Sa (Indic)

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

← Ṣa		Sa			Ha →
Devanagari	Ashoka Brahmi		Tibetan	Bengali		Tamil
0938	11032		0F66	09B8		ஸ 0BB8
Gurmukhi	Thai		Baybayin	Malayalam		Sinhala
ਸ 0A38	ส 0E2A		ᜐ 1710	സ 0D38		ෂ 0DC2
Ancient scripts Ashoka Brahmi Kushana Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tocharian 11032 𑀲 11032 11032 / -- Kharoṣṭhī Siddhaṃ Sharada Grantha 𐨯 10A2F 115AD 𑆱 111B1 𑌸 11338
Bangla and Tibetan scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Tibetan Bengali 11032 11032 0F66 09B8 'Phags-pa Oriya Limbu Lepcha Marchen ꡛ A85B ସ 0B38 ᤛ 191B ᰠ 1C20 𑲍 11C8D Siddhaṃ Pracalit Tirhuta Zanabazar Square 115AD 𑐳 11433 𑒮 114AE 𑨰 11A30 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 𑆱 111B1 11032 11032 𑚨 116A8 𑠩 11829 Gurmukhi Khudawadi Mahajani Khojki Multani ਸ 0A38 𑋝 112DD 𑅰 11170 𑈩 11229 𑊥 112A5
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Gupta Brahmi Devanagari 11032 11032 0938 Gujarati Kaithi Syloti Nagari Modi સ 0AB8 𑂮 110AE ꠡ A821 𑘭 1162D Nandinagari Gunjala Gondi Soyombo Bhaiksuki 𑧍 119CD 𑪁 11A81 𑶉 11D89 𑰭 11C2D
Kawi scripts Grantha Baybayin Tagbanwa Hanunó'o Buhid 𑌸 11338 ᜐ 1710 ᝰ 1770 ᜰ 1730 ᝐ 1750 Balinese Javanese Batak Lontara Rejang ᬲ 1B32 ꦱ A9B1 ᯘ 1BD8 ᨔ 1A14 ꤼ A93C Ashoka Brahmi Sundanese Makasar Chakma 11032 ᮞ 1B9E 𑻰 11EF0 𑻰 11EF0
Tai and Khmer scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Khmer Lao 11032 𑌸 11338 ស 179F ສ 0EAA Thai Tai Tham Tai Viet Tai Le New Tai Lü ส 0E2A ᩈ/ ᨪ 1A48 / 1A2A ꪎ/ ꪏ AA8E / AA8F ᥔ 1954 ᦉ/ ᦌ 1989 / 198C
Other Grantha-based scripts Ashoka Brahmi Grantha Ahom Dives Akuru 11032 𑌸 11338 𑜏 1170F 𑤬 1192C Malayalam Saurashtra Cham Burmese Kayah Li സ 0D38 ꢱ A8B1 ꨧ AA27 သ 101E ꤎ A90E
Other Brahmic scripts Ashoka Brahmi Masaram Gondi Meetei Mayek 11032 𑴫 11D2B ꯁ ABC1 Tamil Kannada Sinhala Telugu ஸ 0BB8 ෂ 0DC2 స 0C38 ಸ 0CB8
Phonemic representation:				/s/
IAST transliteration:				s S
ISCII code point:				D7 (215)

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 स are:[1]

• स [sə] = 90 (९०)
• सि [sɪ] = 9,000 (९ ०००)
• सु [sʊ] = 900,000 (९ ०० ०००)
• सृ [sri] = 90,000,000 (९ ०० ०० ०००)
• सॢ [slə] = 9×10⁹ (९×१०^९)
• से [se] = 9×10¹¹ (९×१०^११)
• सै [sɛː] = 9×10¹³ (९×१०^१३)
• सो [soː] = 9×10¹⁵ (९×१०^१५)
• सौ [sɔː] = 9×10¹⁷ (९×१०^१७)

Historic Sa

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

Brahmi Sa

The Brahmi letter , Sa, is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Samekh , and is thus related to the modern Greek Xi.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Sa 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 Sa historic forms

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

Tocharian Sa

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

Tocharian Sa with vowel marks

Sa	Sā	Si	Sī	Su	Sū	Sr	Sr̄	Se	Sai	So	Sau	Sä	Fremdzeichen

Kharoṣṭhī Sa

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the altered Aramaic Samekh , and is thus related to Xi, in addition to the Brahmi Sa.[2]

Devanagari Sa

Sa (स) 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 સ, and the Modi letter 𑘭.

Devanagari-using Languages

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

Devanagari स with vowel marks

Sa	Sā	Si	Sī	Su	Sū	Sr	Sr̄	Sl	Sl̄	Se	Sai	So	Sau	S
स	सा	सि	सी	सु	सू	सृ	सॄ	सॢ	सॣ	से	सै	सो	सौ	स्

Conjuncts with स

Half form of Sa.

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 स

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.

• र্ (r) + स (sa) gives us the ligature rsa:

• स্ (s) + र (ra) gives us the ligature sra:

Stacked conjuncts of स

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) + स (sa) gives us the ligature cʰsa:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature ḍʱsa:

• ड্ (ḍ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature ḍsa:

• द্ (d) + स (sa) gives us the ligature dsa:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature ŋsa:

• र্ (r) + स্ (s) + व (va) gives us the ligature rsva:

• स্ (s) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature sba:

• स্ (s) + च (ca) gives us the ligature sca:

• स্ (s) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature sja:

• स্ (s) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature sjña:

• स্ (s) + ल (la) gives us the ligature sla:

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

• स্ (s) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature sña:

• स্ (s) + व (va) gives us the ligature sva:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature ṭʰsa:

• ट্ (ṭ) + स (sa) gives us the ligature ṭsa:

Bengali Sa

The Bengali script স is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, स. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter স will sometimes be transliterated as "so" instead of "sa". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /so/.

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

Bengali স with vowel marks

sa	sā	si	sī	su	sū	sr	sr̄	se	sai	so	sau	s
স	সা	সি	সী	সু	সূ	সৃ	সৄ	সে	সৈ	সো	সৌ	স্

স in Bengali-using languages

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

Conjuncts with স

Bengali স exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures.[5]

• ক্ (k) + স (sa) gives us the ligature ksa:

• প্ (p) + স (sa) gives us the ligature psa:

• র্ (r) + স (sa) gives us the ligature rsa, with the repha prefix:

• স্ (s) + ক (ka) gives us the ligature ska:

• স্ (s) + খ (kʰa) gives us the ligature skʰa:

• স্ (s) + ক্ (k) + র (ra) gives us the ligature skra, with the ra phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ল (la) gives us the ligature sla:

• স্ (s) + ম (ma) gives us the ligature sma:

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

• স্ (s) + প (pa) gives us the ligature spa:

• স্ (s) + ফ (pʰa) gives us the ligature spʰa:

• স্ (s) + প্ (p) + ল (la) gives us the ligature spla:

• স্ (s) + র (ra) gives us the ligature sra, with the ra phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ত (ta) gives us the ligature sta:

• স্ (s) + থ (tʰa) gives us the ligature stʰa:

• স্ (s) + থ্ (tʰ) + য (ya) gives us the ligature stʰya, with the ya phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + র (ra) gives us the ligature stra, with the ra phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ট (ṭa) gives us the ligature sṭa:

• স্ (s) + ট্ (ṭ) + র (ra) gives us the ligature sṭra, with the ra phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + ব (va) gives us the ligature stva, with the va phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ত্ (t) + য (ya) gives us the ligature stya, with the ya phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + ব (va) gives us the ligature sva, with the va phala suffix:

• স্ (s) + য (ya) gives us the ligature sya, with the ya phala suffix:

• ত্ (t) + স (sa) gives us the ligature tsa:

Javanese Sa

Main article: Sa (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.