Vedic Tone Double Ring Above

It marks recitation tone in Jaiminiya Sāmaveda text.

The Jaiminiya is one branch of the Sāmaveda, a Vedic text with recited and sung forms. In its Ārcika (verse-text portion), four tone signs sit above syllables. A 2011 Unicode proposal records this sign in then-unpublished Grantha palm-leaf manuscripts and Devanagari paper copies adapted from them; Grantha is a South Indian script used to write Sanskrit.

The 2011 proposal says the four signs are thought to relate to familiar Vedic tone categories, but not one-to-one: the double ring gives shape, not a precise pitch. A 1938 printed Devanagari edition of the Jaiminiya Sāmaveda omitted tone marks.

Why do Vedic tone marks differ by tradition?

Vedic branches use distinct recitation notations.

The same graphic tone sign can have different roles across Vedic traditions. Sāmaveda branches also differ in how they name, write, and sing the text. A 2017 study reports variation in Grantha accent marks' shape, number, and function.

Why does it look blank or float?

It needs a base character and a font that supports it.

This nonspacing combining mark follows the vowel or other character it modifies. Alone, it has no base to anchor its position; a font without support for the mark may leave it invisible.