Brahmi Double Danda

It marks a boundary larger than the single danda.

A danda is a vertical punctuation mark. In Brahmi, the single and double forms divide clauses and verses; when both appear, the double marks a larger unit. In poetry that may be a verse or stanza; in prose, a section or paragraph. The surrounding layout helps identify the intended boundary.

The earliest securely dated Brahmi inscriptions are Ashoka's edicts from the 3rd century BCE. Later manuscript conventions use punctuation to make divisions in continuous text visible, and Brahmi developed into many regional scripts.

Is Brahmi double danda the same as Devanagari double danda?

No. They are distinct characters in related script traditions.

Devanagari developed from Brahmi, and its double danda is also used as shared punctuation across several Indic scripts. It is a related mark, but the Brahmi character belongs in Brahmi text; the Devanagari sign is encoded separately.

Manuscript layouts and editorial conventions are not uniform, so use the line breaks and surrounding text to decide whether the mark closes a verse or a larger section.