Chanakya Font Keyboard Layout: A Reference Guide

Understanding the Chanakya Layout

If you want to type directly in Walkman Chanakya without using a converter, you must understand its keyboard layout. Because Chanakya is a legacy 8-bit font, it does not use the modern InScript or Phonetic layouts associated with Unicode.

Instead, it relies on a specific mapping where every Hindi character, matra, and half-letter is hardcoded to a specific key on an English QWERTY keyboard.

The Basic Mapping Concept

When you install Walkman Chanakya and set it as your active font in software like MS Word or PageMaker, pressing the k key will output the Devanagari letter क. Pressing l (lowercase L) will output the 'ा' (aa ki matra).

To write "का" (Kaa), you type k followed by l. (If you're using older DTP software, see our Hindi DTP Guide for workflow tips.)

The Challenge of Half-Letters

Unlike modern Unicode where you type a full letter and apply a halant to make it a half-letter, Walkman Chanakya often dedicates entirely separate keys (usually accessed by holding Shift) for half-letters.

For example:

• k = क
• K (Shift + k) = क् (half ka)

The Matra Anomaly (ि)

The most infamous quirk of the Chanakya keyboard layout is the 'ि' (chhoti ee ki matra). Because Chanakya was designed to mimic mechanical typewriters, you must type the matra before the consonant it attaches to.

If you want to write "कि" (ki):

• In Unicode (Google Input), you type: क + ि.
• On a Chanakya keyboard, you must type: f (which draws the ि) + k (which draws the क).

You can read more about this in our Unicode to Chanakya Guide.

Why Use a Converter Instead?

Memorizing the Chanakya keyboard layout takes weeks of practice and muscle memory. Today, almost no one learns it from scratch.

Instead, modern DTP operators and designers use a much faster workflow:

1. They type their text natively using Google Input Tools or an English-to-Hindi phonetic keyboard. This produces standard Unicode text.
2. They paste that text into our Unicode to Chanakya Converter below.
3. They copy the result and paste it into their design software.

The converter automatically handles all the complex mapping, half-letters, and backwards matra logic instantly.

The Layout Chart

If you still need to type manually to make quick edits to a document, here is a quick reference for the most common keys:

(Note: Exact mappings can sometimes vary slightly depending on whether you are using Walkman Chanakya 901 or 905, but the core alphabetic keys remain largely identical.)