Grantha letter ka

It is Grantha's consonant ka, with a short a built in.

By itself, 𑌕 is read ka, with a short a. A following vowel sign changes that vowel; the virama (𑍍) suppresses it, so 𑌕 can become one part of a consonant cluster rather than a complete syllable. When reading a manuscript, check those surrounding signs before treating this letter as a whole spoken syllable.

How did Grantha become a script for Sanskrit?

It developed in South India to write Sanskrit.

Grantha's letterforms developed from Southern Brahmi, an older South Indian script tradition, through forms used under Pallava rule, a South Indian dynasty. Its earliest forms are traced to Pallava rulers around 500–600 CE; surviving inscriptions are described from the 8th century onward. Later forms are grouped into archaic, middle, transitional, and modern phases. Those dates chart the script's development, not the first known use of this exact letter.

Grantha was used to write Sanskrit in South India and Sri Lanka, including in temple inscriptions, copper plates, palm-leaf manuscripts, and Sanskrit passages within Tamil–Sanskrit writing. Its manuscript forms are rounded and suited to a stylus, a pointed writing tool, on palm leaves. The Tamil Grantha variety was used for both Tamil and Sanskrit. Across inscriptions, manuscripts, ritual use, and digital text, 𑌕 kept its ka reading. As of 2024, Grantha continued in religious use alongside Nāgarī.

Why does 𑌕 look different across fonts?

Font support changes its drawing, not its identity.

Grantha fonts can draw 𑌕 differently. A font without Grantha support may show a missing-glyph box or fallback shape instead. That display difference does not change which character the text contains.