Combining Grantha Digit Six

It marks the atisvarya pitch in Sāmaveda singing notation.

The Sāmaveda is a Sanskrit text with a recited version and a separate sung form. In that sung form, marks above syllables guide the melody; this one names atisvarya, the last pitch in a seven-pitch set. A svara is a sung pitch.

Here, “six” labels a notation mark; it is not a count in the text.

When was this singing mark documented?

A 2010 proposal describes its role in Sāmaveda singing.

Grantha’s earlier forms appear in fourth-century CE inscriptions of the Pallavas, a dynasty in southern India. The form represented by Grantha today dates from after the thirteenth century CE.

The 2010 proposal assigns this mark to atisvarya. It cites a 1985 Grantha Sāmaveda edition but says it found no superscript six there; instead, it points to an attested Devanagari counterpart and argues Grantha needs the mark to represent the same singing pitch.

How should the mark attach to a syllable?

Put it after the syllable or digit it marks.

This is a nonspacing combining mark. A Grantha-capable font should place it above, roughly centered over its base. Sāmaveda recitation uses a different notation from the sung form, so this mark’s six is not an arithmetic value.

Without a base before it, the mark may appear with a dotted-circle placeholder or be positioned poorly.