Na (Indic)

Na is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Na is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

← Dha		Na			Pa →
Devanagari	Ashoka Brahmi		Tibetan	Bengali		Tamil
0928	11026		0F53	09A8		0BA8
Gurmukhi	Thai		Baybayin	Malayalam		Sinhala
ਨ 0A28	ณ/ น 0E13 / 0E19		ᜈ 1708	ന 0D28		න 0DB1
Ancient scripts Ashoka Brahmi Kushana Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tocharian 11026 𑀦 11026 11026 / -- Kharoṣṭhī Siddhaṃ Sharada Grantha 𐨣 10A23 115A1 𑆤 111A4 𑌨 11328
Bangla and Tibetan scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tibetan Bengali 11026 11026 0F53 09A8 'Phags-pa Oriya Limbu Lepcha Marchen ꡋ A84B ନ 0B28 ᤏ 190F ᰍ 1C0D 𑱽 11C7D Siddhaṃ Pracalit Tirhuta Zanabazar Square 115A1 𑐣 11423 𑒢 114A2 𑨝 11A1D Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts Sharada Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Takri Dogra 𑆤 111A4 11026 11026 𑚝 1169D 𑠝 1181D Gurmukhi Khudawadi Mahajani Khojki Multani ਨ 0A28 𑋑 112D1 𑅧 11167 𑈞 1121E 𑊚 1129A
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Devanagari 11026 11026 0928 Gujarati Kaithi Syloti Nagari Modi ન 0AA8 𑂢 110A2 ꠘ A818 𑘡 11621 Nandinagari Gunjala Gondi Soyombo Bhaiksuki 𑧁 119C1 𑩯 11A6F 𑵺 11D7A 𑰡 11C21
Kawi scripts Grantha Baybayin Tagbanwa Hanunó'o Buhid 𑌨 11328 ᜈ 1708 ᝨ 1768 ᜨ 1728 ᝈ 1748 Balinese Javanese Batak Lontara Rejang ᬦ 1B26 ꦤ A9A4 ᯉ 1BC9 ᨊ 1A0A ꤵ A935 Ashoka Brahmi Sundanese Makasar Chakma 11026 ᮔ 1B94 𑻨 11EE8 𑻨 11EE8
Tai and Khmer scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Khmer Lao 11026 𑌨 11328 ន 1793 ນ 0E99 Thai Tai Tham Tai Viet Tai Le New Tai Lü ณ/ น 0E13 / 0E19 ᨶ 1A36 ꪘ/ ꪙ AA98 / AA99 ᥢ 1962 ᦐ/ ᦓ 1990 / 1993
Other Grantha-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Ahom Dives Akuru 11026 𑌨 11328 𑜃 11703 𑤟 1191F Malayalam Saurashtra Cham Burmese Kayah Li ന 0D28 ꢥ A8A5 ꨘ AA18 န 1014 ꤔ A914
Other Brahmic scripts Ashoka Brahmi Masaram Gondi Meetei Mayek 11026 𑴟 11D1F ꯅ/ ꯟ ABC5 / ABDF Tamil Kannada Sinhala Telugu 0BA8 න 0DB1 న 0C28 ನ 0CA8
Phonemic representation:				/n/
IAST transliteration:				n N
ISCII code point:				C6 (198)

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Further information: 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 न are:[1]

• न [nə] = 20 (२०)
• नि [nɪ] = 2,000 (२ ०००)
• नु [nʊ] = 200,000 (२ ०० ०००)
• नृ [nri] = 20,000,000 (२ ०० ०० ०००)
• नॢ [nlə] = 2×10⁹ (२ ×१०^९)
• ने [ne] = 2×10¹¹ (×१०^११)
• नै [nɛː] = 2×10¹³ (×१०^१३)
• नो [noː] = 2×10¹⁵ (×१०^१५)
• नौ [nɔː] = 2×10¹⁷ (×१०^१७)

Historic Na

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Na as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Na had an alterante Fremdzeichen form, . The third form of na, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Na

The Brahmi letter , Na, is probably derived from the Aramaic Nun , and is thus related to the modern Latin N and Greek Nu.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Na can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] 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 Na historic forms

Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

Tocharian Na

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , and has an alternate Fremdzeichen form used in conjuncts and as an alternate representation of Nä.

Tocharian Na with vowel marks

Na	Nā	Ni	Nī	Nu	Nū	Nr	Nr̄	Ne	Nai	No	Nau	Nä	Fremdzeichen

Kharoṣṭhī Na

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Nun , and is thus related to N and Nu, in addition to the Brahmi Na.[2]

Devanagari Na

Na (न) 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 ન, and the Modi letter 𑘡.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, न is pronounced as [nə] or [n] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari न with vowel marks

Na	Nā	Ni	Nī	Nu	Nū	Nr	Nr̄	Nl	Nl̄	Ne	Nai	No	Nau	N
न	ना	नि	नी	नु	नू	नृ	नॄ	नॢ	नॣ	ने	नै	नो	नौ	न्

Conjuncts with न

Half form of Na.

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.[4]

Ligature conjuncts of न

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 the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

• न্ (n) + न (na) gives us the ligature nna:

• र্ (r) + न (na) gives us the ligature rna:

• न্ (n) + र (ra) gives us the ligature nra:

Stacked conjuncts of न

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. As the trailing letter in many conjuncts, Na will show a reduced form, angling down and to the right in order to stack under the preceding consonant.

• भ্ (bʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature bʰna:

• ब্ (b) + न (na) gives us the ligature bna:

• छ্ (cʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature cʰna:

• च্ (c) + न (na) gives us the ligature cna:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ḍʱna:

• ड্ (ḍ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ḍna:

• ध্ (dʱ) + न (na) gives us the ligature dʱna:

• द্ (d) + न (na) gives us the ligature dna:

• घ্ (ɡʱ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ɡʱna:

• ग্ (g) + न (na) gives us the ligature gna:

• ग্ (g) + न্ (n) + य (ya) gives us the ligature gnya:

• ह্ (h) + न (na) gives us the ligature hna:

• झ্ (jʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature jʰna:

• ज্ (j) + न (na) gives us the ligature jna:

• ख্ (kʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature kʰna:

• क্ (k) + न (na) gives us the ligature kna:

• ल্ (l) + न (na) gives us the ligature lna:

• म্ (m) + न (na) gives us the ligature mna:

• न্ (n) + च (ca) gives us the ligature nca:

• न্ (n) + द্ (d) + ध (dʱa) gives us the ligature nddʱa:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ŋna:

• न্ (n) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature nja:

• न্ (n) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature njña:

• न্ (n) + ल (la) gives us the ligature nla:

• ण্ (ṇ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ṇna:

• न্ (n) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature nña:

• ञ্ (ñ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ñna:

• फ্ (pʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature pʰna:

• प্ (p) + न (na) gives us the ligature pna:

• श্ (ʃ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ʃna:

• स্ (s) + न (na) gives us the ligature sna:

• ष্ (ṣ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ṣna:

• थ্ (tʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature tʰna:

• त্ (t) + न (na) gives us the ligature tna:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ṭʰna:

• ट্ (ṭ) + न (na) gives us the ligature ṭna:

• त্ (t) + त্ (t) + न (na) gives us the ligature ttna:

• व্ (v) + न (na) gives us the ligature vna:

• य্ (y) + न (na) gives us the ligature yna:

Bengali Na

The Bengali script ন is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, न. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter ন will sometimes be transliterated as "no" instead of "na". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /n̪o/.

Like all Indic consonants, ন can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bengali ন with vowel marks

na	nā	ni	nī	nu	nū	nr	nr̄	ne	nai	no	nau	n
ন	না	নি	নী	নু	নূ	নৃ	নৄ	নে	নৈ	নো	নৌ	ন্

ন in Bengali-using languages

ন is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Conjuncts with ন

Bengali ন exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards a trailing ন realized as a reduced form in stacked ligatures, similar to Va-phala, and initial ন appending a reduced form onto the vertical stemline of the following consonant, or as a fully stacked ligature.[5]

• ধ্ (dʱ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature dʱna:

• ঘ্ (ɡʱ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature ɡʱna:

• গ্ (g) + ন (na) gives us the ligature gna:

• গ্ (g) + ন্ (n) + য (ya) gives us the ligature gnya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ক্ (k) + শ্ (ʃ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature kʃna:

• ম্ (m) + ন (na) gives us the ligature mna:

• ন্ (n) + দ (da) gives us the ligature nda:

• ন্ (n) + ড (ḍa) gives us the ligature nḍa:

• ন্ (n) + ড্ (ḍ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature nḍra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ধ (dʱa) gives us the ligature ndʱa:

• ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ndʱra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ধ্ (dʱ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ndʱya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ndra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + ব (va) gives us the ligature ndva, with the va phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + দ্ (d) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ndya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ম (ma) gives us the ligature nma:

• ন্ (n) + ন (na) gives us the ligature nna:

• ন্ (n) + ত (ta) gives us the ligature nta:

• ন্ (n) + থ (tʰa) gives us the ligature ntʰa:

• ন্ (n) + থ্ (tʰ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ntʰra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature ntra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + র্ (r) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ntrya, with the ra phala and ya phala suffixes

• ন্ (n) + ট (ṭa) gives us the ligature nṭa:

• ন্ (n) + ঠ (ṭʰa) gives us the ligature nṭʰa:

• ন্ (n) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature nṭra, with the ra phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives us the ligature ntva, with the va phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives us the ligature ntya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + ব (va) gives us the ligature nva, with the va phala suffix:

• ন্ (n) + য (ya) gives us the ligature nya, with the ya phala suffix:

• প্ (p) + ন (na) gives us the ligature pna:

• র্ (r) + ন (na) gives us the ligature rna, with the repha prefix:

• শ্ (ʃ) + ন (na) gives us the ligature ʃna:

• স্ (s) + ন (na) gives us the ligature sna:

• ত্ (t) + ন (na) gives us the ligature tna:

Javanese Na

Main article: Na (Javanese)

References

1. Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
2. Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
3. Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838
4. Pall, Peeter. "Microsoft Word - kblhi2" (PDF). Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Eesti Keele Instituudi kohanimeandmed. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
5. "The Bengali Alphabet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.