The Sourashtra Alphabet

Q: Is Sourashtra the same as Saurashtra?

Yes — Sourashtra and Saurashtra are two romanised spellings of the same language name, referring to the same Indo-Aryan language (ISO 639-3: saz) and the same unique Brahmic script used by the Saurashtri community of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The spelling with "ou" (Sourashtra) reflects a local pronunciation variant and is historically common in community publications, weaving guild documents, and older sources. The standard linguistic spelling is Saurashtra (from Sanskrit Saurāṣṭra). Both refer to the same language, people, and script.

Q: What script does Sourashtra use?

Sourashtra uses the Saurashtra script — a unique Brahmic abugida with no close relatives among currently used writing systems. It is distinct from Devanagari, Tamil, Gujarati, and all other South Asian scripts. The script has 12 independent vowels and 30 consonants in the classical Brahmic varga arrangement, plus vowel signs and a virama. Each consonant carries an inherent a vowel, modified by matras or cancelled by the virama.

Q: Where is Sourashtra spoken?

Sourashtra is spoken primarily in Madurai and surrounding districts of Tamil Nadu, South India. The Saurashtra/Sourashtra community — renowned as traditional silk weavers — settled in the region centuries ago from Gujarat. Despite being geographically surrounded by Tamil speakers, the community has preserved their distinct Indo-Aryan language and unique script across many generations. The language is considered vulnerable, with intergenerational transmission under pressure from Tamil.

Q: Is the Saurashtra script encoded in Unicode?

Yes. The Saurashtra script was encoded in the Unicode Standard in version 5.1 (2008) in the range allocated for the Saurashtra block. The encoding supports the full range of vowels, consonants, vowel signs, virama, and other characters needed for writing the language. Unicode encoding was an important milestone for digital preservation of the Saurashtra/Sourashtra language and script, enabling it to be used in digital documents, websites, and software for the first time in a standardised way.

Q: What is the ISO code for Sourashtra?

Sourashtra has ISO 639-3 code saz — the same code as Saurashtra, as they are the same language. The Glottolog code is saur1248 . The language is listed by SIL International under the name Saurashtra with code saz, and the alternate names Saurashtri, Sourashtra, and Sourashtri are all documented as variant names for the same language.

Sourashtra Alphabet at a Glance

Sourashtra is an alternate romanised spelling of Saurashtra (ISO 639-3: saz) — the same Indo-Aryan language spoken by approximately 200,000–300,000 people in Madurai and Tamil Nadu, India; both names refer to the same language, community, and script ^[1]
The Sourashtra/Saurashtra script is a unique Brahmic abugida encoded in Unicode; it has no close relatives among currently used writing systems and is distinct from Devanagari, Tamil, Gujarati, and all other South Asian scripts ^[3]
The Sourashtra script has 12 independent vowels, 30 consonants, vowel signs (matras), and a virama — the classical Brahmic abugida structure in which each consonant carries an inherent a vowel ^[3]
Sourashtra belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European — related to Gujarati and languages of the historical Saurashtra (Gujarat) region — despite being spoken today in Tamil-dominant South India ^[2]
The spelling "Sourashtra" (with ou) is used by many community members and is particularly common in older publications, weaving guild documents, and temple inscriptions in Madurai
The Sourashtra community are historically renowned as expert silk weavers who settled in Madurai centuries ago; they are known locally as Patnulkarans and have maintained their distinct language, script, and cultural traditions
The community name Saurashtra/Sourashtra derives from the ancient Saurashtra region of Gujarat — the historical homeland from which the community migrated to Tamil Nadu, preserving their Indo-Aryan identity in a Dravidian-speaking environment

Sourashtra is an alternate romanised spelling of Saurashtra — the Indo-Aryan language (ISO 639-3: saz) spoken by approximately 200,000–300,000 people in Madurai and Tamil Nadu, India ^[1]. Both spellings refer to the same language, the same community, and the same unique Saurashtra Brahmic script — a writing system with no close relatives among currently used scripts.

The Sourashtra community historically came from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and settled in Tamil Nadu as master silk weavers. Despite centuries of contact with Tamil, the community has preserved its distinct Indo-Aryan language and unique script ^[2]. The script has 12 vowels and 30 consonants in the classical Brahmic arrangement.

Sourashtra Independent Vowels

Sourashtra has 12 independent vowel letters — used when a vowel opens a syllable without a preceding consonant. The vowel inventory includes short and long pairs for a, i, u, e, and o, plus the diphthongs ai and au.

As a Brahmic abugida, the Saurashtra script assigns an inherent a vowel to every consonant. Independent vowels are used syllable-initially; vowel signs (matras) indicate other vowels when they follow a consonant within a syllable.

Saurashtra Independent Vowels

ꢂ

[a]

ꢃ

[aa]

ꢄ

[i]

ꢅ

[ii]

ꢆ

[u]

ꢇ

[uu]

ꢈ

[e]

ꢉ

[ee]

ꢊ

[ai]

ꢋ

[o]

ꢌ

[oo]

ꢍ

[au]

ꢂ

[a]

Short vowel a — the inherent vowel. The fundamental vowel of the Saurashtra script, corresponding to the a sound in "father" (short).

ꢃ

[aa]

Long vowel aa — the long form of a. Twice the duration of the short a, as in a prolonged "aah" sound.

ꢄ

[i]

Short vowel i — like "i" in "sit". One of the primary Saurashtra vowels appearing throughout the language vocabulary.

ꢅ

[ii]

Long vowel ii — like "ee" in "feet". The long counterpart of the short i vowel in the Saurashtra phonological system.

ꢆ

[u]

Short vowel u — like "u" in "put". A basic short back vowel in Saurashtra, inherited from the Indo-Aryan vowel system.

ꢇ

[uu]

Long vowel uu — like "oo" in "food". The long counterpart of the short u vowel in the Saurashtra script.

ꢈ

[e]

Vowel e — like "a" in "late". A front mid vowel in Saurashtra, appearing in native vocabulary and inherited Indo-Aryan words.

ꢉ

[ee]

Long vowel ee — the extended front mid vowel. The long counterpart of the short e vowel in Saurashtra phonology.

ꢊ

[ai]

Diphthong ai — a vowel combination of a and i sounds. Appears in native Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢋ

[o]

Vowel o — like "o" in "go". A back mid rounded vowel in Saurashtra, common in native vocabulary.

ꢌ

[oo]

Long vowel oo — the extended back mid vowel. The long counterpart of the short o vowel in Saurashtra.

ꢍ

[au]

Diphthong au — a vowel combination of a and u sounds. Appears in native Saurashtra words.

Sourashtra Consonants

Sourashtra has 30 consonant letters in the traditional Brahmic varga (group) classification: velar, palatal, retroflex, dental, and labial series, each with voiceless, aspirated, voiced, and aspirated-voiced variants, followed by semivowels and fricatives. Each consonant carries an inherent a vowel.

The Indo-Aryan consonant inventory — including the retroflex series and four-way stop contrast — distinguishes Sourashtra from surrounding Dravidian languages of Tamil Nadu, reflecting the language's genetic heritage from the Gujarat region.

Saurashtra Consonants

ꢒ

[ka]

ꢓ

[kha]

ꢔ

[ga]

ꢕ

[gha]

ꢖ

[nga]

ꢗ

[cha]

ꢘ

[chha]

ꢙ

[ja]

ꢚ

[jha]

ꢛ

[nya]

ꢜ

[Ta]

ꢝ

[Tha]

ꢞ

[Da]

ꢟ

[Dha]

ꢠ

[Na]

ꢡ

[ta]

ꢢ

[tha]

ꢣ

[da]

ꢤ

[dha]

ꢥ

[na]

ꢦ

[pa]

ꢧ

[pha]

ꢨ

[ba]

ꢩ

[bha]

ꢪ

[ma]

ꢫ

[ya]

ꢬ

[ra]

ꢭ

[la]

ꢮ

[va]

ꢯ

[sha]

ꢒ

[ka]

Voiceless velar plosive — like "k" in "sky". The first consonant of the Saurashtra alphabet in the traditional Brahmic velar series.

ꢓ

[kha]

Aspirated voiceless velar plosive — a k with a breath. Part of the velar series (ka-varga) of the Saurashtra consonant inventory.

ꢔ

[ga]

Voiced velar plosive — like "g" in "go". A common consonant in the Saurashtra language, part of the velar series.

ꢕ

[gha]

Voiced aspirated velar plosive — a breathy g. Part of the traditional Brahmic velar consonant group in Saurashtra.

ꢖ

[nga]

Velar nasal — the nasal member of the velar series. Appears in Saurashtra before velar consonants in conjunct clusters.

ꢗ

[cha]

Voiceless palatal affricate — like "ch" in "church". Part of the palatal series (ca-varga) of the Saurashtra script.

ꢘ

[chha]

Aspirated voiceless palatal affricate — a breathy ch. Part of the Saurashtra palatal consonant series.

ꢙ

[ja]

Voiced palatal affricate — like "j" in "jump". A common consonant in Saurashtra vocabulary, part of the palatal series.

ꢚ

[jha]

Voiced aspirated palatal affricate — a breathy j. Part of the palatal consonant series of the Saurashtra script.

ꢛ

[nya]

Palatal nasal — the nasal member of the palatal series. Appears before palatal consonants in Saurashtra conjunct clusters.

ꢜ

[Ta]

Voiceless retroflex plosive — tongue tip curled back against the palate. Part of the retroflex series characteristic of South Asian languages.

ꢝ

[Tha]

Aspirated voiceless retroflex plosive — a breathy retroflex T. Part of the Saurashtra retroflex consonant series.

ꢞ

[Da]

Voiced retroflex plosive — tongue tip curled back. Part of the retroflex series of the Saurashtra Brahmic script.

ꢟ

[Dha]

Voiced aspirated retroflex plosive — a breathy retroflex D. Part of the traditional Brahmic retroflex series.

ꢠ

[Na]

Retroflex nasal — tongue tip curled back. Appears word-finally and before retroflex consonants in Saurashtra.

ꢡ

[ta]

Voiceless dental plosive — like "t" placed against the teeth. Part of the dental series (ta-varga) of the Saurashtra script.

ꢢ

[tha]

Aspirated voiceless dental plosive — a breathy dental t. Part of the dental consonant series of Saurashtra.

ꢣ

[da]

Voiced dental plosive — like "d" placed against the teeth. A common consonant in Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢤ

[dha]

Voiced aspirated dental plosive — a breathy d. Part of the dental consonant series of the Saurashtra script.

ꢥ

[na]

Dental nasal — like "n" in "not". One of the most frequent consonants in Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢦ

[pa]

Voiceless bilabial plosive — like "p" in "spin". Part of the labial series (pa-varga) of the Saurashtra alphabet.

ꢧ

[pha]

Aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive — a breathy p. Part of the labial consonant series of Saurashtra.

ꢨ

[ba]

Voiced bilabial plosive — like "b" in "bed". A common consonant in Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢩ

[bha]

Voiced aspirated bilabial plosive — a breathy b. Part of the labial series of the Saurashtra Brahmic script.

ꢪ

[ma]

Bilabial nasal — like "m" in "mother". One of the most common consonants in Saurashtra, closing the labial series.

ꢫ

[ya]

Palatal approximant — like "y" in "yes". A semivowel in Saurashtra, used in native words and in consonant clusters.

ꢬ

[ra]

Alveolar trill — a rolled r. A very common consonant in Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢭ

[la]

Alveolar lateral — like "l" in "light". Frequent throughout Saurashtra vocabulary.

ꢮ

[va]

Labiodental approximant — like "v" in "vine". Used in native Saurashtra words.

ꢯ

[sha]

Voiceless fricative — like "sh" in "ship". A sibilant consonant in the Saurashtra script closing the consonant inventory.

Sourashtra Vowel Signs (Matras)

Vowel signs (matras) are diacritical marks written around Sourashtra consonants to indicate vowels other than the inherent a — placed to the right, left, above, or below the consonant.

The virama cancels the inherent vowel, enabling consonant clusters — essential for writing complex Sourashtra syllables with adjacent consonants. This mirrors the function of the halant in Devanagari and other Brahmic scripts.

Saurashtra Vowel Signs (Matras)

ꢳ

ꢴ

ꢵ

ꢶ

ꢷ

ꢸ

ꢹ

ꢺ

ꢻ

ꢼ

ꢳ

Vowel sign for aa — written to the right of the consonant. Converts inherent a to long aa in Saurashtra writing.

ꢴ

Vowel sign for i — indicates the short i vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant letter.

ꢵ

Vowel sign for ii — indicates the long ii vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant letter.

ꢶ

Vowel sign for u — indicates the short u vowel below or beside a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢷ

Vowel sign for uu — indicates the long uu vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢸ

Vowel sign for e — indicates the short e vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢹ

Vowel sign for ee — indicates the long ee vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢺ

Vowel sign for ai — indicates the diphthong ai attached to a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢻ

Vowel sign for o — indicates the short o vowel attached to a Saurashtra consonant.

ꢼ

Virama — cancels the inherent a vowel of a consonant, enabling consonant clusters. Essential for writing Saurashtra syllables with adjacent consonants.

ꢂ

ꢃ

ꢄ

ꢅ

ꢆ

ꢇ

ꢈ

ꢉ

ꢊ

ꢋ

ꢌ

ꢍ

ꢒ

ꢓ

ꢔ

ꢕ

ꢖ

ꢗ

ꢘ

ꢙ

ꢚ

ꢛ

ꢜ

ꢝ

ꢞ

ꢟ

ꢠ

ꢡ

ꢢ

ꢣ

ꢤ

ꢥ

ꢦ

ꢧ

ꢨ

ꢩ

ꢪ

ꢫ

ꢬ

ꢭ

ꢮ

ꢯ

Digits (0–9)

Zero — Western numeral used in Saurashtra written contexts.

One — Western numeral.

Two — Western numeral.

Three — Western numeral.

Four — Western numeral.

Five — Western numeral.

Six — Western numeral.

Seven — Western numeral.

Eight — Western numeral.

Nine — Western numeral.

Expand All Collapse All

Is Sourashtra the same as Saurashtra?

What script does Sourashtra use?

Where is Sourashtra spoken?

What language family does Sourashtra belong to?

Is the Saurashtra script encoded in Unicode?

What is the ISO code for Sourashtra?

References:

[1] Hammarström, Harald et al. "Saurashtra [saur1248]". Glottolog 5.3. Retrieved from Glottolog: Saurashtra
[2] SIL International. "Saurashtra — ISO 639-3 Language Code: saz". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: saz
[3] Unicode Consortium. "Saurashtra Unicode Block". Retrieved from Unicode Saurashtra Block