Kannada letter llla

It represented a consonant in Old Kannada, not the sound “f.”

The fixed Unicode name says “fa,” but Unicode Technical Note #27 identifies it as llla, also transliterated ḻa. A lateral consonant lets air pass along the sides of the tongue.

Old Kannada writing appears in inscriptions from the 4th–5th century CE; this letter was no longer used in Kannada by the end of the tenth century. Its historical use later converged with modern Kannada ಳ. Badaga, a related language, uses its subjoined form—written below consonants or standalone vowel letters—to mark retroflexion.