Limbu letter tra

It joins Limbu ta and ra in one older spelling.

The romanized labels ta and ra name two consonants. A ligature combines written elements into one character; here, it marks a consonant cluster within a word.

The script's origin remains contested: Limbu tradition credits King Sirijanga in the ninth century. As of 2026, orthography guidance leaves the origin unknown and dates its reintroduction to the 1700s. A British Library catalogue lists a Limbu alphabet book from c. 1730 or earlier. The exact ᤞ appears in Cemajong's dictionary (1961) and grammar (1970); Subba's revision removed it in the 1970s. The script also carried mundhum, oral ritual narratives, into writing; Limbu-script editions appeared especially after 1990.

Why was the tra ligature added?

It was added for a Nepali-style consonant cluster.

The encoded analysis joins Limbu ta, a virama (a sign that links consonants without an intervening vowel), and Limbu ra. This corresponds to त्र in Devanagari, a script used for Nepali. Limbu spelling did not otherwise use a general virama, so this cluster received its own character.

Cemajong added the character to a revised Limbu script to accommodate Nepali-style conjuncts. It also appears in a Limbu chart printed in a Sunuwar-language book; that records the form beyond Limbu materials, but does not establish broad use across Kiranti languages.

Should I use ᤞ in new Limbu text?

For new Limbu spelling, use ᤋᤪ.

As of 2026, current orthography guidance lists ᤞ among obsolete characters. The current spelling for this cluster is Limbu ta followed by a ra sign written beneath it, ᤋᤪ. Keep ᤞ when reproducing an older source that uses it.