Nandinagari Unicode Script

Nandinagari is an ancient script that was prominently used in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the region now known as Karnataka. This script is a derivative of the Brahmi script and is a part of the broader Nagari script family, which also includes the more widely known Devanagari script used for Sanskrit, Hindi, and several other Indian languages. Nandinagari was primarily employed for writing Sanskrit, much like its sister scripts, and it holds significant historical importance due to the rich collection of manuscripts and inscriptions found in this script. The script was predominantly used from the 8th century to about the 19th century, encapsulating a vast period of cultural, religious, and intellectual development in the region.

The visual form of Nandinagari is characterized by its rounded shapes and distinct arrangement of characters, which give it a unique form among Indian scripts. Inscriptions in this script have been found on copper plates, stone monuments, and palm leaf manuscripts across southern India, attesting to its extensive use in religious and scholarly contexts. Like other Brahmi-derived scripts, Nandinagari is written from left to right and follows an abugida structure where each character inherently represents a consonant with an inherent vowel sound that can be altered with diacritics. Despite its historical significance, the script eventually fell out of common use, with the spread of other regional scripts and the standardization of Devanagari. Today, Nandinagari is mainly of interest to scholars, historians, and linguists studying the evolution of scripts and the history of South India.

Below you will find all the characters that are in the 'Nandinagari' unicode script category. Currently there are 65 characters in this category.