[XeTeX] Hyphenation in Transliterated Sanskrit

[Cyril Niklaus]

On 2 oct. 2011, at 22:40, Philip TAYLOR (Webmaster, Ret'd) wrote:

> Dominik --
> 
>> Several commentaries on the Bhagavadgītā have also
>> been typed into the computer, including those of
>> Śaṅkara, Yāmuna, Rāmānuja and Jñānadeva.
> 
> What is the significance (if any) of the extra-high "ṅ"
> in "Śaṅkara" ?

Because that's how his name is spelled.  You have guttural, palatal, retroflex and dental n in Devanāgarī, respectively ङ ṅa
; ञ ña; ण ṇa and न na. 
The guttural na is transcribed using a superscript dot, but maybe you do not have it in a standard font, and your MUA used whatever font was available, therefore this extra height you're talking about.  I'm not sure if I've correctly understood you, to be honest.

Cyril