| Karani script | |
| Also Known As: | Karaṇī akṣara Assamese: କରଣି ଅକ୍ଷର |
| Type: | Abugida |
| Languages: | Odia language |
| Time: | c. 1700 - 1900s CE[1] |
| Fam1: | Odia script (cursive style) |
| Sample: | Koroni or Chata script sample.jpg |
| Caption: | Karani script sample from Purnachandra Odia Bhashakosha |
Karani script (Oriya: କରଣି ଅକ୍ଷର) (also Chata script ଛଟା ଅକ୍ଷର) was a cursive/calligraphic style variant of Odia script[2] [3] [4] developed by the Karana (କରଣ) community/ the scribes (professional writer-class) of the Odia royal courts. It was used in the pre-Independence Orissa (Odisha) region of British India and was primarily used by the Karana community who were working for administrative purposes, documentation and keeping records in the royal courts of the Odia princely states (Orissa Tributary States). The name Karani is derived from the metal stylus, Karani that was used for writing on palm leaf.[5] [6]
| For the vowel Oriya: ଇ (short i), the standard Odia diacritic form is Oriya: ି. Eg- For consonant Oriya: କ (ka) - Oriya: କି (ki) But for these consonants - Oriya: ଖ (kha), Oriya: ଥ (tha), Oriya: ଧ (dha), the equivalent Oriya: ଇ diacritic from Karani script is also used. | Oriya: ଖି (khi) Oriya: ଥି (thi) Oriya: ଧି (dhi) |