Takri Letter Va

It is the Takri consonant va, with a default a vowel.

Takri is an abugida, a writing system where each consonant normally carries a default vowel: here, a. A dependent vowel sign changes it; the virama suppresses it. By itself, 𑚦 is a letter sample, not a complete word.

Takri developed from Sharada through Devāśeṣa, an intermediate script used in the 14th century; a distinct Takri tradition emerged in the 16th century. These dates describe the script’s development, not the first appearance of this individual letter.

Why was Takri written?

It served both everyday writing and official records.

Devāśeṣa served religious and official writing in the 14th century. Its popular descendant developed into Takri in the 16th century for commercial and informal writing; from the 17th century to the middle of the 20th century, regional Takri forms also served as official scripts in princely states.

Examples of Takri include personal writing, administrative records, manuscripts, inscriptions, postage, and Pahari paintings. Devanagari gradually displaced it from the late 19th century. As of 2025, revival work was described as a way to preserve access to Dogri, Kishtwari, and Kulvi literature.

Why does the Takri va glyph look different?

Regional Takri forms can look quite different.

Takri had no single standard form, and mountain regions developed local letterforms; Dogra Akkhar is a related regional tradition. The Unicode chart shows mainly Chambeali forms. Fonts handle regional variation, so 𑚦 can change silhouette without changing its character identity.

Takri is historically connected with Sharada, Gurmukhi, and Landa. व is Devanagari va and ਵ is Gurmukhi va; neither is a Takri form.