What 𑖮 means
It is the Siddham consonant ha, with an inherent a vowel.
A bare Siddham consonant includes an unwritten a, so 𑖮 reads as ha, with a breathy h followed by a. A vowel mark changes the syllable; anusvāra, a nasal mark, adds nasal resonance; virama, a vowel-canceling mark, removes the a or helps join consonants. The lone sign is a sound element, not a complete word.
Siddham developed from Gupta-derived Brahmic writing rather than being invented by one person. An inscription at Bodh-Gaya from the late sixth century is identified as an early Siddhamātr̥kā example, an early form of the script; it dates the writing tradition, not this letter by itself. Siddham was used for Sanskrit inscriptions and Buddhist manuscripts. It is closely related to Śāradā and influenced later Nāgarī and Gauḍī or Proto-Bengali writing.
Why does 𑖮 appear in Buddhist writing?
The complete mantra supplies the ritual meaning.
As of 2026, Japanese Shingon and Tendai traditions preserve Siddham letters, known as Bonji, for ceremonial and ritual use. In this setting, 𑖮 can be one consonant in a mantra, a dhāraṇī (a Buddhist chant or formula), or a bīja (a seed syllable); the complete formula gives it a ritual association.
Chinese Buddhist scholars used Siddham to study Sanskrit sounds and gave the letters esoteric interpretations. Japanese monks inherited this learning and conventionalized some mantra readings, which can differ from reconstructed Sanskrit pronunciation. Tibetan script belongs to the wider history of Buddhist transmission.
Why does the glyph change in different texts?
Fonts and historical variants affect its visible form.
Siddham combines consonants with vowel marks, virama and joined consonant forms. A font shapes those pieces into stacks, joined forms or marks around the consonant. Historical handwriting and Japanese forms also differ, so a manuscript and a digital font need not draw this letter alike.
Read the bare 𑖮 separately from a full syllable: a vowel mark changes its sound, while virama cancels the inherent a. If a font cannot draw Siddham, a missing-glyph box is a display failure, not a new character.
In ritual material it signals specialist mantra use; on its own it may simply be a script example.
Do not read the lone consonant as a deity’s name.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𑖮
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What it means when someone sends it to you
5 readingsUsually a character sample or identification request; it is a sound element on its own.
Don't confuse it with
1
Combination ideas
2Questions people ask
3Does 𑖮 name a Buddhist deity?
No. It is the consonant ha; a deity association belongs to a larger bīja, mantra or ritual context.
Is 𑖮 the same as Devanagari ह?
No. They represent related Sanskrit sounds in historically connected scripts, but they are separate characters.
Why can a Siddham mantra be pronounced differently in Japan?
It can. Japanese Buddhist traditions preserved conventional mantra readings that do not always match reconstructed Sanskrit pronunciation.
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How to type or find 𑖮
- Search it as
- bonji · siddhamatrika · kutila · siddham · ha · bija · haṃ · virama
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𑖮\115AECodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.