducing all of theSiddhaṃconjunct consonants. Notably, theChinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Associationhas created aSiddhaṃfont for their electronic version of the TaishoTripiṭaka,though this does not contain all possible conjuncts. The softwareMojikyoalso contains fonts for Siddhaṃ, but split Siddhaṃ in different blocks and requires multiple fonts to render a single document.
ASiddhaṃinput system which relies on the CBETA font Siddhamkey 3.0 has been produced.
Unicode
[edit]Siddhaṃ script was added to theUnicodeStandard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.
The Unicode block for Siddhaṃ is U+11580–U+115FF:
Siddham[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart(PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
U+1158x | 𑖀 | 𑖁 | 𑖂 | 𑖃 | 𑖄 | 𑖅 | 𑖆 | 𑖇 | 𑖈 | 𑖉 | 𑖊 | 𑖋 | 𑖌 | 𑖍 | 𑖎 | 𑖏 |
U+1159x | 𑖐 | 𑖑 | 𑖒 | 𑖓 | 𑖔 | 𑖕 | 𑖖 | 𑖗 | 𑖘 | 𑖙 | 𑖚 | 𑖛 | 𑖜 | 𑖝 | 𑖞 | 𑖟 |
U+115Ax | 𑖠 | 𑖡 | 𑖢 | 𑖣 | 𑖤 | 𑖥 | 𑖦 | 𑖧 | 𑖨 | 𑖩 | 𑖪 | 𑖫 | 𑖬 | 𑖭 | 𑖮 | 𑖯 |
U+115Bx | 𑖰 | 𑖱 | 𑖲 | 𑖳 | 𑖴 | 𑖵 | 𑖸 | 𑖹 | 𑖺 | 𑖻 | 𑖼 | 𑖽 | 𑖾 | 𑖿 | ||
U+115Cx | 𑗀 | 𑗁 | 𑗂 | 𑗃 | 𑗄 | 𑗅 | 𑗆 | 𑗇 | 𑗈 | 𑗉 | 𑗊 | 𑗋 | 𑗌 | 𑗍 | 𑗎 | 𑗏 |
U+115Dx | 𑗐 | 𑗑 | 𑗒 | 𑗓 | 𑗔 | 𑗕 | 𑗖 | 𑗗 | 𑗘 | 𑗙 | 𑗚 | 𑗛 | 𑗜 | 𑗝 | ||
U+115Ex | ||||||||||||||||
U+115Fx | ||||||||||||||||
Notes |
Gallery
[edit]This is a gallery of example usages of the Siddham script.
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A reproduction of thepalm-leaf manuscript inSiddham script,originally held atHōryū-jiTemple, Japan; now located in the Tokyo National Museum at the Gallery of Hōryū—ji Treasure. The original copy may be the earliest extant Sanskrit manuscript of theHeart Sutradated to the 7th–8th century CE. It also contains the Sanskrit text of theUṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtraand the final line shows the Siddhaṃ abugida.[17]
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Chinese use of the Siddhaṃ script for the Pratisara mantra, from theLater Tang.927 CE
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Chinese use of the Siddhaṃ script for the Mahāpratyaṅgirā mantra. 971 CE
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Mirror with bijaksharas,Miyajima
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A stone inscription of the BuddhistUṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī SūtraatAsakusa Templein Tokyo using Siddham script.
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Siddhaṃ Alpha bet byKūkai(774–835)
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A Buddhist altar in Kawasaki, Japan showing a devotional mantra inscribed in Siddham toShakyamuniBuddha with Japanese pronunciation guide
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Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtrawritten inkatakana,Siddhaṃ scripts andkanji.This book was published in 1773 in Japan.
Notes
[edit]- ^Its usage survives into the modern period for liturgical purposes in Japan and Korea.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abSingh, Upinder (2008).A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century.Delhi: Pearson. p. 43.ISBN9788131716779.
- ^abhttps://archive.org/details/epigraphyindianepigraphyrichardsalmonoup_908_D/mode/2up,p39-41[dead link]
- ^abMalatesha Joshi, R.; McBride, Catherine (11 June 2019).Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography.Springer.ISBN9783030059774.
- ^abDaniels, P.T. (January 2008). "Writing systems of major and minor languages".
{{cite journal}}
:Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^abcMasica, Colin (1993).The Indo-Aryan languages.p. 143.
- ^Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride (2019), p. 27.
- ^"Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary 1899 Basic".sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de.Retrieved2023-05-24.
- ^Rajan, Vinodh; Sharma, Shriramana (2012-06-28)."L2/12-221: Comments on naming the" Siddham "encoding"(PDF).Retrieved2014-08-19.
- ^"Devanagari: Development, Amplification, and Standardisation".Central Hindi Directorate, Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, Govt. of India. 3 April 1977.Retrieved3 April2018– via Google Books.
- ^Pandey, Anshuman (2012-08-01)."N4294: Proposal to Encode the Siddham Script in ISO/IEC 10646"(PDF).Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2.
- ^Salomon, Richard (1998).Indian Epigraphy.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-535666-3.
- ^Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019)
- ^Kawabata, Taichi; Suzuki, Toshiya; Nagasaki, Kiyonori; Shimoda, Masahiro (2013-06-11)."N4407R: Proposal to Encode Variants for Siddham Script"(PDF).Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2.
- ^SM Dine, 2012,Sanskrit Beyond Text: The Use of Bonji (Siddham) in Mandala and Other Imagery in Ancient and Medieval Japan,University of Washington.
- ^Siddhaṃ: the perfect script.
- ^Buddhism guide: Shingon.
- ^e-museum 2018Ink on pattra (palmyra leaves used for writing upon) ink on paper Heart Sutra: 4.9x28.0 Dharani: 4.9x27.9/10.0x28.3 Late Gupta period/7–8th century Tokyo National Museum N-8.
Sources
[edit]- Bonji Taikan( Phạn tự đại giam ). (Tōkyō: Meicho Fukyūkai, 1983)
- Chaudhuri, Saroj Kumar (1998).Siddham in China and Japan,Sino-Platonic papers No. 88
- e-Museum, National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties of National Museums, Japan (2018),"Sanskrit Version of Heart Sutra and Viyaya Dharani",e-Museum
{{citation}}
:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Stevens, John.Sacred Calligraphy of the East.(Boston, MA: Shambala, 1995.)
- Van Gulik, R.H.Siddham: An Essay on the History of Sanskrit Studies in China and Japan(New Delhi, Jayyed Press, 1981).
- Yamasaki, Taikō.Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.(Fresno: Shingon Buddhist International Institute, 1988.)
- Chandra, Lokesh (1965)Sanskrit bījas and mantras in Japan,New Delhi, International Academy of Indian Culture, BQ5125.B5 A75 1965
External links
[edit]- Fonts:
- Noto Sans Siddhamfrom theNoto fontsproject
- Muktamsiddham—Free Unicode Siddham font
- ApDevaSiddham—(Japanese) Free Unicode 8.0 Siddham Font (mirror)
- Siddham Alpha bet on Omniglot
- Examples of Siddham mantrasChinese language website.
- Visible Mantraan extensive collection of mantras and some sūtras in Siddhaṃ script
- Bonji SiddhamCharacter and Pronunciation
- SiddhamKeySoftware for inputting Siddham characters