Prachalit Nepal 𑐥𑑂𑐬𑐔𑐮𑐶𑐟 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑐮‎[1]
The word 'Prachalit Nepal' in Prachalit Nepal script
Script type	Abugida
Period	10th–20th century
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Nepal Bhasa,Sanskrit,Maithili
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic script Phoenician alphabet Aramaic script Brāhmī Gupta Siddham Gaudi[2] Nepalese Prachalit Nepal
Sister systems	Ranjana Bhujimol
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Newa(333), ​Newa, Newar, Newari, Nepāla lipi
Unicode
Unicode alias	Newa
Unicode range	U+11400–U+1147F

Prachalit, also known asNewa,Newar,Newari,Nepal lipi orNepalakshar is a type ofabugida script developed from theNepalese scripts, which are a part of the family ofBrahmic scripts descended fromBrahmi script. It is used to writeNepal Bhasa,Maithili, andSanskrit languages. Various publications are still published in this script including theSikkim Herald the bulletin of theSikkim government (Newari edition).^[1]

The word "Prachalit" comes fromSanskrit language, which means popular. The Prachalit script was one of the most widely used script among all of the scripts used inNepal, with majority ofmanuscripts andinscription written in it, hence it is called Prachalit lipi, meaning popular script.^[3]

The Prachalit script is also known as "Nepalakshar" or "Nepal lipi", which means script ofNepal. This script is also known as "Newa" inNewar language, "Newar" inClassical Newar language and "Newari" inNepali language. Themultilingual stone inscription ofPratap Malla dated to 1654 CE, uses "nevāra ākhala" (Newar script) to refer this script in Classical Newar language.^[4]

The Prachalit script appeared in the inscription of King Shankaradeva at Jaishideval, dated to 920 CE. Similarly, the first coin in Prachalit script appeared on a coin of King Shivadeva (1098–1126 CE). The oldest surviving manuscript of theAbhijnana Shakuntala, dated to the 12th century, was written in this script and is now situated at theAsiatic Society of Bengal.^[5]

Almost all ofMalla dynasty official records and inscription were written in Newar script. It was also used in official documents by early-Shah rulers, as shown by the Nepal-Tibet treaty of 1775, which was written in Prachalit script. Later since 1906, with rise ofRana dynasty, official documents written in Newar script was declared illegal. Since than, the Prachalit script started to replaced byDevanagari script.^[6]

Prachalit Nepal script was added to theUnicode Standard in June, 2016 with the release of version 9.0.

The Unicode block for Prachalit Nepal, called Newa, is U+11400–U+1147F:

• 
  A 11th century manuscript of Devikavacha stotra.
• 
  A 12th century Sanskrit manuscript of theGandavyuha.
• 
  A 14th century manuscript ofVarahamihira'sBrihat Jataka.
• 
  A folio from aAstrology book from 15th century.
• 
  A 17th-century manuscript copy ofRaghuvamsa, currently atCambridge University.
• 
  KingBhupatindra Malla'sNewar language inscription from 1713 CE.
• 
  KingRanajit Malla'sNewar language inscription from 1754 CE.
• 
  The Nepal-Tibet Treaty of 1775 written inNewar language and Prachalit script.
• 
  A manuscript ofSwasthani Bakhan written inNewar language, from 1819 CE.
• 
  A Newar manuscript of glory of Ekadashi, from 1837 CE.

• Nepalese scripts
• Bhujimol script

• Rabison Shakya (2002).Alphabet of the Nepalese Scriptbook. Patan, Nepal.ISBN 99933-34-36-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Covers Prachalit,Ranjana andBhujimol, development, current use, information about and drawings of character formation.
• Hall, Pat (21 September 2012)."Problems with Unicode for Languages Unsupported by Computers"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 16 August 2016. Retrieved24 June 2016.

• ScriptSource page on Prachalit Nepal script
• Fonts for Prachalit,Ranjana andBrahmi scripts
• Noto Sans Newa (GitHub) – aNoto font for Newa

• Newar
• Writing systems of Newar language

• CS1 Nepali-language sources (ne)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from May 2023
• Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes
• Pages with plain IPA
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher