The Question of Script for Sambalpuri.
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Western Orissa Map |
By: BISHWA PRAKASH MISHRA
Edited: Pryank Wadhera
Introduction:
The Sambalpuri language and culture have been deeply revolutionized with the emergence of greatest talents, in the form of literature, fine art, handicraft, music, food & even in the film. Not only in national sphere but also in the international platform, the Art & Artists of West Odisha have earned much name and fame. Despite all this, the Sambalpuri language still struggles to include in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. But to the question, which has been a matter of debate since long among various scholars, grammarians and historians that what is the script of Sambalpuri? Or what would be the script for Sambalpuri? We all know that now the Sambalpuri language is still written in Odia script and because of the Separate Kosal State movement, the people of Kosal do not want their language to be written in Odia script. Rather, they want even a separate & sound script for the spoken Sambalpuri language in order to fully read and write it.
As the question of Script for Sambalpuri has arisen, many scholars came forward to hold their views. Some said to use Devanagari script instead of Odia. Some say to retain the Odia script because people are habituated with it & would find it difficult to express themselves by an alien script. Some experts also opined to use Roman scripts like some of the North-East Indian tribes. And the opinions and views go on and on. But to decide what is befitting for Sambalpuri, a short sketch of the History of Languages & Scripts in India; must be peeped into.
History of Languages and Scripts:
The Indus Valley Script is considered as the oldest known script of India. After that, we find two scripts, i.e. - Brahmi Script & Kharosthi Script. These two scripts emerged from Sami Script. The Sam Veda was written with this Sami script. But now this script is almost impossible to find. Kharosthi or Kharaprusthi script has been found at Shahbazgarhi & Mansehra in Pakistan. This script extended from the North-west of India to Arabia. Experts have named it indifferently, i.e.- Baktiyan, Kabulian, Aryan etc. But it well-known as Kharosti or Kharaprustthi. Khara means a Donkey and Prusha means surface, but here it is donkey's Skin. The script was written on the skin of donkey, that's why it is called Kharaprusthi or Kharosti.
The rest of India except North-western part, whether East or West or the South, was using Brahmi script. It is believed that Brahmi script was originated from Lord Brahma. After Lord Rama, his twin sons Lava & Kusa ruled over the larger Kosala Empire. The language was Kosali (not to be confused with Sambalpuri-Kosli) and the script was Brahmi, which continued until the Age of Buddha. Even during the reign of Emperor Asoka, Kosali was the state language and the Brahmi script was written from left to right chronologically, one by one. Thus, it was since called the "Pali Script". In present Kosli (The word “Pali” as in Sambalpuri means sequence, came to practice in this part of India, as it was also a part of Magadha) language, Pali means a chronological or a sequential order. Hence, the Kosali language was written in Pali script and thus called as Pali language. Scholars like Rhys Davids, Dr Ramkumar Verma, Bholanath Tiwari, Charuchandra Basu, Prof. P. L. Vaidya, Prof. Dr Kunj Bihari Tripathy and others have strongly supported this view.
"The Poli of the canonical books is based on that standard Kosal vernacular as spoken in the 6th and 7th centuries B.C." (Rhys Davids - Forewords to the P.T.S. Dictionary 1921.)
Bholanath Tiwari in his Hindi work "Bhashavigyan" remarks that" Is Kaal ki pratineedhi bhasha Pali, aur Maharaja Ashok ki Prakrit hai; jinka namuna Ashok ki Dammi lipiyon mei ebam Pali grantho mei milta hai. Windis, Geiger, Rhys Davids aadi vidwan Pali ko uss samay ki Rastrabhasha maante hein. Sadharantah yah Ardha-Magadhi Prasesh ki boli mani jati hai par iska gathan par vichar karne par - Windis aadi vidwano ki baatein hi thik gyat hoti hai." Thus, Pali was the counterpart of Kosali.”
So whatever might be, it is beyond doubt that the script of Pali was derived from Brahmi. And this script was changed into various styles and usages after the disintegration of the large Kosala Empire. In South India, it bore many scripts such as Pashchimi, Madhyadeshi, Kannada, Kalingi etc.On the other hand, Kharosti script extended towards North-Western India and developed many other scripts like Persian, Arabic-Urdu and Armenian etc. In Indian mainland, The Brahmi script developed in two styles, i.e.- Uttari (Northern) and Dakshini (Southern). The Uttari style gave birth to the Devanagari script, whereas the Dakshini style bore Naandinagari script. According to historians, from Naandinagari, scripts of modern south Indian languages emerged and from Devanagari, scripts of many North & East Indian languages were born.
With the up & down influences of the Nagari scripts, some regions were raised out with their own ancient scripts. In course of time, when the large Kosal empire disintegrated and reduced as Dakshina Kosala (South Kosal) containing some portions of present Chhattisgarh, Western Odisha and some territories of Ganjam district; the Pali language of Asokan era was also declined and became a mere regional dialect. Once Pali used to be the state language of India since the time of Asoka and further went to foreign countries for preaching Buddhist sermons, now it reduced to various regional dialects where the influences can be found in them or dialectical influence can be found in Pali/Prakrit texts. But 50 dohas are written by 25 Buddhist Siddhachayas in 7th and 8th century. Few among them are Luipa, Sabaripa, Kanhupa, Bhusku-paada. The dohas are called Charjageeti . Because of the transitional period in deviation from Prakruta one can find a congregation of Odiya, Bengali, Assamise, Maithili words and even Sambalpuri, the language of Western Odisha and few areas of Chattishgarh spoken by one and half crores of people. Few words are - Adh Raati, Andhari, Khumbaa, Khunti, Gunjri Mali,Gharen, Aamhen, Tumhen, Haate, Paasen,Dihen, Parke(to others),Maarmi, Bujhsi,Haandi , Duli, Meli, Tohar ,Uncha, Daari, Gohal (guhal) , Bhusku, Je (whoever),Paara-a (you can), Aagli (advance),Ja-Ja (go-go),Baanjhi (issueless mother) Bujhsi (can understand), Helen (if happens) etc.
To Question of Script:
So, the disintegration of Kosala Empire, its language also reduced to a small region which is presently comprised of the portion of Chhattisgarh & West Orissa. During this period, famous Buddhist philosopher & well-known Chemist, Nagarjuna established a Buddhist University in this territory. According to the accounts of the great Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, the Buddhist University was situated on the top of the mountain Po-lo-mo-lo-ki-li or Parimalagiri. The Parimalgiri has been safely assigned by the scholars as the mountain Gandhagiri or Gandhamardhan situated in the Padampur sub-division of Bargarh district. Historians also remark that the ruins of that Buddhist University still could be found, but no further archaeological works have been conducted due to heavy Naxalite activities.
Anyway, Nagarjuna was a follower of sacred Madhyamakavatara texts & used to teach his disciples with a new script, which was evolved from the old Devanagari script. This script, however, was written in such a circular style, just like flowers; hence the very script was called then the Pushpa Lipi (Script). Nagarjuna was a well-known Chemist of ancient India. He was the first man to discover & told the world that Mercury is a liquid metal. Nagarjuna's Madhyamakavatara generated a new sect, besides the Hinayana & Mahayana. It was the "Bajrayana" & later, another popular sect of Buddhism was developed by the then King of Sambalaka (modern Sambalpur) Indrabhuti & his sister as well as the Queen of Sonepur Lakshmikara.
Mahamahopadhyaya Hara Prasad Shastri collected some Pothis of Charyapada which says that Kosli was written with Pushpa script in the South Kosal. And now this script has been claiming by both Bengali and Odia people. At the beginning, there were two scripts evolved out of Devanagari, i.e.- Sharada & Kutila scripts. When these scripts were written in a circular pattern like flowers, it became popular as the Pushpa Lipi or Script. The inscription has been found in the Narsingnath temple of Bargarh at the feet of Gandhamadhan mountain, is dated 14th March 1413 AD & it has been confirmed by many archaeologists and scholars like D.R. Bhandarkar. It was written in that same Pushpa script which is now called the proto-Oriya script. Eminent Historian of Odisha, Sri Satyanarayan Rajguru in his odia book "Odia Lipira Kramabikasa (Development of Oriya Script)" described the proto-Oriya script as "Kosalotkala Lipi". Rajguru didn't write it as just "Kosli" script, rather to see its massive usage in Oriya language & to quench "his" regional attachment, he added Utkal to this Kosli script and thus wrote the "Kosalo'tkala Lipi/Script". But this so-called Kosalo'tkala script has not only found in the Kosal region but also it was developed in the Kosal territory, could never be disapproved by any experts.
Now, the recent research works conduct by the experts of both individual & academic fields have proved that, with the shifting of capital Jajati Nagar (Jakati of Boudh district) to new Jajati Nagar (Jajpur district) by the Somavamsi emperor Janmejaya (850-885 BCE), the language, script & culture also shifted to the Coastal area & expanded further to remote islands like Java & Bali. Farther, Sarala Das hadn't written his famous Mahabharata in Odia until the later half of the 15th Century AD. Till that period, Odia was a mere spoken language, just like Sambalpuri right now. After the narration of Sarala Das in this Pushpa script was used and it became the sole script of Odia language.
Conclusion:
So, whatever the causes may be, this so-called Kosalotkala script belongs to Kosal region and even experts like Dr Sunit Kumar Chatarjee, Pt. Binayaka Mishra & even Dr, Harekrushna Mahatab support this theory. This so-called KOSALOTKALA script is our own KOSLI SCRIPT, and it would cause no harm reading & writing with it. Further, our people are using this script for 500 years. And they are still using it. Many talented Kosli poets, novelists, dramatists and others have all used this so-called "Odia Script" and earned utmost respect worldwide.
If we borrow another alien script like Hindi-Devanagri or Roman, then it would be very difficult for people of this region to express their emotion and feelings. Because we are not in habit of it, and it would take a very long time to put it into the habit. Pupils would find it very difficult to follow an alien script in their syllabus when they would be forced to forbid their habituated Odia script.
By giving up our own Right of Script, that is Kosli Script or so-called Odia script, it would be the gravest blunder and an act of utter foolishness. Using Roman script has its own demerits. First, it is a foreign and unknown to us. Secondly, many Philologists according to its Hermetic & Semitic nature, have described the Roman script as an Infinite/Incomplete script. It cannot express all sounds & its own letters bear different sounds which can't fit with our Kosli language. Thus, using the Roman script is not only create difficulties but also cannot contain our linguistic value.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with using our own Kosli script for our own Sambalpuri language. Rather we should fight for our Right to Kosli script and we should go ahead. And this would be, I believe, the end to all controversies and will usher a new paradigm for liberty, equality and fraternity.
Jai Maa Maati, Jai Hind!
References:- 1. "Kosli Bhasar Lipi", 2nd Edn. of Kosal Katha, Nov. 2012 - Namajagya Mishra 2. Charyapadagitika 3. Bhashavigyan - Bholanath Tiwari 4. History of Orissa - Dr N. K. Sahoo 5. History of Orissa - Dr H. K. Mahtab 6. Balangir District Gazetteers - 1968.
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