Ra (Indic)

Comparison of Ra in different scripts

Aramaic - Kharoṣṭhī 𐨪 Ashoka Brahmi Kushana Brahmi Tocharian  /  Gupta Brahmi Pallava - Kadamba - Bhaiksuki 𑰨 Siddhaṃ Grantha 𑌰 Cham ꨣ Sinhala ර Pyu / Old Mon - Tibetan  / ྲ Newa 𑐬 Ahom 𑜍 Malayalam ര Telugu ర Burmese ရ / ြ Lepcha ᰛ / ᰥ Ranjana - Saurashtra ꢬ Dives Akuru 𑤧 Kannada ರ Kayah Li ꤚ Limbu ᤖ / ᤪ Soyombo 𑩼 Khmer រ Tamil Chakma 𑄢 Tai Tham ᩁ / ᩂ Meitei Mayek ꯔ Gaudi - Thai ร Lao ຣ Tai Le - Marchen 𑲊 Tirhuta 𑒩 New Tai Lue - Tai Viet ꪦ / ꪧ Aksara Kawi - 'Phags-pa ꡘ / ꡱ Odia ର Sharada 𑆫 Rejang ꤽ Batak ᯒ Buginese ᨑ Zanabazar Square 𑨫 Bengali-Assamese Takri 𑚤 Javanese ꦫ / ꦬ Balinese ᬭ / ᬃ Makasar 𑻭 Hangul - Northern Nagari - Dogri 𑠤 Laṇḍā - Sundanese ᮛ / ᮢ Baybayin - Modi 𑘨 Gujarati ર Khojki 𑈦 Khudabadi 𑋙 Mahajani 𑅭 Tagbanwa - Devanagari  /  Nandinagari 𑧈 Kaithi 𑂩 Gurmukhi ਰ Multani 𑊢 Buhid ᝍ Canadian Syllabics - Soyombo 𑩼 Sylheti Nagari ꠞ Gunjala Gondi 𑶈 Masaram Gondi 𑴦 Hanuno'o ᜭ Notes

Ra is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ra is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . Most Indic scripts have differing forms of Ra when used in combination with other consonants, including subjoined and repha forms. Some of these are encoded in computer text as separate characters, while others are generated dynamically using conjunct shaping with a virama.

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Further information: 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 र are:

• र [ɾə] = 40 (४०)
• रि [ɾɪ] = 4,000 (४ ०००)
• रु [ɾʊ] = 400,000 (४ ०० ०००)
• रृ [ɾri] = 40,000,000 (४ ०० ०० ०००)
• रॢ [ɾlə] = 4×10⁹ (४×१०^९)
• रे [ɾe] = 4×10¹¹ (४×१०^११)
• रै [ɾɛː] = 4×10¹³ (४×१०^१३)
• रो [ɾoː] = 4×10¹⁵ (४×१०^१५)
• रौ [ɾɔː] = 4×10¹⁷ (४×१०^१७)

Historic Ra

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ra as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Ra had an alterante Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of ra, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Ra

The Brahmi letter , Ra, is probably derived from the Aramaic Resh , and is thus related to the modern Latin R and Greek Rho. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ra can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period. 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 Ra historic forms

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

Tocharian Ra

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen form used in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Rä. The use of repha forms in modern Indic scripts is similar to the Fremdzeichen Ra in Tocharian.

Tocharian Ra with vowel marks

Ra	Rā	Ri	Rī	Ru	Rū	Rr	Rr̄	Re	Rai	Ro	Rau	Rä	Fremdzeichen

Kharoṣṭhī Ra

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Resh , and is thus related to R and Rho, in addition to the Brahmi Ra.

Devanagari Ra

Main article: Devanagari ra

Ra (र) is a 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 ર, and the Modi letter 𑘨.

Devanagari-using Languages

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

Devanagari र with vowel marks

Ra	Rā	Ri	Rī	Ru	Rū	Rr	Rr̄	Rl	Rl̄	Re	Rai	Ro	Rau	R
र	रा	रि	री	रु	रू	रृ	रॄ	रॢ	रॣ	रे	रै	रो	रौ	र्

Several languages use the dotted form Rra for the [r] sound instead of र. ऱ combines with vowel marks identically to र.

Conjuncts with र

Devanagari Repha

Devanagari Rakar

Eyelash Ra

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, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.

When in conjuncts with other letters, र takes on several different forms, the most important of which are Repha and Rakar.

Repha is used to indicate that a conjunct begins with "R". It is crescent shape attached atop the headline of the rest of the conjunct at the right, immediately above the vertical stem, if present. The other members of the conjunct ignore Repha for shaping, combining with the other members of the conjunct to form ligatures or stacked conjuncts normally.

Rakar is used to indicate a consonant conjunct ending in "Ra". It is an upward-pointing wedge shape that is found either centered below the rest of the conjunct, or tilted to the right and integrated with the bottom of the stemline. Like with Repha, the rest of the conjunct ignores Rakar for shaping, except for minor alteration of the bottom of any stemline.

The third conjunct form of Ra is the so-called Eyelash Ra. It resembles a half-form in retaining the head line, with a shape below that connects to the following letter, but this remaining eyelash shape does not resemble either र or ऱ. The eyelash Ra is used in Nepali and Marathi texts instead of Repha for an initial "R" sound in a conjunct. Even though those languages both use the dotted Ra ऱ, eyelash Ra is the default form of Ra + Virama in Unicode for backwards compatibility, and the Repha form is mapped individually as a ligature with each other Devanagari consonant.

Devanagari Repha

• र্ (r) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature rba:

• र্ (r) + भ (bʰa) gives us the ligature rbʰa:

• र্ (r) + च (ca) gives us the ligature rca:

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

• र্ (r) + द (da) gives us the ligature rda:

• र্ (r) + ड (ḍa) gives us the ligature rḍa:

• र্ (r) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives us the ligature rḍʱa:

• र্ (r) + द্ (d) + ध (dʱa) gives us the ligature rddʱa:

• र্ (r) + ध (dʱa) gives us the ligature rdʱa:

• र্ (r) + द্ (d) + व (va) gives us the ligature rdva:

• र্ (r) + ग (ga) gives us the ligature rga:

• र্ (r) + घ (ɡʱa) gives us the ligature rɡʱa:

• र্ (r) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature rha:

• र্ (r) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature rja:

• र্ (r) + झ (jʰa) gives us the ligature rjʰa:

• र্ (r) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature rjña:

• र্ (r) + क (ka) gives us the ligature rka:

• र্ (r) + ख (kʰa) gives us the ligature rkʰa:

• र্ (r) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives us the ligature rkṣa:

• र্ (r) + ल (la) gives us the ligature rla:

• र্ (r) + ळ (ḷa) gives us the ligature rḷa:

• र্ (r) + म (ma) gives us the ligature rma:

• र্ (r) + न (na) gives us the ligature rna:

• र্ (r) + ङ (ŋa) gives us the ligature rŋa:

• र্ (r) + ङ্ (ŋ) + ग (ga) gives us the ligature rŋga:

• र্ (r) + ण (ṇa) gives us the ligature rṇa:

• र্ (r) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature rña:

• र্ (r) + प (pa) gives us the ligature rpa:

• र্ (r) + फ (pʰa) gives us the ligature rpʰa:

• र্ (r) + र (ra) gives us the ligature rra:

• र্ (r) + स (sa) gives us the ligature rsa:

• र্ (r) + श (ʃa) gives us the ligature rʃa:

• र্ (r) + ष (ṣa) gives us the ligature rṣa:

• र্ (r) + स্ (s) + व (va) gives us the ligature rsva:

• र্ (r) + त (ta) gives us the ligature rta:

• र্ (r) + थ (tʰa) gives us the ligature rtʰa:

• र্ (r) + ट (ṭa) gives us the ligature rṭa:

• र্ (r) + त্ (t) + त (ta) gives us the ligature rtta:

• र্ (r) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives us the ligature rṭʰa:

• र্ (r) + व (va) gives us the ligature rva:

• र্ (r) + य (ya) gives us the ligature rya:

Devanagari Rakar

• भ্ (bʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature bʰra:

• ब্ (b) + र (ra) gives us the ligature bra:

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

• च্ (c) + र (ra) gives us the ligature cra:

• द্ (d) + ब্ (b) + र (ra) gives us the ligature dbra:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ḍʱra:

• ड্ (ḍ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ḍra:

• द্ (d) + द্ (d) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ddra:

• द্ (d) + ग্ (g) + र (ra) gives us the ligature dgra:

• ध্ (dʱ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature dʱra:

• द্ (d) + र (ra) gives us the ligature dra:

• घ্ (ɡʱ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ɡʱra:

• ग্ (g) + र (ra) gives us the ligature gra:

• ग্ (g) + र্ (r) + य (ya) gives us the ligature grya:

• ह্ (h) + र (ra) gives us the ligature hra:

• झ্ (jʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature jʰra:

• ज্ (j) + र (ra) gives us the ligature jra:

• क্ (k) + र (ra) gives us the ligature kra:

• क্ (k) + त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ktra:

• ळ্ (ḷ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ḷra:

• ल্ (l) + र (ra) gives us the ligature lra:

• म্ (m) + र (ra) gives us the ligature mra:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ŋkra:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ŋra:

• ण্ (ṇ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ṇra:

• न্ (n) + र (ra) gives us the ligature nra:

• ञ্ (ñ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ñra:

• फ্ (pʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature pʰra:

• प্ (p) + र (ra) gives us the ligature pra:

• प্ (p) + त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ptra:

• श্ (ʃ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ʃra:

• स্ (s) + र (ra) gives us the ligature sra:

• ष্ (ṣ) + क্ (k) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ṣkra:

• ष্ (ṣ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ṣra:

• थ্ (tʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature tʰra:

• त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature tra:

• त্ (t) + र্ (r) + य (ya) gives us the ligature trya:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ṭʰra:

• ट্ (ṭ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ṭra:

• त্ (t) + त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature ttra:

• व্ (v) + र (ra) gives us the ligature vra:

• य্ (y) + र (ra) gives us the ligature yra:

Several conjuncts have both Repha and Rakar forms:

• र্ (r) + ध্ (dʱ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature rdʱra:

• र্ (r) + ष্ (ṣ) + ट্ (ṭ) + र (ra) gives us the ligature rṣṭra:

• र্ (r) + त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature rtra:

• र্ (r) + त্ (t) + त্ (t) + र (ra) gives us the ligature rttra:

Bengali Ra

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

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

Bengali র with vowel marks

ra	rā	ri	rī	ru	rū	rr	rr̄	re	rai	ro	rau	r
র	রা	রি	রী	রু	রূ	রৃ	রৄ	রে	রৈ	রো	রৌ	র্

র in Bengali-using languages

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

Conjuncts with র

Bengali র exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. Much like other Indic scripts, Bengali র also rarely appears in conjuncts in full form, and has special unrelated graphic forms for both initial and trailing র in conjuncts called Repha and Ra phala.

Bengali Ra-phala

Bengali Ra-phala

The letter র has a special form when used as the last letter of a conjunct called "Ra phala" (or "Ro pholo"). This reduced form of র is appended to the bottom of a letter or conjunct. Both Ya and Va have a similar "phala" trailing form. Ra-phala and Ya-phala can be found together in many conjuncts.

• ভ্ (bʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature bʰra:

• ব্ (b) + র (ra) gives us the ligature bra:

• চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ccʰra:

• দ্ (d) + ভ্ (bʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature dbʰra:

• ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ḍʱra:

• ড্ (ḍ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ḍra:

• ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature dʱra:

• দ্ (d) + র (ra) gives us the ligature dra:

• দ্ (d) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature drya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to ra phala:

• গ্ (g) + ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature gdʱra:

• ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ɡʱra:

• গ্ (g) + র (ra) gives us the ligature gra:

• গ্ (g) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature grya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to ra phala:

• জ্ (j) + র (ra) gives us the ligature jra:

• খ্ (kʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature kʰra:

• ক্ (k) + র (ra) gives us the ligature kra:

• ক্ (k) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ktra:

• ক্ (k) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature kṭra:

• ম্ (m) + ভ্ (bʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature mbʰra:

• ম্ (m) + প্ (p) + র (ra) gives us the ligature mpra:

• ম্ (m) + র (ra) gives us the ligature mra:

• ম্ (m) + ব্ (v) + র (ra) gives us the ligature mvra:

• ন্ (n) + ড্ (ḍ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature nḍra:

• ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ndʱra:

• ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ndra:

• ঙ্ (ŋ) + ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ŋɡʱra:

• ঙ্ (ŋ) + ক্ (k) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ŋkra:

• ণ্ (ṇ) + ড্ (ḍ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ṇḍra:

• ন্ (n) + থ্ (tʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ntʰra:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ntra:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ntrya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to ra phala:

• ন্ (n) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature nṭra:

• ফ্ (pʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature pʰra:

• প্ (p) + র (ra) gives us the ligature pra:

• প্ (p) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature prya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to ra phala:

• শ্ (ʃ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ʃra:

• স্ (s) + ক্ (k) + র (ra) gives us the ligature skra:

• স্ (s) + র (ra) gives us the ligature sra:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + ক্ (k) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ṣkra:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + প্ (p) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ṣpra:

• ষ্ (ṣ) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ṣṭra:

• স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature stra:

• স্ (s) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature sṭra:

• থ্ (tʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature tʰra:

• ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature tra:

• ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature trya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to ra phala:

• ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ṭra:

Bengali Repha

Bengali Repha

Unlike other letters, র also has a special form when used as the initial letter of a conjunct called "Repha". This reduced form of র on top of the following letter or conjunct. Repha can be found in combination with Ra-phala, Ya-phala and Va-phala in many conjuncts.

• র্ (r) + ভ (bʰa) gives us the ligature rbʰa:

• র্ (r) + ব্ (b) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rbya, with the ya phala suffix:

• র্ (r) + চ (ca) gives us the ligature rca:

• র্ (r) + ছ (cʰa) gives us the ligature rcʰa:

• র্ (r) + চ্ (c) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rcya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + দ (da) gives us the ligature rda:

• র্ (r) + ড (ḍa) gives us the ligature rḍa:

• র্ (r) + ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rḍʱya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ধ (dʱa) gives us the ligature rdʱa:

• র্ (r) + ধ্ (dʱ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature rdʱva, with the va phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + দ্ (d) + র (ra) gives us the ligature rdra:

• র্ (r) + দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives us the ligature rdva, with the va phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + গ (ga) gives us the ligature rga:

• র্ (r) + ঘ (ɡʱa) gives us the ligature rɡʱa:

• র্ (r) + ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rɡʱya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + হ (ha) gives us the ligature rha:

• র্ (r) + হ্ (h) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rhya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + জ (ja) gives us the ligature rja:

• র্ (r) + ঝ (jʰa) gives us the ligature rjʰa:

• র্ (r) + জ্ (j) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rjya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ক (ka) gives us the ligature rka:

• র্ (r) + খ (kʰa) gives us the ligature rkʰa:

• র্ (r) + খ্ (kʰ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rkʰya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ক্ (k) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rkya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ল (la) gives us the ligature rla:

• র্ (r) + ম (ma) gives us the ligature rma:

• র্ (r) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rmya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ন (na) gives us the ligature rna:

• র্ (r) + ণ (ṇa) gives us the ligature rṇa:

• র্ (r) + ণ্ (ṇ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rṇya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + প (pa) gives us the ligature rpa:

• র্ (r) + ফ (pʰa) gives us the ligature rpʰa:

• র্ (r) + স (sa) gives us the ligature rsa:

• র্ (r) + শ (ʃa) gives us the ligature rʃa:

• র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + ব (va) gives us the ligature rʃva, with the va phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rʃya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ষ (ṣa) gives us the ligature rṣa:

• র্ (r) + ষ্ (ṣ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rṣya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ত (ta) gives us the ligature rta:

• র্ (r) + থ (tʰa) gives us the ligature rtʰa:

• র্ (r) + থ্ (tʰ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rtʰya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature rtra:

• র্ (r) + ট (ṭa) gives us the ligature rṭa:

• র্ (r) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rtya, with the ya phala suffix in addition to repha:

• র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rya, with repha, not ya phala:

Javanese Ra

Main article: Ra (Javanese)