Ḍha (Indic)

The Brahmi letter , Ḍha, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Dalet , and is thus related to the modern Latin D and Greek Delta.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ḍha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] 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 Ḍha historic forms

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

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

Tocharian Ḍha with vowel marks

Ḍha	Ḍhā	Ḍhi	Ḍhī	Ḍhu	Ḍhū	Ḍhr	Ḍhr̄	Ḍhe	Ḍhai	Ḍho	Ḍhau	Ḍhä

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Dalet , and is thus related to D and Delta, in addition to the Brahmi Ḍha.[2]

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

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. Lacking a vertical stem to drop for making a half form, Ḍha either forms a stacked conjunct/ligature, or uses its full form with Virama. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular avoiding their use where other languages would use them.[4]

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.

• Repha र্ (r) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature rḍʱa: ^note

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

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

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + न (na) gives the ligature ḍʱna:

• प্ (p) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature pḍʱa:

• ष্ (ṣ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṣḍʱa:

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.

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

• ड্ (ḍ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ḍḍʱa:

• द্ (d) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature dḍʱa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ब (ba) gives the ligature ḍʱba:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + भ (bʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱbʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ḍʱca:

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

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + द (da) gives the ligature ḍʱda:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature ḍʱḍa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ḍʱḍʱa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ध (dʱa) gives the ligature ḍʱdʱa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ग (ga) gives the ligature ḍʱga:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + घ (ɡʱa) gives the ligature ḍʱɡʱa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ह (ha) gives the ligature ḍʱha:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ḍʱja:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + झ (jʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱjʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ḍʱjña:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ḍʱka:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ख (kʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱkʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ḍʱkṣa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ल (la) gives the ligature ḍʱla:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ळ (ḷa) gives the ligature ḍʱḷa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + म (ma) gives the ligature ḍʱma:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature ḍʱŋa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ण (ṇa) gives the ligature ḍʱṇa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ḍʱña:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + प (pa) gives the ligature ḍʱpa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + फ (pʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱpʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + स (sa) gives the ligature ḍʱsa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + श (ʃa) gives the ligature ḍʱʃa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ḍʱṣa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ḍʱta:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + थ (tʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱtʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ट (ṭa) gives the ligature ḍʱṭa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ठ (ṭʰa) gives the ligature ḍʱṭʰa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + व (va) gives the ligature ḍʱva:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ḍʱya:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ŋḍʱa:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṭḍʱa:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ढ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṭʰḍʱa:

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

Bengali ঢ exhibits a few conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts.[5]

• ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + র (ra) gives the ligature ḍʱra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature ḍʱya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ণ্ (ṇ) + ঢ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṇḍʱa:

• র্ (r) + ঢ্ (ḍʱ) + য (ya) gives the ligature rḍʱya, with the repha prefix and ya phala suffix:

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ઢ is pronounced as [ɖʱə] or [ɖʱ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Ḍha	Ḍhā	Ḍhi	Ḍhī	Ḍhu	Ḍhū	Ḍhr	Ḍhl	Ḍhr̄	Ḍhl̄	Ḍhĕ	Ḍhe	Ḍhai	Ḍhŏ	Ḍho	Ḍhau	Ḍh
Gujarati Ḍha syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Gujarati ઢ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. While most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to create a "half form" that fits tightly to following letter, Ḍha does not have a half form. A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. Lacking a half form, Ḍha will normally use an explicit virama when forming conjuncts without a true ligature. True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati 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.

• ર્ (r) + ઢ (ɖʱa) gives the ligature RḌha:

• ઢ્ (ɖʱ) + ર (ra) gives the ligature ḌhRa:

• ઢ્ (ɖʱ) + ઢ (ɖʱa) gives the ligature ḌhḌha:

• ઢ્ (ɖʱ) + ન (na) gives the ligature ḌhNa:

As is common in Indic scripts, Malayalam joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. There are several ways in which conjuncts are formed in Malayalam texts: using a post-base form of a trailing consonant placed under the initial consonant of a conjunct, a combined ligature of two or more consonants joined together, a conjoining form that appears as a combining mark on the rest of the conjunct, the use of an explicit candrakkala mark to suppress the inherent "a" vowel, or a special consonant form called a "chillu" letter, representing a bare consonant without the inherent "a" vowel. Texts written with the modern reformed Malayalam orthography, put̪iya lipi, may favor more regular conjunct forms than older texts in paḻaya lipi, due to changes undertaken in the 1970s by the Government of Kerala.

• ഡ് (ḍ) + ഢ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ḍḍʱa:

• ണ് (ṇ) + ഢ (ḍʱa) gives the ligature ṇḍʱa:

As is common in Indic scripts, Kaithi joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a half form of preceding consonants, although several consonants use an explicit virama. Most half forms are derived from the full form by removing the vertical stem. As is common in most Indic scripts, conjucts of ra are indicated with a repha or rakar mark attached to the rest of the consonant cluster. In addition, there are a few vertical conjuncts that can be found in Kaithi writing, but true ligatures are not used in the modern Kaithi script.

• 𑂩୍ (r) + 𑂛 (ḍʱa) gives the ligature rḍʱa:

Kaithi consonant Ṛha.

Ṛha (𑂜) is a consonant of the Kaithi abugida and is derived from the Kaithi 𑂛 Ḍha.

As is common in Indic scripts, Kaithi joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a half form of preceding consonants, although several consonants use an explicit virama. Most half forms are derived from the full form by removing the vertical stem. As is common in most Indic scripts, conjucts of ra are indicated with a repha or rakar mark attached to the rest of the consonant cluster. In addition, there are a few vertical conjuncts that can be found in Kaithi writing, but true ligatures are not used in the modern Kaithi script.

• 𑂩୍ (r) + (ṛʱa) gives the ligature rṛʱa: