Vedic sign ardhavisarga

The following consonant tells you which sound to make. Before k or kh, the sound is called jihvāmūlīya: air passes through a narrowing at the back of the mouth. Before p or ph, it is upadhmānīya: air passes between the lips. Both are fricatives, sounds made by forcing air through a narrow opening.

Here k, kh, p and ph are Latin transliterations of Sanskrit consonants. The h in kh and ph indicates an extra puff of breath; each pair represents one consonant. The sign ᳲ appears before the relevant consonant in visual order, so read it together with what follows.

Why does Sanskrit have a sign for this?

It records a precise distinction in pronunciation. Sanskrit has a long tradition of carefully describing speech for the transmission and recitation of texts. Ancient pronunciation guides called Prātiśākhyas describe these two fricatives; grammatical accounts connect them with visarga.

“Vedic” refers to the Vedas, ancient sacred texts in Sanskrit. Ardhavisarga also occurs in other Sanskrit writing: its official name does not restrict it to those sacred texts. It is a reading aid within this pronunciation tradition, not a word with a standalone translation.