Saurashtra Letter U

ꢆ is the independent letter for the vowel U in Saurashtra. Saurashtra is a language spoken in South India. Its script is an abugida: consonant letters normally carry an inherent vowel, while a vowel at the start of a word or syllable has its own letter. The dependent U vowel sign ꢸ attaches to a consonant.

How did the Saurashtra script develop?

Its modern form took shape in the 1880s. A grammar from 1905 and a companion alphabet book from 1906 show an early readable form, including the letters and vowel-consonant combinations.

The Saurashtra language is related to Gujarati, and its script belongs to the wider Brahmic writing tradition. The exact derivation of the script is unclear; the language connection does not make the scripts interchangeable.

Since the end of the 19th century, books in Saurashtra have appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Devanagari, and Saurashtra scripts. In a 2017 community account, one writer said their audience did not use the native script, so the writer transliterated children’s stories into English.

Why does ꢆ look blank or wrong?

A missing-glyph box usually points to font support. If your browser or app has no installed font with Saurashtra coverage, it may show a box or another fallback. A font that includes Saurashtra can display the letter’s shape.