Grantha Letter Ba

It writes the consonant ba in Grantha. On its own, 𑌬 includes the built-in vowel a, so it forms the syllable ba. Add a vowel sign to change that vowel, or a virama (𑍍), the mark that suppresses it when the consonant has no following vowel.

Grantha descends from Brahmi. Its intermediate forms are attested in inscriptions of early Pallava kings, rulers of parts of present-day Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, from the fourth century CE. The modern Grantha style represented here belongs to a period after the thirteenth century CE.

Why use Grantha with Tamil?

Grantha gives Sanskrit sounds distinct letters Tamil writing lacks. In a Tamil passage, writers may switch to Grantha for Sanskrit words because Grantha has separate letters for consonant distinctions that Tamil script marks with added signs or context. Both scripts can appear on the same line.

Grantha also wrote Sanskrit words in Manipravalam, a literary blend of Sanskrit and Tamil. As of 2026, this use is rare, while Grantha remains in use chiefly for Sanskrit in Tamil Nadu, including Vedic study and temple traditions. The Malayalam script developed partly from Grantha. A related Pallava writing tradition travelled to Southeast Asia and helped shape the ancestors of Javanese and Balinese scripts.

Printing refined and standardized modern Grantha. After 1947, publishers aiming at readers across India increasingly printed Sanskrit in Devanagari, and Grantha's use for Sanskrit declined.

Why does 𑌬 change shape in text?

Clusters reshape the outline; the encoded letter stays the same. Grantha combines consonants in stacks, where one letter sits below another, or in ligatures, where shapes merge. In modern print, the virama after ba normally stays visually separate from the letter.

If 𑌬 appears as a box, the font lacks Grantha coverage. Switch to a font that supports the script; the box is a display problem, not a different letter.