Chakma Virama

It joins a Chakma consonant to the following consonant.

Chakma consonant letters normally carry an unwritten long a, the vowel understood when no vowel sign is written. Put 𑄳 after the first consonant and before the next to mark a conjunct, a written consonant cluster. Only a limited set of following consonants has these joined forms.

A different, visible mark, 𑄴 maayyaa, usually marks the absence of that inherent vowel.

Why is 𑄳 invisible?

The virama shapes the sequence without drawing its own visible mark.

In a Chakma-capable font, surrounding consonants can appear as a stack or a joined pair; a ligature fuses their shapes. The text still contains 𑄳 between the consonants.

How old is Chakma writing?

Chakma script descends from Brahmi, an early South Asian writing system.

Chakma script’s early record is reported differently: a writing-systems reference lists 1903 as its earliest dated record, while a Chakma historical account places written references in the 10th century and reports community accounts of palm-leaf manuscripts in Brahmi.

The script is also called Aujhapaat or Ojhopath. A Chakma council account says village medicine men preserved it by recording medicinal plants, herbs, and roots. The council notes visual resemblance to Khmer, Lanna, and modern Myanmar writing; those are appearance comparisons, not proof of descent. Bengali gradually displaced Chakma writing during the 20th century. In 2001, a reform proposed limiting subjoined conjuncts to five consonants.