Ka is the first consonant of the Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ka is derived from the Brāhmī letter , which is (according to the Semitic hypothesis) derived from the Aramaic ("K").
Mathematics Āryabhaṭa numeration
Aryabhata used Devanāgarī letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of क are: क = 1 (१) कि = 100 (१००) कु = 10,000 (१० ०००) कृ = 1,000,000 (१० ०० ०००) कॢ = 1 (१०८) के = 1 (१०१०) कै = 1 (१०१२) को = 1 (१०१४) कौ = 1 (१०१६)
Tabla Strokes In Tabla notation, क (ka) also seen as कि (ki), or के (ke) is a flat, nonresonant stroke of the left hand. The heel of the hand is left on the drum, while the hand rotates to hit the drum, with the focus of the force being focused between the tips and first joints of the fingers.
Hindu astrology के (ke) is the abbreviation used for केतु (Ketu), the descending lunar node. In Hindu astrology, Ketu represents karmic collections both good and bad, spirituality, and supernatural influences. Ketu is associated with the Matsya Avatar (Fish Incarnation) of Vishnu. Ketu signifies the spiritual process of the refinement of materialization to spirit and is considered both malefic and benefic, as it causes sorrow and loss, and yet at the same time turns the individual to God. In other words, it causes material loss in order to force a more spiritual outlook in the person. Ketu is a karaka or indicator of intelligence, wisdom, non-attachment, fantasy, penetrating insight, derangement, and psychic abilities. Ketu is believed to bring prosperity to the devotee's family, removes the effects of snakebite and illness arising out of poisons. He grants good health, wealth and cattle to his devotees.
Historic Ka There are three different general early historic scripts - Brāhmī and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ka as found in standard Brahmi, was based on a simple "+" shape, with slight variations toward the Gupta . The Tocharian Ka had an alternate Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of Ka, in Kharoṣṭhī (𐨐) was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.
Brahmi Ka The Brahmi letter , ka, is probably derived from the Aramaic Kaph, and is thus related to the modern Latin K and Greek Kappa. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ka can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838 As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style. +Brahmi Ka historic formsAshoka(3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar(~150 BCE) Kushana(~150-250 CE) Gujarat(~250 CE) Gupta(~350 CE) +Ashoka Brahmi Ka with vowel marksK Ka Kā Ki Kī Ku Kū Kr Kr̄ Kl Kl̄ Ke Kai Ko Kau
Tocharian Ka The Tocharian letteris derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen formused in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Kä. +Tocharian Ka with vowel marks Ka Kā Ki Kī Ku Kū Kr Kr̄ Ke Kai Ko Kau Kä Fremdzeichen
Kharoshthi Ka The Kharoshthi letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Kaph, and is thus related to K and Kappa, in addition to the Brahmi ka.
Devanagari Ka
Ka (क) (कवर्ण kavarn) is the first consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter ક, and the Modi letter 𑘎.
Devanagari-using Languages In all languages, क is pronounced as or when appropriate. कमल = kamal "lotus" In this example, क implements its inherent vowel, the schwa. सड़क = saṛak "road" In this example, क deletes the inherent schwa for correct pronunciation. Certain words that have been borrowed from Persian and Arabic implement the nuqta to more properly approximate the original word. It is then transliterated as a q. क़दम = qadam "footstep"
क matras Like other Devnagari consonants, the inherent vowel of क can be altered by the addition of vowel marks, called "matras". In addition, several other diacritics can be used to alter the base consonant or append sounds to the syllable.
Conjuncts With क
Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Most Devanagari letters drop a character's vertical stem to create a half form, but due to its large tail to the right of the stem, the common half form of क has its tail reduced to attach to the following letter. Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.
Ligature conjuncts of क True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha. Repha र্ (r) + क (ka) gives the ligature rka:
Eyelash र্ (r) + क (ka) gives the ligature rka:
क্ (k) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature kra:
ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ŋkra:
क্ (k) + न (na) gives the ligature kna:
क্ (k) + त (ta) gives the ligature kta:
क্ (k) + त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ktra:
क্ (k) + त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature ktva:
ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + त (ta) gives the ligature ŋkta:
Devanagari Kṣa
One of the most common true ligatures in Devanagari is the conjunct kṣa क्ष. This ligature is a required form for most Devanagari languages, and the conjunct even has its own half form that freely joins other letters in horizontal conjuncts. क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature kṣa:
Repha र্ (r) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature rkṣa:
Eyelash र্ (r) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature rkṣa:
छ্ (cʰ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature cʰkṣa:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ḍʱkṣa:
ड্ (ḍ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ḍkṣa:
द্ (d) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature dkṣa:
ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ŋkṣa:
ङ্ (ŋ) + क্ (k) + ष্ (ṣ) + य (ya) gives the ligature ŋkṣya:
ट্ (ṭ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ṭkṣa:
ठ্ (ṭʰ) + क্ (k) + ष (ṣa) gives the ligature ṭʰkṣa:
Stacked conjuncts of क Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature. ब্ (b) + क (ka) gives the ligature bka:
छ্ (cʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature cʰka:
च্ (c) + क (ka) gives the ligature cka:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ḍʱka:
ड্ (ḍ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ḍka:
द্ (d) + क (ka) gives the ligature dka:
ह্ (h) + क (ka) gives the ligature hka:
क্ (k) + ब (ba) gives the ligature kba:
क্ (k) + च (ca) gives the ligature kca:
क্ (k) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature kḍa:
ख্ (kʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature kʰka:
क্ (k) + ज (ja) gives the ligature kja:
क্ (k) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature kjña:
क্ (k) + क (ka) gives the ligature kka:
क্ (k) + ल (la) gives the ligature kla:
क্ (k) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature kŋa:
क্ (k) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature kña:
क্ (k) + व (va) gives the ligature kva:
ळ্ (ḷ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ḷka:
ङ্ (ŋ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ŋka:
फ্ (pʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature pʰka:
ठ্ (ṭʰ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ṭʰka:
ट্ (ṭ) + क (ka) gives the ligature ṭka:
व্ (v) + क (ka) gives the ligature vka:
Bengali-Assamese Ka
The Bengali-Assamese script ক is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, क. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ক will sometimes be transliterated as "" instead of "". Adding , the "o" vowel mark, কো, gives a reading of /ko/. Like all Indic consonants, ক can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".
ক in Bengali-using languages ক is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese. It is also used with a nukta, ক়, for foreign borrowings of /q/.
Conjuncts with ক Bengali ক exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures.
Conjuncts in Kssa ক্ষ
The most important conjunct of ক is the irregular ligature ক্ + ষ [ṣ] = ক্ষ. This conjunct not only has a special form in all Bengali alphabets, it even functions as an independent letter in the Assamese orthography.
This ক্ষ conjunct forms regular conjuncts with other letters, keeping its distinct form: ক্ষ () + ম () gives the ligature :
ক্ষ () + ম্ () + য () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ক্ষ () + ন () gives the ligature :
ক্ষ () + ব () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ক্ষ () + য () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
Other conjuncts of ক ক্ () + র () gives the ligature , with a variant ligature instead of a suffix:
ঙ () + ক্ () + র () gives the conjunct , with a variant of the ligature:
স্ () + ক্ () + র () gives the conjunct , with the ligature:
ষ্ () + ক্ () + র () gives the conjunct , with the ligature:
ক্ () + ক () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + ল () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + ম () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + স () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + ত () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + ত্ () + র () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ক্ () + ট () gives the ligature :
ক্ () + ট্ () + র (r) gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ক্ () + ব () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ক্ () + য () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ল্ () + ক () gives the ligature :
ল্ () + ক্ () + য () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
ঙ () + ক () gives the ligature :
ঙ () + ক্ () + শ () gives the ligature :
ঙ () + ক্ () + য () gives the ligature , with the suffix:
র্ () + ক () gives the ligature , with the prefix:
র্ () + ক্ () + য () gives the ligature , with the prefix and suffix:
স্ () + ক () gives the ligature :
ষ্ () + ক () gives the ligature :
ত্ () + ক () gives the ligature :
Gujarati Ka
Ka (ક) is the first consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ka , and ultimately the Brahmi letter . ક (Ka) is similar in appearance to ફ (Pha), and care should be taken to avoid confusing the two when reading Gujarati script texts.
Gujarati-using Languages The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ક is pronounced as or when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: Ka Kā Ki Kī Ku Kū Kr Kl Kr̄ Kl̄ Kĕ Ke Kai Kŏ Ko Kau KGujarati Ka syllables, with vowel marks in red.
Conjuncts with ક