Ali-Kali Tibetan Sanskrit Alphabet

This art piece illustrates the Sanskrit alphabet written in Tibetan phonetics. Known as the Ali-Kali alphabet – དབྱངས་གསལ་བརྡ་རྟགས།
this is traditionally followed by the Tibetan alphabet, with other Sanskrit letters also included and finished with the om yi dharma mantra, known as the Dependant Origination Dharini.

As a yogi or yogini practitioner this Tibetan-Sanskrit alphabet and mantra are chanted as the first speech uttered on waking up – considered to purify all prana and speech so that their nature becomes Jnana.

As a nod to Tashi’s years as a monk, when during a traditional three-year retreat, the practice of this special alphabet and mantra was a daily morning ritual, as illustrated with the heading character being held by a Tibetan monastic.

The letters of the alphabet are constructed using proportional grid lines of the classical Tibetan Uchen script, which have been left as an example. The intention of using the Uchen script is that it is allegedly based on original Indian Gupta Sanskrit.