Bengali Letter Vocalic Rr

In Bengali-script Sanskrit, ৠ writes the long vocalic-r vowel. It represents an r-like sound that fills a vowel’s place; its long value contrasts with the short vocalic-r letter ঋ. Modern Bangla does not use ৠ in everyday spelling.

Sanskrit treats the long vocalic-r sound as its own vowel category. Bengali-script spelling gives it an independent letter, meaning the letter stands on its own rather than attaching to a consonant.

Is ৠ Bengali or Sanskrit?

Both: ৠ is part of Bengali script and represents a Sanskrit vowel value. The matching Devanagari letter is ॠ; Bengali ৄ is the dependent sign written after a consonant. ৠ stands by itself, while ৄ attaches to a consonant.

An earlier form of Bengali script, called proto-Bengali, had a complete alphabet in the 11th century. By the 12th century the script was close to its modern form, and printing standardized its letter shapes in the 19th century. These dates trace the broader script, not the first appearance of ৠ.

Its place in Sanskrit spelling later narrowed: in 2025, Unicode identifier guidance listed ৠ as proposed obsolete for Sanskrit. A 2020 Bangla repertoire proposal still noted limited use of dependent ৄ in borrowed or Sanskritic words.