{"id":2921,"date":"2020-09-27T02:52:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T02:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2021-09-29T20:50:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T20:50:05","slug":"bhasha-sanskrit-input-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/bhasha-sanskrit-input-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Bhasha: Sanskrit Transliteration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Typing Sanskrit can be challenging if you don’t have access to your special keyboard, or don’t have your favorite input tools installed on the computer you are working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I set out to write a Google Docs add-on<\/a> that could make it easy to do so. A Google Docs add-on could be an ideal option for typing Sanskrit, even while using guest computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanskrit has more sounds than English and other languages written in Roman scripts. Devanagari<\/a> is the commonly used script used for writing Sanskrit and uses non-ASCII characters. Some systems such as IAST and ITRANS use additional symbols to represent Sanskrit sounds in Roman-like scripts. For example, \u0101<\/em> in IAST is used to represent the long “a” syllable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found this library called Sanscript.js<\/a> which could convert between these different writing schemes. However it doesn’t address the problem of being able to use a standard keyboard with ASCII characters. IAST includes additional characters such as \u016b, \u1e63, \u00f1, \u1e45, \u1e43<\/em>, etc. It is more readable than other competing schemes such as ITRANS. ITRANS includes a mix of upper-case and lower-case letters, in the middle of a word, to represent additional sounds. This has adverse affect on the aesthetics of the script. I find it harder to read as well. IAST has also been used in academia and Sanskrit books written in the West since a long time. As a result many users of Sanskrit language are familiar with this system. It was later standardized as ISO 15919 with small changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I added a new “IAST Simplified” scheme to the list supported by Sanscript.js. This is inspired from my favorite Sanskrit writing software called Sanskrit Writer<\/a>. This scheme uses standard ASCII characters and closely resembles the IAST scheme. For example, it uses –a<\/em><\/strong> for \u0101<\/em>,<\/strong> ~n<\/em><\/strong> for \u00f1<\/em>, and h.<\/em><\/strong> for \u1e25<\/em>, and so on. The following table explains this scheme in detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span><\/p>

Vowels<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0905<\/span><\/p>

a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0906<\/span><\/p>

-a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0907<\/span><\/p>

i<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0908 <\/span><\/p>

-i<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0909<\/span><\/p>

u<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u090a <\/span><\/p>

-u<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u090b<\/span><\/p>

r.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0960<\/span><\/p>

-r.<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p>

<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u090c<\/span><\/p>

l.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0961<\/span><\/p>

-l.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u090f<\/span><\/p>

e<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0910<\/span><\/p>

ai<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0913<\/span><\/p>

o<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0914<\/span><\/p>

au<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0902<\/span><\/p>

m.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0903<\/span><\/p>

h.<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p>

Consonants<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr>

\u0915<\/span><\/p>

ka<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0916<\/span><\/p>

kha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0917<\/span><\/p>

ga<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0918<\/span><\/p>

gha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0919<\/span><\/p>

.na<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u091a<\/span><\/p>

ca<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091b<\/span><\/p>

cha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091c<\/span><\/p>

ja<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091d<\/span><\/p>

jha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091e<\/span><\/p>

~na<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u091f<\/span><\/p>

t.a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0920<\/span><\/p>

t.ha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0921<\/span><\/p>

d.a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0922<\/span><\/p>

d.ha <\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0923<\/span><\/p>

n.a<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0924<\/span><\/p>

ta <\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0925<\/span><\/p>

tha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0926<\/span><\/p>

da<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0927<\/span><\/p>

dha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0928<\/span><\/p>

na<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u092a<\/span><\/p>

pa<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u092b<\/span><\/p>

pha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u092c<\/span><\/p>

ba<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u092d<\/span><\/p>

bha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u092e<\/span><\/p>

ma<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0936<\/span><\/p>

\u2018sa<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0937<\/span><\/p>

s.a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0938<\/span><\/p>

sa<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0939<\/span><\/p>

ha<\/span><\/p><\/td>

 \u0933<\/span><\/p>

_la<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u092f<\/span><\/p>

ya<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0930<\/span><\/p>

ra<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0932<\/span><\/p>

la<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0935<\/span><\/p>

va<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p>

Vowel Marks <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0915\u094d<\/span><\/p>

k<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0916\u093e<\/span><\/p>

kh-a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0917\u093f<\/span><\/p>

gi<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0918\u0940<\/span><\/p>

dh-i<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0919\u0941<\/span><\/p>

.nu<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u091a\u0942<\/span><\/p>

c-u<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091b\u0943<\/span><\/p>

chr.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091c\u0944<\/span><\/p>

j-r.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091d\u0962<\/span><\/p>

jhl.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091e\u0963<\/span><\/p>

~n-l.<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u091f\u0947<\/span><\/p>

t.e<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0920\u0948<\/span><\/p>

t.hai<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0921\u094b<\/span><\/p>

d.o<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0921\u094c<\/span><\/p>

d.au<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0925<\/span><\/p>

tha<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0923\u0902<\/span><\/p>

n.am<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0924\u0903<\/span><\/p>

tah.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0915\u094d\u0937<\/span><\/p>

ks.a<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0924\u094d\u0930<\/span><\/p>

tra<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u091c\u094d\u091e<\/span><\/p>

j~na<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p>

Symbols<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u093d<\/span><\/p>

‘<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0964<\/span><\/p>

.<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0964\u0964<\/span><\/p>

..<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0966<\/span><\/p>

0<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0967<\/span><\/p>

1<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u0968<\/span><\/p>

2<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p>

<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/a><\/a><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u0969<\/span><\/p>

3<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096a<\/span><\/p>

4<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096b<\/span><\/p>

5<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096c<\/span><\/p>

6<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096d<\/span><\/p>

7<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096e<\/span><\/p>

8<\/span><\/p><\/td>

\u096f<\/span><\/p>

9<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

<\/span><\/p><\/td>

<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

After these additions to Sanscript.js, I was able to write a quick Google Docs plugin that could convert between different schemes with a click of a button. You can try this plugin out by visiting this link<\/a>, or searching for “Bhasha” in Google Docs under addons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was hoping to have a WYSIWYG design where transliteration could happen as you typed. This required intercepting each edit, and was not possible using the Google Docs API<\/a>. As a second option, I wrote a plugin for QuillJS<\/a>, a cool open-source rich-text editor. You can try out this add-on here: https:\/\/trivedigaurav.com\/exp\/bhasha\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot of the QuillJs editor with Bhasha<\/em> plugin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This may not be mobile friendly. I didn’t spend time test it on the phone since you can easily switch to a Sanskrit keyboard on a phone anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source code for the QuillJS plugin is on Github here<\/a>. Please feel free to hack on it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edit 1:<\/em> Bhasha is now available as a Google Docs add-on<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Edit 2:<\/em> Added Vedic accents!<\/strong><\/p>IAST:<\/em> a\u0952gnim\u012b\u0951\u1e3be pu\u0952rohi\u0951ta\u1e43 ya\u0951j\u00f1asya\u0951 de\u0952vam\u1e5b\u0952tvija\u0951m
Devanagari:<\/em> \u0905\u0952\u0917\u094d\u0928\u093f\u092e\u0940\u0951\u0933\u0947 \u092a\u0941\u0952\u0930\u094b\u0939\u093f\u0951\u0924\u0902 \u092f\u0951\u091c\u094d\u091e\u0938\u094d\u092f\u0951 \u0926\u0947\u0952\u0935\u092e\u0943\u0952\u0924\u094d\u0935\u093f\u091c\u0951\u092e\u094d
IAST Simplified:<\/em> a\\_gnim-i\\!~le pu\\_rohi\\!tam. ya\\!j~nasya\\! de\\_vamr.\\_tvija\\!m<\/code><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Edit 3:<\/em> Added Double Tone Svarita!<\/strong>

Devanagari:<\/em> \u0938\u094d\u0925\u093f\u0952\u0930\u0948\u0930\u0919\u094d\u0917\u0948\u1cda\u0938\u094d\u0924\u0941\u0937\u094d\u091f\u0941\u0935\u093e\u0917\u094d\u0901\u0938\u0951\u0938\u094d\u0924\u0952\u0928\u0942\u092d\u093f\u0903\u0951
IAST Simplified: <\/em>sthi\\_raira.ngai\\=stus.t.uv-ag~csa\\!sta\\_n-ubhih.\\!<\/code><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Typing Sanskrit can be challenging if you don’t have access to your special keyboard, or don’t have your favorite input tools installed on the computer you are working on. So I set out to write a Google Docs add-on that could make it easy to do so. A Google Docs add-on could be an ideal … Continue reading Bhasha: Sanskrit Transliteration<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,8,47,22,27],"tags":[43,40,31,44],"class_list":["post-2921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun","category-hci","category-natural-language-processing","category-projects","category-software","tag-hci","tag-javascript","tag-natural-language-processing","tag-projects"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p46eol-L7","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2921"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2989,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions\/2989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trivedigaurav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}