Ai (Indic)

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The ै sign was used to modify a consonant's value ×10¹², but the vowel letter ऐ did not have an inherent value by itself.[1]

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ai as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, and retained the same basic form into later styles of Brahmi. Like all Brahmic scripts, Tocharian Ai has an accompanying vowel mark for modifying a base consonant. In Kharoṣṭhī, the only independent vowel letter is for the inherent A. All other independent vowels, including Ai are indicated with vowel marks added to the letter A.

Brahmi Ai

The Brahmi letter Ai , is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Ayin , and is thus related to the modern Latin O and Greek Omicron.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ai 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 some vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ai historic forms

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

Tocharian Ai

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi . Unlike some of the consonants, Tocharian vowels do not have a Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian consonants with Ai vowel marks

Kai	Khai	Gai	Ghai	Cai	Chai	Jai	Jhai	Nyai	Ṭai	Ṭhai	Ḍai	Ḍhai	Ṇai
Tai	Thai	Dai	Dhai	Nai	Pai	Phai	Bai	Bhai	Mai	Yai	Rai	Lai	Vai
Śai	Ṣai	Sai	Hai

Devanagari independent Ai and Ai vowel sign.

Ai (ऐ) is a vowel of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter ઐ, and the Modi letter 𑘋.

Bengali independent Ai and Ai vowel sign.

Ai (ঐ) is a vowel of the Bengali abugida. It is derived from the Siddhaṃ letter , and is marked by the lack of horizontal head line and less geometric shape than its Devanagari counterpart, ऐ.

Gujarati independent Ai and Ai vowel sign.

Ai (ઐ) is a vowel of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ai , and ultimately the Brahmi letter .

Telugu independent vowel and vowel sign Ai.

Ai (ఐ) is a vowel of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಐ. Like in other Indic scripts, Telugu vowels have two forms: and independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of Telugu consonant letters. Vowel signs in Telugu can interact with a base consonant in one of three ways: 1) the vowel sign touches or sits adjacent to the base consonant without modifying the shape of either 2) the vowel sign sits directly above the consonant, replacing its v-shaped headline, 3) the vowel sign and consonant interact, forming a ligature.

Telugu Ai vowel sign on క, ఖ, గ, ఘ & ఙ: Kai, Khai, Gai, Ghai and Ngai. Note that how the vowel sign interacts with the base consonant is dependent on the location of the headline, the absence of a headline, and the presence of a tail to attach to.

Malayalam independent vowel and vowel sign Ai.

Ai (ഐ) is a vowel of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter ai. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Malayalam usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound.

Odia independent vowel and vowel sign Ai.

Ai (ଐ) is a vowel of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter ai. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia vowels have two forms: an independent letter for word and syllable-initial vowel sounds, and a vowel sign for changing the inherent "a" of consonant letters. Vowel signs in Odia usually sit adjacent to its base consonant - below, to the left, right, or both left and right, but are always pronounced after the consonant sound. No base consonants are altered in form when adding a vowel sign, and there are no consonant+vowel ligatures in Odia.