| Classical Nepal Bhasa | |
|---|---|
| Old Newar | |
| पुलाङु नेपाल भास | |
 A manuscript from the 16th century written in Classical Newar. | |
| Native to | Nepal,Bhutan,Tibet,India |
| Era | Developed intoModern Nepal Bhasa in the 19th century |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Early forms | |
| Nepalese scripts:Ranjana script,Prachalit script,Bhujimol scriptLitumol script Other:Brahmi script,Kutila script,Devanagari | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nwc |
| ISO 639-3 | nwc |
| Glottolog | None |
Classical Newar orClassical Nepal Bhasa (Modern Newar:pulāṃ bhāy,'old language') also known asOld Newar, is the vernacular and literary form ofNepal Bhasa used prior to the 19th century.[1] The term is most generally used to describe the form of Nepal Bhasa used in manuscripts and other sources from theMalla dynasty.[1][2][3]
The antiquity of the Newar language is not known. TheSanskrit stone inscriptions from theLicchavi Dynasty contains frequent use ofTibeto-Burman words, especially for proper nouns like names of person, settlements and rivers, suggesting the existence of a vernacularTibeto-Burman language, which is believed to be an early form of the Newar language.[4][5]
The earliest known (dated) document in Nepal Bhasa is called "The Palmleaf from Uku Bahal" which dates back to 1114 AD (235 NS).[6]
- छीन ढाको तृसंघष परिभोग। छु पुलेंग कीत्य बिपार वस्त्र बिवु मिखा तिवु मदुगुन छु सात दुगुनव ल्है
- chīna ḍhākō tr̥saṃghaṣa paribhōga, chu pulēṃga kītya bipāra vastra bivu mikhā tivu maduguna chu sāta dugunava lhai
The language continued growing in the Medieval period, and enjoyed royal patronage. Noted royal writers include Mahindra Malla, Siddhinarsingh Malla, Jagatprakash Malla etc. An example of the language used in that period is provided by lines of Mooldevshashidev written by Jagatprakash Malla which verse describesShiva and the use of a tiger skin as his seat.[7]
- धु छेगुकि पाछाव वाहान
- dhu chēguki pāchāva vāhāna
- तिलहित बिया हिङ लाहाति थाय थायस
- tilahita biyā hiŋa lāhāti thāya thāyasa
This language was the official language of Nepal fromLicchavi era toMalla era of Nepal. Newar words appeared inSanskrit inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley for the first time in the fifth century. The words are names of places, taxes and merchandise indicating that it already existed as a spoken language during theLicchavi period (approximately 400–750 AD).[8] The inscriptions from theLicchavi period includes Newari words. Hence, it indicated that Newari was the common language duringLicchavi dynasty although the official use of the period was Sanskrit, butNepal Bhasa was already in use.[9] The earliest dated stone inscription in Thakuri dynasty is inNewari, datedNepal Sambat 293 (1173 CE).[10]
Classical Nepal Bhasa was introduced in ISO 639-2 code list in 2004.
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A Course in Reading Classical Newari by Felix Otter Heidelberg: CrossAsia, 2021ISBN 978-3-946742-94-4
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