Sharada script

 ( Brahmic Scripts ) 

Although originally a script restricted to only Brahmins, Sharda was later spread throughout the larger Hindu population in Northwestern Indian subcontinent, as Hinduism became the dominant religion in the region again.

The Bakhshali manuscript uses an early stage of the Sharada script. The Sharada script was used in Afghanistan as well as in the Himachal Pradesh region in India. In Afghanistan, the Kabul Ganesh has a 6th to 8th century Proto-Sharada inscription mentioning the, Turk Shahis, king Khingala of Oddiyana. From Persepolis to the Punjab: Exploring Ancient Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Elizabeth Errington, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, British Museum Press, 2007 p. 96 At the historic temple of Mirkula Devi (also Mrikula Devi) in Lahaul, Himachal, the goddess Mahishamardini has a Sharada inscription of 1569 CE. Observations on the Architecture and on a Carved Wooden Door of the Temple of Mirkulā Devī at Udaipur, Himachal Pradesh, Francesco Noci, East and West, Vol. 44, No. 1 (March 1994), pp. 99-114

From the 10th century onwards, regional differences started to appear between the Sharada script used in Punjab, the Hill States (partly Himachal Pradesh) and Kashmir. Sharada proper was eventually restricted to very limited ceremonial use in Kashmir, as it grew increasingly unsuitable for writing the Kashmiri language. With the last known inscription dating to 1204 C.E., the early 13th century marks a milestone in the development of Sharada. The regional variety in Punjab continued to evolve from this stage through the 14th century; during this period it starts to appear in forms closely resembling Gurmukhī and other Landa scripts. By the 15th century, Sharada had evolved so considerably that denote the script at this point by a special name, Devāśeṣa.

Sharada script uses its own signs for the positional Decimal.

==Image gallery==

The Unicode block for Śāradā script, called Sharada, is U+11180–U+111DF:

Kashmiri-specific vowels for contemporary use with Śāradā script were added in September 2025 with the release of version 17.0.

They are in the Sharada Supplement block, which is U+11B60–U+11B7F:

• Lipi – writing scripts in Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina texts
• Sharada Peeth in Kashmir

• Aksharamukha: Sharada script
• Saerji. (2009). Śāradā script: Akṣara List of the Manuscript of Abhidharmadīpa (ca. the 11th Century). Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts & Buddhist Literature, Peking University.
• Prevalence of the Śāradā Script in Afghanistan