Modi Letter Ra

It represents the r consonant in Modi.

In a Modi syllable, 𑘨 is the regular consonant ra, not a standalone Marathi word.

Modi developed as a cursive adaptation in the Nagari script family, which also includes Devanagari, for continuous writing. Traditional accounts credit Hemadpant or Balaji Avaji, though the encoding proposal treats those attributions as uncertain. Scholars place its use in the 15th–16th centuries; the earliest surviving document identified in the proposal is from the early 17th century. Modi carried quickly written correspondence, revenue records, and multilingual court correspondence. Balbodh Devanagari was used for literary and sacred Marathi; in the 19th century, print favored that form, and Modi shifted toward archival use.

Why does Modi ra change shape?

Its shape depends on its place in a joined cluster.

At a cluster's start, ra generally becomes repha, a form written above the joined consonants; in native Marathi clusters, an eyelash-ra form may appear instead. After another consonant, ra is usually written below it as a subjoined form or fused into a ligature. Some shaping also depends on the preceding syllable.

If the letter appears as a box or as disconnected outlines, the font or text engine may lack usable Modi shaping.