Devanagari Sign Extended Bhale

It marks a blessed opening in Jain writing. A 1493 copy in Prakrit, an ancient Indian language, of the Jaina scripture Kalpasūtra places a bhale sign before its salutation and the Namokāra mantra, a Jain prayer of reverence.

The bhale family is attested in western and central Indian manuscripts and inscriptions since the 11th century. Originally, these were Siddham signs, blessings meaning “may it be accomplished.” By the 17th century, northern Devanagari auspicious signs had coalesced into ॐ, while Jaina use in western and central India continued. In Gujarati and Rajasthani, bhale means “may it be blessed”; bhale mīṇḍu names a full formula, and mīṇḍu means “circle” in Gujarati.

The precise path of development is disputed. One proposal connects the signs to an older Devanagari Siddham sign; another interpretation treats them as shortened sacred utterances such as arhaṃ or oṃ, though manuscripts also write those words after the sign. An early form appears in a palm-leaf manuscript from the 13th century, made in the Śvetāmbara tradition, a branch of Jainism. A related form appears on a 1293 CE step-well inscription at Surwaya.

How should I read it in digital text?

Read it as a specialist Jaina benediction sign. In an isolated digital excerpt, look to its manuscript source; this sign is not a numeral. In a full formula, it can follow a head mark and precede mīṇḍu, with the double danda (॥)—a pair of vertical punctuation strokes—closing the sequence.

The older Devanagari Siddham sign ꣼ is related: both serve an auspicious function, but their structures and shapes differ. If 𑬄 resembles ८, that is a resemblance found in historical styles; it does not give this sign a number value.