Mahajani Alphabet

The Mahajani Alphabet is an old script that was mainly used in northern India for writing business records, letters, and accounting books. It developed from the Landa script around the 16th century and was used for several languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, and Marwari. Merchants and traders widely used it across regions such as Rajasthan, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. The name “Mahajani” itself comes from the word “Mahajan,” meaning trader or merchant, showing its strong link to trade and commerce.

The Mahajani script is written from left to right and includes simple, compact characters designed for quick writing. Unlike many other scripts, it often leaves out vowel marks, as readers could easily understand the words from context. Although it is no longer in everyday use, the Mahajani Alphabet remains an important part of India’s commercial history and offers valuable insight into the business and cultural life of earlier centuries.