View source for Modi script

{{Short description|Historical script used in the Maratha Empire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}{{Infobox writing system
|name=Mōḍī
|native_name=मोडी / {{Script|Modi|𑘦𑘻𑘚𑘲}}
|sample=Dnyaneshwari_Verse_In_Modi_Script.png
|caption=A verse from the ''[[Dnyaneshwari]]'' in the {{IAST|Mōḍī}} script
|time=c. 1200 or c. 1600&ndash;c. R1950<ref name=ty>{{Cite web |url=http://www.typoday.in/2014/spk_papers14/rajendrathakre-typo14.pdf |title=Reviving the Modi Script |date=28 February 2014 |website=Typoday |last=Bhimraoji |first=Rajendra |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082007/http://www.typoday.in/2014/spk_papers14/rajendrathakre-typo14.pdf |archive-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="prop"/><br /><small>(Two different origin theories)</small>
|type=[[Abugida]]
|fam1=[[Proto-Sinaitic script]]
|fam2=[[Phoenician alphabet]]
|fam3=[[Aramaic alphabet]]
|footnotes=
|fam4=[[Brahmi script|Brahmi]]
|fam5=[[Gupta script|Gupta]]
|fam6=[[Siddhaṃ script|Siddhaṃ]]
|fam7=[[Nāgarī script|Nāgarī]]
|sisters=[[Gujarati alphabet|Gujarati]], [[Kaithi script|Kaithi]], [[Devanagari]], [[Nandinagari]],
[[Gunjala Gondi]]
|languages='''Primary'''<br />[[Marathi language|Marathi]]<br />'''Sometimes'''<br />[[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Hindi]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Kannada]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and [[Sanskrit]]<ref name=ty/><ref name=prop/>
|iso15924=Modi
|unicode=[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U11600.pdf U+11600&ndash;U+1165F]<br />
[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11212r2-n4034-modi.pdf Final&nbsp;Accepted&nbsp;Script&nbsp;Proposal]
|note=none
}}
{{brahmic}}
{{Contains special characters
| special    = uncommon [[Unicode]] characters
| fix        = Help:Multilingual support#Modi
| image      = Replacement character.svg
| link       = Specials (Unicode block)#Replacement character
| alt        = <?>
| compact    = yes
}}

'''Modi''' ({{langx|mr|मोडी}}, 𑘦𑘻𑘚𑘲‎, {{IAST|Mōḍī}}, {{IPA|mr|moːɖiː}})<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&q=%22mudiya+script%22&pg=PA3898 |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Volume V|last=Sahitya |first=Akademi |publisher=Sahitya Akademi New Delhi |year=1992 |isbn=81-260-1221-8 |page=3898}}</ref> is a script used to write the [[Marathi language]], which is the primary language spoken in the state of [[Maharashtra]], [[western India|India]]. There are multiple theories concerning its origin.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 2017 |title=Krishnaji Mhatre – A life dedicated to Modi |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/krishnaji-mhatre-a-life-dedicated-to-modi/articleshow/61192544.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810173220/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/krishnaji-mhatre-a-life-dedicated-to-modi/articleshow/61192544.cms |archive-date=10 August 2020 |access-date=10 August 2020 |website=Mumbai Mirror |language=en}}</ref> The Modi script was used alongside the [[Devanagari|Devanagari script]] to write Marathi until the 20th century when the [[Balbodh]] style of the [[Devanagari|Devanagari script]] was promoted as the standard writing system for Marathi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sohoni |first=Pushkar |date=May 2017 |title=Marathi of a Single Type: The demise of the Modi script |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/marathi-of-a-single-type-the-demise-of-the-modi-script/184EC94C15CF5A58E6CD0CA39A83DB64 |journal=Modern Asian Studies |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=662–685 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X15000542 |s2cid=148081127 |issn=0026-749X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name "Modi''"'' may be derived from the [[Marathi language|Marathi]] verb ''moḍaṇe'' ([[Marathi language|Marathi]]: मोडणे), which means "to bend or break". Modi is believed to be derived from broken Devanagari characters, which lends support to that particular etymology.<ref name=prop>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11212r2-n4034-modi.pdf |title=N4034: Proposal to Encode the Modi Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |first1=Anshuman |last1=Pandey |publisher=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 |date=5 November 2011}}</ref>

== Origin theories ==
=== Hemāḍpant origin theory ===
{{See also|Hemadpant|label 1=Hemāḍpant}}

[[Hemadpant|Hemāḍpant]] was a minister during the reign of Mahadeva<ref name=":1">{{Cite arXiv |eprint=1406.6140 |last1=Kulkarni |first1=Sadanand A |title=Offline Handwritten MODI Character Recognition Using HU, Zernike Moments and Zoning |last2=Borde |first2=Prashant L |last3=Manza |first3=Ramesh R |last4=Yannawar |first4=Pravin L |class=cs.CV |year=2014}}</ref> (ruled 1261–1271) and the initial years of the reign of [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty#Ramachandra|Rāmachandra]] (ruled 1271 to 1309)<ref>Eternal Garden: Mysticism, History, and Politics at a South Asian Sufi Center  by Carl W. Ernst p.107</ref>  of the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadava Dynasty]].<ref name="palkhi">{{cite book |last=Mokashi |first=Digambar Balkrishna |title=Palkhi: An Indian Pilgrimage |date=1 July 1987 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=0-88706-461-2 |page=37}}</ref><ref name="ref_Gurinder_Singh_Mann_Sikh3">{{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Gurinder Singh |title=The Making of Sikh Scripture |date=1 March 2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=0-19-513024-3 |page=1}}
</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.modilipi.in/2008/09/mo-is-name-of-one-of-scripts-used-to.html#.VIeGyRrj66w |title=Modi Lipi Alphabets |date=September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025053100/http://www.modilipi.in/2008/09/mo-is-name-of-one-of-scripts-used-to.html |archive-date=25 October 2013}}</ref>

==== Creation subtheory ====
Hemāḍapanta created the Modi script.<ref name="ref_Gurinder_Singh_Mann_Sikh3"/>

==== Refinement subtheory ====
The Modi script already existed in the 13th century; it was refined and introduced as an official script for Marathi by Hemāḍpant.<ref name="ty"/>

==== Sri Lanka subtheory ====
Hemāḍpant brought the Modi script to India from Sri Lanka.<ref name="prop"/><ref name=":0" />

=== Bāḷājī Avajī Chitnis origin theory ===
{{Hatnote|See also: [[Khando Ballal]], Bāḷājī Avajī's son}}
Bāḷājī Avajī Chitnis was the secretary of state to the Maratha king [[Shivaji]] Maharaj (ruled 1642–1680).<ref name="prop"/>

== History ==
There are various styles of the Modi script associated with a particular era. Many changes occurred in each era <ref name="prop"/><ref name=":1" />

=== Proto-Modi ===
The proto-Modi, or ''ādyakālīn (आद्यकालीन्)'' style appeared in the 12th century.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Yādava Era ===
The Yādava Era style, or ''yādavakālīn (यादवकालीन्)'', emerged as a distinct style in the 13th century during the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yādava Dynasty]].{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Bahamanī Era ===
The Bahamanī Era style, or ''bahamanīkālīn (बहमनीकालीन्)'', appeared in the 14th–16th centuries during the years of the [[Bahmani Sultanate]].{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Chatrapati Shivaji Era ===
During the rule of [[Shivaji]], the Shivaji style, or ''shivakālīn (शिवकालीन्)'', which was during the 17th century, the Chitnisi style of the Modi script developed.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Peshwa Era ===
In the [[Peshwa|Peshwa Era]], or ''peshvekālīn (पेश्वेकालीन्)'', various Modi styles proliferated during the time of the Maratha Empire and lasted until 1818. The distinct styles of Modi used during this period were Chitnisi, Bilavalkari, Mahadevapanti, and Ranadi. Even though all of these were quite popular, [[Chitnis]]i was the most prominent and frequently used script for Modi writing.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Post-independence Era ===
[[File:Marathi Modi script stamp.png|thumb|An effort to conserve the Modi Script under [[India Posts|India Post]]'s My Stamp scheme. Here, the word '[[Marathi language|Marathi]]' is printed in the Modi script.]]
The use of Modi has diminished since the independence of India. Now the Balbodh style of Devanagari is the primary script used to write Marathi.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati papers |last1=Chhatrapati |first1=Shahu |publisher=Shahu Research Institute |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6RHAAAAMAAJ |volume=7 |last2=Sangave |first2=Vilas Adinath |last3=Khane |first3=B. D. |author-link=Chhattrapati Shahu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207083216/https://books.google.com/books?id=w6RHAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.modilipi.in/2011/02/modi-script-of-maharashtra-script-which.html |title=History Of Modi Lipi |website=Modi Lipi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025183435/http://www.modilipi.in/2011/02/modi-script-of-maharashtra-script-which.html#.VIQQuhrj66w |archive-date=25 October 2013}}</ref> However, some linguists in [[Pune]] have recently begun trying to revive the script.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Band-of-researchers-enthusiasts-strive-to-keep-Modi-script-alive/articleshow/30761335.cms |title=Band of researchers, enthusiasts strive to keep Modi script alive |date=21 February 2014 |website=[[The Times of India]] |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141210021102/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Band-of-researchers-enthusiasts-strive-to-keep-Modi-script-alive/articleshow/30761335.cms |archive-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>

==Description==

=== Overview ===
The Modi script derives from the [[Nāgarī script|Nāgari]] family of scripts and is a modification of the Balbodh style of the Devanagari script intended for continuous writing. Although Modi is based upon Devanagari, it differs considerably from it in terms of letter forms, rendering behaviours, and orthography. The shapes of some consonants, vowels, and vowel signs are similar. The differences are visible in the behaviours of these characters in certain circumstances, such as consonant-vowel combinations and consonant conjuncts, which are standard features of Modi orthography. The Modi script has 46 distinctive letters, of which 36 are consonants and 10 vowels.<ref name="prop"/>

=== Cursive features ===
The Modi script has several characteristics that facilitate writing, minimising having to lift the pen from the paper for dipping in ink while moving from one character to the next. Some characters are "broken" versions of their Devanagari counterparts, and many characters are more circular in shape. These characteristics make Modi a sort of [[cursive]] style of writing Marathi. The cursive nature of the script also allowed scribes to easily make multiple copies of a document if required.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Modi script glyphs.png|thumb|left|Shown here is a picture showing all the Modi script characters in the kotem1 clip font.]]

=== Features of the letters ===
Numerous modifications are made to the Modi script in writing as "shortcuts", reflecting its history as a quasi-shorthand form of Devanagari.

The consonants fall into three broad categories: 1) Those that always retain their isolated form and attach their dependent vowel forms in a way common to most Indic scripts; 2) Those that take on a "contextual" form and change their form only in the presence of a dependent vowel immediately after, in which case those vowel forms are attached to the contextual form of the consonant in a uniform way as done with the consonants in Category 1 and with most other Indic alphabets; and 3) Those that form ligatures in the presence of vowel following the consonants. The ligatures are generally determined by the shape of the consonant and the presence of a loop on the right.

Regarding conjuncts, as in Devanagari, ''ksha'' and ''tra'' have special conjuncts, while other consonants typically occupy half forms or contextual forms. The letter ''ra'' is special, as it can take different visual positions as the first consonant in a conjunct cluster depending on whether it is palatalized or not. As the second consonant in a cluster, however, it functions almost identically as in Devanagari.

Alternative forms of the letter ''ra'' are also used to make multisyllabic clusters involving it. This is seen in ''kara'', ''tara'', ''sara'', and a few others as a subjoined ''ra'' to the bottom right of a letter, and in joining at the end of other syllables, it is seen with a curved head. Following dependent vowel signs like -aa and punctuation marks like dandas, the ''ra'' also joins underneath, and any additional vowel marks are written directly on top of the subjoined ''ra''.

Modi also has an empty circle that indicates abbreviations, which also may have been borrowed by [[Goykanadi]], used for writing [[Konkani language|Konkani]], which is closely related to [[Marathi language|Marathi]].

=== Head stroke ===
The head stroke in Modi is unlike Devanagari in that it is typically written before the letters are, in order to produce a "ruled page" for writing Modi in lines. Thus, there are no word boundaries that can be visibly seen, since the head stroke does not break between words.

=== Usage ===
The Modi script was frequently used as a [[shorthand]] script for swift writing in business and administration. Modi was used primarily by administrative people as well as businessmen in keeping their accounts and writing Hundis (credit notes). Modi was also used to encrypt the message since not all people were well-versed in reading this script.<ref name=":2" />

== Printing and typing ==

=== Printing ===
Before printing in Marathi was possible, the Modi script was used for writing prose and Balbodh was used for writing poetry. When printing in Marathi became possible, choosing between Modi and Balbodh was a problem. [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]] published the first book on Marathi grammar in 1805 using Balbodh since printing in the Modi script was not available to him in [[Serampore]], Bengal. At the time Marathi books were generally written in Balbodh. However, subsequent editions of William Carey's book on Marathi grammar, starting in 1810, were written in the Modi script.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ben0lE61msC |title=Language Change: Lexical Diffusion and Literacy |last=Rao |first=Goparaju Sambasiva |publisher=Academic Foundation |year=1994|isbn=9788171880577 |pages=48 and 49 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207082805/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8Ben0lE61msC |archive-date=7 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A Grammar of the Marathi Language |last=Carey |first=William |publisher=Serampore Mission Press |year=1805 |isbn=9781108056311 |location=Serampore |author-link=William Carey (missionary)}}</ref> Using [[offset printing]] machines (previously [[Lithography]]) printing was in vogue. <!--[[Charles Wilkins]] developed {{IAST|Moḍī}} metal [[movable type]]s, which were used to a limited extent to publish books. Printing with metal types was discontinued due to the difficulty in [[printing]] with this script. Charles Wilkins developed only Devanagari types and not Modi and so I am removing it.-->

=== Typing ===
[[File:Shukla Modi.svg|thumb|200px|The word 'Modi' in modern Modi script]]
Most Modi fonts are [[clip font]]s. Some well-known Modi clip fonts include kotem1, developed by Ashok Kothare; Hemadree, developed by Somesh Bartakke; ModiGhate, developed by Sameer Ghate; and Modi Khilari, developed by Rajesh Khilari. Of these fonts, Hemadree and Modi Khilar' are the ones currently available.<ref>{{Cite web |title=other docs - Google site managed by Vishal Telangre |url=https://sites.google.com/site/vishaltelangrecom/blogstore/other-documents |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=googlesite.vishaltelangre.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Download free MoDi Khilari 1 Regular font |url=https://www.dafontfree.net/freefonts-modi-khilari-1-f28414.htm |access-date=7 July 2020 |website=www.dafontfree.net |language=en}}</ref> Some other fonts for Modi use [[Devanagari (Unicode block)|Devanagari Unicode Block]] to render Modi characters. The Modi script was included in Unicode for the first time in version 7.0.<ref name="prop"/><ref>[http://babelstone.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10whats-new-inunicode-70.html BabelStone: What's new in Unicode 7.0 ]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This inclusion has recently led to the development of [[Unicode font]]s for Modi, such as MarathiCursive and Noto Sans Modi. Also, a [[Unicode]] [[keyboard layout]] for Modi, named 'Modi (KaGaPa Phonetic)', has been recently added in the [[X keyboard extension|XKB]] keyboard stack,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Added in(modi-kagapa) (93ea944c) · Commits · xkbdesc / xkeyboard-config |url=https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xkeyboard-config/xkeyboard-config/-/commit/93ea944c2599584a4dd1add1725fafd19fef2535 |access-date=6 July 2020 |website=GitLab |date=12 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> which is mainly used in [[Linux]] based operating systems. The character mapping of this keyboard layout is similar to the existing Marathi (KaGaPa Phonetic) layout, but uses Modi's dedicated Unicode block for typing.

== Documents in the Modi script ==
Most documents in Modi are handwritten. The oldest document in the Modi script is from 1389 and is preserved at the [[Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal|Bhārat Itihās Sanshodhan Mandal (BISM)]] in Pune.<ref name=":1" /> The majority of documents and correspondence from before Shivaji Raje Bhonsle's times are written in the Modi script.<ref name=":2" />{{Clear}}

== Numerals ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|Modi numeral
|𑙐
|𑙑
|𑙒
|𑙓
|𑙔
|𑙕
|𑙖
|𑙗
|𑙘
|𑙙
|-
|Hindu-Arabic numeral
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|9
|}

==Unicode==
{{See also|Modi (Unicode block)}}
The Modi alphabet (U+11600&ndash;U+1165F) was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

{{Unicode chart Modi}}

== Sample Text ==
Modi

𑘦𑘰𑘖𑘰 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲𑘓𑘲 𑘤𑘻𑘩𑘳 𑘎𑘼𑘝𑘳𑘎𑘹𑙁
𑘢𑘨𑘲 𑘀𑘦𑘿𑘨𑘲𑘝𑘰𑘝𑘹𑘮𑘲 𑘢𑘺𑘕𑘰𑘭𑘲 𑘕𑘲𑘽𑘎𑘹𑙁
𑘋𑘭𑘲 𑘀𑘎𑘿𑘬𑘨𑘹 𑘨𑘭𑘲𑘎𑘹𑙁 𑘦𑘹𑘯𑘪𑘲𑘡𑙂

-[[Dnyaneshwar]]

Devanagari (Balbodh)

माझा मराठीची बोलू कौतुके।
परि अमृतातेहि पैजासी जिंके।
ऐसी अक्षरे रसिके। मेळवीन॥

-संत ज्ञानेश्वर

Roman ([[IAST]])

mājhā marāṭhīcī bolū kautuke|
pari amṛtātehi paijāsī jiṃke|
aisī akṣare rasike| mel̤avīna||

-saṃta jñāneśvara

==See also==
*[[Balbodh]]
*[[Clip font]]
*[[Cursive]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/modi.htm Modi at Omniglot]
* [http://www.modilipi.com/ Website about the Modi script]
* [http://www.modinikam.com/news.html Read latest news in Modi Script]
{{Marathi language topics}}
{{list of writing systems}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modi Script}}
[[Category:Brahmic scripts]]
[[Category:Marathi language]]