Tirhuta letter E

It is Tirhuta’s independent letter for the E vowel. Use it when the vowel stands alone or opens a word; a vowel sign instead attaches to a consonant.

Tirhuta developed from Gauḍī, an older eastern Indian script also called Proto-Bengali, by the 13th century. Its earliest reported records are temple inscriptions in Bihar and Nepal from the 13th century. By at least the 14th century, Maithil Brahmin and Kayasth communities used it for pañjī, their genealogical records.

Tirhuta was first used for Sanskrit; Maithili writing in it is attested from the 14th century. Its script family shares Gauḍī roots with Bengali, Newari, and Odia (historically also called Oriya); these had become distinct scripts by the 14th century. By the late twentieth century, Devanagari had displaced Tirhuta as the main script for Maithili. In modern use, Tirhuta appears in religious and literary manuscripts, personal correspondence, ceremonial invitations, some northern Bihar signage, and script-revival work.

How can I type the Tirhuta letter E?

Use a Tirhuta keyboard or transliteration editor. If your usual keyboard does not include Tirhuta, choose a dedicated Unicode layout or an editor that converts typed input into Tirhuta.

As of 2026, Malar Tirhuta offers transliteration-based input and points to a Keyman keyboard and a Tirhuta font.