Siddham invocation mark

An opening blessing on the page.

Also known as: Siddhirastu, Auspicious opening mark

In Sanskrit:: सिद्धम्
In Sanskrit (Latin):: Siddham

CulturalHistorical & archaeologicalReligiousStandard profile

Meanings

The mark or word opening a Sanskrit manuscript, invoking accomplishment before the text begins.

Historically documentedVerified fact
Opens a manuscript with an invocation of success before the text begins.
Contexts: History, Religion
Historically documentedVerified fact
So consistently used at the head of learners' texts that it gave its name to the Siddham script itself, and in Japan to the shittan tradition of Sanskrit writing preserved in Shingon Buddhism.
Contexts: History, Religion

Visual description

A stylised glyph or the written word siddham standing alone at the head of the first line, before the text proper.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

The Unicode Standard: South Asian scripts and their combining marks
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity, name and encoded behaviour of a character or combining mark. Unicode names a character and describes its rendering; it is not a source for how a mark is used in any living orthography, which is cited separately.
Devanagari manuscript and editorial conventions
Oxford University Press and the Clay Sanskrit Library editions · retrieved 2026-08-27
Scholarly editions, cited for the identity and function of the marks used in Sanskrit manuscript and printing. Editorial practice varies between traditions and editions; where it does, the record says so rather than presenting one convention as the convention.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27

Help improve this page

Meanings

The mark or word opening a Sanskrit manuscript, invoking accomplishment before the text begins.

Historically documentedVerified fact

Opens a manuscript with an invocation of success before the text begins.

Contexts: History, Religion

Historically documentedVerified fact

So consistently used at the head of learners' texts that it gave its name to the Siddham script itself, and in Japan to the shittan tradition of Sanskrit writing preserved in Shingon Buddhism.

Contexts: History, Religion

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

The Unicode Standard: South Asian scripts and their combining marks
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity, name and encoded behaviour of a character or combining mark. Unicode names a character and describes its rendering; it is not a source for how a mark is used in any living orthography, which is cited separately.
Devanagari manuscript and editorial conventions
Oxford University Press and the Clay Sanskrit Library editions · retrieved 2026-08-27
Scholarly editions, cited for the identity and function of the marks used in Sanskrit manuscript and printing. Editorial practice varies between traditions and editions; where it does, the record says so rather than presenting one convention as the convention.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27