Devanagari Vowel Sign Aw

In the Kashmiri InScript keyboard layout in m17n-db 1.7.0-2, press AltGr+Q.

AltGr is a modifier key for extra characters. This route belongs to that specific layout. In written text, ॏ follows the consonant it changes, even when the font draws its mark beside or around that letter.

What does ॏ mean in Kashmiri?

It marks an open, rounded o-vowel after a consonant.

A 2009 proposal for adding Kashmiri letters to Devanagari recommended ॏ because older Kashmiri Devanagari spelling used व, a consonant, as a stand-in for that vowel. The proposal cites an 1889 record of Kashmiri vowels as historical background; that reference does not date ॏ itself.

Reform notes trace the spelling discussion through 1995, 2002, and 2009. The 2009 revision paired ॏ with ॵ; a modified convention used ॅ with ॲ for the same sound in some organizations. A 2009 report described some Kashmiri Pandit organizations choosing Devanagari for young readers who could not read Perso-Arabic, an Arabic-based script also used for Kashmiri. Kashmiri is written in both traditions; ॏ belongs to the Devanagari one. The sign is also listed for Bihari languages.

Is ॏ the same as ॵ?

No. ॏ follows a consonant; ॵ begins a vowel-only syllable.

In a spelling such as सॏख, ॏ changes the consonant’s built-in vowel. The documented reform example replaces old स्वख with सॏख. ॵ is the independent counterpart for a vowel at the start of a syllable.