Kawi Letter Ca

It is one Kawi consonant with its vowel built in.

In scholarly transliteration the syllable is ca. Kawi consonants carry an inherent vowel: a vowel sign changes it, while a vowel-killer mark cancels it. A conjoiner, or linking mark, attaches this letter to the next consonant to form a cluster.

Read 𑼗 with the other letters and marks in the same Kawi spelling.

Where did Kawi come from?

Kawi grew gradually from Pallava, an earlier South Asian script.

Late Pallava and early Kawi overlapped. The oldest known Kawi inscription is the Plumpungan stele, an inscribed stone near Salatiga in Central Java, dated about 750 CE. Some Kawi forms reflect techniques used for writing on palm leaves.

Early Kawi recorded land grants, royal orders, and similar official documents. Later, its use for Old Javanese literature brought more decorative styles. Kawi also wrote Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Balinese, and Old Sundanese. Its regional forms contributed, directly or indirectly, to later Southeast Asian scripts.