Va or Wa is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Va is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter . It is generally romanized as "Va" in scripts for Indic languages, but as "Wa" in many scripts for other language families.
Āryabhaṭa numeration
Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of व are: व = 60 (६०) वि = 6,000 (६ ०००) वु = 600,000 (६ ०० ०००) वृ = 60,000,000 (६ ०० ०० ०००) वॢ = 6 (६×१०९) वे = 6 (६×१०११) वै = 6 (६×१०१३) वो = 6 (६×१०१५) वौ = 6 (६×१०१७)
Historic Va There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Va as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Va had an alternate Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of va, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.
Brahmi Va The Brahmi letter , Va, is probably derived from the Aramaic Waw , and is thus related to the modern Latin F, V, U, W, Y, and Greek Upsilon. There are numerous distinguishable Brahmi Va writing styles, most of which are connected to a collection of inscriptions from an artifact or a variety of documents from a historical era.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 Va historic formsAshoka(3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar(~150 BCE) Kushana(~150-250 CE) Gujarat(~250 CE) Gupta(~350 CE)
Tocharian Va The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen form used in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Vä. +Tocharian Va with vowel marks Va Vā Vi Vī Vu Vū Vr Vr̄ Ve Vai Vo Vau Vä Fremdzeichen
Kharoṣṭhī Va The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Waw , and is thus related to F, V, U, W, Y, and Upsilon, in addition to the Brahmi Va.
Devanagari Va
Va (व) 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 વ, and the Modi letter 𑘪.
Old Nepali Va In old Nepali language texts, a specific nuqta like dot is added to this glyph in order to represent the , while the glyph by itself would be used to represent the bilabial stop [b].
Devanagari-using Languages In most languages, व is pronounced as or when appropriate, while in Nepali it is , however combination of and /e, i, o, ʌi̯, r, w, j/ is constrained in Nepali, thus the letter is always pronounced as a bilabial stop in such cases, but only sometimes otherwise. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: + Devanagari व with vowel marks Va Vā Vi Vī Vu Vū Vr Vr̄ Vl Vl̄ Ve Vai Vo Vau Vववाविवीवुवूवृवॄवॢवॣवेवैवोवौव्
Conjuncts with व
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 व 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) + व (va) gives the ligature :
Eyelash र্ (r) + व (va) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + न (na) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature :
द্ (d) + ध্ (dʱ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
द্ (d) + व (va) gives the ligature :
द্ (d) + व্ (v) + य (ya) gives the ligature :
Repha र্ (r) + द্ (d) + व (va) gives the ligature :
Stacked conjuncts of व 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) + व (va) gives the ligature :
छ্ (cʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
च্ (c) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ड্ (ḍ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ह্ (h) + व (va) gives the ligature :
झ্ (jʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ज্ (j) + ज্ (j) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ख্ (kʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
क্ (k) + त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature :
क্ (k) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ळ্ (ḷ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ल্ (l) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ङ্ (ŋ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ञ্ (ñ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
फ্ (pʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
Repha र্ (r) + स্ (s) + व (va) gives the ligature :
श্ (ʃ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ष্ (ṣ) + ट্ (ṭ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
स্ (s) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ठ্ (ṭʰ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
ट্ (ṭ) + व (va) gives the ligature :
त্ (t) + त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature :
त্ (t) + व (va) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ब (ba) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + च (ca) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + छ (cʰa) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ग (ga) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ज (ja) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + क (ka) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ल (la) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature :
व্ (v) + व (va) gives the ligature :
Bengali Va The Bengali script ব is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, व. Unlike many of its cognates in other Indic scripts, ব is primarily identified as the /b/ consonant, especially as an independent consonant. It tends to have no inherent pronunciation itself when in a non-head position of a conjunct conjunct, often serving as an indication of gemination (doubling) of the preceding consonant sound, although there are a few words where it retains its /b/ pronunciation. Like all Indic consonants, ব can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a". + Bengali ব with vowel marks ba bā bi bī bu bū br br̄ be bai bo bau bববাবিবীবুবূবৃবৄবেবৈবোবৌব্
ব in Bengali-using languages ব is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.
Conjuncts with non-head ব Bengali ব exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures. When used as the head (first) consonant in a conjunct, ব is normally pronounced as /b/.
Bengali Va-phala
Like Ra and Ya, the Bengali Va is almost always realized in a reduced form called "Va phala" (vo pholo) when found as the final consonant of a conjunct. This reduced form is appended at the bottom of a vertical stem, or otherwise attached at the bottom of a preceding consonant or conjunct. ভ্ (bʰ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
চ্ (c) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ড্ (ḍ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
দ্ (d) + দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
গ্ (g) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
জ্ (j) + জ্ (j) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
জ্ (j) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
খ্ (kʰ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ক্ (k) + ষ্ (ṣ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ক্ (k) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ল্ (l) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ম্ (m) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ন্ (n) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
র্ (r) + দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives the ligature , with repha in addition to va phala:
র্ (r) + শ্ (ʃ) + ব (va) gives the ligature , with repha in addition to va phala:
শ্ (ʃ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ষ্ (ṣ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
স্ (s) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
থ্ (tʰ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ট্ (ṭ) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ত্ (t) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives the ligature :
Other ব conjuncts A few letters conjoin with ব by keeping it in its full form instead of the reduced Va-phala. ধ্ (dʱ) + ব (va) gives the ligature with full-form va:
র্ (r) + ধ্ (dʱ) + ব (va) gives the ligature , with repha:
ম্ (m) + ব্ (v) + র (ra) gives the ligature , with the ra phala suffix. Note that this is a different base conjunct than mva, above:
Gujarati Va
Va (વ) is the twenty-ninth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Va 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, વ 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: Va Vā Vi Vī Vu Vū Vr Vl Vr̄ Vl̄ Vĕ Ve Vai Vŏ Vo Vau VGujarati Va syllables, with vowel marks in red.
Conjuncts with વ
Gujarati વ 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) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
વ્ (v) + ર (ra) gives the ligature :
ટ્ (ʈ) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
ડ્ (ɖ) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
દ્ (d) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
વ્ (v) + ન (na) gives the ligature :
શ્ (ʃ) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
હ્ (h) + વ (va) gives the ligature :
Telugu Va
Va (వ) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ವ. 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.