Towards an Encoding for the Maithili Script in ISO/IEC 10646

Maithili is the traditional writing system for theMaithili language, which is spoken predominantly in the state of Bihar in India and in the Narayani and Janakpur zones of Nepal. The script is also known as Mithilākṣara and Tirahutā, names which refer to Mithila, or Tirhut, as these regions of India and Nepal are historically known. Maithili is a Brahmi-based script derived from Gauḍī, or ‘Proto-Bengali’, which evolved from the Kuṭila branch of Brahmi by the 10th century .1 It is related to Bengali, Newari, and Oriya, which are also descended from Gauḍī, and became differentiated from these scripts by the 14th century. It remained the dominant writing system in Mithila from that period until the 20th century.