| Karani script Karaṇī akṣara କରଣି ଅକ୍ଷର | |
|---|---|
 Karani script sample from Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha | |
| Script type | |
Period | c. 1700 - 1900s CE[1] |
| Languages | Odia language |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | Odia script (cursive style)
|
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
Karani orChhata was ahandwrittencursivewriting system historically used to write theOdia language[2][3][4] primarily for court, land, temple and accounting records, and other administrative purposes.[5] Karani was quite different from[6] theprinted form, theOdia script, which replaced it.[5] Karani gradually became unintelligible to the readers of the latter.[7] Thewriters historically belonged to theKaran caste group who were designated to use Karani.[5] The script was used in the Odia-speaking regions duringBritish Raj including theOrissa Tributary States. Both the names "karani" and "karana" are derived from "karani", a metalstylus used for writing on palm leaf.[8][9] Historical records from mid-eighteenth century were written in this script.[10] Karani was written both on palm leaves and paper. Bhoimuls (Accountants) ofKhurda Kingdom primarily used Karani script for writing and preparing documents for administrative purposes.[11]
Karani is often explained as "karaninabaja" or "chhata", a "running" script with mistakes introduced by theKaranas, making it less standard. The script also did not use spaces between words and lacked punctuations, both allowing the writers to write fast, but making it hard to decipher later.[12]
| Vowel Letter | Diacritic forms |
|---|---|
| For the vowelଇ (short i), the standard Odia diacritic form isି. Eg- For consonantକ (ka) -କି (ki) But for these consonants -ଖ (kha),ଥ (tha),ଧ (dha), the equivalentଇ diacritic from Karani script is also used. | ଖି (khi) ଥି (thi) ଧି (dhi) |
