Ariyaka  

The Ariyaka alphabet was invented by King Mongkut Rama IV of Siam
(1804-1868) as an alternative alphabet for Pali. He considered the Khmer
alphabet, which was commonly used to write Pali, to be too complicated
and decided to create an alphabet that was easier to use and more
Western in appearance.

The King devised printed and handwritten versions of the alphabet,
and because printing was not widespread at the time and missionaries
controlled the printing houses, he set up his own printing house
and published a number of books in Pali using the Ariyaka alphabet.

When corresponding with Buddhist monks in other countries, especially
Sri Lanka, the King wrote in Pali in the Ariyaka alphabet, and also in
the Latin and Khmer alphabets. Some of the Sri Lankan monks wrote back
using the Ariyaka alphabet. He hoped that his alphabet would be come
the standard alphabet for Pali.

Notable features

• Type of alphabet: phonemic alphabet
• Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
• Used to write: Pali

Ariyaka alphabet

Sample texts

An Ariyaka Pali letter sent from Sri Lanka to Thailand