Telugu Letter Da

Vowel signs replace its built-in a. Virama, the mark that cancels the vowel, removes it or joins a cluster. Vowel signs can reshape the headstroke; clusters may put the next consonant below. The Telugu script descends from southern Brahmi, an ancient South Asian script, and shares ancestors with Kannada. Early Telugu–Kannada inscriptions date to 4th–7th centuries CE; Telugu-language inscriptions appear from the 6th or 7th century CE. The script became distinct by the 13th century CE. Inscriptions record political, religious, and economic life; the script also writes Gondi and Lambadi.