Which Kashmiri Script Should I Learn?

Decorated Tile from the Harwan Monastery; Manan Shah, published on 29 March 2021 (World History Encyclopedia)

Old History, Modern Relevance

Before choosing a Kashmiri script, it may help to understand just how far back Kashmir's written history goes. At the ancient Buddhist site of Harwan, northeast of Srinagar, archaeologists uncovered terracotta floor tiles stamped with numerals in Kharosthi script. It is associated with a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the Kushan period. Kharosthi was used mainly in Gandhara, where it was used to write Gandhari Prakrit, as well as some Sanskrit. Unlike Brahmi and the later scripts that developed from it, Kharosthi was written from right to left. Its presence at Harwan shows that Prakrit literature was a part of Kashmir's ancient history as well.

Inscriptions in Brahmi dating to around 150 BCE have been found on the entrance wall of the gate of Zain-ul-Abidin's tomb in Srinagar. By about the 7th century CE, Brahmi had developed into distinct regional forms. One of the important branches of this development was the Gupta script, sometimes referred to in its later stages as Late Brahmi. Gupta letter forms eventually contributed to the development of several scripts, including Sharada and Devanagari.

Sharada belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts and became closely associated with Kashmir. Some of its earliest known records are associated with coins of the Utpala dynasty of Kashmir in the 9th century CE. The script developed into an important scholarly medium, particularly for writing Sanskrit, and is closely connected with the intellectual traditions of Kashmir and with Sharada Peeth in the Neelum Valley, historically a major center of learning. Sharada was used mainly for Sanskrit in Kashmir, and it does not represent all of the phonetic characteristics of the spoken Kashmiri language. It is still part of the scholarly and religious heritage among Kashmiri Pandits.

Perso-Arabic Nastaliq Script of Kashmiri

During the Shahmiri Sultanate era, Persian was the official language and lingua franca of Kashmir. It remained so for around seven centuries, and over time, Persian linguistic influences became deeply connected with spoken Kashmiri. Literacy in Kashmir was mainly found among those who studied Sanskrit or Persian.

Nastaliq, a Perso-Arabic script, was then used to write the Kashmiri language officially for the first time. Efforts to standardize written Kashmiri took place during the 1940s and 1950s through the Kashmiri Script Committee. In 1959, a standardized form of Kashmiri Nastaliq was finalized, with additional diacritical marks introduced to accommodate sounds that are distinctive to the Kashmiri language. Further work followed in the 1960s and 1970s. The calligraphic publication of the Urdu Farhang in 1968 and the publication of a Kashmiri language dictionary by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy in 1972, under S. K. Toshakhani, were important steps in the documentation and codification of the language. For students today, Nastaliq is particularly useful if the goal is to read modern Kashmiri literature, poetry, newspapers, and other contemporary writing in the Perso-Arabic tradition.

[PHOTO: Shahnameh Persian epic found in the Kashmir Valley, 16th-century copy] The "Shahnameh" Persian epic found in Kashmir Valley (16th-century copy), Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Art Services International, 2008.

Devanagari Script

Kashmiri is also written in Devanagari, particularly among Kashmiri communities living outside the Valley. A standardized Devanagari system for Kashmiri was developed in the early 2000s through the work of Dr. Roop K. Bhat and his team. The system incorporates additional marks to represent Kashmiri's phonetic characteristics, including its rich vowel system, which cannot always be represented adequately by standard Devanagari. For students who already read Hindi, this can make Devanagari a practical way to begin learning written Kashmiri without having to learn an entirely unfamiliar script at the same time.

Roman Script

Then there is Romanized Kashmiri, which has become increasingly common in informal communication, particularly online. Its growth is closely tied to the practical realities of digital communication, where Kashmiri-script keyboards and fonts have not always been readily available. There is no single spelling system used consistently by all speakers. Some use phonetic diacritics, while others use informal spellings based on English orthography. Linguists have also developed more systematic approaches to Roman-script Kashmiri for literacy, dictionaries, and language learning. M. K. Raina's Tsok Modur (Roman Kashmiri Script) is another resource for students interested in Romanized Kashmiri. Roman script can be especially useful for beginners and members of the Kashmiri diaspora who want to focus first on pronunciation and conversation.

Which Kashmiri Script Should You Learn?

That depends on what you want to do with the language. If you want to read modern Kashmiri literature and poetry, Nastaliq is an important choice. If you are interested in Kashmir's manuscripts, inscriptions, Sanskrit traditions, or intellectual history, learning Sharada opens a very different door. Your existing language skills can also help determine which script feels most accessible. If you already read Persian, Urdu, or Arabic, learning Kashmiri in Nastaliq may feel more familiar. If you read Hindi, Devanagari may be easier to approach than Roman script. And if English is your first language and you are not ready to learn a new writing system, Romanized Kashmiri allows you to focus on speaking and understanding the language first.

And you don't have to choose just one. You can learn to speak Kashmiri in Roman script, learn Nastaliq to read contemporary literature, and later explore Sharada to engage with Kashmir's older written heritage. Each script opens a different door into Kashmiri language, literature, and history. At Vale Academy, students can study Kashmiri according to their interests and level, including script study alongside language learning.

If you are unsure where to begin, browse our tutor section to see which tutors provide the script that you are interested in, and feel free to email us for any advice or questions at Admin@ValeAcademy.org.