Maithili (<small>Tirhuta:</small> , , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India and Nepal. It is native to the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as Nepal's Koshi and Madhesh Provinces. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It is the second most commonly spoken native Nepalese language constitutionally registered as one of the fourteen provincial official languages of Nepal.
The Indian government has stepped up efforts to bring the Tirhuta, the original script of Maithili language onto major digital platforms, including Google Keyboard and Android and iOS operating systems, in a move welcomed by linguists and language activists.
The Maithili language has been included in the CBSE curriculum without the Tirhuta script which is the original script of Maithili.
The inclusion of Maithili in the CBSE curriculum without the Tirhuta script is nothing less than a cultural mutilation. Tirhuta is not merely a script; it is the civilizational soul and historical identity of the Maithili language.
Imposing Devanagari while sidelining Tirhuta script reduces Maithili to a hollow academic token instead of preserving its authentic heritage.
Official status
In 2003, Maithili was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as a recognised Indian language, which allows it to be used in education, government, and other official contexts in India.
Gopal Jee Thakur of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the first Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha who speaks in the Maithili language in the Parliament of India. He is currently the MP for Darbhanga.
The Nepalese Languages Commission has made Maithili an official Nepalese language used for administration in Koshi province and Madhesh Province.
On 26 November 2024, during the occasion of the Constitution Day, Maithili version of the Indian constitution was launched by the President of India Droupadi Murmu.
Distribution
In India, it is mainly spoken in Darbhanga, Tirhut, Kosi, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Munger divisions of Bihar and in Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand.
In Nepal, Maithili is spoken in Madhesh Province and Koshi Province.
Chatterji grouped Maithili with the Magadhi Prakrit.
Dialects
Maithili varies greatly in dialects.
- Sotipura also called Central Maithili which is mainly spoken in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Supaul, Madhepura, Purnia, Samastipur, Araria and Saharsa districts of India and in Nepal it is spoken in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Siraha, Saptari, Sarlahi, Sunsari, and Morang districts.
- Bajjika dialect also known as Western Maithili is mainly spoken in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Sheohar districts of Bihar, India & Rautahat, and Sarlahi districts of Nepal. It is listed as a distinct language in Nepal and overlaps by 76–86% with Maithili dialects spoken in Dhanusa, Morang, Saptari and Sarlahi Districts.
- Thēthi dialect is spoken mainly in Munger division and Samastipur in Bihar and some adjoining districts of Nepal.
- Angika dialect (also known as Southern Maithili) is mainly spoken in and around Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger districts of Bihar and Godda, Sahebganj, Dumka and other districts of Jharkhand.
- Eastern Maithili or Purbi Maithili is a dialect of Maithili language, spoken primarily spoken in Kosi division and Purnia division in Mithila region of India.
- Mondarika Maithili spoken in Mandar Hill area which are Banka, Godda, Sahebganj and Pakur.
- Deogharia Maithili widely spoken in Deoghar District and Dumka.
- Kochila Tharu, a language spoken by the Tharu people in the districts of Saptari and Siraha as well as the adjoining areas. Some linguists have described it as a variety of Maithili.
- Several other dialects of Maithili are spoken in India and Nepal, including Dehati, Deshi, Kisan, Bantar, Barmeli, Musar, Tati and Jolaha. All the dialects are intelligible to native Maithili speakers.
Apart from Charyapadas, there has been a rich tradition of folk culture, folk songs and which were popular among the common folks of the Mithila region.
After the fall of the Pala Empire, disappearance of Buddhism, establishment of the Karnat dynasty and patronage of Maithili under Harisimhadeva (1226–1324) of Karnāta dynasty dates back to the 14th century (around 1327 AD). Jyotirishwar Thakur (1280–1340) wrote a unique work Varna Ratnakara in Maithili prose. The Varṇa Ratnākara is the earliest known prose text, written by Jyotirishwar Thakur in Mithilakshar script,
In 1324, Ghyasuddin Tughluq, the emperor of Delhi invaded Mithila, defeated Harisimhadeva, entrusted Mithila to his family priest and a great Military Scholar Kameshvar Jha, a Maithil Brahmin of the Oiniwar Dynasty. But the disturbed era did not produce any literature in Maithili until Vidyapati Thakur (1360 to 1450), who was an epoch-making poet under the patronage of Shiva Simha Singh and his queen Lakhimadevi. He produced over 1,000 immortal songs in Maithili on the theme of love of Radha and Krishna and the domestic life of Shiva and Parvati as well as on the subject of suffering of migrant labourers of Morang and their families; besides, he wrote a number of treaties in Sanskrit. His love-songs spread far and wide in no time and enchanted saints, poets and youth. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw the divine light of love behind these songs, and soon these songs became themes of Vaishnavism in Bengal. As a young man, Rabindranath Tagore, driven by curiosity and a spirit of experimentation, composed a series of poems in imitation of these songs under the pseudonym Bhanusimha. Vidyapati influenced the religious literature of Assam, Bengal, and Utkala Kingdom. The blending of languages during the later period gave rise to artificial literary dialects like Brajabuli in Bengal, and Brajavali in Assam.
The earliest reference to Maithili or Tirhutiya is in Amaduzzi's preface to Beligatti's Alphabetum Brammhanicum, published in 1771. This contains a list of Indian languages among which is 'Tourutiana.' Colebrooke's essay on the Sanskrit and Prakrit languages, written in 1801, was the first to describe Maithili as a distinct dialect.
Many devotional songs were written by Vaisnava saints, including in the mid-17th century, Vidyapati and Govindadas. Mapati Upadhyaya wrote a drama titled Pārijātaharaṇa in Maithili. Professional troupes, mostly from dalit classes known as Kirtanias, the singers of bhajan or devotional songs, started to perform this drama in public gatherings and the courts of the nobles.
Lochana (c. 1575 – c. 1660) wrote Rāgatarangni, a significant treatise on the science of music, describing the rāgas, tālas, and lyrics prevalent in Mithila.
During the Malla dynasty's rule Maithili spread far and wide throughout Nepal from the 16th to the 17th century. During this period, at least seventy Maithili dramas were produced. In the drama Harishchandranrityam by Siddhinarayanadeva (1620–57), some characters speak pure colloquial Maithili, while others speak Bengali language, Sanskrit or Prakrit. One notable Malla King who patronised Maithili was Bhupatindra Malla who composed 26 plays in the Maithili language during his lifetime.
After the demise of Maheshwar Singh, the ruler of Darbhanga Raj, in 1860, the Raj was taken over by the British Raj as regent. The Darbhanga Raj returned to his successor, Maharaj Lakshmishvar Singh, in 1898. The Zamindari Raj had a lackadaisical approach toward Maithili. The use of Maithili language was revived through personal efforts of MM Parameshvar Mishra, Chanda Jha, Munshi Raghunandan Das and others.
Publication of Maithil Hita Sadhana (1905), Mithila Moda (1906), and Mithila Mihir (1908) further encouraged writers. The first social organisation, Maithil Mahasabha, was established in 1910 for the development of Mithila and Maithili. It blocked its membership for people outside of the Maithil Brahmin and Karna Kayastha castes. Maithil Mahasabha campaigned for the official recognition of Maithili as a regional language. Calcutta University recognised Maithili in 1917, and other universities followed suit.
Babu Bhola Lal Das wrote Maithili Grammar (Maithili Vyakaran). He edited a book Gadya Kusumanjali and edited a journal Maithili.
In 1965, Maithili was officially accepted by Sahitya Academy, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of Indian literature.
In 2002, Maithili was recognised on the VIII schedule of the Indian Constitution as a major Indian language; Maithili is now one of the twenty-two Scheduled languages of India.
The publishing of Maithili books in Mithilakshar script was started by Acharya Ramlochan Saran.
Demand of Classical Language status for Maithili
On 3 October 2024, the Union Government of India accorded additional five languages of India as the classical status. These additional five languages were Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit. But due to the lack of proposal from the Bihar government, the Maithili language missed out the status of classical language in India. After the Union Cabinet's approval of classical language recognition for the additional five languages in India, the campaign for classical language status for Maithili gained renewed momentum. On 7 October 2024, JD(U) national working president cum Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha raised the demand for classical language status to Maithili, through his social media handle.
Phonology
Vowels
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Front
! colspan="2" |Central
! colspan="2" |Back
|-
!<small>short</small>
!<small>long</small>
!<small>short</small>
!<small>long</small>
!<small>short</small>
!<small>long</small>
|-
!Close
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Mid
|
|
| ~
|
|
|
|-
!Open
| colspan="2" | ~
|
|
| colspan="2" |
|-
!Diphthongs
| colspan="2" |əɪ̯ əe̯
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |əʊ̯ əo̯
|}
- All vowels have nasal counterparts, represented by "~" in IPA and ँ on the vowels, like आँ ãː .
- All vowel sounds are realised as nasal when occurring before or after a nasal consonant.
- Sounds eː and oː are often replaced by diphthongs əɪ̯ and əʊ̯.
- ɔ is replaced by ə in northern dialects and by o in southernmost dialects.
- There are three short vowels that were described by Grierson, but are not counted by modern grammarians. But they could be understood as syllable break: ॳ , इ , उ . Or as syllable break ऺ in Devanagari and "." in IPA.
- ꣾ is a Unicode letter in Devanagari, (IPA ) which is not supported currently on several browsers and operating systems, along with its mātrā (vowel sign).
<!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|left|upright=0.5|[[Devanagari Extended AY vowel|link=Special:FilePath/Devanagari_extended_AY.jpg]] --><!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|left|upright=0.5|[[Devanagari Extended AY vowel sign]] -->
The following diphthongs are present:
: अय़(ꣾ) - अय़सन (ꣾ सन) 'like this'
: अव़(ॵ) - चव़मुख(चॏमुख) 'four faced'
: अयॆ - अयॆलाः 'came'
: अवॊ (अऒ) - अवॊताः 'will come'
: आइ - आइ 'today'
: आउ - आउ 'come please'
: आयॆ (आऎ) - आयॆल 'came'
: आवॊ (आऒ) - आवॊब 'will come'
: यु (इउ) - घ्यु 'ghee'
: यॆ (इऎ) - यॆः 'only this'
: यॊ (इऒ) - कह्यो 'any day'
: वि (उइ) - द्वि 'two'
: वॆ (उऎ) - वॆ: 'only that'
A peculiar type of phonetic change is recently taking place in Maithili by way of epenthesis, i.e. backward transposition of final /i/ and /u/ in all sort of words. Both are defective phonemes, occurring intervocalically and word finally only if preceded by a nasal consonant. Word finally and postvocalically, surfaces as . Non-initially, both are interchangeable with and respectively. Throughout the course of the century, Devanagari grew in use eventually replacing the other two, and has since remained the dominant script for Maithili.
The Tirhuta and Kaithi scripts are both currently included in Unicode.
{|class="wikitable nounderlines Unicode" style="border-collapse:collapse;background:#FFFFFF;text-align:center"
|+ Consonants
! rowspan="2" | Devanagari
! colspan="2" | Tirhuta
! colspan="2" | Transcription
|-
! Image !! Text !! IAST !! IPA
|-
| क
| 23px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ka
| /kə/
|-
| ख
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| kha
| /kʰə/
|-
| ग
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ga
| /gə/
|-
| घ
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| gha
| /gʱə/
|-
| ङ
| 16px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṅa
| /ŋə/
|-
| च
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ca
| /t͡ɕə/
|-
| छ
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| cha
| /t͡ɕʰə/
|-
| ज
| 22px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ja
| /d͡ʑə/
|-
| झ
| 21px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| jha
| /d͡ʑʱə/
|-
| ञ
| 23px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ña
| (/ɲə/) /nə/ or /ẽ/
|-
| ट
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṭa
| /ʈə/
|-
| ठ
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṭha
| /ʈʰə/
|-
| ड
| 22px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ḍa
| /ɖə/
|-
| ढ
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ḍha
| /ɖʱə/
|-
| ण
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṇa
| /ɳə/ or /nə/
|-
| त
| 21px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ta
| /t̪ə/
|-
| थ
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| tha
| /t̪ʰə/
|-
| द
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| da
| /d̪ə/
|-
| ध
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| dha
| /d̪ʱə/
|-
| न
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| na
| /nə/
|-
| प
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| pa
| /pə/
|-
| फ
| 22px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| pha
| /pʰə/
|-
| ब
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ba
| /bə/
|-
| भ
| 21px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| bha
| /bʱə/
|-
| म
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ma
| /mə/
|-
| य
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ya
| (/jə/) /d͡ʑə/ or /e̯/
|-
| र
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ra
| /rə/
|-
| ल
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| la
| /lə/
|-
| व
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| va
| (/ʋə/) or /bə/ /o̯/
|-
| श
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| śa
| (/ɕə/) /sə/
|-
| ष
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṣa
| /ʂə/ or /sə/ or /kʰə/
|-
| स
| 21px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| sa
| /sə/
|-
| ह
| 19px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ha
| /ɦə/
|}
{|class="wikitable nounderlines Unicode" style="border-collapse:collapse;background:#FFFFFF;text-align:center"
|+ Vowels
! colspan="2" |Devanagari
! colspan="2" |Tirhuta
! colspan="2" |Devanagari
! colspan="2" |Tirhuta
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Transcription
|-
! colspan="4" |Independent
! colspan="4" |Dependent
|-
!Phonetic
!Traditional
! Image !! Text
!Phonetic
!Traditional!! Image !! Text !! Romanisation !! IPA
|-
| colspan="2" |अ
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
|
|
| colspan="2" |
| a/∅
| /ə/ or /ɐ/ or /ə̆/ or ∅
|-
|अ꣱/अ<sup>ऽ</sup>/अ'
|अऽ
|
|
|◌꣱/◌<sup>ऽ</sup>/◌'
|◌'/ ◌ऽ
|
|
|å
|/ɔ/ ~/ʌ/
|-
|ॴ
|आ
| rowspan="2" |30px
| rowspan="2" |
|ऻ
|ा
| rowspan="2" |27px
| rowspan="2" |
|a/ă
|/a/
|-
| colspan="2" |आ
| colspan="2" |ा
| ā
| /аː/
|-
| colspan="2" |इ
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ि
| rowspan="2" | 28px
| rowspan="2" style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| і
| /ɪ/
|-
| colspan="4" |not possible in initial position or independent (after vowel)
|ि'
|ि
|ĭ/<sup>i</sup>
|/ɪ̆/
|-
| colspan="2" |ई
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ी
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ī
| /іː/
|-
| colspan="2" |उ
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ु
| rowspan="2" | 16px
| rowspan="2" style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| u
| /ʊ/
|-
| colspan="4" |not possible in initial position (after vowel)
|ु'
|ु
|ŭ/<sup>u</sup>
|/ʊ̆/
|-
|-
| colspan="2" |ऊ
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ू
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ū
| /uː/
|-
| colspan="2" |ऋ
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ृ
| 17px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṛ
| /r̩/ or /rɪ/
|-
| colspan="2" |ॠ
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ॄ
| 17px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ṝ
| /r̩ː/ or /riː/
|-
| colspan="2" |ऌ
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ॢ
| 17px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ḷ
| /l̩/ or /lɪ/
|-
|ऍ
|ऍ/ऐ
|
|
|ॅ
|ॅ/ै
|
|
|æ/ê
|/æ/ ~/ɛ/
|-
|ऎ
|ए
| colspan="2" |
|ॆ
|े
| 20px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| e
| /е/
|-
| colspan="2" |ए
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |े
| 29px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ē
| /еː/
|-
|ꣾ
|ऐ
| rowspan="2" |19px
| rowspan="2" |
|◌ꣿ
|ै
| rowspan="2" |30px
| rowspan="2" |
|ai
|/ai/
|-
| colspan="2" |ऐ
| colspan="2" |ै
| āі
| /аːі/
|-
|ऒ
|ओ
| colspan="2" |
|ॊ
|ो
| 25px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| о
| /о/
|-
| colspan="2" |ओ
| 18px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| colspan="2" |ो
| 37px
| style="font-size: x-large;" class="Unicode" |
| ō
| /оː/
|-
|ॵ
|औ
| rowspan="2" |20px
| rowspan="2" |
|ॏ
|ौ
| rowspan="2" |34px
| rowspan="2" |
|au
|/au/
|-
| colspan="2" |औ
| colspan="2" |ौ
| āu
| /aːu/
|}
Literature
Sample Text
The following sample text is Maithili translation of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Maithili in the Tirhuta alphabet
Maithili in the Devanagari alphabet
Roman transliteration of Maithili
Translation
See also
- Languages with official status in India
- List of Indian languages by total speakers
- Maithili Cinema
- Maithili music
- Mithila culture
- Daak Vachan
Notes
Citations
Further reading
External links
- UCLA Language Materials Project : Maithili
- National Translation Mission's (NTM) Maithili Pages
- Videha Ist Maithili