Modi Sign Virama

It cancels the vowel built into a consonant.

Between consonants, it marks a cluster. Font shaping can show a mark, half-form, or ligature. ra + virama + ZWJ can give the Modi letter ra its eyelash form; ZWJ means zero-width joiner, an invisible formatting character.

Modi developed from Nagari for continuous writing, especially Marathi correspondence and revenue records; it also served other regional languages. Proto-Modi is described in the 12th century, with a distinct form in the 13th century. 16th-century specimens are recorded; the earliest extant document dates to the early 17th century. Balbodh, the Devanagari form used for Marathi, served literary and sacred texts; print favored it in the 19th century. Modi was discontinued in the 1950s. A 2023 lecture noted renewed interest in its Maratha history.