Cha (Indic)

^ The middle "Kushana" form of Brahmi is a later style that emerged as Brahmi scripts were beginning to proliferate. Gupta Brahmi was definitely a stylistic descendant from Kushana, but other Brahmi-derived scripts may have descended from earlier forms.
^ Tocharian is probably derived from the middle period "Kushana" form of Brahmi, although artifacts from that time are not plentiful enough to establish a definite succession.
^ Pyu and Old Mon are probably the precursors of the Burmese script, and may be derived from either the Pallava or Kadamba script
^ May also be derived from Devangari (see bottom left of table)
^ The Origin of Hangul from 'Phags-pa is one of limited influence, inspiring at most a few basic letter shapes. Hangul does not function as an Indic abugida.
^ Although the basic letter forms of the Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics were derived from handwritten Devanagari letters, this abugida indicates vowel sounds by rotations of the letter form, rather than the use of vowel diacritics as is standard in Indic abugidas.
^ May also be derived from Ranjana (see above)
^ Masaram Gondi acts as an Indic abugida, but its letterforms were not derived from any single precursor script.

Cha is the seventh consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, cha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the Aramaic letter ("Q") after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of छ are:^[1]

छ [t͡ʃʰə] = 7 (७)
छि [t͡ʃʰɪ] = 700 (७००)
छु [t͡ʃʰʊ] = 70,000 (७० ०००)
छृ [t͡ʃʰri] = 7,000,000 (७० ०० ०००)
छॢ [t͡ʃʰlə] = 7×10⁸ (७०^८)
छे [t͡ʃʰe] = 7×10¹⁰ (७०^१०)
छै [t͡ʃʰɛː] = 7×10¹² (७०^१२)
छो [t͡ʃʰoː] = 7×10¹⁴ (७०^१४)
छौ [t͡ʃʰɔː] = 7×10¹⁶ (७०^१६)

Historic Cha

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Cha as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Cha did not have an alterante Fremdzeichen form. The third form of cha, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Cha

The Brahmi letter , Cha, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to the Greek San (letter). Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Cha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.^[2] As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Cha historic forms
Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

Tocharian Cha

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Cha with vowel marks
Cha	Chā	Chi	Chī	Chu	Chū	Chr	Chr̄	Che	Chai	Cho	Chau	Chä

Kharoṣṭhī Cha

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to the Greek San (letter), in addition to the Brahmi Cha.

Devanagari script

Cha (छ) is the seventh consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter છ and the Modi letter 𑘔.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, छ is pronounced as [t͡ʃʰə] or [t͡ʃʰ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari छ with vowel marks
Cha	Chā	Chi	Chī	Chu	Chū	Chr	Chr̄	Chl	Chl̄	Che	Chai	Cho	Chau	Ch
छ	छा	छि	छी	छु	छू	छृ	छॄ	छॢ	छॣ	छे	छै	छो	छौ	छ्

Conjuncts with छ

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.^[3]

Ligature conjuncts of छ

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

र্ (r) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature rcʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature cʰra:

Stacked conjuncts of छ

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

ब্ (b) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature bcʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature cʰba:

छ্ (cʰ) + भ (bʰa) gives us the ligature cʰbʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + च (ca) gives us the ligature cʰca:

छ্ (cʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature cʰcʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + द (da) gives us the ligature cʰda:

छ্ (cʰ) + ड (ḍa) gives us the ligature cʰḍa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives us the ligature cʰḍʱa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ध (dʱa) gives us the ligature cʰdʱa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ग (ga) gives us the ligature cʰga:

छ্ (cʰ) + घ (ɡʱa) gives us the ligature cʰɡʱa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature cʰha:

छ্ (cʰ) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature cʰja:

छ্ (cʰ) + झ (jʰa) gives us the ligature cʰjʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cʰjña:

छ্ (cʰ) + क (ka) gives us the ligature cʰka:

छ্ (cʰ) + ख (kʰa) gives us the ligature cʰkʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives us the ligature cʰkṣa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ल (la) gives us the ligature cʰla:

छ্ (cʰ) + ळ (ḷa) gives us the ligature cʰḷa:

छ্ (cʰ) + म (ma) gives us the ligature cʰma:

छ্ (cʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature cʰna:

छ্ (cʰ) + ङ (ŋa) gives us the ligature cʰŋa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ण (ṇa) gives us the ligature cʰṇa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature cʰña:

छ্ (cʰ) + प (pa) gives us the ligature cʰpa:

छ্ (cʰ) + फ (pʰa) gives us the ligature cʰpʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature cʰsa:

छ্ (cʰ) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature cʰʃa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ष (ṣa) gives us the ligature cʰṣa:

छ্ (cʰ) + त (ta) gives us the ligature cʰta:

छ্ (cʰ) + थ (tʰa) gives us the ligature cʰtʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ट (ṭa) gives us the ligature cʰṭa:

छ্ (cʰ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives us the ligature cʰṭʰa:

छ্ (cʰ) + व (va) gives us the ligature cʰva:

छ্ (cʰ) + य (ya) gives us the ligature cʰya:

द্ (d) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature dcʰa:

ड্ (ḍ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ḍcʰa:

ढ্ (ḍʱ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ḍʱcʰa:

ख্ (kʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature kʰcʰa:

ङ্ (ŋ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ŋcʰa:

ट্ (ṭ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ṭcʰa:

ठ্ (ṭʰ) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ṭʰcʰa:

व্ (v) + छ (cʰa) gives us the ligature vcʰa:

Bengali script

The Bengali script ছ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, छ. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ছ will sometimes be transliterated as "cho" instead of "cha". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /cʰo/.

Like all Indic consonants, ছ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bengali ছ with vowel marks
cha	chā	chi	chī	chu	chū	chr	chr̄	che	chai	cho	chau	ch
ছ	ছা	ছি	ছী	ছু	ছূ	ছৃ	ছৄ	ছে	ছৈ	ছো	ছৌ	ছ্

ছ in Bengali-using languages

ছ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Conjuncts with ছ

Bengali ছ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. Unlike most Bengali letters, conjuncts with ছ do not tend towards stacked ligatures.^[4]

চ্ (c) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ccʰa:

চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ccʰra, with the ra phala suffix:

চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature ccʰva, with the va phala suffix:

ঞ (ñ) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ñcʰa:

র্ (r) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature rcʰa, with the repha prefix:

শ্ (ʃ) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature ʃcʰa:

Gujarati script

Cha (છ) is the seventh consonant of the Gujarati script. It is derived from 16th century Devanagari letter cha (छ) with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed.

Gurmukhi script

Chhachhaa [t͡ʃʰət͡ʃʰːɑ] (ਛ) is the twelfth letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet. Its name is [t͡ʃʰət͡ʃʰːɑ] and is pronounced as /t͡ʃʰ/ when used in words. It is derived from the Laṇḍā letter cha, and ultimately from the Brahmi cha. Gurmukhi chachaa does not have a special pairin or addha (reduced) form for making conjuncts, and in modern Punjabi texts do not take a half form or halant to indicate the bare consonant /t͡ʃʰ/, although Gurmukhi Sanskrit texts may use an explicit halant.

Thai script

Cho ching (ฉ) is the ninth letter of the Thai script. It falls under the middle class of Thai consonants. In IPA, cho ching is pronounced as [tɕʰ] at the beginning of a syllable and may not be used to close a syllable. The eighth letter of the alphabet, cho chan (จ), is also named cho and falls under the middle class of Thai consonants. The tenth and twelfth letters of the alphabet, cho chang (ช) and cho choe (ฌ), are also named cho, however, they all fall under the low class of Thai consonants. Unlike many Indic scripts, Thai consonants do not form conjunct ligatures, and use the pinthu—an explicit virama with a dot shape—to indicate bare consonants. In the acrophony of the Thai script, ching (ฉิ่ง) means ‘cymbals (ching)’. Cho ching corresponds to the Sanskrit character ‘छ’.

References

^ Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
^ Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838 [1]
^ Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^ "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.

Kurt Elfering: Die Mathematik des Aryabhata I. Text, Übersetzung aus dem Sanskrit und Kommentar. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, München, 1975, ISBN 3-7705-1326-6
Georges Ifrah: The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000, ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
B. L. van der Waerden: Erwachende Wissenschaft. Ägyptische, babylonische und griechische Mathematik. Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel Stuttgart, 1966, ISBN 3-7643-0399-9
Fleet, J. F. (January 1911). "Aryabhata's System of Expressing Numbers". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 109–126. ISSN 0035-869X. JSTOR 25189823.
Fleet, J. F. (1911). "Aryabhata's System of Expressing Numbers". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 43. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 109–126. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00040995. JSTOR 25189823.

[1] The middle "Kushana" form of Brahmi is a later style that emerged as Brahmi scripts were beginning to proliferate. Gupta Brahmi was definitely a stylistic descendant from Kushana, but other Brahmi-derived scripts may have descended from earlier forms.

[2] Tocharian is probably derived from the middle period "Kushana" form of Brahmi, although artifacts from that time are not plentiful enough to establish a definite succession.

[3] Pyu and Old Mon are probably the precursors of the Burmese script, and may be derived from either the Pallava or Kadamba script

[4] May also be derived from Devangari (see bottom left of table)

[5] The Origin of Hangul from 'Phags-pa is one of limited influence, inspiring at most a few basic letter shapes. Hangul does not function as an Indic abugida.

[6] Although the basic letter forms of the Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics were derived from handwritten Devanagari letters, this abugida indicates vowel sounds by rotations of the letter form, rather than the use of vowel diacritics as is standard in Indic abugidas.

[7] May also be derived from Ranjana (see above)

[8] Masaram Gondi acts as an Indic abugida, but its letterforms were not derived from any single precursor script.

[Ifrah-9] Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.

[10] Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838 [1]

[KNAB-11] Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.

[12] "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]