Ta is the sixteenth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ta is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .
Āryabhaṭṭa numeration Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Hindu-Arabic Numerals. The values of the different forms of त are: त = 16 (१६) ति = 1,600 (१ ६००) तु = 160,000 (१ ६० ०००) तृ = 16,000,000 (१ ६० ०० ०००) तॢ = 1,600,000,000 (१ ६० ०० ०० ०००) ते = 16 (१६×१०१०) तै = 16 (१६×१०१२) तो = 16 (१६×१०१४ तौ = 16 (१६×१०१६)
Historic Ta There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ta as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Ta had an alternate Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of ta, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.
Brahmi Ta The Brahmi letter , Ta, is probably derived from the Aramaic Taw , and is thus related to the modern Latin T and Greek Tau. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ta 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 Ta historic formsAshoka(3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar(~150 BCE) Kushana(~150-250 CE) Gujarat(~250 CE) Gupta(~350 CE)
Tocharian Ta The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen form used in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Tä. +Tocharian Ta with vowel marks Ta Tā Ti Tī Tu Tū Tr Tr̄ Te Tai To Tau Tä Fremdzeichen
Kharoṣṭhī Ta The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Taw , and is thus related to T and Tau, in addition to the Brahmi Ta.
Devanagari Ta
Ta (त) is a 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 ત, and the Modi letter 𑘝.
Devanagari-using Languages In all languages, त is pronounced as or when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: + Devanagari त with vowel marks Ta Tā Ti Tī Tu Tū Tr Tr̄ Tl Tl̄ Te Tai To Tau Tततातितीतुतूतृतॄतॢतॣतेतैतोतौत्
Conjuncts with त
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, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". 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 त 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) + त (ta) gives the ligature rta:
Eyelash र্ (r) + त (ta) gives the ligature rta:
त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature tra:
Repha र্ (r) + त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature rtra:
त্ (t) + र্ (r) + य (ya) gives the ligature trya:
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:
त্ (t) + त (ta) gives the ligature tta:
Repha र্ (r) + त্ (t) + त (ta) gives the ligature rtta:
त্ (t) + त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ttra:
Repha र্ (r) + त্ (t) + त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature rttra:
त্ (t) + त্ (t) + न (na) gives the ligature ttna:
त্ (t) + त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature ttva:
प্ (p) + त (ta) gives the ligature pta:
प্ (p) + त্ (t) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ptra:
ष্ (ṣ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ṣta:
Stacked conjuncts of त 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. छ্ (cʰ) + त (ta) gives the ligature cʰta:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ḍʱta:
ड্ (ḍ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ḍta:
द্ (d) + त (ta) gives the ligature dta:
ङ্ (ŋ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ŋta:
त্ (t) + ब (ba) gives the ligature tba:
त্ (t) + च (ca) gives the ligature tca:
त্ (t) + ज (ja) gives the ligature tja:
त্ (t) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature tjña:
त্ (t) + ल (la) gives the ligature tla:
त্ (t) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature tña:
ठ্ (ṭʰ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ṭʰta:
ट্ (ṭ) + त (ta) gives the ligature ṭta:
त্ (t) + न (na) gives the ligature tna:
त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature tva:
Bengali Ta The Bengali script ত is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, त. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ত will sometimes be transliterated as "to" instead of "ta". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /t̪o/. Like all Indic consonants, ত can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a". + Bengali ত with vowel marks ta tā ti tī tu tū tr tr̄ te tai to tau tততাতিতীতুতূতৃতৄতেতৈতোতৌত্
ত in Bengali-using languages ত is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.
Conjuncts with ত Bengali ত exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures.
Khanda Ta
Some ostensible conjuncts with an initial ত are realized visually with a character called Khanda Ta "Broken Ta". This "broken" form of ত is used to represent the bare consonant without an inherent "A" vowel, and does not normally take vowel marks. It resembles the normal letter ত, but reversed, without a head line, and a reduced tail. ৎ (khanda ta) + ক (ka) gives the conjunct tka:
Other ত Conjuncts Other conjuncts take the form of a ligature when ত is the initial head consonant, or usually as a stacked conjunct when ত is non-head. As is normal, as a later element in a stacked conjunct, ত loses its head line when conjoining, and has a reduced tail when followed by Ra-phala. ক্ (k) + ত (ta) gives the ligature kta:
ক্ (k) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives the ligature ktra, with the ra phala suffix:
ন্ (n) + ত (ta) gives the ligature nta:
ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives the ligature ntra, with the ra phala suffix:
ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature ntrya, with the ra phala and ya phala suffixes
ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature ntva, with the va phala suffix:
ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature ntya, with the ya phala suffix:
প্ (p) + ত (ta) gives the ligature pta:
র্ (r) + ত (ta) gives the ligature rta, with the repha prefix:
র্ (r) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives the ligature rtra, with the repha prefix and ra phala suffix:
র্ (r) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature rtya, with the repha prefix and ya phala suffix:
স্ (s) + ত (ta) gives the ligature sta:
স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives the ligature stra, with the ra phala suffix:
স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature stva, with the va phala suffix:
স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature stya, with the ya phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + ম (ma) gives the ligature tma:
ত্ (t) + ম্ (m) + য (ya) gives the ligature tmya, with the ya phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + ন (na) gives the ligature tna:
ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives the ligature tra, with the ra phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives the ligature trya, with the ra phala and ya phala suffixes
ত্ (t) + স (sa) gives the ligature tsa:
ত্ (t) + ত (ta) gives the ligature tta:
ত্ (t) + থ (tʰa) gives the ligature ttʰa:
ত্ (t) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature ttva, with the va phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature ttya, with the ya phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature tva, with the va phala suffix:
ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives the ligature tya, with the ya phala suffix:
Gujarati Ta
Ta (ત) is the sixteenth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ta with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed, and ultimately the Brahmi letter .
Gujarati-using Languages The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ત 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: Ta Tā Ti Tī Tu Tū Tr Tl Tr̄ Tl̄ Tĕ Te Tai Tŏ To Tau TGujarati Ta syllables, with vowel marks in red.
Conjuncts with ત
Gujarati ત exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. Most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati 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. ર્ (r) + ત (ta) gives the ligature RTa:
ત્ (t) + ર (ra) gives the ligature TRa:
ત્ (t) + ત (ta) gives the ligature TTa:
ત્ (t) + ન (na) gives the ligature TNa:
પ્ (p) + ત (ta) gives the ligature PTa:
ષ્ (ʂ) + ત (ta) gives the ligature ṢTa:
Javanese Ta
Telugu Ta
Ta (త) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ತ. Most Telugu consonants contain a v-shaped headstroke that is related to the horizontal headline found in other Indic scripts, although headstrokes do not connect adjacent letters in Telugu. The headstroke is normally lost when adding vowel matras. Telugu conjuncts are created by reducing trailing letters to a subjoined form that appears below the initial consonant of the conjunct. Many subjoined forms are created by dropping their headline, with many extending the end of the stroke of the main letter body to form an extended tail reaching up to the right of the preceding consonant. This subjoining of trailing letters to create conjuncts is in contrast to the leading half forms of Devanagari and Bengali letters. Ligature conjuncts are not a feature in Telugu, with the only non-standard construction being an alternate subjoined form of Ṣa (borrowed from Kannada) in the KṢa conjunct.
Malayalam Ta