Siddhaṃ script

File:Prajnyaapaaramitaa Hridaya Pel.sogd.jpg. Bibliothèque nationale de France]]

The {{IAST|Siddham}} script evolved from the Gupta Brahmi script in the late 6th century CE.{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |title = A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |year=2008 |page=43 |location=Delhi |publisher=Pearson |isbn=9788131716779 }}

Many Buddhist texts taken to China along the Silk Road were written using a version of the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} script. This continued to evolve, and minor variations are seen across time, and in different regions. Importantly, it was used for transmitting the Buddhist tantra texts. At the time it was considered important to preserve the pronunciation of mantras, and Chinese was not suitable for writing the sounds of Sanskrit. This led to the retention of the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} script in East Asia. The practice of writing using {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} survived in East Asia where Chinese Esoteric Buddhism persisted.

Kūkai introduced the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} script to Japan when he returned from China in 806, where he studied Sanskrit with Nalanda-trained monks including one known as Prajñā ({{zh|c=般若三藏|p=Bōrě Sāncáng}}; 734–{{circa|810}}). By the time Kūkai learned this script, the trading and pilgrimage routes over land to India had been closed by the expanding Abbasid Caliphate.{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12234r-n4294-siddham.pdf | title = N4294: Proposal to Encode the Siddham Script in ISO/IEC 10646 | first=Anshuman | last=Pandey | publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2012-08-01 }}

In the middle of the 9th century, China experienced a series of purges of "foreign religions", thus cutting Japan off from the sources of {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} texts. In time, other scripts, particularly Devanagari, replaced {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} in India, while {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}}'s northeastern derivative called Gaudi evolved to become the Eastern Nagari, Tirhuta, Odia and also the Nepalese scripts in the eastern and northeastern regions of South Asia,{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&q=indian+epigraphy+salomon}}Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography, R. Malatesha Joshi, Catherine McBride(2019) leaving East Asia as the only region where {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} is still used.

There were special forms of Siddhaṃ used in Korea that varied significantly from those used in China and Japan, and there is evidence that Siddhaṃ was written in Central Asia, as well, by the early 7th century.

As was done with Chinese characters, Japanese Buddhist scholars sometimes created multiple characters with the same phonological value to add meaning to Siddhaṃ characters. This practice, in effect, represents a 'blend' of the Chinese style of writing and the Indian style of writing and allows Sanskrit texts in Siddhaṃ to be differentially interpreted as they are read, as was done with Chinese characters that the Japanese had adopted. This led to multiple variants of the same characters.{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2013/13110r-n4407.pdf | title=N4407R: Proposal to Encode Variants for Siddham Script | first1=Taichi | last1=Kawabata | first2=Toshiya | last2=Suzuki | first3=Kiyonori | last3=Nagasaki | first4=Masahiro | last4=Shimoda | publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2013-06-11}}

{{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} is an abugida rather than an alphabet, as each character indicates a syllable, including a consonant and (possibly) a vowel. If the vowel sound is not explicitly indicated, the short 'a' is assumed. Diacritic marks are used to indicate other vowels, as well as the anusvara and visarga. A virama can be used to indicate that the consonant letter stands alone with no vowel, which sometimes happens at the end of Sanskrit words.

Siddhaṃ texts were usually written from left to right then top to bottom, as with other Brahmic scripts, but occasionally they were written in the traditional Chinese style, from top to bottom then right to left. Bilingual Siddhaṃ-Japanese texts show the manuscript turned 90 degrees clockwise and the Japanese is written from top to bottom, as is typical of Japanese, and then the manuscript is turned back again, and the Siddhaṃ writing is continued from left to right (the resulting Japanese characters appear sideways).

Over time, additional markings were developed, including punctuation marks, head marks, repetition marks, end marks, special ligatures to combine conjuncts and rarely to combine syllables, and several ornaments of the scribe's choice, which are not currently encoded. The nuqta is also used in some modern Siddhaṃ texts.

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

• ↑ The combinations that contain adjoining duplicate letters should be deleted in this table.

:

:

:

:

:

:

: Alternative forms of conjuncts that contain {{IAST|ṇ}}.

:

:

:

In Japan, the writing of mantras and copying/reading of sutras using the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} script is still practiced in the esoteric schools of Shingon Buddhism and Tendai as well as in the syncretic sect of Shugendō. The characters are known as {{nihongo|Bonji|梵字|extra=Chinese: Fànzì}} or {{nihongo|shittan|悉曇}}. The Taishō Tripiṭaka version of the Chinese Buddhist canon preserves the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} characters for most mantras, and Korean Buddhists still write bījas in a modified form of {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}}. A recent innovation is the writing of Japanese language slogans on T-shirts using Bonji. Japanese {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} has evolved from the original script used to write sūtras and is now somewhat different from the ancient script.SM Dine, 2012, [https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/20584/Dine_washington_0250O_10572.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Sanskrit Beyond Text: The Use of Bonji (Siddham) in Mandala and Other Imagery in Ancient and Medieval Japan], University of Washington.[http://www.visiblemantra.org/siddham.html Siddhaṃ : the perfect script].[http://buddhism-guide.com/buddhism/shingon.htm Buddhism guide: Shingon].

It is typical to see {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} written with a brush, as with Chinese writing; it is also written with a bamboo pen. In Japan, a special brush called a {{nihongo|bokuhitsu|朴筆|extra=Cantonese: pokbat}} is used for formal {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} calligraphy. The informal style is known as {{nihongo|"fude"|筆|extra=Cantonese: "moubat"}}.

{{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} is still largely a hand written script. Some efforts have been made to create computer fonts, though to date none of these are capable of reproducing all of the {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} conjunct consonants. Notably, the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association has created a {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} font for their electronic version of the Taisho {{IAST|Tripiṭaka}}, though this does not contain all possible conjuncts. The software Mojikyo also contains fonts for Siddhaṃ, but split Siddhaṃ in different blocks and requires multiple fonts to render a single document.

A {{IAST|Siddhaṃ}} input system which relies on the CBETA font Siddhamkey 3.0 has been produced.

{{Main|Siddham (Unicode block)}}

Siddhaṃ script was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

The Unicode block for Siddhaṃ is U+11580–U+115FF:

{{Unicode chart Siddham}}

This is a gallery of example usages of the Siddham script.

File:Falongsibeiye.svg|A reproduction of the palm-leaf manuscript in Siddham script, originally held at Hōryū-ji Temple, Japan; now located in the Tokyo National Museum at the Gallery of Hōryū—ji Treasure. The original copy may be the earliest extant Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sutra dated to the 7th–8th century CE. It also contains the Sanskrit text of the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra and the final line shows the Siddhaṃ abugida.{{sfn|e-museum|2018|ps=   Ink on pattra (palmyra leaves used for writing upon) ink on paper Heart Sutra: 4.9x28.0 Dharani: 4.9x27.9/10.0x28.3 Late Gupta period/7–8th century Tokyo National Museum N-8. }}

File:Pratisara Mantra1.png|Chinese use of the Siddhaṃ script for the Pratisara mantra, from the Later Tang. 927 CE

File:MahaPratyangira Mantra.png|Chinese use of the Siddhaṃ script for the Mahāpratyaṅgirā mantra. 971 CE

File:Siddham Bijakshara A.jpg|Siddhaṃ Bijakshara A, Daishō-in, Miyajima

File:Mirror with bijaksharas.jpg|Mirror with bijaksharas, Miyajima

File:Asakusa Temple Usnisa Vijaya Dharani Sutra Inscription.png|A stone inscription of the Buddhist Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra at Asakusa Temple in Tokyo using Siddham script.

File:Siddham alphabet by Kukai.svg|Siddhaṃ alphabet by Kūkai (774–835)

File:Siddham kawasaki daishi temple.png|A Buddhist altar in Kawasaki, Japan showing a devotional mantra inscribed in Siddham to Shakyamuni Buddha with Japanese pronunciation guide

File:梵漢阿弥陀経 Amida Sutra in Kanji and Sanskrit Characters.jpg|Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra written in katakana, Siddhaṃ scripts and kanji. This book was published in 1773 in Japan.

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• Bonji Taikan (梵字大鑑). (Tōkyō: Meicho Fukyūkai, 1983)
• Chaudhuri, Saroj Kumar (1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20131003111835/http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp088_siddham_china_japan.pdf Siddham in China and Japan], Sino-Platonic papers No. 88
• {{citation |url = https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/detail?langId=en&content_base_id=100625 |year=2025 |website=e-Museum |title=Sanskrit Version of Heart Sutra and Viyaya Dharani |last = e-Museum |first = National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties of National Museums, Japan }}
• Stevens, John. Sacred Calligraphy of the East. (Boston, MA: Shambala, 1995.)
• Van Gulik, R.H. Siddham: An Essay on the History of Sanskrit Studies in China and Japan (New Delhi, Jayyed Press, 1981).
• Yamasaki, Taikō. Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. (Fresno: Shingon Buddhist International Institute, 1988.)
• Chandra, Lokesh (1965) Sanskrit bījas and mantras in Japan, New Delhi , International Academy of Indian Culture, BQ5125.B5 A75 1965

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Siddham script}}

• Fonts:
• [https://github.com/googlefonts/noto-fonts/tree/master/hinted/ttf/NotoSansSiddham Noto Sans Siddham] from the Noto fonts project
• [http://mihafont.seesaa.net/category/8954752-1.html Muktamsiddham—Free Unicode Siddham font]
• [http://azahuse.web.fc2.com/sansc.html ApDevaSiddham]—(Japanese) Free Unicode 8.0 Siddham Font ([http://siddham.shikisokuzekuu.net/ mirror])
• [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/siddham.htm Siddham alphabet on Omniglot]
• [http://www.siddham.org/yuan_english/mantra/main_mantra.html Examples of Siddham mantras] Chinese language website.
• [http://www.visiblemantra.org Visible Mantra] an extensive collection of mantras and some sūtras in Siddhaṃ script
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20220331082836/http://www.mandalar.com/DisplayJ/Bonji/index.html Bonji Siddham] Character and Pronunciation
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080104215817/http://my.opera.com/siddham/blog SiddhamKey] Software for inputting Siddham characters

{{-}}

{{list of writing systems}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddham alphabet}}

Category:Brahmic scripts