Mohenjodaro & Dr. W Mint brazier & smelter of native metal kuṇṭha munda mẽṛhẽt iron and kaṉ copper signified on two Harappa Indus Script tablets

July 18, 2016, 7:31 pm

≫ Next: Human phylogeography and diversity -- Alexander H. Harcourt

≪ Previous: Mohenjo-daro and Dr. W. I say "Indus Script is a knowledge system". I look forward to Dr. W's rebuttal.

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/j5dx7qd

This is an addendum to http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/07/mohenjo-daro-and-dr-w-i-say-indus.html 

Mohenjo-daro and Dr. W. I say "Indus Script is a knowledge system". I look forward to Dr. W's rebuttal.

Is there a chance that Dr. W will respond to the request in the interest of contributions to civilization studies which is a subject area common to both Dr. K and Dr. W?

A Harappa tablet discovered by HARP team (H2001-5075/2922-01) compares with h489 tablet with comparable narratives & hypertexts. Both molded terracotta tablets have inscriptions on two sides.
h2001-5075/2922-01 Harappa tablet

h489Ah489B Harappa tablet (in Harappa museum)
One side (the reverse) of two molded terra cotta tablets signify a common narrative or hypertext: a woman grapples with two tigers and stands above an elephant. Top of the narrative is a spoked wheel. 

All are hieroglyphs: kola 'woman' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting' karibha 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron' eraka 'nave of wheel' rebus: eraka 'copper' arA 'spokes' rebus: Ara 'brass'.
h489 (Also, reverse of tablet H2001-5075/2922-01 hazily seen). A sharper orthographic representation of the woman grappling with two igers occurs on another seal of Mohenjo-daro. The face of the woman with a hypertext composed of hieroglyphs signifies: kammaṭa, kampaṭṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage.'


The obverse side of the tablets of Harappa have two different narratives: 1. One narrative shows a tiger looking up at a spy on a tree branch (H2001-5075/2922-01). 2. Another narrative shows a person kicking and spearing a bovine (h489B) PLUS crocodile and a horned person seated in penance with twig head-dress as field hieroglyphs.

This unique composition of the face of a woman includes identifiable hieroglyphs: 1. eye (kaN, kANi); 2. circular form (baTa); 3. six round (stones)(baTa); 4. face (mũh). 

Each hieroglyph is rendered rebus: kan 'copper' baTa 'circular form' baTa 'six stones'muhã'quantity of metal produced at one time in a native smelting furnace.'

mũh 'a face' in Indus Script Cipher signifies mũh, muhã 'ingot' or muhã'quantity of metal produced at one time in a native smelting furnace.'

Indus Script hieroglyphs of Prakrtam sprachbund lexis khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint' has a synonymகண்வட்டம் kaṇ-vaṭṭam 'mint, coiner, coinage' 

The note has recorded evidence that கண்வட்டம் kaṇ-vaṭṭam 'mint' has a synonym (demonstrably, a phonetic variant in mleccha/meluhha):  

khambhaṛā 'fin' (Lahnda) rebus: kammaTa 'mint' and these two expressions are combined in the Begram ivory (Plate 389) 

The unique orthography on the face of the woman shows a circle around one eye: kāṇī ʻone -- eyedʼ (feminine) PLUS வட்டம்¹ vaṭṭam < Pkt. vaṭṭavṛtta. n. 1. Circle, circular form, ring-like shape; மண்ட லம். (தொல். சொல். 402, உரை.) 2. Halo round the sun or moon, a karantuṟai-kōḷ; பரிவேடம். (சிலப். 10, 102, உரை.) (சினேந். 164.) 3. Potter's wheel; குயவன் திரிகை. (பிங்.) 4. Wheel of a cart; வண்டிச்சக்கரம். (யாழ். அக.) baṭlohi ʻ round metal vessel ʼ(Nepalese).

Thus, the orthographic composition is read as kāṇī vaṭṭa 'eye + circular form' Rebus the expression is: kan 'copper' +bhaTa 'furnace' or khambhaṛā which signifies 'fish-fin' and also 'mint' (with variant pronunciations: Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. (DEDR 1236). The orthographic composition is thus explained rebus as copper mint (kan + bhaTa).

There are six round blobs around the hairstyle of the woman: baTa 'six, round stone' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'.

The six blobs may also signify six locks of hair: मेढा (p. 391) mēḍhā A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl (Marathi) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meD 'iron'(Santali.Mu.Ho.).med 'copper' (Slavic languages).

Ta. kaṉ copper work, copper, workmanship; kaṉṉāṉ brazier. Ma. kannān id.(DEDR 1402)

Hieroglyphs: six, round stone: baTa 'six' baTT 'round stone': WPah.bhal. baṭṭ m. ʻ small round stone ʼ; Or. bāṭi ʻ stone ʼ; Bi. baṭṭā ʻ stone roller for spices, grindstone ʼ. -- With unexpl. -- ṭṭh -- : Sh.gur. baṭṭh m. ʻ stone ʼ, gil. baṭhāˊ m. ʻ avalanche of stones ʼ (CDIAL 11348) Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace' Rebus: bhaṭṭhā 'kiln, furnace': bhráṣṭra n. ʻ frying pan, gridiron ʼ MaitrS. [√bhrajj]
Pk. bhaṭṭha -- m.n. ʻ gridiron ʼ; K. büṭhü f. ʻ level surface by kitchen fireplace on which vessels are put when taken off fire ʼ; S. baṭhu m. ʻ large pot in which grain is parched, large cooking fire ʼ, baṭhī f. ʻ distilling furnace ʼ; L. bhaṭṭh m. ʻ grain -- parcher's oven ʼ, bhaṭṭhī f. ʻ kiln, distillery ʼ, awāṇ. bhaṭh; P. bhaṭṭh m., °ṭhī f. ʻ furnace ʼ, bhaṭṭhā m. ʻ kiln ʼ; N. bhāṭi ʻ oven or vessel in which clothes are steamed for washing ʼ; A. bhaṭā ʻ brick -- or lime -- kiln ʼ; B. bhāṭi ʻ kiln ʼ; Or. bhāṭi ʻ brick -- kiln, distilling pot ʼ; Mth. bhaṭhī, bhaṭṭī ʻ brick -- kiln, furnace, still ʼ; Aw.lakh. bhāṭhā ʻ kiln ʼ; H. bhaṭṭhā m. ʻ kiln ʼ, bhaṭ f. ʻ kiln, oven, fireplace ʼ; M. bhaṭṭā m. ʻ pot of fire ʼ, bhaṭṭī f. ʻ forge ʼ. -- X bhástrā -- q.v. bhrāṣṭra -- ; *bhraṣṭrapūra -- , *bhraṣṭrāgāra -- . Addenda: bhráṣṭra -- : S.kcch. bhaṭṭhī keṇī ʻ distil (spirits) ʼ.*bhraṣṭrapūra ʻ gridiron -- cake ʼ. [Cf. bhrāṣṭraja -- ʻ pro- duced on a gridiron ʼ lex. -- bhráṣṭra -- , pūra -- 2] P. bhaṭhūhar, °hrā, bhaṭhūrā, °ṭhorū m. ʻ cake of leavened bread ʼ; -- or < *bhr̥ṣṭapūra -*bhraṣṭrāgāra ʻ grain parching house ʼ. [bhráṣṭra -- , agāra -- ] P. bhaṭhiār, °ālā m. ʻ grainparcher's shop ʼ.(CDIAL 9656, 9657, 9658)

*varta2 ʻ circular object ʼ or more prob. ʻ something made of metal ʼ, cf. vartaka -- 2 n. ʻ bell -- metal, brass ʼ lex. and vartalōha -- . [√vr̥t?] Pk. vaṭṭa -- m.n., °aya -- m. ʻ cup ʼ; Ash. waṭāˊk ʻ cup, plate ʼ; K. waṭukh, dat. °ṭakas m. ʻ cup, bowl ʼ; S. vaṭo m. ʻ metal drinking cup ʼ; N.bāṭā, ʻ round copper or brass vessel ʼ; A. bāṭi ʻ cup ʼ; B. bāṭā ʻ box for betel ʼ; Or. baṭā ʻ metal pot for betel ʼ, bāṭi ʻ cup, saucer ʼ; Mth. baṭṭā ʻ large metal cup ʼ, bāṭī ʻ small do. ʼ, H. baṭṛī f.; G. M. vāṭī f. ʻ vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 11347) *varta3 ʻ round stone ʼ. 2. *vārta -- . [Cf. Kurd. bard ʻ stone ʼ. -- √vr̥t1] 1. Gy. eur. bar, SEeur. bai̦ ʻ stone ʼ, pal. wăṭ, wŭṭ ʻ stone, cliff ʼ; Ḍ. boṭ m. ʻ stone ʼ, Ash. Wg. wāṭ, Kt. woṭ, Dm. bɔ̈̄'ṭ, Tir. baṭ, Niṅg. bōt, Woṭ.baṭ m., Gmb. wāṭ; Gaw. wāṭ ʻ stone, millstone ʼ; Kal.rumb. bat ʻ stone ʼ (bad -- váṣ ʻ hail ʼ), Kho. bort, Bshk. baṭ, Tor. bāṭ, Mai. (Barth) "bhāt" NTS xviii 125, Sv. bāṭ, Phal. bā̆ṭ; Sh.gil. băṭ m. ʻ stone ʼ, koh. băṭṭ m., jij. baṭ, pales. baṭ ʻ millstone ʼ; K. waṭh, dat. °ṭas m. ʻ round stone ʼ, vüṭüf. ʻ small do. ʼ; L. vaṭṭā m. ʻ stone ʼ, khet. vaṭ ʻ rock ʼ; P. baṭṭ m. ʻ a partic. weight ʼ, vaṭṭā, ba° m. ʻ stone ʼ, vaṭṭī f. ʻ pebble ʼ; WPah.bhal. baṭṭ m. ʻ small round stone ʼ; Or. bāṭi ʻ stone ʼ; Bi. baṭṭā ʻ stone roller for spices, grindstone ʼ. -- With unexpl. -- ṭṭh -- : Sh.gur. baṭṭh m. ʻ stone ʼ, gil. baṭhāˊ m. ʻ avalanche of stones ʼ, baṭhúi f. ʻ pebble ʼ (suggesting also an orig. *vartuka -- which Morgenstierne sees in Kho. place -- namebortuili, cf. *vartu -- , vartula -- ). 2. Paš.lauṛ. wāṛ, kuṛ. wō ʻ stone ʼ, Shum. wāṛ.vartaka -- 1; *vartadruṇa -- , *vartapānīya -- ; *aṅgāravarta -- , *arkavarta -- , *kaṣavartikā -- (CDIAL 11348)

vartaka1 m. ʻ *something round ʼ (ʻ horse's hoof ʼ lex.), vaṭṭaka -- m. ʻ pill, bolus ʼ Bhadrab. [Cf. Orm. waṭk ʻ walnut ʼ (wrongly ← IA. *akhōṭa -- s.v. akṣōṭa -- ). <-> √vr̥t1]

Wg. wāṭi( -- štūm) ʻ walnut( -- tree) ʼ NTS vii 315; K. woṭu m., vüṭü f. ʻ globulated mass ʼ; L. vaṭṭā m. ʻ clod, lobe of ear ʼ; P. vaṭṭī f. ʻ pill ʼ; WPah.bhal. baṭṭi f. ʻ egg ʼ.
vartaka -- 2 n. ʻ bell -- metal, brass ʼ lex. -- See *varta -- 2, vártalōha -- . (CDIAL 11349)

vartalōha n. ʻ a kind of brass (i.e. *cup metal?) ʼ lex. [*varta -- 2 associated with lōhá -- by pop. etym.?]Pa. vaṭṭalōha -- n. ʻ a partic. kind of metal ʼ; L.awāṇ. valṭōā ʻ metal pitcher ʼ, P. valṭoh, ba° f., vaṭlohā, ba° m.; N. baṭlohi ʻ round metal vessel ʼ; A. baṭlahi ʻ water vessel ʼ; B. bāṭlahi, bāṭulāi ʻ round brass cooking vessel ʼ; Bi. baṭlohī ʻ small metal vessel ʼ; H. baṭlohī, °loī f. ʻ brass drinking and cooking vessel ʼ, G. vaṭloi f.Addenda: vartalōha -- : WPah.kṭg. bəlṭóɔ m. ʻ large brass vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 11357)

The first type of narrative records products from a smelter. The second type of narrative records products from a smithy/mint.

Flipped horizontally

Molded terracotta tablet (H2001-5075/2922-01) with a narrative scene of a man in a tree with a tiger looking back over its shoulder. The tablet, found in the Trench 54 area on the west side of Mound E, is broken, but was made with the same mold as ones found on the eastern side of Mound E and also in other parts of the site (see slide 89 for the right hand portion of the same scene). The reverse of the same molded terra cotta tablet shows a deity grappling with two tigers and standing above an elephant (see slide 90 for a clearer example from the same mold). https://www.harappa.com/indus3/185.html heraka 'spy' rebus: eraka 'moltencast copper' kuTi 'tree' rebus:kuThi 'smelter' karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' barad 'bull' rebus: baraDo 'alloy of pewter, copper, tin'. Another animal (perhaps bovine) is signified in a procession together with the tiger. This may signify barad, balad 'ox' rebus: bharat 'alloy of pewter, copper, tin'. Thus the products shown as from smithy (blacksmith).with a smelter.
h489Ah489B
Slide 89 Plano convex molded tablet showing an individual spearing a water buffalo with one foot pressing the head down and one arm holding the tip of a horn. A gharial is depicted above the sacrifice scene and a figure seated in yogic position, wearing a horned headdress, looks on. The horned headdress has a branch with three prongs or leaves emerging from the center.

On the reverse (90),a female deity is battling two tigers and standing above an elephant. A single Indus script depicting a spoked wheel is above the head of the deity.

Material: terra cotta
Dimensions: 3.91 length, 1.5 to 1.62 cm width
Harappa, Lot 4651-01
Harappa Museum, H95-2486
Meadow and Kenoyer 1997 

karA 'crocodile' Rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

kamaDha 'penance' (Prakritam) Rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner'

kUtI 'twigs' Rebus: kuThi 'smelter'

muh 'face' Rebus: muhe 'ingot' (Santali)

Hieroglyph: kolsa = to kick the foot forward, the foot to come into contact with anything when walking or running; kolsa pasirkedan = I kicked it over (Santali.lex.)mēṛsa = v.a. toss, kick with the foot, hit with the tail (Santali) 

Rebus: kol ‘furnace, forge’ (Kuwi) kol ‘alloy of five metals, pancaloha’ (Ta.) •kolhe (iron-smelter; kolhuyo, jackal) kol, kollan-, kollar = blacksmith (Ta.lex.)•kol‘to kill’ (Ta.)

m0308, m0306, m0307 (Seal impressions of m0306 and m0307 are also shown side-by-side).

Hieroglyph 'thwarting' is signified by the glosses: hieroglyph: ‘impeding, hindering’: taṭu (Ta.) Rebus: dhatu ‘mineral’ (Santali) Ta. taṭu (-pp-, -tt) to hinder, stop, obstruct, forbid, prohibit, resist, dam, block up, partition off, curb, check, restrain, control, ward off, avert; n. hindering, checking, resisting; taṭuppu hindering, obstructing, resisting, restraint; Kur. ṭaṇḍnā to prevent, hinder, impede. Br. taḍ power to resist. (DEDR 3031)

कुंठणें [ kuṇṭhaṇēṃ ] v i (कुंठ S) To be stopped, detained, obstructed, arrested in progress (Marathi) Rebus: kuṇṭha munda (loha) 'hard iron (native metal)'.

Hieroglyph componens are: face in profile, one eye, circumfix (circle) and 6 curls of hair. Readings: muh 'face' rebus: muhA 'ingot'; கண்வட்டம் kaṇ-vaṭṭam 'eye PLUS circumfix' rebus: கண்வட்டம் kaṇ-vaṭṭan 'mint'; baTa 'six' rebus: baTa 'iron' bhaTa 'furnace' PLUS meD 'curl' rebus: meD 'iron' (Mu.Ho.) med 'copper' (Slavic) Thus, the message is: mint with furnace for iron, copper. Tigers: dula 'two' rebus: dul 'cast metal' kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' kolle 'blacksmith' kariba 'elephant trunk' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron' eraka 'nave of wheel' rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper' arA 'spoke' rebus: Ara 'brass'.

கண்வட்டம் kaṇ-vaṭṭam , n. < id. +. 1. Range of vision, eye-sweep, full reach of one's observation;கண்பார்வைக்குட்பட்ட இடம். தங்கள் கண்வட்டத்திலே உண்டுடுத்துத்திரிகிற (ஈடு, 3, 5, 2). 2. Mint;நாணயசாலை.
aya khambhaṛā (Lahnda) rebus: aya 'iron' PLUS khambhaṛā 'fish fin'

Rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage' (Kannada)==  'fish PLUS fin' rebus: ayas kammaTa 'metal mint'.

A one-eyed lady is shown to impede,check two rearing tigers (Side A of two-sided tablets). Same narrative appears on two tablets of Harappa. The hypertext of a woman/person thwarting two rearing tigers also occurs on four other seals with Indus Script inscriptions. The lady with one-eye is: kāṇī ʻone -- eyedʼ (feminine) rebus: kārṇī 'Supercargo' 

The rebus readings of hypertext on Side A of the two tablets of Harappa are: kāṇī ʻone -- eyedʼ (feminine) rebus: kārṇī 'Supercargo' -- a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale. By denoting six curls on locks of hair, the word suggested is Ara 'six' rebus read together with kārṇī + Ara =  kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻhelmsman, sailorʼ. Thus, the hieroglyph of the six-locks of hair on woman signifies a 'helmsman + Supercargo'.

She is thwarting two rearing tigers: dula 'two' rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' PLUS taTu 'thwart' rebus: dhatu 'mineral'. Thus, 'mineral smelter'. Together the hieroglyph-multiplex or hypertext of a woman thwarting two tigers signifies: 'helmsman, supercargo of metal casting products from mineral smelter'.

What minerals? The top hieroglyph is a spoked wheel; the bottom hieroglyph is an elephant. They signify copper and iron minerals. eraka 'nave of wheel'rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper' karibha 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron.

Thus the entire narrative on Side A of the Harappa tablets signifies 'helmsnan, supercargo of products from copper and iron mineral smelters.

Bengali word: f. kāṇī ʻone -- eyedʼ: kāṇá ʻ one -- eyed ʼ RV.Pa. Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ blind of one eye, blind ʼ; Ash. kã̄ṛa, °ṛī f. ʻ blind ʼ, Kt. kãŕ, Wg. kŕãmacrdotdot;, Pr. k&schwatildemacr;, Tir. kāˊna, Kho. kāṇu NTS ii 260, kánu BelvalkarVol 91; K. kônu ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, S.kāṇo, L. P. kāṇã̄; WPah. rudh. śeu. kāṇā ʻ blind ʼ; Ku. kāṇo, gng. kã̄&rtodtilde; ʻ blind of one eye ʼ, N. kānu; A. kanā ʻ blind ʼ; B. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ; Or. kaṇā, f. kāṇī ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, Mth. kān, 

°nā,kanahā, Bhoj. kān, f. °ni, kanwā m. ʻ one -- eyed man ʼ, H. kān, °nā, G. kāṇũ; M. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, squint -- eyed ʼ; Si. kaṇa ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ. -- Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ full of holes ʼ, G. kāṇũ ʻ full of holes ʼ, n. ʻ hole ʼ (< ʻ empty eyehole ʼ? Cf. ã̄dhḷũ n. ʻ hole ʼ < andhala -- ).*kāṇiya -- ; *kāṇākṣa -- .Addenda: kāṇá -- : S.kcch. kāṇī f.adj. ʻ one -- eyed ʼ; WPah.kṭg. kaṇɔ ʻ blind in one eye ʼ, J. kāṇā; Md. kanu ʻ blind ʼ.*kāṇākṣa ʻ one -- eyed ʼ. [kāṇá -- , ákṣi -- ]Ko. kāṇso ʻ squint -- eyed ʼ.(CDIAL 3019, 3020)

Glyph: ‘woman’: kola ‘woman’ (Nahali). Rebus kol ‘working in iron’ (Tamil)

Glyph: ‘impeding, hindering’: taṭu (Ta.) Rebus: dhatu ‘mineral’ (Santali) Ta. taṭu (-pp-, -tt) to hinder, stop, obstruct, forbid, prohibit, resist, dam, block up, partition off, curb, check, restrain, control, ward off, avert; n. hindering, checking, resisting; taṭuppu hindering, obstructing, resisting, restraint; Kur. ṭaṇḍnā to prevent, hinder, impede. Br. taḍ power to resist. (DEDR 3031) baTa 'six' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'. Alternative: Ta. āṟu six; aṟu-patu sixty; aṟu-nūṟu 600; aṟumai six; aṟuvar six persons; avv-āṟu by sixes. Ma. āṟu six; aṟu-patu sixty; aṟu-nnūṟu 600; aṟuvar six persons. Ko. a·r six; ar vat sixty; a·r nu·r 600;ar va·ṇy six pa·ṇy measures. To. o·ṟ six; pa·ṟ sixteen; aṟoQ sixty; o·ṟ nu·ṟ 600; aṟ xwa·w six kwa·x measures. Ka. āṟu six; aṟa-vattu, aṟu-vattu, ar-vattu sixty; aṟu-nūṟu, āṟu-nūṟu 600; aṟuvar, ārvarusix persons. Koḍ. a·rï six; 

a·rane sixth; aru-vadï sixty; a·r-nu·rï 600. Tu. āji six; ājane sixth; ajipa, ajippa, ājipa, ājpa sixty. Te. āṟu six; āṟuguru, āṟuvuru six persons; aṟu-vadi, aruvai, aravai sixty;aṟuvaṇḍru sixty persons. Kol. (SR. Kin., Haig) ār six; (SR.) ārgur six persons. Nk. (Ch.) sādi six. Go. (Tr.) sāṟung six; sārk six each; (W.) sārūṅg, (Pat.) harung, (M.) ārū, hārūṃ, (L.) hārūṅg six; (Y.)sārvir, (G.) sārvur, (Mu.) hārvur, hāruṛ, (Ma.) ār̥vur six (masc.) (Voc. 3372); sarne (W.) fourth day after tomorrow, (Ph.) sixth day (Voc. 3344); Kui (Letchmajee) sajgi six; sāja pattu six times twelve dozen (= 864); (Friend-Pereira; Gūmsar dialect) saj six; sajgi six things; (K.) hāja six (DEDR 2485) Together, the reading of the hypertext of one-eyed PLUS six hair-knots is: kArNI-Ara, i.e. kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻ helmsman, sailor ʼ (Prakrtam):  karṇadhāra m. ʻ helmsman ʼ Suśr. [kárṇa -- , dhāra -- 1] Pa. kaṇṇadhāra -- m. ʻ helmsman ʼ; Pk. kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻ helmsman, sailor ʼ; H. kanahār m. ʻ helmsman, fisherman ʼ.(CDIAL 2836) PLUS मेढा [mēḍhā] A twist rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meD 'iron' Thus, the narrative hypertext signifies helmsman carrying cargo of smelted iron.

काण [p= 269,1] mf(आ)n. (etym. doubtful ; g. कडारा*दि) one-eyed , monoculous (अक्ष्णा काणः , blind of one eye Comm. on Pa1n2. 2-1 , 30 and 3 , 20) RV. x , 155 , 1 AV. xii , 4 , 3 TS. ii , 5 , 1 , 7 Mn. MBh." having only one loop or ring " and " one-eyed " Pan5cat. Rebus: kārṇī m. ʻ prime minister, supercargo of a ship ʼ Pa. usu -- kāraṇika -- m. ʻ arrow -- maker ʼ; Pk. kāraṇiya -- m. ʻ teacher of Nyāya ʼ; S. kāriṇī m. ʻ guardian, heir ʼ; N. kārani ʻ abettor in crime ʼ; M. kārṇī m. ʻ prime minister, supercargo of a ship ʼ, kul -- karṇī m. ʻ village accountant ʼ.(CDIAL 3058)

Side A narrative is common to both tablets: arA 'spoked wheel' rebus: Ara 'brass'; eraka 'knave of wheel' rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper' PLUS karabha 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron' PLUS karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' PLUS one-eyed woman thwarting rearing tigers.

m0308 Seal 1 Hieroglyph: śrēṣṭrī 'ladder' Rebus: seṭh ʻ head of a guild, sangaDa 'lathe, portable brazier' rebus: sangarh 'fortification' PLUS sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' (That is, guild workshop in a fortification) ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' khaNDa 'arrow' rebus: khaNDa 'implements'. Thus the hypertext signifies; metal implements from a workshop (in) fortification. The seal is that of a guild-master and helmsman PLUS supercargo (responsible for the shipment/cargo).

m0307 Seal 2 & seal impression: Two part message: Part 1: kanac 'corner' rebus: kancu 'bronze' sangaDa 'lathe, portable brazier' rebus: sangarh 'fortification' kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karnika 'scribe, engraver' muh 'ingot' dhatu 'claws of crab' rebus: dhatu 'minerals' Part 2:  kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karnika 'scribe, engraver' plus kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge'. The seal is that of a helmsman PLUS supercargo responsible for cargo of ingots, minerals and products from smithy/forge.

m0306 Seal 3 and impression: dhatu 'claws of crab' rebus: dhatu 'minerals' dhāḷ 'a slope'; 'inclination' rebus: dhALako 'ingot' PLUS kANDa 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'implements' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'cast metal' kuTil 'curve' rebus: kuTila 'bronze' dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'cast metal' kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' karnika 'scribe, engraver' . The seal is that of a helmsman of bronze cargo of metal castings, ingots and implements

Indus Script seals showing a lady thwarting, impeding, checking two rearing tigers.

Mohenjo-daro seal.  Mohenjo-daro, ca. 2500 BCE Asko Parpola writes: "The 'contest' motif is one of the most convincing and widely accepted parallels between Harappan and Near Eastern glyptic art. A considerable number of Harappan seals depict a manly hero, each hand grasping a tiger by the throat. In Mesopotamian art, the fight with lions and / or bulls is the most popular motif. The Harappan substitution of tigers for lions merely reconciles the scene with the fauna of the Indus Valley ... The six dots around the head of the Harappan hero are a significant detail, since they may correspond to the six locks of hair characteristic of the Mesopotamian hero, from Jemdet Nasr to Akkadian times," (Deciphering the Indus Script, pp. 246-7).

Mark Kenoyer writes that "discoveries of this motif on seals from Mohenjo-daro definitely show a male figure and most scholars have assumed some connection with the carved seals from Mesopotamia that illustrate episodes from the famous Gilgamesh epic. The Mesopotamian motifs show lions being strangled by a hero, whereas the Indus narratives render tigers being strangled by a figure, sometime clearly males, sometimes ambiguous or possibly female. This motif of a hero or heroine grappling with two wild animals could have been created independently for similar events that may have occurred in Mesopotamia as well as the Indus valley," ( Ancient Cities, p. 114). 

h180: Three-sided prism tablet from Harappa also includes a rearing-set of tigers narrative

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/05/smelter-furnace-turner-engravers.html

ext 4304 Text on both sides of the tablet Hieroglyphs read rebus from r. to l.: koDi 'flag' rebus: koD 'workshop' gaNDa 'four' rebus: kanda 'fire-altar' kanda kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: kanda 'fire-altar' karNI 'supercargo' karNika 'scribe' khaNDa 'notch' rebus: khaNDa 'i9mplements' ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin' kolmo 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smith, forge' kuTi 'water-carrier' rebus: kuThi 'smelter'.

Two tigers: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'cast metal' kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter'.

h180A

h180B4304 Tablet in bas-relief h180a Pict-106: Nude female figure upside down with thighs drawn apart and  crab (?) issuing from her womb; two tigers standing face to face rearing  on their hindlegs at L.
h180b
Pict-92: Man armed with a sickle-shaped weapon on his right hand and a cakra (?) on his left hand, facing a seated woman with disheveled hair and upraised arms.

A person carrying a sickle-shaped weapon and a wheel on his bands faces a woman with disheveled hair and upraised arm. kuṭhāru ‘armourer’ (Sanskrit) salae sapae = untangled, combed out, hair hanging loose (Santali.lex.) Rebus: sal workshop (Santali) The glyptic composition is decoded as kuṭhāru sal‘armourer workshop.’ eṛaka 'upraised arm' (Tamil). Rebus: eraka = copper (Kannada) Thus, the entire composition of these glyphic elements relate to an armourer’s copper workshop. Vikalpa: 

मेढा A twist or tangle arising in thread or cord, a curl or snarl (Marathi). Rebus: mēḍ 'iron' (Munda)

<raca>(D)  {ADJ} ``^dishevelled'' (Munda) rasāṇẽ n. ʻglowing embersʼ (Marathi). rabca ‘dishevelled’ Rebus: రాచrāca (adj.) Pertaining to a stone (ore) (bica).

The descriptive glyphics indicates that the smelting furnace is for bica, stone (ore). This is distinquished from sand ore.

The object between the outspread legs of the woman lying upside down is comparable orthography of a crocodile holding fiish in its jaws shown on tablets h705B and h172B. The snout of the crocodile is shown in copulation with the lying-in woman (as seen from the enlarged portion of h180 Harappa tablet).

kola ‘woman’; rebus: kol ‘iron’. kola ‘blacksmith’ (Ka.); kollë ‘blacksmith’ (Koḍ) kuThi 'vagina' rebus: kuThi 'smnelter' karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' khamDa 'copulation' rebus: kammaTa 'coin, mint'

The glyphic elements shown on the tablet are: copulation, vagina, crocodile.

Gyphic: ‘copulation’: kamḍa, khamḍa 'copulation' (Santali) Rebus: kammaṭi a coiner (Ka.); kampaṭṭam coinage, coin, mint (Ta.) kammaṭa = mint, gold furnace (Te.) Vikalpa: kaṇḍa ‘stone (ore)’. Glyph: vagina: kuṭhi ‘vagina’; rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelting furnace’. The descriptive glyphics indicates that the smelting furnace is for stone (ore). This is distinquished from sand ore. Glyph: ‘crocodile’: karā ‘crocodile’. Rebus: khar ‘blacksmith’. kāru a wild crocodile or alligator (Te.) Rebus: kāruvu ‘artisan’ 

kāru a wild crocodile or alligator (Te.) mosale ‘wild crocodile or alligator. S. ghaṛyālu m. ʻ long — snouted porpoise ʼ; N. ghaṛiyāl ʻ crocodile’ (Telugu)ʼ; A. B. ghãṛiyāl ʻ alligator ʼ, Or. Ghaṛiāḷa, H. ghaṛyāl, ghariār m. (CDIAL 4422)  கரவு² karavu

, n. < கரா. cf. grāha. Alligator; முதலை. கரவார்தடம் (திவ். திருவாய். 8, 9, 9). 

  கரா karā , n. prob. grāha. 1. A species of alligator; முதலை. கராவதன் காலினைக்கதுவ (திவ். பெரியதி. 2, 3, 9). 2. Male alligator; ஆண்முதலை. (பிங்.) கராம் karām , n. prob. grāha. 1. A species of alligator; முதலைவகை. முதலையு மிடங்கருங் கராமும் (குறிஞ்சிப். 257). 2. Male alligator; ஆண் முதலை. (திவா.)கரவா karavā , n. A sea-fish of vermilion colour, Upeneus cinnabarinus; கடல்மீன்வகை. Rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

kuṭhi = pubes. kola ‘foetus’ [Glyph of a foetus emerging from pudendum muliebre on a Harappa tablet.] kuṭhi = the pubes (lower down than paṇḍe) (Santali) kuṭhi = the womb, the female sexual organ; sorrege kuṭhi menaktaea, tale tale gidrakoa lit. her womb is near, she gets children continually (H. koṭhī, the womb) (Santali.Bodding) kōṣṭha = anyone of the large viscera (MBh.); koṭṭha = stomach (Pali.Pkt.); kuṭṭha (Pkt.); koṭhī heart, breast (L.); koṭṭhā, koṭhā belly (P.); koṭho (G.); koṭhā (M.)(CDIAL 3545). kottha pertaining to the belly (Pkt.); kothā corpulent (Or.)(CDIAL 3510). koṭho [Skt. koṣṭha inner part] the stomach, the belly (Gujarat)  kūti = pudendum muliebre (Ta.); posteriors, membrum muliebre (Ma.); ku.0y anus, region of buttocks in general (To.); kūdi = anus, posteriors, membrum muliebre (Tu.)(DEDR 188). kūṭu = hip (Tu.); kuṭa = thigh (Pe.); kuṭe id. (Mand.); kūṭi hip (Kui)(DEDR 1885). gūde prolapsus of the anus (Ka.Tu.); gūda, gudda id. (Te.)(DEDR 1891).

Glosses: Indian sprachbund

kāru ‘crocodile’ (Telugu). Rebus: artisan (Marathi) Rebus: khar ‘blacksmith’ (Kashmiri) 

kola ‘tiger’ Rebus: kol ‘working in iron’. 

Heraka ‘spy’ Rebus: eraka ‘copper’. khōṇḍa ‘leafless tree’ (Marathi). Rebus: kõdār’turner’ (Bengali) dhamkara 'leafless tree' Rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'

Looking back: krammara ‘look back’ Rebus: kamar ‘smith, artisan’.

Hieroglyph: koḍiya 'young bull' rebus: koṭiya 'dhow, seafaring vessel'.

koḍe ‘young bull’ (Telugu) खोंड [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. Rebus: kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’ (B.) कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi) कोंडण [kōṇḍaṇa] f A fold or pen. (Marathi) ayakāra ‘ironsmith’ (Pali)[fish = aya (G.); crocodile = kāru (Te.)] baṭṭai quail (N.Santali) Rebus: bhaṭa = an oven, kiln, furnace (Santali) 

koḍe ‘young bull’ (Telugu) खोंड [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. Rebus: kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’ (B.) कोंडण [kōṇḍaṇa] f A fold or pen. (Marathi) ayakāra ‘ironsmith’ (Pali)[fish = aya (G.); crocodile = kāru (Te.)]baṭṭai quail (N.Santali) Rebus: bhaṭa = an oven, kiln, furnace (Santali) baṭhi furnace for smelting ore (the same as kuṭhi) (Santali) bhaṭa = an oven, kiln, furnace; make an oven, a furnace; iṭa bhaṭa = a brick kiln; kun:kal bhaṭa a potter’s kiln; cun bhaṭa = a lime kiln; cun tehen dobon bhaṭaea = we shall prepare the lime kiln today (Santali); bhaṭṭhā (H.) bhart = a mixed metal of copper and lead; bhartīyā= a barzier, worker in metal; bhaṭ, bhrāṣṭra = oven, furnace (Skt.) mẽṛhẽt baṭi = iron (Ore) furnaces. [Synonyms are: mẽt = the eye, rebus for: the dotted circle (Santali.lex) baṭha [H. baṭṭhī (Sad.)] any kiln, except a potter’s kiln, which is called coa; there are four kinds of kiln: cunabat.ha, a lime-kin, it.abat.ha, a brick-kiln, ērēbaṭha, a lac kiln, kuilabaṭha, a charcoal kiln; trs. Or intrs., to make a kiln; cuna rapamente ciminaupe baṭhakeda? How many limekilns did you make? Baṭha-sen:gel = the fire of a kiln; baṭi [H. Sad. baṭṭhi, a furnace for distilling) used alone or in the cmpds. arkibuṭi and baṭiora, all meaning a grog-shop; occurs also in ilibaṭi, a (licensed) rice-beer shop (Mundari.lex.) bhaṭi = liquor from mohwa flowers (Santali)

ayo 'fish' Rebus: ayas 'metal'. kaṇḍa 'arrow' Rebus: khāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’. ayaskāṇḍa is a compounde word attested in Panini. The compound or glyphs of fish + arrow may denote metalware tools, pots and pans.kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron, alloy of 5 metals - pancaloha'. ibha 'elephant' Rebus ibbo 'merchant'; ib ‘iron'.  Alternative: కరటి [ karaṭi ] karaṭi. [Skt.] n. An elephant. ఏనుగు (Telugu) Rebus: kharādī ‘ turner’ (Gujarati) kāṇḍa  'rhimpceros'   Rebus: khāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’.  The text on h0489 tablet: loa 'ficus religiosa' Rebus: loh 'copper'. kolmo 'rice plant' Rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'. dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'. Thus the display of the metalware catalog includes the technological competence to work with minerals, metals and alloys and produce tools, pots and pans. The persons involved are krammara 'turn back' Rebus: kamar 'smiths, artisans'. kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron, working in pancaloha alloys'. పంచలోహము pancha-lōnamu. n. A mixed metal, composed of five ingredients, viz., copper, zinc, tin, lead, and iron (Telugu). Thus, when five svastika hieroglyphs are depicted, the depiction is of satthiya 'svastika' Rebus: satthiya 'zinc' and the totality of 5 alloying metals of copper, zinc, tin, lead and iron.

Glyph: Animals in procession: खांडा [khāṇḍā] A flock (of sheep or goats) (Marathi) கண்டி¹ kaṇṭi  Flock, herd (Tamil) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’.

Hieroglyph: heraka ‘spy’. Rebus: eraka, arka 'copper, gold'; eraka 'moltencast, metal infusion'; era ‘copper’. 

āra 'spokes' Rebus: āra  'brass'. Hieroglyph: हेर [ hēra ] m (हेरक S through or H) A spy, scout, explorator, an emissary to gather intelligence. 2 f Spying out or spying, surveying narrowly, exploring. (Marathi) *hērati ʻ looks for or at ʼ. 2. hēraka -- , °rika -- m. ʻ spy ʼ lex., hairika -- m. ʻ spy ʼ Hcar., ʻ thief ʼ lex. [J. Bloch FestschrWackernagel 149 ← Drav., Kuiēra ʻ to spy ʼ, Malt. ére ʻ to see ʼ, DED 765]1. Pk. hēraï ʻ looks for or at ʼ (vihīraï ʻ watches for ʼ); K.ḍoḍ. hērūō ʻ was seen ʼ; WPah.bhad. bhal. he_rnū ʻ to look at ʼ (bhal. hirāṇū ʻ to show ʼ), pāḍ. hēraṇ, paṅ. hēṇā, cur. hērnā, Ku. herṇo, N. hernu, A. heriba, B. herā, Or. heribā (caus. herāibā), Mth. herab, OAw. heraï, H. hernā; G. hervũ ʻ to spy ʼ, M. herṇẽ. 2. Pk. hēria -- m. ʻ spy ʼ; Kal. (Leitner) "hériu"ʻ spy ʼ; G. herɔ m. ʻ spy ʼ, herũ n. ʻ spying ʼ. Addenda: *hērati: WPah.kṭg. (Wkc.) hèrnõ, kc. erno ʻ observe ʼ; Garh. hernu ʻ to look' (CDIAL 14165) Ko. er uk- (uky-) to play 'peeping tom'. Kui ēra (ēri-) to spy, scout; n. spying, scouting; pl action ērka (ērki-). ? Kuwi (S.) hēnai to scout; hēri kiyali to see; (Su. P.) hēnḍ- (hēṭ-) id. Kur. ērnā (īryas) to see, look, look at, look after, look for, wait for, examine, try; ērta'ānā to let see, show; ērānakhrnā to look at one another. Malt. ére to see, behold, observe; érye to peep, spy. Cf. 892 Kur. ēthrnā. / Cf. Skt. heraka- spy, Pkt. her- to look at or for, and many NIA verbs; Turner, CDIAL, no. 14165(DEDR 903)

కారుమొసలి a wild crocodile or alligator (Telugu).

Rebus: khār ‘blacksmith’ khār 1 खार् । लोहकारः m. (sg. abl. khāra 1 खार; the pl. dat. of this word is khāran 1 खारन्, which is to be distinguished from khāran 2, q.v., s.v.), a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār, p. 111b, l. 46; K.Pr. 46; H. xi, 17); a farrier (El.). This word is often a part of a name, and in such case comes at the end (W. 118) as in Wahab khār, Wahab the smith (H. ii, 12; vi, 17). khāra-basta खार-बस््त । चर्मप्रसेविका f. the skin bellows of a blacksmith. -büṭhü -; । लोहकारभित्तिः f. the wall of a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -bāy -बाय् । लोहकारपत्नी f. a blacksmith's wife (Gr.Gr. 34). -dŏkuru -; । लोहकारायोघनः m. a blacksmith's hammer, a sledge-hammer. -gȧji -ग&above;जि&below; or  । लोहकारचुल्लिः f. a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -hāl -हाल् । लोहकारकन्दुः f. (sg. dat. -höjü ), a blacksmith's smelting furnace; cf. hāl 5. -kūrü; । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter. -koṭu; । लोहकारपुत्रः m. the son of a blacksmith, esp. a skilful son, who can work at the same profession. -küṭü -क&above;टू&below; । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter, esp. one who has the virtues and qualities properly belonging to her father's profession or caste. -më˘ʦü 1 ; । लोहकारमृत्तिका f. (for 2, see [khāra 3] ), 'blacksmith's earth,' i.e. iron-ore. -nĕcyuwu -न्यचिवु&below; । लोहकारात्मजः m. a blacksmith's son. -nay -नय् । लोहकारनालिका f. (for khāranay 2, see [khārun] ), the trough into which the blacksmith allows melted iron to flow after smelting. -ʦañĕ -च्&dotbelow;ञ । लोहकारशान्ताङ्गाराः f.pl. charcoal used by blacksmiths in their furnaces. -wān वान् । लोहकारापणः m. a blacksmith's shop, a forge, smithy (K.Pr. 3). -waṭh -वठ् । आघाताधारशिला m. (sg. dat. -waṭas -वटि), the large stone used by a blacksmith as an anvil.

One side of a molded tablet m 492 Mohenjo-daro (DK 8120, NMI 151. National Museum, Delhi. A person places his foot on the horns of a buffalo while spearing it in front of a cobra hood.

Hieroglyph: kolsa = to kick the foot forward, the foot to come into contact with anything when walking or running; kolsa pasirkedan = I kicked it over (Santali.lex.)mēṛsa = v.a. toss, kick with the foot, hit with the tail (Santali) 

 kol ‘furnace, forge’ (Kuwi) kol ‘alloy of five metals, pancaloha’ (Ta.) •kolhe (iron-smelter; kolhuyo, jackal) kol, kollan-, kollar = blacksmith (Ta.lex.)•kol‘to kill’ (Ta.)

kulā 'hood of snake' rebus: kol 'working in iron'

Hieroglyph: rã̄go ʻ buffalo bull ʼ 

Rebus: Pk. raṅga 'tin' P. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m. ʻ pewter, tin ʼ Ku. rāṅ ʻ tin, solder ʼOr. rāṅga ʻ tin ʼ, rāṅgā ʻ solder, spelter ʼ, Bi. Mth. rã̄gā, OAw. rāṁga; H. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼraṅgaada -- m. ʻ borax ʼ lex.Kho. (Lor.) ruṅ ʻ saline ground with white efflorescence, salt in earth ʼ  *raṅgapattra ʻ tinfoil ʼ. [raṅga -- 3, páttra -- ]B. rāṅ(g)tā ʻ tinsel, copper -- foil ʼ.
paTa 'hood of serpent' Rebus: padanu 'sharpness of weapon' (Telugu)

Hieroglyph: kunta1 ʻ spear ʼ. 2. *kōnta -- . [Perh. ← Gk. konto/s ʻ spear ʼ EWA i 229]1. Pk. kuṁta -- m. ʻ spear ʼ; S. kundu m. ʻ spike of a top ʼ, °dī f. ʻ spike at the bottom of a stick ʼ, °diṛī, °dirī f. ʻ spike of a spear or stick ʼ; Si. kutu ʻ lance ʼ.2. Pa. konta -- m. ʻ standard ʼ; Pk. koṁta -- m. ʻ spear ʼ; H. kõt m. (f.?) ʻ spear, dart ʼ; -- Si. kota ʻ spear, spire, standard ʼ perh. ← Pa.(CDIAL 3289)

Rebus: kuṇṭha munda (loha) 'hard iron (native metal)'

Allograph: कुंठणें [ kuṇṭhaṇēṃ ] v i (कुंठ S) To be stopped, detained, obstructed, arrested in progress (Marathi) Rebus: kuṇṭha munda (loha) 'hard iron (native metal)'.

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

July 19, 2016

---

Human phylogeography and diversity -- Alexander H. Harcourt

July 18, 2016, 9:20 pm

≫ Next: Varaha Veda purusha knowledge of creation in breathtaking hypertext metaphors Indus Script tradition on 60 sculptures

≪ Previous: Mohenjodaro & Dr. W Mint brazier & smelter of native metal kuṇṭha munda mẽṛhẽt iron and kaṉ copper signified on two Harappa Indus Script tablets

$

0

0

Human phylogeography and diversity

1. Alexander H. Harcourta,1

Author Affiliations

1. Edited by John C. Avise, University of California, Irvine, CA, and approved March 30, 2016 (received for review January 21, 2016)

1. Abstract
2. Full Text
3. Authors & Info
4. Metrics
5. Related Content
6. PDF

Abstract

Homo sapiens phylogeography begins with the species’ origin nearly 200 kya in Africa. First signs of the species outside Africa (in Arabia) are from 125 kya. Earliest dates elsewhere are now 100 kya in China, 45 kya in Australia and southern Europe (maybe even 60 kya in Australia), 32 kya in northeast Siberia, and maybe 20 kya in the Americas. Humans reached arctic regions and oceanic islands last—arctic North America about 5 kya, mid- and eastern Pacific islands about 2–1 kya, and New Zealand about 700 y ago. Initial routes along coasts seem the most likely given abundant and easily harvested shellfish there as indicated by huge ancient oyster shell middens on all continents. Nevertheless, the effect of geographic barriers—mountains and oceans—is clear. The phylogeographic pattern of diasporas from several single origins—northeast Africa to Eurasia, southeast Eurasia to Australia, and northeast Siberia to the Americas—allows the equivalent of a repeat experiment on the relation between geography and phylogenetic and cultural diversity. On all continents, cultural diversity is high in productive low latitudes, presumably because such regions can support populations of sustainable size in a small area, therefore allowing a high density of cultures. Of course, other factors operate. South America has an unusually low density of cultures in its tropical latitudes. A likely factor is the phylogeographic movement of peoples from the Old World bringing novel and hence, lethal diseases to the New World, a foretaste, perhaps, of present day global transport of tropical diseases.

Footnotes

• 1Email: ahharcourt@ucdavis.edu.

• Author contributions: A.H.H. wrote the paper.
• The author declares no conflict of interest.
• This paper results from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences, “In the Light of Evolution X: Comparative Phylogeography,“ held January 8–9, 2016, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, CA. The complete program and video recordings of most presentations are available on the NAS website at www.nasonline.org/ILE_X_Comparative_Phylogeography.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/07/13/1601068113.abstract

Human phylogeography has been for decades and is still studied under the rubric of physical anthropology or biological anthropology. Among other interests, these fields investigate the global spread of hominids, hominins, and humans. In doing so, they use all methods and sources of information available. The two fields and hence, the discipline of human phylogeography also investigate the many correlates of our species’ distribution across the varied environments of the world—physiology, genetics, behavior, anatomy, commensals, and also, a special form of behavior, namely culture. Here, within the topic of human phylogeography, I address the geographic spread of the human species across the world and the influence of the environment on regional cultural diversity.

In both the professional and popular literature, the word “human” sometimes refers to all Homo species or even the non-Homo genus, Australopithecus. I use the word to mean only Homo sapiens.

Previous SectionNext Section

Human Species’ Global Diaspora

African Origins.

 

The earliest signs so far of humans, H. sapiens, are cranial fragments in southwest Ethiopia with a suggested date of 195 kya (1). (All ages are in calendar years ago and not isotope years ago.) However, the range of possible dates of the fragments is, in fact, 195–105 kya. The next oldest remains are from around 165 kya, also in Ethiopia (2). Preceding H. sapiens, several other Homo species and their ancestors, Australopithecus species, were African too (ref. 3, chap. 5).

This summary hides considerable debate about nearly all aspects of human origins, even whether our species had a single origin (ref. 3, chap. 5). Not only that but also, new finds continually change our understanding, especially in a continent as little investigated as Africa. Whether, then, the human species arose in Ethiopia or arrived there from elsewhere in Africa is still an open question (4, 5).

Be that as it may, by 100 kya, humans lived over much of Africa (ref. 3, chap. 5). Indeed, humans had left Africa by then. Stone tools along with the bones of humans who made them that date to about 125 kya have been found in southeast Arabia (6). Until recently, both archeological and anatomical evidence indicated that humans got no farther until about 60 kya (7, 8) or maybe a little over 70 kya (9). It seemed that the aridity of an approaching ice age might have prevented farther expansion or indeed, led to the disappearance of humans from the Arabian Peninsula.

However, increasingly older dates east of Arabia indicate the need for rethinking of at least the dating of our diaspora out of Africa. For instance, a date of about 45 kya for humans’ arrival in Australia (10) might need to be extended to 60 kya (11). Other dates elsewhere are perhaps too recently published to be independently tested (for instance, the date of 67 kya from a single metatarsal of a potential human in the Philippines) (12). Another in southern India at 74 kya is already disputed. The date comes from volcanic ash around microlithic artifacts (13). However, no bones are associated with the artifacts, and humans might not even have made them (14). Given the nature of the tools, the next likeliest toolmaker is Neanderthal, but the nearest Neanderthal remains are over 2,000 km away.

If some more distant dates might be wrong, dates almost always get older. In 2015, excavations in southern China revealed “unequivocal” human teeth dated to 120–80 kya (15). A previous similarly aged find for that region is disputed (9), but if the recent find and claim is substantiated and especially, if the older end of the range of dates is substantiated, it becomes possible that, in fact, the first exodus from Africa continued on east.

The last interglacial period was at its height 125 kya. The climate and hence, distribution of vegetation were much the same as now. In other words, the environment was favorable by comparison with the Old World aridity of a glacial period. The Sahara might have been in some regions wooded savannah and hence, good habitat then for migrating humans (16, 17). By 60 kya, however, the approaching ice age should have been associated with a drying climate in Africa, which leads to the suggestion that aridity drove the African exodus (18).

However, Lake Malawi sediments indicate a warm and wet eastern Africa at about 75 kya (19). Far from poor conditions driving dispersal, maybe good conditions and an increasing human population did so. Currently, we do not have enough information on African paleoclimates or the trajectory of African populations to distinguish these two scenarios (refs. 20, chap. 3 and 21).

Assuming no advanced rafting capabilities, the early dispersers from Africa must have entered the Arabian Peninsula across the marshes at the north end of the Red Sea, perhaps properly the Reed Sea (22). By whatever route they arrived on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, a northern dry-shod route round the north end of the Persian Gulf then seems likely.

However, at 60 kya, the Red Sea’s narrowest point at the southern end might have been less than 20 km across. Ethiopians there could have seen Arabia across the Bab el Mandeb Strait. After they arrived in southeast Arabia, the dispersing humans would have found the Strait of Hormuz between them and Iran to have been only about 50 km across. Because maybe only 15,000 y later, at 45 kya, humans had reached Australia across 100 km of ocean (whether they arrived through Indonesia or New Guinea), maybe a southern route into Arabia and then, Iran is not impossible (9). Indeed, modeling that took into account parameters, such as lowered sea levels, climate, the nature of the environment, and a preference for coastal travel, suggests one or both southern crossings as possible, even likely (23, 24).

The dates given so far and the evidence for Africa as the phylogeographic origin of the human species come largely from archeology and paleontology. Genetics confirm humans’ African origin. A recent origin from a single small population is indicated by the fact that the human species is less genetically diverse than some populations of chimpanzees (25, 26). The size of the world’s founding diaspora out of Africa is debatable, but genetic analyses indicate a figure of a few hundred (27). Humans’ geographic origin in Africa is indicated by the fact that human molecular diversity is greatest in Africa (28, 29). For instance, although four main mtDNA forms exist in African populations, only two exist outside, both from just one of the African forms (30, 31). Also, people of almost any region in the world are more genetically different from African populations than they are from all other populations (ref. 32, chap. 2). Such lines of evidence of humans’ African origin have been repeatedly confirmed, including with morphological analyses (33, 34).

Humans arriving in Eurasia from Africa could have met Neanderthals and even Denisovans. Indeed, some genetic analyses indicate that humans mated with both of these other hominins (35⇓⇓–38). The findings are disputed, however, with the suggestion that, instead or in part, they could indicate descent from a common ancestor, the population of which was structured (i.e., genetically heterogeneous geographically), which realistically will almost always be the case over any appreciable area (39).

Old World Outside Africa.

 

The oldest, largely accepted dates of humans outside of Arabia all fall around 50–40 kya regardless of whether in Asia, Australia, or Europe (10, 11, 40⇓⇓–43). However, as already indicated, not only have several studies suggested older dates, but the chances of finding the oldest evidence are so slim that oldest dates must inevitably get older.

New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania at 50 kya were a single continent, Sahul. One geographic source for the peopling of both New Guinea and Australia is, thus, a possibility (indeed, on genetic grounds, perhaps a likelihood) (9). Nevertheless, a separate migration into each is also possible (44, 45). The shortest sea crossings in either case would have been, to repeat, about 100 km.

Subsequent to the earliest arrivals in New Guinea and Australia, these two populations could have remained separate from each other and the rest of the Old World for the next 40,000 y (46). In New Guinea, a significant late introduction was that of the sweet potato a little over 300 y ago, which allowed expansion of agriculture and hence, populations to regions too high or poor for the previous main food crop, taro (47).

By around 5 kya, the Pama–Nyungan language family originating in northeast Australia covered most of Australia, except the far northwest and the continent’s dry interior (48, 49). The Pama–Nyungan-speaking peoples entered the latter in the first millennium AD, about 3,000 y after Australia’s 40,000 y isolation ended with an immigration that brought the dingo with it, probably from India (50).

Tasmania was part of Sahul until around 8 kya, when rising seas finally formed the Bass Strait. Despite no sea barrier between Tasmania and Australia before that, Tasmania’s first inhabitants apparently arrived only 35 kya, 10,000 y after first confirmed arrival in Australia (51).

The deliberate near eradication two centuries ago of native Tasmanians by arriving Europeans, largely British, means a paucity of genetic or linguistic information from which to judge origins, migrations, and settlement in the region. Nevertheless, linguists have identified five main groupings apparently so different from one another that the only words in common are largely those applying to European introductions, for example, of livestock (52).

In Europe itself, the earliest dates in the west are for sites in the heel of Italy at around 44 kya (53), and about 43 kya in southern Britain (54). In other words, people were moving north as the peak of the ice age was rapidly approaching. However, the drop in temperature in the northern hemisphere from the peak interglacial at about 125 kya to the peak ice age at around 25 kya was erratic. Several times temperatures rose to nearly match the interglacial maximum, including at about 45 kya (9).

At the height of the ice age, however, the European ice cap covered Scandinavia and northern Europe down to northern Germany and the middle of Britain and Ireland. Evidence so far indicates that humans retreated from almost all of northern Europe. They returned to Britain from the Basque region of northern Spain about 10 kya (55) or around 1,000 y after the beginning of the Neolithic revolution and the expansion of agriculture into Europe from the Near East (56). Celts and then Anglo-Saxons followed in historical times from mainland western Europe (57).

The words Basque, Celt, and Anglo-Saxon that I have just used describe both cultures and peoples, as with descriptors of cultures and peoples all over the world. In theory, a culture could move independently of its originating population. In practice, cultures usually move only because people move (32, 58). This coordinated movement is a specific example of a general pattern (59). In jargon, cultures are transmitted vertically and not horizontally. However, exceptions exist. Of 19 skeletons at a burial site in Oxford, England, the isotope ratios in the teeth of 18 of the people were the same as in the local soil. In other words, they were native-born. However, the burial site was culturally Anglo-Saxon (60). In this case, the residents had adopted the culture of the invaders.

Four thousand years before humans were in Italy, they were on the central north coast of Siberia at Yenisei Bay hundreds of kilometers above the Arctic Circle. We know this from clear signs of killing and dismemberment of a mammoth and dating of the find (57). Sources differ on whether the region was eventually covered by the northern ice cap. However, farther to the east, at the famous Yana Rhinoceros Horn site in far northeast Siberia, the humans there at 32 kya (61) could have remained through the ice age, because the climate in eastern Siberia was too dry to support an ice sheet.

Genetic evidence indicates that people in northeastern Siberia arrived there from south central Russia (62), although some linguistic evidence indicates north central Russia also (63). A recent surprise is evidence from a 24-kya site near Lake Baikal in central south Siberia of a large genetic component of western European origin (64). The same genetic signature was detected at a 17-kya site 600 km northwest of the Lake Baikal site, implying that people remained in at least southern Siberia through the peak of the last ice age (64).

The earliest signs so far of humans elsewhere in eastern Asia are from around 40 kya, although a genetic analysis indicates 60 kya for eastern Asia and a little under 40 kya for Japan (65). Humans in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, could be from southeast Siberia, but those in the southern islands are from Korea (66). That double phylogeographic origin is the pattern also for Japan’s other mammals. Within Japan, the two geographic origins are indicated by the so-called Blakiston’s Line through the Tsuguru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu. With the approaching ice age’s lowering of sea levels, the original human immigrants could have arrived overland. However, movements to outlying islands from maybe 9 kya were over sea. Japan experienced several subsequent immigrations, with one at nearly 3 kya producing perhaps the largest genetic contribution to the islands (67, 68).

Elsewhere in Asia, topography as well as cold might have been a barrier to movement, because the earliest signs of humans in Tibet date to 31 kya (69). The Himalayas as a barrier is nicely shown by the greater genetic distance between people on either side of them than the average for the same geographic distance elsewhere (70).

Movement Within and into Africa.

 

Of course, as humans spread across the Old World outside of Africa, they also spread within Africa. For instance, Y-chromosome analyses indicate links of west and east African pygmoid peoples with the ancient southern African Khoisan/San peoples (71) and between west African pygmoid peoples and east African Hadza peoples (72). Although the field of phylogeography usually uses genetics as its evidence, genetics need not be its only tool. Corresponding to genetic indications of links between eastern and southern African peoples, the rock art of Ituri pygmoid peoples in eastern Zaire is apparently similar to that of Khoi peoples in southern Africa (72) (Khoisan, Khoi, San, Khoe, and Khoenkhoen are sometimes distinguished in the literature and sometimes not). One of the latest and largest movements within Africa was the expansion of the Bantu peoples from around maybe 3 kya judged from archeology, genetics, and linguistics (73, 74).

In historic times, the slave trade produced probably the fastest movement of large numbers of Africans from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa. People also moved back into Africa from the rest of the Old World (5,75) [hence, for example, the surprising finding that the San Khomani peoples of South Africa, outwardly similar to the adjacent San Namibia, have about 10% admixture of western European genes (76)].

Americas.

 

Until the last ice age, the Bering Strait was a barrier between the Old and New Worlds. However, although 80 km across now, the strait was a broad flat expanse of land about 50 m above sea level during the peak of the ice age. Then or later, Siberians crossed into Alaska.

An allele and a single blood group, both almost ubiquitous among Native American and Amerindian populations and both present in eastern Siberians, indicate that a very small population from Siberia peopled the New World (32, 77). For instance, although northeastern Siberians have all three major blood groups (A, B, and O), more than 95% of native Amerindians are O (32). As said, the northeastern Siberians are, in part, genetically western European. That being the case and given that Native Americans of both Americas originated in northeast Siberia, then western European genes in Native Americans is perhaps inevitable. The extent of contribution might be surprising, however. One calculation has the western European complement constituting perhaps one-quarter of the Native American genome (64).

As elsewhere in the world, these earliest arrivals could well have traveled first down the coast of both continents (78, 79). Regarding timing of their entry into the Americas, previously accepted estimates of earliest arrivals now need revision. The quite widely accepted earliest date for the presence of humans in North America was 15.5 kya for a site in central Texas (80). South America’s earliest date was 14.5 kya from the famous Monte Verde site in southern Chile (81, 82). However, those finds are now superseded by a 2015 report of at least 18 kya at Monte Verde (83) and a 2014 report of dates of roughly 30–20 kya in northeast Brazil (84). This latter finding makes a formerly largely rejected claim of around 32 kya in northeast Brazil (85) now not so incredible.

These dates in both Americas along with several others before them must silence all future mention of the “Clovis-first” hypothesis, namely that the people of the Clovis culture were the first into North America at about 13 kya. Nevertheless, the Clovis people and their culture were phylogeographically successful. The genotype of an infant from 12.6 kya found in western Montana tightly associated with Clovis tools indicates not only a strong Siberian heritage but also, a strong genetic link to most Native North American peoples as if Clovis replaced the previous North Americans (86). Either the prior immigrants stuck to the coast, not moving inland, or before they could densely populate North America, the Clovis peoples entered and superseded them.

Monte Verde in southern Chile is about 16,000 km from Siberia. How long it took these first Americans to reach southern South America, we have little to no idea, given that the oldest South American dates are now older than the oldest North American dates. One line of evidence could be the distances traveled by relatively modern nonsedentary traditional societies. In the Americas, they moved camp a median of about 100 km/y (87). At that rate and with straight line travel down the coast, humans would have taken less than two centuries to travel from Alaska to Monte Verde.

Alternatively, humans moved through the world by demographic expansion. Moving into continents empty of humans and moving into prey populations unused to humans and hence, easily hunted, the expansion could have been rapid. A calculation that accounted for number and distance of camp movements, frequency of foraging forays, reproductive rates, rate of population increase, costs of carrying children, hunting and foraging returns, and potential for children to contribute to the diet concluded that the 16,000-km journey in 2,000 y was possible even with a high rate of reproduction and hence, the necessity to feed and carry children (88). After all, that time for that distance translates to less than 25 m/d.

A main reason why fast movement could be compatible with high rates of reproduction was that women at the vanguard of the advance into virgin territory might have needed to forage just one-quarter of the distance of those following behind and entering depleted land. Indeed, across hunter–gatherer societies, those with more camp moves per year can reproduce more than those with fewer (88).

Similarly, an analysis of eastern Canadian genealogies indicated that the ancestors of the current population who were at the front of the population expanding through the region in the 300 y to the mid-1900s contributed more to the present day gene pool than did people from the core of the population’s range (89). An explanation for the phenomenon comes from the genealogies of females in the region, which indicate that those at the front had 15% more offspring than those behind and 20% more married children (89).

We know little about original human movement through the Amazon, in part because archeology across large expanses of forest is difficult. Not only that but Amazonia might have lost nearly two-thirds of its languages as a result of European invasion (90). The same is true of the Caribbean. Earliest archeological remains in that region are in Cuba from about 7 kya and might be associated with a chert quarrying industry tied to Belize (91). The next signs of movement into the Caribbean, judged by archeology, are immigrations from the north of South America about 2.5 kya, and they continue from then (91).

By about 12.5 kya, humans were in the high Andes: at over 3,000 m in Chile and Argentina and over 4,000 m in Peru (92). These high-altitude dates are several thousand years after humans arrived in coastal South America. The dates come from the collagen of large bones of camelids directly associated with stone tool workshop sites. The significance of large bones is that they are less likely to have sunk to layers lower than those in which they first fell.

Later, in the middle of the last millennium, the Incas provide an example of colonization by migration of people as opposed to slow demographic expansion. Within a century, they conquered a multiethnic region 4,000-km long controlled with over 20,000 km of paths and roads, most of them paved (93). Furthermore, the control apparently involved relocation of entire native communities for both economic and defense purposes. A little later, the Spanish did the same, moving tens of thousands to work in and around the Bolivian silver mines (93).

Six hundred years before the Spanish arrival, the Wari of Peru were trading products from nearly 1,000 km away (93). The huge cities then and later—a Wari one of about 15 km2, for example—also indicate great movements of peoples, forced or voluntary, into main centers of production, just as happens today (94).

Movement east from eastern Beringia into the north of North America had to wait for the near disappearance of the northern ice cap, which extended south to Washington in the west and New York in the east. That movement seemingly did not happen until about 5 kya, with the diaspora of the Eskimo–Aleut peoples from first Siberia and then, Alaska across to Newfoundland and west coast Greenland, while the Inuit occupied Alaska (95⇓–97).

Oceans.

 

By the time that humans had reached northern Siberia 32 kya, they were beginning to move across the Pacific north and east of New Guinea. They had reached the Bismarck Archipelago by then, east of New Guinea (98). Assuming island hopping along the way, the longest sea crossing would have been about 75 km.

Not until maybe 4,000 y ago did they get any farther. Then, they rapidly expanded across the western Pacific, north into Micronesia, and southeast as far as Fiji in southeastern Melanesia by about 3,200 y ago (99⇓–101). Fiji is about 1,000 km east of New Caledonia and 800 km east of New Hebrides. Large oceangoing sea crafts were necessary for such a voyage.

As in the Americas, an unexploited fauna and flora could well have allowed the rapid expansion, perhaps especially a fauna unused to being hunted (in the case of many birds, flightless). Archeologically, this expansion is indicated by finely decorated Lapita pottery (102). The name comes from the site in New Caledonia halfway between Australia and Fiji, where it was first identified.

A little under 2,000 y ago, humans reached Tahiti and then, Hawaii by maybe 1,500 y ago or maybe even as late as 800 y ago (99). They got to New Zealand 750 y ago from the Cook Islands 2,500 km to the northeast (31, 99). Given the length of the voyage to New Zealand, a figure of only about 70 founding females (103) might not be surprising but even so, implies several successful crossings along with the degree of variation in mtDNA in the teeth and bones of probable founding individuals (104).

Taiwan seems to be a main origin of the dispersal across the Pacific given that it is the current center of origin of 9 of 10 of the main Austronesian (essentially western and island Pacific) languages (105, 106). Archeology substantiates that view (107). Genetically, a plausible scenario is movement of peoples from Taiwan to eastern Indonesia, perhaps through the Philippines, and thence out into the Pacific. However, the story is complex, with, for instance, different Asian origins for different areas of the Pacific (108) and some contrasting results from Y-chromosome and mtDNA analyses (45, 101, 108).

At about the same time as humans were moving across the last stretches of the Pacific, they were crossing the Indian Ocean. The first successful settlers in Madagascar might have arrived 2,000 y ago (109), even if the first signs of presence are from 3,400 y ago (110). Genetic studies indicate equal contributions to the Malagasy gene pool from Africa and Indonesia (111⇓–113). Even so, the number of Indonesian founding females in Madagascar might have been one-half the number of female founders of New Zealand: about 30 instead of 70 (111).

The Indonesian contribution to the origins of the people of Madagascar is strongly supported by the fact that the language of Madagascar, Malagasy, is mainly Bornean (indeed, from the Barito region of southern Borneo). However, not only were the Barito peoples seafarers, but also, Malagasy has several other Indonesian sources as well as some Malaysian roots as if the original contingent of immigrants boarded from a variety of the islands west of Borneo (114). The most likely route is not directly across the Indian Ocean but coastal and probably by coastal trading (115).

Modern Migrations and Their Barriers.

 

Movements of genes and peoples continue to this day, of course, in response to repression and opportunity. China, for instance, has seen massive migrations. Some have been organized by the Chinese government; others, especially in the surrounding regions, have occurred in response to events in the regions (116). These movements include migrations of tens of thousands into the cities. Indeed, as already indicated, large flourishing cities are some of the most ethnically dense regions, at least in the United States (117).

Despite such movements, geographic and cultural barriers operate now as in the past. The barriers exist even in western Europe, with its dense transport network (118, 119). Populations either side of mountains or waters are genetically distinct. Indeed, culture itself or language itself is often a barrier because of both difficulty of communication and also, to coin a word, “xenantipathy” or dislike of strangers (120). Thus, a map of the distribution of genotypes across Europe is almost identical to the geographic map of Europe (118). Similarly, across a sample of the Solomon Islands of the Pacific, insular differences in peoples’ anatomy correlated more strongly with linguistic differences between the islands than with geographic distance between them (121).

Sex-Specific Phylogeography.

 

So far, I have written as if everything phylogeographic that one of the human sexes did, so also did the other. That uniformity is not necessarily the case.

The Mayflower, one of the first ships from Europe to bring future residents to the future United States, apparently carried three times as many men as women (122). Among migrants and traders, that ratio is usual, with the result that Y-chromosome genotypes are sometimes more widely spread than mtDNA genotypes (123). The result is evident in the Pacific, for example (124), and in the widespread presence of Mongol Y-chromosome genes through Asia and eastern Europe, the legacy of the Khan invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries CE (125).

However, among agriculturalists, males are usually the landowners and hence, tend to be the resident sex, whereas females move in marriage. The result is regional differentiation in Y-chromosome genotypes but regional ubiquity of mtDNA genotypes (126). Furthermore, because a language of a people tends to be that of the invading dominant sex, male, a frequent outcome is a match between regional differentiation in language and Y-chromosome genotype but a mismatch between language and mtDNA genotypes (126).

Iceland epitomizes the contrast (119, 127). All Icelanders speak Icelandic, which is essentially Scandinavian (indeed, originally Norwegian). Scandinavia, especially Norway, is also the genetic origin of the people of eastern Iceland and the males of western Iceland. However, western Iceland’s mtDNA profile (i.e., female genetic profile) is quite largely of Gaelic British origin. The first millennium’s Viking raids into western Britain and the abduction of women from there to western Iceland would explain that pattern.

Phylogeography of Human Commensals.

 

I have so far indicated how archeology, genetics, and linguistics elucidate human phylogeography and in so doing, indicated how genetics and culture can determine human phylogeographic patterns. Human phylogeography uses an additional source of information—the phylogeography of the organisms that live with us, on us, and in us.

The global phylogeography of several organisms responsible for human disease and infection matches that of their human hosts (128). For instance, the human malaria organism, Plasmodium falciparum, is most genetically diverse in Africa, loses genetic diversity the farther that it is from Africa, loses similarity to AfricanP. falciparum the farther it is from Africa, and probably left Africa 60–50 kya (129). The same pattern occurs in Helicobacter pylori, the human stomach bacterium (130). Its phylogeography not only maps onto human immigration into the Americas more than 12 kya but also, maps onto the Neolithic introduction of farming into Europe, the Bantu expansion within Africa, European immigration into the Americas, and the slave trade from Africa into the Americas (130) as well as onto the spread of humans across the Pacific (131).

The diaspora across the Pacific of the paper mulberry Broussonetia papyrifera, a lizard Lipinia noctua, pigs, and the Pacific rat Rattus exulans as judged genetically must also be a result of the diaspora of humans, because none of these terrestrial species spread over the ocean on their own (132⇓⇓–135). The phylogenetics of the lizard even show the initial human colonization of the western Pacific, the long pause there, and then, the rapid expansion across the central and eastern Pacific (135). Remains of the Pacific rat, both its bones and the seeds that it gnawed, show human arrival in New Zealand in 1280 CE (136). Additionally, as a final example for the Pacific, sweet potato genetics reveal human travel from South America to Polynesia (137), probably by returning Polynesians.

Animal phylogeographic genetics indicate human movement to and through Europe as well. Land snails moved from Iberia to Ireland (138), mice moved from Norway into Britain (139), and pigs moved into Europe from Turkey by both inland and coastal routes (56).

Previous SectionNext Section

Cultural Diversity and the Environment

The aspect of phylogeography that I have addressed so far is the spread of a species from its region of origin. As other species spread and subsequently, geographically differentiate, so do humans. Some of the differentiation is, in effect, random genetic drift unrelated to the nature of the environment. In modern terms, “genetic drift”, is how Darwin explained regional differences in the human form, because he saw no correlation between environment and anatomy (ref. 140, chap. 11). Of course, we now know that the environment, in fact, strongly influences our anatomy and physiology as many anthropological text books describe.

Far less well known is another aspect of human phylogeography, namely the relation between the nature of the environment and the geographic distribution of cultures (ref. 20, chaps. 5 and 6). The phylogeographic pattern of diasporas from several single origins—northeast Africa to Eurasia, southeast Eurasia to Australia, and northeast Siberia to Americas—allows the equivalent of a repeat experiment on the relation between geography and phylogenetic and cultural diversity. In this section, I review evidence for an influence of the environment on cultural diversity, indeed evidence that the environment influences cultural diversity in the same way as it influences biological diversity or taxonomic diversity.

Tropical Diversity.

 

Humans originated in Africa and eventually spread across much of the world. We did not spread evenly. Throughout the world, in Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas, tropical latitudes are more culturally diverse than nontropical ones, regardless of whether the data are number of hunter–gatherer cultures or number of languages (ref. 20, chap. 5). Most plants and nonhuman animal taxa also show this latitudinal pattern of greater tropical diversity (141). Over 30 biogeographic hypotheses exist for the relation, almost none of which originated with analysis of human cultures (ref. 142, chap. 15). Nevertheless, a long-argued environmentally based hypothesis seems to explain the latitudinal distribution of human cultures, at least in part.

The main facts behind the hypothesis include the well-known year-round high productivity of the tropics where water is sufficient along with the less well-known fact of smaller geographic ranges of tropical cultures, hunter–gatherer cultures, and languages (ref. 20, chaps. 5 and 6). The hypothesis then is that the high year-round tropical productivity allows a population of sustainable size to persist in a small area, a consequence of which is dense packing of cultures (refs. 20, chaps. 5 and 6; 94; and 143⇓⇓–146). The packing could come about by overlap of large ranges. However, human cultures are territorial. Ranges do not overlap, except at high latitudes, where the necessarily large ranges are impossible to defend (ref. 20, chap. 6). The gradient of cultural diversity with latitude and the matching gradient of range size with latitude are not unique to a tropical–nontropical comparison. It occurs within North America too (refs. 20, chap. 5 and 147).

Another hypothesis for regional contrasts in density of cultures is contrast in diversity of habitat (147, 148), which is the case for diversity of species (ref. 142, chap. 15). It is certainly easy to imagine cultures specializing in exploitation of particular habitats and therefore, not extending outside those habitats (149). Indeed, cultures may deliberately separate themselves by exploiting different habitats or exploiting them differentially (150).

This hypothesis and the other hypotheses to explain gradients in diversity are largely correlational. However, humans have themselves in effect performed a phylogeographic experiment to test the productivity hypothesis. They have intensified productivity in cities—in the form of jobs and hence, salaries—that allows purchase of food in a concentrated area instead of its production over an extended area. If level of productivity determines phylogenetic diversity and if phylogeographic concentrations are determined by concentrations of high productivity, rich cities should by one measure of phylogeographic diversity (cultural diversity) be some of the most phylogeographically diverse regions (117).

They are, at least in the United States. Thus, change over time in wages and jobs significantly matched change in diversity of languages in 160 metropolitan areas in the United States over the analyzed 20 y from 1970 controlling for a variety of factors, such as size of the city, sex ratio of workers, and level of schooling (117). As a specific example of the effect, over 300 languages might be spoken in one of the world’s largest cities: London (94).

Conclusion.

 

If productivity affects human cultural diversity, it is far from the only influence (143⇓⇓–146,151). Many other factors can affect diversity, including history. Tropical South America, for example, has an unusually low density of cultures by comparison with tropical Asia and Africa. One reason might be the relatively short period that humans have been in the American tropics. However, another could be the devastating effect of the Old World diseases (smallpox, for example) brought to the New World by invading Europeans from the 15th century on (152, 153). The consequent mass mortality of Native Americans and Amerindians provides a foretaste, perhaps, of both the current global phylogeographic interaction of disease organisms and their human carriers and recipients and also, the disappearance of indigenous languages as majority cultures expand (refs. 20, chap. 8; 154; 155, chap. 12; 156; and 157).

Previous SectionNext Section

Acknowledgments

I thank John Avise and Francisco Ayala for inviting my contribution to the “In the Light of Evolution X: Comparative Phylogeography” Colloquium; John Avise, Francisco Ayala, and Brian Bowen for organizing the colloquium; and Kelly Stewart and two anonymous referees for most helpful commentary on my paper.

Previous SectionNext Section

Footnotes

• 1Email: ahharcourt@ucdavis.edu.

• Author contributions: A.H.H. wrote the paper.
• The author declares no conflict of interest.
• This paper results from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences, “In the Light of Evolution X: Comparative Phylogeography,“ held January 8–9, 2016, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, CA. The complete program and video recordings of most presentations are available on the NAS website at www.nasonline.org/ILE_X_Comparative_Phylogeography.
• This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

Varaha Veda purusha knowledge of creation in breathtaking hypertext metaphors Indus Script tradition on 60 sculptures

July 19, 2016, 2:23 am

≫ Next: रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः Rama personifiedf dharma Evidences for abiding memory across space and time of Ramayana on sculptures, inscriptions

≪ Previous: Human phylogeography and diversity -- Alexander H. Harcourt

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/z2mgy7h

Varaha.Liongaraj temple, Bhubaneswar.Varaha.Khmer. Cambodia XIth cent.Bronze 19.5 cm

araha ; royal emblem Chalukyas Bas Relief in a pillar in Ladkhan temple built in 7th century ; Aihole ; Karnataka

Chlorite Stone Varaha Avatar Statue, Gokulnagar, Bankura

Katni : Karanpur : Varaha near Karitalai

Bhuvaraha Lakshminarasimha temple, Halasi, Belgaum, Karnataka

Varaha, Mahakuta, Deccan 7th cent.

Varaha, Eran

Varaha. Durga Temple, Aihole Vishnu's boar avatar lifts Bhu Devi on the crook of his arm, while standing on the nagas (snakes).

Varaha. Ellora cave XIV 

Varaha, Caves at Ellora in central India, 8th cent.

Vishnu (oblique)

Vishnu (front)

Vishnu (back)

Figure of Varaha, boar incarnation of Vishnu

Description: In a creation myth, Vishnu took the form of a boar to rescue Bhuvedi, the Earth goddess from the depths of the primordial waters. In this sculpture, Bhudevi stands to the right of the boar’s head, while a serpent-goddess (nagini) appears in front. Rows of sages, deities and other figures appear on the body of the cosmic boar. The prominent conch shell, discus and mace below are all symbols of Vishnu.

Associated place

Bihar (possible place of creation)

north Madhya Pradesh (possible place of creation)

Date

2nd half of the 9th century - 1st half of the 10th century AD

Material and technique

dark-brownish-grey stone

Dimensions

64.8 x 87.5 x 28 cm max. (height x width x depth)

Material index

stone

Technique index

carved, 

carved

Object type index

religious/ritual equipment, 

figurine

No. of items

1

Credit line

Purchased, 1969.

Accession no.

EA1969.43

Lower ground floor | Room 2 | Human Image

Harle, J. C., and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1987), no. 40 on pp. 33-34, pp. 36 & 52, illus. p. 33

London: Hayward Gallery, 25 March-13 June 1982, In the Image of Man: The Indian Perception of the Universe through 2000 Years of Painting and Sculpture, George Michell, Catherine Lampert, and Tristram Holland, eds (London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1982), no. 371 on p. 202

http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/4/880/882/11153

http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/object/EA1969.43


Sarasvati on the snout (cashAla) of Varaha. caSAla is a metallurgical knowledge system of carburization of metal using godhuma fumes to inject carbon into the metal to harden it.. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/01/casala-on-yupa-indus-script-hieroglyph_6.html

Varaha, Khajuraho.

Varaha, Mahabalipuram

Varaha temple, Mahabalipuram 1860's BL

Varaha, National Museum, New Delhi


Rock-cut sculpture of Varaha at the Udayagiri Caves (cave No. 5), near Vidisha, carved when the city was a provincial capital of the Gupta Empire. One of the earliest anthropomorphic sculptures shows Bhudevi clinging to Varaha's tusk as Varaha emerges from the ocean.

Varaha, Central India, Madhya Pradesh c. 10th century sandstone

Coin with Varaha (Vishnu Avatar) on a Gurjara-Pratihara coin 850-900 CE, British Museum.

Varaha in Durga temple, Badami 742 CE
Varaha. Badami.

Varaha. Badami Cave II

Varaha. Gujri mahal museum ; Gwalior ; Madhya Pradesh ; India

Varaha, 10th century, Central, Madhya Pradesh, India, Asia, sandstone, Dallas Museum of Art

Pralaya Varahantha temple situated at Kalahalli, Krishnarajpet taluk. Height 15 ft.
Bhu Varaha, Belgaum

Varaha, Beluru


Varaha, Belur

Varaha, Halebidu

Dwarasamudra, Halebidu

Varaha, Hoysaleshwara temple
Varaha, Simhachalam temple, Vishakapatnam
Varaha. Indian Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.
Varaha, Tirumala


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3338614940_32c3674b09.jpg 

Varaha, or the Boar Incarnation of Vishnu. Mahdya Pradesh, 9th-10th century. Sandstone. Height, 139.7 cm.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Varaha

Photographic prints at the Kern Institute Leiden The Boar as an Image of Creation A few months ago, while going through a travel guide for Portugal, I came across a reference to the existence of a group of seventeen pig or wild boar statues in the remote region of Tras-os-Montes. It struck me that the granite 'porca' from Murca with its impressive outline of 2.80 m appeared to be Portugal's oldest (iron age) monolithic statue. It immediately reminded me of the twenty-nine fully relief-covered boar statues from Central India (Madhya Pradesh, fifth to fourteenth centuries AD) of which the boar from Eran is the oldest known colossus of India! What made people represent pigs and boars? What are the symbols and myths connected with these animals and how were they shaped into icons? * By GERDA THEUNS-DE BOER Although belonging to the same Suidea family, pigs and boars have a totally different 'image': pigs are referred to as tame, domesticated, and only meant for human consumption, whereas boars are wild, to be hunted, vigorous, and well-equipped with dangerous tusks. This difference in 'image' made some peoples choose specifically to represent either the pig or the boar. Yet, some common characteristics contributed to their fascination in general, especially in Europe, in ancient times.   Abundance and fertility One of these fascinations was related to their fast-growing and readily fattened body, the swine as the non-vegetable equivalent of ripening corn. Both are likely to have stood for growing potential and abundance. Proof of an interrelationship between swine and corn is not difficult to find. Quite a number of swine figurines have been found impressed with grain (e.g. Upper Dniester Valley, fifth millennium BC), and in several Northern European countries, the swine was regarded as the embodiment of the spirit of corn. Besides, the swine was the animal that was chosen for sacrifice to Demeter, the Greek goddess of the earth's fertility, made manifest in agriculture, especially in corn growing. Above all, swine were associated with fertility. They have large litters (ranging from eight to twelve) and the young are sexually mature within a year. A suckling swine was the perfect metaphor for fertility and abundance. The habit of uprooting the soil with their nose in search for food strongly connected them with the 'earth'. According to legend, they even taught humankind the art of ploughing. Their preference for moisture and water, a must for growth, made him once more connected with fertility. Nrvarah from Garhwa. ASI, 1909-1910 Silver gelatine developing out paper Varaha: The Indian boar Varaha is nowadays known to us as the third incarnation or 'descent' (avatara) of the Hindu god Visnu. There are two ways to present him as such: fully zoomorphic (some authors prefer calling this form Yajna Varaha) and as a man-animal hybrid, for which the term Nrvaraha is preferred. 'Nr' in this term connotes 'man'. In the latter case, we see a boar's head on a human body (see photo). Although both forms are strongly interrelated by the same 'core myth', they each stress different aspects of that same expanding myth. For that reason both icons were produced side by side, although the Nrvaraha form dominates quantitatively. In vedic literature Varaha was related to two different myths: the boar myth, in which the boar served as the sacrificial animal (yajna), and the cosmogonic myth. In this myth Varaha is not yet associated with Visnu but with the vedic god of creation: Prajapati. It was Prajapati who 'saw' the earth in the primordial waters while he moved in them as the Wind. With his tusks, he took the form of Varaha in order to lift the earth from the waters, establishing a primary creation. Varaha from Badoh. ASI 1908-1909 Later, in epic-puranic literature, Brahma takes over the creator function from Prajapati; so it is Brahma who takes the form of Varaha in order to lift the earth again from the waters, or as it is sometimes expressed: from the nether world (patala), where it had sunk after the earth's destruction by fire and deluge at the end of that certain world period (kalpa). Hence, Varaha's act of lifting the earth is no longer a primary creation, but has become a 'secondary' creation, a periodical act of renewal serving to establish the world anew, again and again. The Brahma character of the myth, however, will change under the influence of expanding visnuism: Varaha is seen as a creator form of Visnu. Besides, some late-epic and puranic texts show an innovation in the cosmogonic myth: now Varaha has not only re-established the earth but also killed the demon king Hiranyaksa who lived in the nether world and had conquered the gods. Most probably, myth was here affected by the popularity of Visnu's fourth avatara: a man-lion, called Narasimha, who succesfully kills the demon king, Hiranyakasipu. In order to fit Varaha for his 'extended' job, a new iconographic form for Varaha was created: half-animal, half-human. Thanks to a boon, neither an animal nor a man could kill Hiranyaksa, only a half-animal, half-human form could be successful. Endowed with four to six arms and several weapons he proves to be able to re-establish the earth and restore social and legal order by slaying all demonic powers.   Zoomorphic Varaha Let us return to the zoomorphic Varahas. The first photograph shows the Varaha from Badoh (Pratihara period, ninth century) nowadays kept in the Archaeological Museum, Gwalior. Varaha can be seen to lift the earth, which is personified as the goddess Bhu (meaning earth), with his right tusk. In front of Varaha are three small damaged figures: Garuda (Visnu's mount), a naga (a snake or water spirit) and a fly-whisk bearer. Between Varaha's legs we see the coils of Ananta Sesa (the endless serpent), the primeval serpent. Although several scenes on the pedestal have been identified, this is not the place to go into details. Varaha's body is covered with 765 figures displayed in horizontal bands and three circles (vertebral column). These figures have puzzled researchers for a long time, both in concept and in serial and individual identification. Thanks to detailed photography and textual study, its iconographical programme is, by a series of hits and misses, revealing. Although every Varaha is unique in content and configuration of the figures, there is enough proof to say that zoomorphic Varaha is predominantly related to the concept of creation and possibly to the concept of sacrifice (yajna). Creation is viewed 'broadly' here, as the whole universe is visualized. Not only are we presented with series of interrelated major and minor divinities, gods in different manifestations (e.g. avatara-series of Visnu!), sages (e.g. the Saptarsis), celestial beings and priests, but also the representation of the twenty-seven naksatras (constellations of stars) and the nine planets (navagraha). In order to visualize 'yajna', specific components of yajna were personified and depicted chiefly on Varaha's head and limbs. The second photograph depicts the lesser known Varaha from Muradpur, a small village on the borders of Madhya Pradesh. This Varaha, with an estimated height of 2.50 m, is worshipped even today. In this early photo the roof of the mandapa is missing. This photo is a wonderful illustration of the impact these huge Varahas had on humans. It was no wonder that the Varaha icon ranked among Indian kings' and donors' favourites as it enabled them to express their might and create a 'new world', where social and legal order would prevail. * Nrvaraha from Garhwa. ASI, 1909-1910. Silver gelatine developing out paper. References: Nagar, Shanti Lal, Varaha in Indian Art, Culture and Literature, New Delhi (1993). Rangarajan, Haripriya, 'Varaha Images in Madhya Pradesh, Symbolism and Iconography', in: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay, Mumbai (1997), pp. 100-119, Vol. 72. Rangarajan, Haripriya, Varaha Images in Madhya Pradesh, an iconographic study, Mumbai (1997).   Drs Gerda Theuns-de Boer is an art historian and Project Manager of the Photographic Database on Asian Art and Archaeology, Kern Institute, Leiden University. E-mail: g.a.m.theuns@let.leidenuniv.nl http://iias.asia/iiasn/26/regions/26SA1.htm

 Shanti Lal Nagar, Varaha in Indian Art, Culture and Literature. (South Asia Books, 1993).
See:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/varaha-in-indus-script-reinforces-vedic.html
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2011/07/varaha.html
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/seafaring-merchants-indus-script_22.html

S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
July 19, 2016

रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः Rama personifiedf dharma Evidences for abiding memory across space and time of Ramayana on sculptures, inscriptions

July 19, 2016, 8:03 pm

≫ Next: The government’s economists must represent India. NaMo,don't recruit NRIs for high-profile bureaucrat.jobs.

≪ Previous: Varaha Veda purusha knowledge of creation in breathtaking hypertext metaphors Indus Script tradition on 60 sculptures

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/gpnqnyy

Angkor Wat. Rma and Hanuman launching an attack on Ravana. Plaster realized from a stamped clay moyuld.Guimet Museum.

Linteau Ramayana Musee Guimet.

Arto Reliefo, Marica Angkor, Tuant Marica, Museum Guimet, Rama Tuant

Rama and Sita worship theShiva Lingam at Rameswaram, as his companions Vibhishana (right) looks on with Lakshamana,Tumburu and Narada along with the Vanar Sena.

Ahalya offering fruits and flowers to Rama - her saviour, a 5th-century AD Stone sculpture from Deogah, currently in theNational Museum, New Delhi.

 Terracotta Panel ca. 5th century, from Bhitargaon 

Showing a Ramayana Scene (Now in Brooklyn Museum, USA) The panel, n my opinion, represents the story of Vishnu’s fight with the Rakshasas led by Malyavan, Mali and Sumali as narrated in the Uttarkanda of the Ramayana (Cantoes VI-VIII). http://ignca.nic.in/pb0020.htm

Malabar Bowen map (1747) drawn by Netherlands shows Ramarcoil I (that is, Rama temple)

The map shows SETUBANDHA http://dsal. uchicago.edu/reference/ schwartzberg/ A historical atlas of South Asia edited by Joseph E. Schwartzberg, Univ. of Chicago, 2006 

Map drawn by Joseph Parks, Australian Botanical explorer (1788) shows Ramar Bridge (Map in Sarasvati Mahal Lib., Thanjavur),

The log defines Bharata Rashtram: Asetu Himachalam.

Fading pigments of a human epic Scene from a Kerala temple mural, Rama holding court

http://www.outlookindia.com/public/uploads/gallery/20140326/battle_monkeys20140325_350_630.jpg

http://www.outlookindia.com/public/uploads/gallery/20140326/bharat_shoes20140326_350_630.jpg

Two scenes from a Balinese palm leaf manuscript of the Ramayana, written and illustrated by Ida Bagus Adnyana of Geriya Gunung Sari, Pliatan, Bali, c. 1975

Ramayana Preah Ko, Angkor Temples, CambodiaLinteau Khmer, Guimet.

Battambang, Cambodia. Ramayana scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSDkDQFn4fg Published on Sep 8, 2015

Ramayana ballet played in open-air theatre near Prambanan temple Compounds, Java, Indonesia. This video was recorded in May 13, 1994 with Super-VHS camcorder.

*First Episode "THE ABDUCTION OF SHINTA"

Rama's experience in voluntary exile, wanders in the forest with his beautiful wife Shinta, escorted by his faithful brother Leksmana. While they_are comforting each other in their misery, a golden deer is intact a transfor- mation of Flahwana's envoy Marica, who has been or- dered to tempt Shinta.

Shinta is spellboud by this golden deer and begs Rama to catch it. Rama tells Leksmana to guard Shinta, not to leave her under any circumstances and goes to capture the golden deer. While waiting they hear a scream of Rama calling for help. But in fact is only Marica imitating Rama's voice in order to draw away Shinta's attention. Shinta whose apprehension grows into frenzy urges Leksmana to rescue his brother. When Leksmana re- fuses she accused him of having mischievous intention. Unwillingy Leskarnana leaves Shinta as soon as he leaves Rahwana shows up and persuades Shinta to become his wife. Failing in his loathful intention Rahwana carries her away by force. On the way the helplers Shinta drops her omaments, one by one hoping they might give her clue to Rama to trace out.

The giant eagle Jatayu, a loyal friend of Rama's father soaring throught the air sees what happens to Shinta and hurries to rescue her. In their bloody fight, Jatayu is seriously wonded and drops to earth. He was found dying by Rama and Leksmana and yet still can give information before rassing out. With this new hope they hurry on and meet and army of apes led by Sugriwa, the ape prince. There were also the white ape warrior Hanuman, the blue ape Hanila and the venerale ape Jembawan. Sugriwa tels Rama about his bothers Subali who had wronged him and entreats Rama to help him, in retum of which Sugriwa is ready to help Flama in his quest for his Shinta. While Sugriwa and Subali are fight- ing, Rama shoots his fatal arrow at Subali who does not survive it.

*Ramayana ballet consisted of the total 4 episodes below:
1. The Abduction of Shinta (This video shows part.)
2. Hanoman Duto (I've never seen.)
3. Kumbokarno Leno https://youtu.be/3eghk6ioVLg
4. The Holy Fire https://youtu.be/cXzJIWSGu58

Mewar Ramayana

Urdu copy of Ramacharitamanas, 1910

उर्दू भाषा के जानकार शिवभारत लाल ने सन 1900 में लिखी थी ये प्राचीन रामचरितमानस। फोटो- सैयद फ़ैज हसनैन

Setubandha (Original Text in Prakrit Accompanied with Sanskrit Rendering)

Meeting of Rama and Parasurama. Sages.

RFuins of Temple, Ayodhya.

Ruins from Ayodhya temple at Babri Mosque.

                            

Pillar bases found at the site of the 'mosque' 

Ruis of Dwarapalaka, Ayodhya temple found at Babri Mosque

12th cent. Hari-Vishnu inscription." It clearly describes the temple construction, and the beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari, built with heaps of stones and beautified with a golden spire, unparalleled by any other temple built by earlier kings. This wonderful temple was built in the city of Ayodhya at Saketamandala. The plaque also describes Vishnu destroying King Bali, and the ten headed personage (Ravana).".http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/05-10/features1730.htm

Ajay Mitra Shastri, Chairman of the Epigraphical Society of India and a specialist in epigraphy and numismatics, examined the Vishnu-Hari inscription and stated:

"The inscription is composed in high-flown Sanskrit verse, except for a small portion in prose, and is engraved in the chaste and classical Nagari script of the eleventh-twelfth century AD. It was evidently put up on the wall of the temple, the construction of which is recorded in the text inscribed on it. Line 15 of this inscription, for example, clearly tells us that a beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari, built with heaps of stone (sila-samhati-grahais) and beautified with a golden spire (hiranya-kalasa-srisundaram) unparalleled by any other temple built by earlier kings (purvvair-apy-akrtam krtam nrpatibhir) was constructed. This wonderful temple (aty-adbhutam) was built in the temple-city (vibudh-alaayni) of Ayodhya situated in the Saketamandala (district, line 17) (...). Line 19 describes god Vishnu as destroying king Bali(apparently in the Vamana manifestation) and the ten-headed personage (Dasanana, i.e., Ravana)." 

(Puratattva, No. 23 (1992-3), pp. 35 ff.)

 

 Another 12th century inscription found at the 'mosque' site

Vishnu as Trivikrama. Mahabalipuram.

Vamana, Rani ki Wav, Patan, Gujarat.

Bronze Vishnu statue. Vamana Avatar.

Halebidu. Beluru. Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu, with one stride on earth, one on the heavens and the the Asura king Bali prostrating and offering his head for the last stride.

Vamana Avatar of Vishnu begging for 3 paces of land from Asura King Bali. Perhaps such a representation existed in the ancient Ayodhya temple.

Ramayana scenes. Durga Temple,. Aihole. Bagalkot, Karnataka

Parambanan, Indonesia. Ramayana scenes.
.Scenes from Ramayana on Cambodia temples
Temple Preah Khan at Angkor: a pediment depicting the battle of Lanka.
Hanuman finds Sita. Charcoal rubbing from a carved stone relief at the Cambodian temple known as Angkor Wat. It is from one of Angkor Wat’s many sequential stone wall carvings that depict key scenes from the Ramayana epic.

Brooklyn Museum - Rama and Lakshmana Confer with Sugriva about the Search for Sita Page from a Dispersed Ramayana Series

 tympanum from the Khmer temple of Banteay Srei depicts Sugriva fighting with his brother Bali. To the right, Rama is poised to shoot an arrow at Vali.


Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy, Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh..
Sri Rama (moolavar) is in the padmasana possture with four hands, (Chaturbuja Rama) holding the bow and arrow in the front two hands.  Sankha and Chakra in the rear hands. He is holding the Sankha  in the right hand and Chakra in the left, indicating that having completed the destruction of the "rakshasas" with the Chakra confirming the Lord is assuring the world of peace and protection. To the left of Sri Rama is Sita and Lakshmana is on her left. But in the utsava deity, Sita and Lakshmana are on either side of Rama. 
Pattabhirama temple, Hampi.

Bharata meets Rama in exile. Hampi.

Sculpture of Rama and Lakshmana at Gandha Madhana hill at Hampi


काळा राम् temple, Panchavati, NasikKodandaraya temple, HampiSita, Rama, Lakshmana, Chickamagalur temple Sivalingas at Rameshwaram installed by Sri Rama, Sita, Hanuman.
Ramaswamy temple, Kumbakonam
Tricking Sita in Lanka: Hoysala period sculpture shows Ravana's people showing two heads to Sita, claiming that Rama and Lakshmana are dead.

Linteau représentant un épisode du Ramayana: ici, l'alliance de Rama et de son frère Laksamana avec le singe Sugriva. Cambodge, province de Battambang, Vat Baset, style du Baphuon, 11ème siècle. Grès.Musée Guimet, Paris.

Linteau représentant un épisode du Ramayana: ici, la mort de Valin. Cambodge, province de Battambang, Vat Baset, style du Baphuon, 11ème siècle. Grès.Musée Guimet, Paris.

Ravi varma painting. Rama-Samudra Raja samvaada.

War of Ramayana. Detail from a Haladipur pillar


Scene from Ramayana, Relief from Angkor Wat temple

Char Bangla temple, Baranagar, West Bengal,1755

Bas-relief, Banteay Srei, Cambodia; Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa, the Abode of Siva
Halebid. Ravana (against whom Lord Ram fought in the epic Ramayana) lifting Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati (they are also depicted on top of the mountain) as a part of some penance. 

Ellora. Cave 29. Shiva Parvati Ravana


"Ravan Lifts the Kailash Mountain. " Virupaksha Temple. Pattadakal. Chalukya Dynasty. 8th Century CE. Karnataka, India.

Ramayana bas-relief sculpture of Hanuman at Wat Panun Choeng, Thailand

Ramayana scenes. Ellora.

Relief. Ramayana. Candi Parambanan, Indonesia

Linteau Ramayana.Ramayana: ici, l'alliance de Rama et de son frère Laksamana avec le singe Sugriva. Cambodge, province de Battambang, Vat Baset, style du Baphuon, 11ème siècle. Grès.Musée Guimet, Paris.

Setubandha.Parambanan temple frieze.

Shri Ram giving abhignan (ring) to Hanuman. Halebid. 


Hanuman meets Sita. Parambanan. Indonesia.

Ramayana. Relief. Parambanan, Indonesia.

Rama at war. Angkor Wat.

Tales and Pictures of Ramayana Epic

• Admonishing of Laxman
• Illustrated Ramayana
• Anjaneya handing over Sita's Ornament at Ashoka Gardens
• Bharata Gets Rama's Padukas
• The Boon of Pudding
• The Bridging of Indian Ocean
• Building a Bridge to Sri Lanka
• The Burning of Sri Lanka
• The Castes During Ramayan Period
• Duel of Sugreeva and Rawana
• Folk Artists as Ramayan Characters
• Hanuman Meets Rawana
• Hanuman Fights King Rawana's Army
• Hanuman takes Rama's Ring to Sita
• Hanuman, Laxman, and Jatayu
• Indrajit Enters Battle
• Janaka Finds Sita
• Kidnapping of Sita
• The Killing of Viradha
• The Killing of Tataka
• The Killing of Rawana
• The Killing of Jatayu
• Killing of Kumbhakarna
• Killing of Krouncha Bird
• Killing of Vali Monkey
• Lord Rama Liberates Ahalya
• Lord Rama and his Bow
• Lord Rama -- Perfect Man, Perfect King
• Lord Rama Conquers Varuna
• Comparing Ramayan and Mahabharat
• The Pushpak Aircraft
• Rama Fights the Demons
• Rama Returns to Ayodhya
• Rama Seeks Blessings from Hermit Gautam
• Rama Shoots an Arrow Through Seven Trees
• Rama's Army of Monkeys
• Rama's Devotion to Teacher, Father, and Mother
• Rama's Hermitage and the Magic Deer
• Rama's Hermitage - Painting by Jamini Roy
• Rawana, the King of Sri Lanka
• Sacrifices Yield Boon Giving Pudding
• Sage Goutama Blesses the king Dasharatha with a fertility fruit
• Illustrated Ramayan -- Sampati's Find
• Seduction of Rishyashringa
• Shabari's Hospitality
• Story of Shurpanakhi
• The Signet Ring
• Tale of Vali and Sugreeva
• The Tricking of Sita
• Vibhishana's Crossover
• The War of Ramayana

• Who's Who of Ramayana -- Learn about some of the important characters of Ramayana epic. You can find how they are related to each other by clicking the red hyperlinks
• Castes of Ramayana -- A complete list of professions mentioned in Ramayana provides insight into the caste system of India.

See Also:

• Hanuman, the Son of Wind God
• Ramachandra -- the perfect man and a perfect king

http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/mythology/ramayan/index.htm

Classical Kangra: Ramayana: Exile in the forest

Plate 1 - The Hermitage of Sage Bharadwaja

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.1 x 22.7 cm

On being exiled to the forest, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, donning garments of bark and grass given to them by Kaikeyi, and with no sign of mental anguish on their faces, left Ayodhya in a chariot with Sumantra. The citizens, out of great love for Rama and unable to bear separation from Him accompanied them on foot. Dasaratha, along with his grieving wives, also went to see once more the face of his beloved Son, but not keeping pace with the fast moving chariot he fell senseless and returned. Rama encamped for the night beside the river Tamsa. The people who had walked during the day were fatigued and still asleep when Rama started his onward journey. They passed through the forest and arrived at the bank of the Ganga, where they passed the night.

In the morning, Rama urged Sumantra to return to Ayodhya with the chariot, advising him that he should act thus in order that the great monarch should not be oppressed by any unpleasant thoughts, and to assure the king that none of them - Rama, Lakshmana, or Sita felt pain or sorrow at having been banished from Ayodhya. Rama asked Sumantra to tell Bharata to look after their mothers without any distinction. The princes, with Sita, crossed the Ganga in a boat provided by Guha, chief of the Nishadas, a tribe living there. Spending one more night in the forest, at sunset they reached the ashrama of Bharadwaja at Paryag (present day Allahabad) at the confluence of the Ganga and Jamuna.

An atmosphere of complete tranquility prevails in the idyllic grove as seen in the painting. The river too, is flowing quietly. Flowering creepers and bushes brighten the scene and two birds are singing. Seven huts are clustered at the right while seven rishis are seated in front of them. Two huts appear at the left where the group is shown seated in a diagonal row, instantly taking the eye towards Rama, who is looking in veneration towards the sage Bharadwaja. Both of them are engaged in a discourse. Rama has kept aside his bow and quiver of arrows, while these weapons are to be seen on the person of Lakshmana, who throughout the long period of the exile was to remain vigilant to guard Rama and his consort Sita.

The high-soured Maharishi Bharadwaja is a dominating figure like the great tree under which he is seated. Rama narrated the events which had taken place. At this, the sage said that he had already heard of his enforced exile. The noble prince sought the counsel of the sage for selecting a suitable place to pass the fourteen years of his exile. Sage Bharadwaja suggested they should stay with him at the ashram, to which Rama replied that the neighboring people would continue to visit them and thus intrude upon the holy solitude of the hermitage. The sage then suggested they should stay at the Chitrakuta hill at a distance of ten leagues from there, for great saints dwelt there and the holy mount was exceedingly fair, full of fruits, birds, and animals. Thereafter, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana passed the night in calm repose and at daybreak they moved onwards crossing the Jamuna and the Kalindi until they reached Chitrakuta.

Plate 2: The Agnony of Bharata

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 34 x 23.1 cm

Dasaratha could not survive the grief and shock of the separation from his son Rama. On his death, swift messengers were sent to Rajgriha where Bharata along with Satrughna was living with his maternal grandfather, whose kingdom lay beyond the Beas in the North-West. Bharata had an ominous dream at night and was feeling sore, troubled, and depressed. Neither music nor other distractions were of any avail to cheer him up. Then came the messengers who, as advised by the sage Vasishtha, did not tell them anything about Dasaratha's death and the other events which had taken place. The two brothers started from Rajgriha with presents and a large retinue, which they left behind, and hastened to reach Ayodhya. On the seventh day of their journey they reached Ayodhya in the evening.

The city appeared charmless and deserted, as if it were plunged in gloom. Not finding his father at his usual place in the palace, Bharata went to his mother Kaikeyi. On learning of his father's death and the banishment of Rama with Sita and Lakshmana, he was overwhelmed by grief and reproached his mother Kaikeyi. He then went to Kausalya and after a long effort, convinced her of his ignorance of what had occurred. Bharata then performed the funeral rites of his father. After thirteen days of mourning, which period is considered impure, the ministers of the State decided to install Bharata as the king of Ayodhya and started all the preparations for the occasion. On hearing the sounds of drums, conches, and other instruments, Bharata felt very aggrieved and said to Satrughna "Behold, in what a mighty wrong the people are engaged on account of Kaikeyi. I cannot deprive Rama of the kingdom." Carried away by emotions and overcome by sorrow, he fainted.

In the picture we see Bharata full of grief and weeping. A nobleman seated near Bharata is supporting him while Kausalya is consoling him. Kaikeyi seated beside the tent looks remorseful. Her downcast head rests on her right hand. Her intrigues to make Bharata the king had borne no fruit and had only lowered her in the eyes of everyone, including her son. The intelligent Bharata, then coming to the assembly, surveyed the seated nobles and with a choked voice told them that only Rama deserved the kingdom. He did not appreciate the act of his mother and decided to bring back Rama.

The diagonal line of standing female figures at the center and the prominent curving river lend movement to the scene. The female figures disclose the influence of the Guler style. The heads of some of the men in proportion to their bodies appear slightly larger, but the rendering of the figures is delicate. Different idioms of the earlier and the new styles of painting in the picture suggest a period of transition. The predominance of green in the painting is a characteristic of Kangra painting and here serves as a foil for the figures clad in colorful costumes.

Plate 3: The four brothers meet in joy

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.4 x 22.5 cm

Bharata set out with Satrughna, their mothers, the sage Vasishtha, ministers, and a large force in search of Rama. On the way they met the Nishada chief who treated them kindly but at heart entertained a suspicion about the intentions of Bharata as he was accompanied by a large army. On Bharata telling him about his resolve to bring back Rama, the Nishada chief gave him help to cross the Ganga and the forces were conveyed across the river. The next day they reached the ashrama of sage Bharadwaja who indicated to them the site where Rama was living. After passing the night at the hermitage they proceeded to Chitrakuta. Rama and Sita were seated at their hermitage when the dust and clamor of Bharata's army, which was approaching, ascended into the sky and the animals started fleeing. Rama asked Lakshmana to find out the cause.

Climbing up a sala tree, Lakshmana saw an army marching towards their hermitage. He recognized the kovidara tree symbol on the standard, and thought that Kaikeyi's son was coming to slay them. Thus provoked and filled with anger, he asked Rama to prepare for a fight. He said that since all their misfortunes were because of Bharata, and since he was coming as their foe, it was not unlawful to slay him. Rama pacified Lakshmana saying that Bharata might be coming to see them. Bharata commanded the army to encamp and show itself to be disciplined. Men were sent in all directions in search of Rama. Bharata himself with sages and ministers went on foot. Climbing a sala tree on the hill, Bharata saw smoke rising from Rama's hermitage. He asked Vasishtha to bring his mothers and he himself set out eagerly to meet his brothers. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana came to know from Bharata about the demise of Dasaratha and were stricken with sorrow. The mountain reechoed to their lamentations. Soon the mothers and the nobles arrived at the hermitage.

In the picture at the top right corner we see a part of the Bharata's army encamped. By its side flows the Mandakini. The main episode is seen at the left in front of the hut. Rama and Lakshmana are embracing the mothers and other ladies from the palace. Satrughna has bowed at the feet of Sita. Bharata is embracing a rishi who, along with two women seen near the hut, has also joined the group. The lady with a yellow dupatta, shown weeping is Kausalya. Sumitra, whom the poet portrays in the story as noble and virtuous, but practical, is consoling her. The lady whom Lakshmana is embracing appears to be the beautiful Kaikeyi, who is now troubled at heart and sorrowful on meeting the persons for whose misfortunes she was rrsponsible. The presence of some nobles grouped together at the right lower corner suggests that many more are behind them. After coming forward they divide into two rows. Those in the foreground are shown bowing, as otherwise their erect figure would have marred the composition.

Bharata begged of Rama to return to Ayodhya and assume the responsibility of the kingdom. His entreaties and the pleas of the ministers could not change Rama's determination, as he was bound by a vow to spend fourteen years in the forest. At last Bharata returned with the sandals of his brother and placing them on the throne started ruling on behalf of Rama. He gave himself up to fasting and restraint as if he too had been banished.

Plate 4: Rama at the hermitage of Sage Atri

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.2 x 22.3 cm

After Bharata had left, Rama was weighed down with sadness and felt restless. The past clouded his spirit shattering the peace that had come to him in the beautiful surroundings of Chitrakuta. Moreover, Rama observed that the ascetics living there were filled with apprehensions and were desirous of leaving that place. The ascetics who first looked towards Rama as a protector, now found that rakshasas, possessing enmity towards the princes, were harassing them also. The sages told Rama that Khara, the younger brother of Ravana, was harassing them. Rama decided to go elsewhere and left Chitrakuta. They reached the hermitage of the sage Atri and paid obeisance to him. The sage offered them hospitality and honored them.

The hermitage is shown at the foot of the hills beside the bend of a river. The sage Atri, seated at the center, has his rosary over his head. He is conversing with Rama and Lakshmana, shown seated at the left. The sage related the story of the virtuous Anusuya, his aged wife, and herself an ascetic. She underwent mortification when a drought, extending over ten years, had burnt the earth. Her severe austerities caused the river Jahnavi (Ganga) to flow there. At these words of the rishi, Rama, glancing at Sita, said to her, "Oh Princess thou hast heard what the sage has said, it is best for thee to honor the saintly Anusuya whose deeds have brought great renown in this world." Sita and Anusuya are seen talking affectionately, seated near the hut. They talked about the obligations of conjugal life and the merits of devotion to their spouses. Anusuya had heard that Sita was won by Rama in a svayamvara (the ceremony of self choice) and wanted Sita to recount it in detail to her. Sita narrated the whole episode. Anusuya gave Sita celestial gifts, ornaments, pastes, and robes which would never fade or get soiled. She asked Sita to put on the clothes and ornaments for her delight. After this episode, Sita is depicted in later sequences wearing clothes, and not garments of bark and grass.

The use of colors is masterly. The thick dark green foliage behind the light color of the hut, with leaves at its top and other decorative devices, make a striking design. The deer skin, cut in a geometrical shape, provides a contrast to several soft curves seen in the painting.

Plate 5: Rama at the hermitage of Sage Agastya

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.4 x 22.6 cm

When Rama, with Sita and Lakshmana, in the course of their wanderings, entered the vast Dandaka forest, they were welcomed by the ascetics living there with offerings of fruits and flowers. They begged Rama to protect them from the rakshasas roaming in the forest. Sita was once carried off by the demon Viradha whom the two brothers attacked with arrows and other weapons. Sita was saved and the demon, possessed of tremendous strength, was destroyed, but with great difficulty. Further on their way they arrived at the hermitage of the sage Sarabhanga. This sage had acquired great merits by penances. The god Indra himself had come to conduct the sage to Brahma-loka, but he refused to accompany Indra as he intended to enjoy Rama's presence at his hermitage. Sarabhanga, gratified by Rama's visit, ascended to Brahma-loka. The ascetics who assembled there supplicated Rama to defend the countless Brahmins and ascetics living in the forest from the cruel persecution of the Titans. Rama consented to slay these demons.

Sita, out of love for her consort, implored Him not to attack the demons without provocation, as that would amount to a sin. Realizing the sufferings of the pure-soured ascetics of virtuous practices, Rama had promised them protection; a promise He could not violate. Meeting several sages, the holy Sutikshna, who was Agastya's brother, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita, after ten years, arrived at the hermitage of the sage Agastya where several other ascetics were also living. Beside the hermitage is seen a tranquil lake full of lotus flowers and leaves. The holy sage, seen seated on a deer skin in front of Rama, rests his left arm on an ascetic's crook. Agastya, with a feeling of bliss visible on his face,
beholds with veneration the handsome countenance of Rama. The sage, as a symbol of homage, offered Rama fruits, roots, flowers, water and other things in great profusion. The illustrious sage also gave Rama mighty weapons of god Vishnu - a powerful bow, a Brahma-datta dart resembling the sun, two inexhaustible quivers filled with sharp arrows, and a sword. Rama felt overwhelmed with the favors shown to him and paid obeisance to the great sage and expressed his gratitude. Rama requested the sage to indicate to him a place abounding in trees and with abundant water where they could dwell in peace. The sage suggested they should live at Panchavati where roots, fruits, and water abounded, and where there were many deer. He said that it was an enchanting woodland close to the Godavari river that would delight Sita.

The inclusion of bushes in profusion, trees of various shapes, and even leafless trees seen in the painting, enhance the beauty of the landscape. The bushes also add to the textural value of the painting. The tall tree with thick foliage under which Rama is seated symbolizes the greatness of the hero.

Plate 6: The Panchavati hermitage

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.3 x 22.8 cm

As Rama was proceeding to Panchavati he observed a mighty eagle. Seeing that bird in the woods, the two princes thought it to be a demon and inquired who he was. The bird, in gentle tones answered, "Dear child, I am a friend of your father." In deference to this relationship, Rama paid obeisance to him and inquired of him about his name and lineage. The bird at length gave the account of the birth of devas, daityas, men, animals, and even trees, and said that Vinata gave birth to two sons, Garuda and Aruna, and he himself and his brother Sampati were the sons of Aruna. The bird then gave his name as Jatayu and offered to keep watch over Sita whenever the two brothers might be away.

After reaching the beautiful Panchavati they selected a site, full of trees, near a water pool. The river Godavari is seen flowing smoothly in the left foreground of the composition. Lakshmana built a spacious hut of graceful bamboos and mud, thatched with boughs of the sami trees, where we see Rama with Sita and Lakshmana settled in peace. Rama is gazing affectionately at Sita while they are seated on a leopard skin conversing with each other. Lakshmana and the great eagle Jatayu are shown on each side of them as if in attendance on the divine couple. Jatayu in these paintings does not have the appearance of an eagle but of some mighty bird.

A pair of deer seated in the foreground, the birds, and a peacock perched on a tree, are all rendered in a naturalistic manner, but the tiger cubs at the right lower corner are less realistic. The artist doubtless had never seen a tiger and painted this animal only from descriptions of this beast. The naturalistic foreground is in contrast to the background shown in three almost parallel curved bands of ochre-yellow, white, and light blue. These bold bands are partly concealed by trees of strangely twisted yet alluring shapes, and thus do not dominate the scene. The trees appear to be the banyan, which is considered to increase the merit of tapas (penance). Creepers with flowers, predominantly white, enhance the beauty of the hermitage.

Plate 7: Lakshmana and Jatayu conversing at Panchavati hermitage

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.4 x 22.8 cm

Here we again experience the calm and quiet of the hermitage at Panchavati. We see Rama of handsome body and features with His mind at peace, as clearly reflected in his countenance, seated at the center of the painting and engaged in worship. Rama's right shoulder is uncovered for free movement of the arm while his right hand is placed on his breast as he recites the traditional texts. The object of worship is a Saligrama (deity) and is kept on an earthen pedestal placed over a platter of leaves. A jar of water, a conch, and five cups of leaves are kept around the platter. In temples and households a copper platter with five depressions in it, called panchapatra, is used for keeping various auspicious articles required for deity worship. Here at the hermitage we do not see any kind of metal utensil. It seems it is morning and Rama is offering his daily prayers.

At the right, Sita, wearing a blissful look, is seated near the hearth attending to the cooking of a meal. A river is seen flowing down from behind the hut. The oblique course of the river takes the beholder's eye, moving with the swift downward current of the river, to the lower left corner where Lakshmana is seen seated on a grass mat conversing with Jatayu. His white body is in contrast to the black feathers of the great bird. At the extreme left, beside the river, a tree with wide open branches and sparse foliage rising above the boulders creates a spacious atmosphere and the eye returns again to the focal point of the picture.

Plate 8: Surpanakha at Rama's hermitage

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.3 x 22.9 cm

One day Rama and Lakshmana, shining in effulgence, were seated in their hermitage and the invincible Rama, master of all His senses, was reciting the traditional texts. Surpanakha, sister of Ravana, chanced to pass that way. Approaching Rama, she observed that He resembled a god with His radiant countenance, long arms, and large eyes like lotus petals. He was youthful, full of valor, and bore the marks of royalty. His color was that of the blue lotus and he was as alluring as the god of love himself. The rakshasi (demoness) was overwhelmed with desire. She transformed herself into a beautiful maiden, came near the hermitage, and inquired of Rama who He was and what was the purpose of His journey. Rama told her that He was the eldest son of King Dasaratha and gave the names of his brother Lakshmana and His noble wife Sita, the daughter of the king of Videha. Surpanakha, in reply to Rama's inquiry, told Him that she was a rakshasi and had five powerful brothers, King Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Khara, Dushana, and the virtuous Vibhishna. Tormented by pangs of love, she begged Rama to become her master saying that she would be a well matched partner to Him. Sita she said, was not worthy of him.

Speaking thus, Surpanakha threw impassioned glances at Rama. Smiling a little, Rama, in gentle and mocking tones, answered that He was already wedded. Pointing towards Lakshmana, Rama told her that His younger brother had not experienced the joys of a wife's company and desired a consort. Surpanakha, blinded by passion, turned towards Lakshmana. He smiled and teasingly said to her that He was only a slave of His brother who was the fit match for her, and that Sita was an ordinary woman as compared to her. In order to remove her rival the rakshasi jumped to attack Sita and devour her. Rama, realizing the danger, asked Lakshmana to check the demoness and punish her. Lakshmana thereupon cut off the nose and ears of Surpanakha.

In the picture we see Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana seated in their hermitage in a peaceful atmosphere. On the arrival of Surpanakha, all of them have gently turned their eyes towards the intruder. Sita, who is busy cooking, has turned her head backwards. Surpanakha is standing on a side and does not appear to be part of the group, but along with the trees, her figure is an essential part of the composition. Beautiful and virtuous Sita looks serene and dignified; Rama appears majestic. He is wearing only a small loin cloth and we see His handsome and well proportioned body. Jatayu is in the foreground.

Plate 9: Maricha in the guise of a deer

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 32.6 x 22.5 cm

Surpanakha, whose nose and ears had been cut off by Lakshmana, came to her brother Khara emitting shrieks and with blood dripping from her wounds. Khara was greatly infuriated on seeing his sister with her face disfigured. She narrated the episode and asked her brother to avenge her. Burning with anger she wanted to drink the blood of Sita and the two princes. Khara sent fourteen powerful demons with her to slay them. In the encounter all the fourteen demons were killed by Rama and Lakshmana. Seeing the demons fall, Surpanakha, filled with rage, sped to her brother Khara who himself, with an army of fourteen thousand demons headed by their general Dushana, set forth to attack the two brothers. On seeing a huge army, Rama asked Lakshmana to take Sita to a cave in the hill for safety while He Himself fought and killed the entire host of demons. Dushana, Trishira, and Khara too were slain, one by one. Akampana, one of the Titans, speedily repaired to Lanka to apprise Ravana of his brothers' death, the annihilation of his entire army, and the humiliation and injury suffered by his sister Surpanakha. He told Ravana that it would be difficult to kill Rama in an encounter, but if His beautiful wife Sita could be seized, Rama would die of grief at separation.

Ravana felt gratified at the suggestion and went to the demon Maricha to obtain his help in a plan to abduct Sita. Maricha, who had had experience of Rama's velour, counseled Ravana to abandon his design, as that would bring destruction to him and all the Titans. Ravana, changing his mind, returned to Lanka where Surpanakha again urged him to slay Rama. She flattered Ravana by relating to him his past victories and then described the beauty and charming figure of Sita. She told her brother that he was unaware of the danger threatening his kingdom. Ravana thereupon again decided to abduct Sita and went to Maricha and forced him to assist him in his plan. Maricha, possessing magical powers, assumed the marvelous form of a deer and entered the hermitage of Rama. His radiance filled the whole atmosphere. Sita, who was collecting flowers, is seen at the right where the wonderful deer first appeared. She was enamored by the beauty of the deer and prayed Rama to capture the deer, as it would serve as a playmate for her. In the picture the deer again appears near the two brothers who are looking at the animal with a feeling of amazement. Sita's desire to possess the deer was so great that Rama, disregarding Lakshmana's advice, went out in chase of the deer saying that if the wonderful animal was in reality the demon Maricha it was essential to slay it. The horizon with crimson and white streaks of curving clouds is an idiom peculiar to Chamba and Nurpur.

Plate 10: Rama chasing the magic deer

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780 -1785 Size: 33.3x22.8 cm

Here, at the center of the picture, we see Rama with a bow and arrow and a quiver at His back proceeding to chase the magical deer while Sita approvingly looks towards Him with a smile. Rama and the deer are again seen at the top left corner. Rama is now running fast and the deer is galloping. Thus the magical deer lured Rama away, far from the hermitage. Rama shot the deer with an arrow, wounding him fatally. On the point of death, emitting a terrible cry, Maricha abandoned his assumed form. Imitating Rama's voice, he cried out, "Oh Sita! Oh Lakshmana!" Now Maricha assumed his true shape as a Titan and Rama, beholding him, remembered the words of Lakshmana. He realized the illusion created by the Titan and a great dread seized him.

Hearing the cries of distress which seemed to come from her Lord, Sita asked Lakshmana to go quickly to see what had happened to Rama. Lakshmana assured Sita that none on earth, neither Titans, celestial beings, gods, giants, nor animals, could overcome Rama. Even the three worlds, with Indra himself at their head, meeting Rama in combat, would be overcome by Him. Rama had left Sita to Lakshmana's care and thus He could not leave her alone. He told Sita that only a rakshasa was simulating the voice of Rama.

At this, Sita was dismayed and spoke with anger using harsh and bitter words. Being extremely distraught that Rama's life was in danger, she told Lakshmana that she His intention and, in anguish, started beating her breast with her hands. Such anguish forced the unwilling Lakshmana to set out into the forest to search for Rama. Leaving Sita at the hermitage, Lakshmana kept looking back again and again. The color tones of the painting are harmonious. Jatayu is in the foreground.

Plate 11: Rama meets with adverse omens

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 32.4 x 21.5 cm

The time of the episode seen in this painting is the hour of dusk. Gray and dark tones suggest the prevailing gloom. At the hermitage when Sita was alone, Ravana, in the guise of a mendicant, availing himself of the opportunity, rapidly came there. He stood there gazing on the glorious Sita of incomparable beauty. He praised at length every part of her perfect body and inquired of her who she was and why was she living in the forest. Taking Ravana to be a true Brahmin, Sita offered him a seat, brought water for washing his feet, and offered him food. She was anxiously expecting the return of Rama and Lakshmana and was searching the vast and darkening forest with her eyes. Sita told Ravana that she was the daughter of Janaka, the king of Videha, and the consort of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya. She narrated the cause of their coming to the forest.

Sita in her curiosity, inquired about Ravana and his lineage. Ravana described himself as the king of Titans, in fear of whom all creatures tremble. He told her his name was Ravana and in order to frighten her he said that he had subdued his brother Kubera, the lord of wealth, and that Lanka, his capital, stood in midst of the sea, rich in every respect, and was inhabited by powerful demons. Ravana implored Sita to become his chief queen and bid her not to think of Rama any more, as His end was near. Sita, filled with indignation, said that being the brother of Kubera, it did not behove him to commit such an infamous deed and warned him that any sinful action of his would bring destruction to him and all of his race. Hearing these words, Ravana revealed his true demon form and seized Sita who began to cry aloud, "Rama! Rama!" But Rama was far away in the depths of the forests.

After slaying Maricha, Rama is shown in the picture returning to the hermitage. He saw terrible portents, namely jackals and wild beasts howling. A ghost-like figure is shown laughing from behind a tree. An owl seated on the tree has started hooting. When Rama went a little farther towards the hermitage, He saw Lakshmana approaching. Rama, having been deceived by Maricha, was seized of a dread and now He became more distressed and anxiously inquired about Sita. He told Lakshmana that He had done an irremediable wrong by leaving Sita alone in the forest and thus reproached His brother.

The atmosphere of the painting is in keeping with the state of mind of Rama. A broken tree with only its trunk still standing is seen near Him and anticipates a surrealistic approach. An eerie atmosphere prevails over the whole scene conceived and executed by a master artist.

Plate 12: Rama and Lskshmana bemoaning the loss of Sita

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 32.3 x 21.8 cm

Returning from the forest, Rama, who was seized with a fit of trembling, repeatedly inquired of Lakshmana, "Can all be well with Sita?" Eager to see her again, He quickened his pace and hastened on. But when He reached the hermitage, He found it deserted. Rama, overwhelmed with sorrow on not finding Sita, began to lament bitterly. The brothers searched for her here and there, near the river, at the lake, on the hills, and in the caves, but could not find any trace of her. Their hut and everything around, without Sita appeared desolate. Sunk in misery and in excess of anguish, Rama swooned. Lakshmana revived Him and tried to console Him. They again made endeavors to find Sita.

Rama, overcome by anxiety, kept inquiring from everything, be it a tree, a bird, or an animal, about His beautiful consort. Lakshmana observed that a deer from whom Rama had made an enquiry about Sita, seemed to indicate to them to proceed in a southerly direction. They thus decided to follow that path. Then they saw the great eagle Jatayu lying mortally wounded and about to die. The king of vultures, in a feeble and mournful voice, told Rama that while he was asleep he was awakened by the piercing shrieks of Sita. He then saw Ravana carrying Sita away forcibly. Thereupon he attacked Ravana and wounded him and destroyed his chariot. But Ravana had cut off his wings with his sword. The mighty and heroic Jatayu could speak no more and died. Thus passed away one of the noblest characters of the Ramayana.

In the picture the whole scene is set at the center against the empty hut while the two brothers are seen with their faces downcast. Everything near the hut appears in disarray. Rama looks crest fallen, His cap is lying on the ground and His garland in pieces shows His broken heart. We have been seeing in these paintings deer in pairs, but here at the left, a single deer is shown symbolizing the loneliness of Rama. The coloring of the painting is masterly in keeping with the sadness and desolation of the moment. Even the blue sky at this hour of dusk adds to the gloom. The artist himself, out of deep faith, must have experienced an intense feeling of sadness over this particular episode of the story as he painted it, and hence the splendid pictorial presentation of the most tragic episode of the exile in the forest.

Plate 13: Hermitage of Sage Bharadwaja

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 33.1 x 22.7 cm

On being exiled to the forest, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, donning garments of bark and grass given to them by Kaikeyi, and with no sign of mental anguish on their faces, left Ayodhya in a chariot with Sumantra. The citizens, out of great love for Rama and unable to bear separation from Him accompanied them on foot. Dasaratha, along with his grieving wives, also went to see once more the face of his beloved Son, but not keeping pace with the fast moving chariot he fell senseless and returned. Rama encamped for the night beside the river Tamsa. The people who had walked during the day were fatigued and still asleep when Rama started his onward journey. They passed through the forest and arrived at the bank of the Ganga, where they passed the night.

In the morning, Rama urged Sumantra to return to Ayodhya with the chariot, advising him that he should act thus in order that the great monarch should not be oppressed by any unpleasant thoughts, and to assure the king that none of them - Rama, Lakshmana, or Sita felt pain or sorrow at having been banished from Ayodhya. Rama asked Sumantra to tell Bharata to look after their mothers without any distinction. The princes, with Sita, crossed the Ganga in a boat provided by Guha, chief of the Nishadas, a tribe living there. Spending one more night in the forest, at sunset they reached the ashrama of Bharadwaja at Paryag (present day Allahabad) at the confluence of the Ganga and Jamuna.

An atmosphere of complete tranquility prevails in the idyllic grove as seen in the painting. The river too, is flowing quietly. Flowering creepers and bushes brighten the scene and two birds are singing. Seven huts are clustered at the right while seven rishis are seated in front of them. Two huts appear at the left where the group is shown seated in a diagonal row, instantly taking the eye towards Rama, who is looking in veneration towards the sage Bharadwaja. Both of them are engaged in a discourse. Rama has kept aside his bow and quiver of arrows, while these weapons are to be seen on the person of Lakshmana, who throughout the long period of the exile was to remain vigilant to guard Rama and his consort Sita.

The high-soured Maharishi Bharadwaja is a dominating figure like the great tree under which he is seated. Rama narrated the events which had taken place. At this, the sage said that he had already heard of his enforced exile. The noble prince sought the counsel of the sage for selecting a suitable place to pass the fourteen years of his exile. Sage Bharadwaja suggested they should stay with him at the ashram, to which Rama replied that the neighboring people would continue to visit them and thus intrude upon the holy solitude of the hermitage. The sage then suggested they should stay at the Chitrakuta hill at a distance of ten leagues from there, for great saints dwelt there and the holy mount was exceedingly fair, full of fruits, birds, and animals. Thereafter, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana passed the night in calm repose and at daybreak they moved onwards crossing the Jamuna and the Kalindi until they reached Chitrakuta.

Plate: The agony of Bharata

Pahari School, Chamba kalam, Kangra idiom
Circa A.D. 1780-1785 Size: 34 x 23.1 cm

Dasaratha could not survive the grief and shock of the separation from his son Rama. On his death, swift messengers were sent to Rajgriha where Bharata along with Satrughna was living with his maternal grandfather, whose kingdom lay beyond the Beas in the North-West. Bharata had an ominous dream at night and was feeling sore, troubled, and depressed. Neither music nor other distractions were of any avail to cheer him up. Then came the messengers who, as advised by the sage Vasishtha, did not tell them anything about Dasaratha's death and the other events which had taken place. The two brothers started from Rajgriha with presents and a large retinue, which they left behind, and hastened to reach Ayodhya. On the seventh day of their journey they reached Ayodhya in the evening.

The city appeared charmless and deserted, as if it were plunged in gloom. Not finding his father at his usual place in the palace, Bharata went to his mother Kaikeyi. On learning of his father's death and the banishment of Rama with Sita and Lakshmana, he was overwhelmed by grief and reproached his mother Kaikeyi. He then went to Kausalya and after a long effort, convinced her of his ignorance of what had occurred. Bharata then performed the funeral rites of his father. After thirteen days of mourning, which period is considered impure, the ministers of the State decided to install Bharata as the king of Ayodhya and started all the preparations for the occasion. On hearing the sounds of drums, conches, and other instruments, Bharata felt very aggrieved and said to Satrughna "Behold, in what a mighty wrong the people are engaged on account of Kaikeyi. I cannot deprive Rama of the kingdom." Carried away by emotions and overcome by sorrow, he fainted.

In the picture we see Bharata full of grief and weeping. A nobleman seated near Bharata is supporting him while Kausalya is consoling him. Kaikeyi seated beside the tent looks remorseful. Her downcast head rests on her right hand. Her intrigues to make Bharata the king had borne no fruit and had only lowered her in the eyes of everyone, including her son. The intelligent Bharata, then coming to the assembly, surveyed the seated nobles and with a choked voice told them that only Rama deserved the kingdom. He did not appreciate the act of his mother and decided to bring back Rama.

The diagonal line of standing female figures at the center and the prominent curving river lend movement to the scene. The female figures disclose the influence of the Guler style. The heads of some of the men in proportion to their bodies appear slightly larger, but the rendering of the figures is delicate. Different idioms of the earlier and the new styles of painting in the picture suggest a period of transition. The predominance of green in the painting is a characteristic of Kangra painting and here serves as a foil for the figures clad in colorful costumes.

Hanuman meets Ravana.  Bhatkal Temple Sculpture

Anjaneya handing over Sita's Ornament at Ashoka Gardens 

Mysore Traditional Painting, Mysore

Hanuman Fights King Rawana's Army 

Ramayana War in Indian Art, 18th century Mysore traditional painting

Hampi Ramayana scenes.

Rama breaking Shiva's bow in the Hazare Rama Temple in Hampi.

Stucco work and sculptures from Ramayana. Hazara temple, Hampi, Karnataka

Ramayana stucco sculpture, Thailand.

Hanuman, Jatayu, Lakshmana Bhatkal temple, 16th cent.

Ramayana Bas relief sculpture. Tosakan (10-face giant). Thailand

Ramayana carving. Bhuteshwar temple.

 Cave 16 : Ramayana Sculpture South Wall. Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Hanuman Carrying the Mountain of Medicinal Herbs (left); Rama Battles Ravana (right), Architectural Panel with Ramayana (Adventures of Rama) Scenes Madhya Pradesh, India, 10th cent. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Ramayana sculptures in the Upper Shivalaya temple is early Chalukyan temple in north fort ; Badami ; Karnataka 

Kumbhakarna battles Vanara sena. Angkor Wat.

Jatayu's encounter with Ravana to counter abduction of Devi Sita. Terracotta

Vanaras.Hoysaleshwara temple, Halebid

Halebid. Rama at war.

Ramayana friezes. (from right) Laxmana and Sita, Rama shooting arrow at Goden deer, Kedareshwara Temple, Halebid

Lintel. Battambang province, Cambodia. Scene of the Ramayana.

Wat Ounatom. Ramayana. Battle scene. Cambodia.

Angkor Wat. Rma and Hanuman launching an attack on Ravana. Plaster realized from a stamped clay moyuld.GuimetMuseum.

Sculpture Papanatha Temple Ramayana Vali Sugriva Rama Pattadakal UNESCO World Heritage Site built 800 CE Bagalkot Karnataka

 Ravana seizes Sita, the consort of Sri Rama. Relief from the Banteay Srei Temple in Angkor, Cambodia.

Hanuman on his chariot, a scene from the Ramakien in Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok.Ramakien (รามเกียรติ์; rtgs: Rammakian; literally "Glory of Rama"; is Thailand'snational epic,derived from Valmiki Ramayana.

Ramayana carving. Vittgala temple, Hampi.

Vanara sena and Ravana's army. A bas-relief at Preah Khan in Cambodia

Ramayana. Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh

15 MAY 2014

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (4) Indonesia and Malaysia

The final installment of our survey of the Ramayana epic in Southeast looks at its dissemination in the island world. That the Ramayana was already well known in Java by the end of the ninth century is evident from the magnificent series of reliefs carved into the walls of the temples of Prambanan in central Java around 900 AD.  However, the the first literary version in Old Javanese, the Ramayana Kakawin, appears to date from a century later. It is based not directly on Valmiki’sRamayana but on a later Indian poetical version, the so-called Bhattikavya, a Sanskrit poem written by Bhatti (6/7th century), which both tells the story and illustrates the rules of Sanskrit grammar.  The first five cantos are a fairly exact translation, while the remainder is a much freer version.


The abduction of Sita by Ravana, depicted in stone reliefs at Prambanan temple, central Java, ca. 900.  Photograph by W.G.N. van der Sleen, 1929. Tropenmuseum. 

With the spread of Islam across Java from the fifteenth century onwards, the strongly Indianised Old Javanese culture and traditions retreated eastwards to the island of Bali, which today remains the only majority Hindu region outside India.  Nearly all Old Javanese literary compositions orkakawin survived only in Bali, although their stories continued to be known in Java through the shadow-puppet tradition. The late 18th-century renaissance of literature at the central Javanese courts of Surakarta and Yogyakarta saw the rewriting of the Ramayana Kakawin in modern Javanese.  In Bali, the story of Rama still plays a central part in the religious and cultural life of the island, and in the twentieth century became a popular subject for illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts.


Serat Rama Keling, a modern Javanese version of the Ramayana, illuminated manuscript dated 1814.  British Library,  Add.12284, ff.1v-2r 




Two scenes from a Balinese palm leaf manuscript of the Ramayana, written and illustrated by Ida Bagus Adnyana of Geriya Gunung Sari, Pliatan, Bali, c. 1975. (Top) Sita sees the golden deer and urges Rama to catch it; (bottom) Ravana in the guise of an old hermit lures Sita out of the safety of her magic circle. British Library, Or.14022 

The tradition of shadow-puppet theatre seems to have been in existence in Java for at least a thousand years, and the stories which are used in the wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre are taken from the Indian epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. While the characters and the plots remain basically Indian, the way the stories have been developed over the past 1000 years in the oral dramatic tradition reflects Javanese culture rather than Indian. The iconography of the shadow puppet theatre – with heads in profile, angular shoulders, slim torsos and pivoted limbs – has strongly influenced Javanese manuscript illustration.


Hanuman (left) and Hanuman Tugangga, one of Hanuman’s sons by the Fish Princess (right). From an album of Javanese wayang characters, Java, 19th century. British Library, Or.9333, ff 8v-9r 

In the Malay Muslim courts of the archipelago, literary traditions now transmitted using Arabic script continued to reflect deep-seated Hindu-Buddhist roots.  The Malay version of the Ramayana,Hikayat Seri Rama, is believed to have been committed to writing between the 13th and 15th centuries.  One of the oldest Malay manuscripts in this country – and probably the oldest known illuminated Malay manuscript – is a copy of the Hikayat Seri Rama now held in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, which was in the possession of Archbishop Laud in 1635.  The Malay version originated not from the classical Ramayana of Valmiki, but from popular oral versions widely spread over southern India.

As attested to in media ranging from the great 7th-century Ramayana stone pedestal in the Cham temple at Tra Kieu in Vietnam, to 20th-century performances of the Ceritera Seri Rama in thewayang Siam shadow puppet theatre of Kelantan and 21st-century Indonesian comics, theRamayana has retained its position as a literary classic in Southeast Asia through the centuries.

Further reading

On the Ramayana in Javanese and Old Javanese:
P.J. Zoetmulder, Kalangwan: a survey of Old Javanese literature.  The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1974; pp. 217-233.
Theodore G. Th. Pigeaud, Literature of Java.  Catalogue raisonné of Javanese manuscripts in the Library of the University of Leiden and other public collections in the Netherlands.  The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1968. 4 vols.

On the Ramayana in Malay:
V.I. Braginsky, The heritage of traditional Malay literature: a historical survey of genres, writings and literary views.  Leiden: KITLV, 2004; pp. 66-71.
Achadiati Ikram, Hikayat Sri Rama: suntingan naskah disertai telaah amanat dan struktur.  Jakarta: Penerbit Universitas Indonesia, 1980.

Annabel Teh Gallop, Lead Curator, Southeast Asia

Related articles

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (2) Thailand and Laos

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (1) Cambodia

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (3) Burma

Posted by Annabel Gallop at 11:58 PM

05 MAY 2014

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (3) Burma

The oral tradition of the Ramayana story in Burma is believed to date as far back as the reign of King Anawrahta (1044-77), the founder of the first Burmese empire at Pagan. Documented in Ava by the end of the 13th century, the Rama story – known as Rama Zatdaw in Burmese – continued to be transmitted orally from generation to generation up till the 16th century.  In the 18th century, the Ramayana had come to be regarded as a noble saga even among Buddhist monks. The story of Rama, based on the oral traditions of Old Pagan, may have been committed to writing between the 16th and the 18th centuries, in verse and prose as well as in dramatic form, but the first known written Burmese version of the Ramayana is Rama Thagyin (Songs from the Ramayana), compiled by U Aung Phyo in 1775.


Ravana (called Dathagiri in the Burmese tradition), the ten-headed demon king of Lanka (Thiho), sends Gambi in the form of a shwethamin (golden deer) to Sita (Thida) (top right). Sita persuades Rama to go and catch the golden deer for her (left), and so he leaves Sita under the protection of his brother Lakshmana (Letkhana), and goes after the golden deer (bottom right). British Library Or.14178, f.8 

The popularity of the Ramayana in Burma reached its zenith in the first half of the 19th century, when the story of Rama was depicted in a continuous series of 347 stone relief sculptures at the pagoda of Maha Loka Marazein of Thakhuttanai built in 1849 during the reign of King Bagan (1846-1853), of the Konbaung Dynasty.


When Sita and Lakshmana hear Rama’s voice calling them in distress, Lakshmana makes a three-fold magic circle around their shelter to ward off evil, and warns Sita not to venture out of the circle (left). As soon as Lakshmana goes to look for Rama, Ravana changes himself into an old hermit and came to Sita and begs for alms of fruits. Sita forgets her brother-in-law’s warning and steps out of the magic circle to give Ravana food and water, believing him to be a real hermit (top right). British Library, Or.14178, f.9 

Thakin Min Mi, the Chief Queen of Singu Min 1776-1781, was a poet and writer who encouraged the performance of the Ramayana. The Rama play was performed on the stage in full splendour in the royal palace beginning with the reign of King Bodawpaya (1782-1819). During the reign of Tharrawaddy Min (1837-1846) and his son Pagan Min (1847-1853) the Rama Zatdaw regained its popularity and became established as part of traditional court entertainment. In the 19th century stage performances and marionette performances of the drama of the Ramayana were presented in the palace by royal troupes of professional artists. During the reign of Mindon (1853-1878), theRama Zatdaw was rarely performed in its entirety, with favourite episodes only usually being presented to please the court.

The king’s minister Myawady Mingyi U Sa converted the Ramayana Jataka into a typical Burmese classical drama, and he also composed theme music and songs for its performance. Ever since then, Ramayana performances have been very popular in Burmese culture, and Yama zat pwe(dramatic performances of the Rama story) marionette stage shows are often held. Scenes from the Ramayana can also be found as motifs or design elements in Burmese lacquerware and wood carvings.  By the late 19th century, the Ramayana story was being printed in Burmese: an early example in the British Library is Pontaw Rama (Part 1) by Saya Ku, published in 1880 (14302.e.3/5).


Ravana returns to his own form of a horrible giant with ten fearful heads and twenty great arms and begs Sita to come with him to his kingdom. When she refuses, Ravana summons his magic chariot and sweeps Sita up and away, into the sky and over the forests (top). When Rama and Lakshmana finally find their way home Sita is gone (bottom). British Library, Or.14178, f.10 

The images shown here are from a Burmese folding book manuscript or parabaik (Or. 14178) dating from around 1870, which has 16 pages with painted scenes of the Ramayana story with brief captions in Burmese. The paper covers are painted in red, yellow and green with floral borders and prancing lions. One cover has an inscription in black ink in Burmese, giving the title, Rama Zat, and a brief identification of the contents.  The manuscript has been fully digitised and can be readhere.

Further reading
U Thein Han, The Ramayana in Burma. Rangoon: Burma Historical Commission, 1971.

San San May, Curator for Burmese

Related articles

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (2) Thailand and Laos

New display of Southeast Asian manuscripts

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (4) Indonesia and Malaysia

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (1) Cambodia

Posted by Annabel Gallop at 1:12 AM

28 APRIL 2014

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (2) Thailand and Laos

Continuing our series of posts on the Ramayana in Southeast Asia, today we look at Thailand and Laos. The Thai version of the epic is known as the Ramakien. The Rama story is thought to have been known to the Thais since at least the 13th century. It was adopted from older Khmer sources, hence the similarity to the Khmer title Reamker. Various new versions of the story have been composed, often by royal authors, since the 16th and 17th centuries. However, large numbers of Thai manuscripts were lost with the destruction of Ayutthya in 1767, and the Ramakien known today was compiled only between 1785 and 1807 under the supervision of King Rama I (1785-1809).

The famous reliefs depicting about 150 scenes from the Ramakien at Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) in Bangkok date back to the early 19th century. Manuscript and mural paintings showing scenes from the Ramakien are particularly famous for their illustrations of the monkey armies. Best known are the mural paintings at the royal temple Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok. In King Rama I’s version of the Ramakien all names, places, traditions, and flora and fauna were adapted to a Thai context. In this form, the Rama story has become an epic of national character in Thailand, and it is very popular not only as a literary work, but also as a mask dance (khon) and even TV drama. It has been re-published many times in the form of children’s and juvenile literature, and characters from the Ramayana have featured on series of postal stamps and trading cards. The title of Rama constantly re-occurs in the royal genealogies of Thailand.


Hanuman facing Ravana asleep in his palace. This drawing is from a 19th century album of ink drawings by an anonymous Thai artist of scenes from the Ramakien, with some text captions in Khom script (a variant of the Cambodian Khmer script used in Thailand). Hanuman can be seen with his sword, teasing Ravana who is fast asleep in his palace after having abducted Sita. The palace resembles 19th century architecture in Bangkok. British Library, Or.14859, pp. 58-59 


Phralak – the Thai and Lao name of Lakshmana, Rama’s brother – served Rama and Sita reverently and played an important role in the war with Ravana. In the Thai and Lao traditions, he is a symbol of brotherly love, loyalty and commitment. He gave his life in order to protect Rama’s integrity and Ayodhya from an evil curse. This illustration of Phralak is from a folding-book with Thai character drawings including figures from the Ramakien, central Thailand, 19th century. British Library, Or.14229, f. 29 

The Lao version of the Ramayana is known as Phra Lak Phra Ram (or Pha Lak Pha Lam since in modern Lao R is often replaced by L), the title referring to both the brothers Lakshmana and Rama. Sometimes it is also called Phra Ram sadok (Rama Jataka) as it is widely believed that Rama was a former incarnation of a Buddha-to-be. The Rama story featured in many mural paintings and wood relief carvings on temple doors and windows. It was also one of the favourite themes in the repertoire of the Lao Royal Ballet until 1975, and this tradition has been revived since 2002 by the Royal Ballet Theatre of Luang Prabang.


Introductory scene to thank and honour the Hindu gods during a Phra Lak Phra Ram performance by the Royal Ballet Theatre of Luang Prabang. Photo by Jana Igunma, 2002.

Numerous palm-leaf manuscripts from all regions of Laos containing shorter versions of the Lao Ramayana, Lam Pha Lam, show that the story was very popular all over the country in urban centres as much as in rural areas. These versions were created in order to be sung by a Mor Lam, a traditional expert singer who can melodically recite lengthy poems and epic literature while being accompanied by a Khaen (bamboo mouth organ).

In both Thai and Lao traditions, Hanuman was part of a favourite Yantra design used by soldiers and martial arts specialists. The leader of the monkey armies represents strength, stamina, agility, intelligence and devotion. Hanuman Yantras would either be drawn on protective shirts, headbands, battle standards of entire armies, or, most efficiently and durably, tattooed on a fighter’s body.


Hanuman as part of a Yantra design for tattooing or to be drawn on protective clothes and battle flags. From a Yantra manual written in gamboge ink on blackened mulberry paper, central Thailand, 19th century.  British Library, Or.15596, f. 9 

Further reading

Angkhan Kanlayanaphong, Khon, Thai masked dance Sala Chalermkrung. Bangkok, 2006. (LP.31.a.679)

John Cadet, The Ramakien. The Thai epic illustrated with the bas-reliefs of Wat Phra Jetubon,Bangkok. Tokyo, Palo Alto, 1971. (Siam.742)

Sachchidanand Sahai, The Rama Jataka in Laos : a study in the Phra Lak Phra Lam. Delhi, 1996. (YD.2004.a.6415)

The Ramakian (Ramayana) mural paintings along the galleries of the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Bangkok, 1999. (SEA.2002.c.3)

Jana Igunma, Ginsburg Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian

Related articles

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (3) Burma

Curator's perspective: accessing the Mewar Ramayana

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (1) Cambodia

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (4) Indonesia and Malaysia

Posted by Annabel Gallop at 3:53 AM

21 APRIL 2014

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (1) Cambodia

The recent digitisation of the Mewar Ramayana has enabled the ‘virtual’ reunification of this 17th-century masterpiece, bringing together paintings from the manuscript held across continents in different locations.  Originally composed in India in Sanskrit over two and half thousand years ago by Valmiki, the Ramayana is also one of the most popular masterworks throughout Southeast Asia.  This is reflected not only in the literary traditions, but also in the performing and fine arts, as well as in architecture and modern design.  The epic tells the story of Rama, his brother Lakshmana and Rama’s wife Sita, who was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. The main part of the epic is about the fight between Ravana and Rama, who wants to get his wife back. In this battle, Rama is supported by his brother and a monkey chief, Hanuman, with his armies.

Knowledge of the Ramayana in Southeast Asia can be traced back to the 5th century in stone inscriptions from Funan, the first Hindu kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia. An outstanding series of reliefs of the Battle of Lanka from the 12th century still exists at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, andRamayana sculptures from the same period can be found at Pagan in Myanmar. Thailand’s old capital Ayutthya founded in 1347 is said to have been modelled on Ayodhya, Rama’s birthplace and setting of the Ramayana.  New versions of the epic were written in poetry and prose and as dramas in Burmese, Thai, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Javanese and Balinese, and the story continues to be told in dance-dramas, music, puppet and shadow theatre throughout Southeast Asia. Most of these versions change parts of the story significantly to reflect the different natural environments, customs and cultures.

When mainland Southeast Asian societies embraced Theravada Buddhism, Rama began to be regarded as a Bodhisatta, or Buddha-to-be, in a former life. In this context, the early episodes of the story were emphasized, symbolising Rama’s Buddhist virtues of filial obedience and willing renunciation. Throughout the region, Hanuman enjoys a greatly expanded role; he becomes the king of the monkeys and the most popular character in the story, and is a reflection of all the freer aspects of life.  In a series of posts we will be exploring how the Ramayana epic has been rewritten and reimagined in the different parts of Southeast Asia, starting with the Khmer version, theReamker.



Royal Reamker performance, accompanied by the royal orchestra, at the ancient site of Ta Prohm, one of the temples of Angkor.  Postcard from around 1915 published in Paris by the Anciens Etablissement Gillot, from a collector’s album of postcards from Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Siam.  British Library, ORB. 30/6309, p. [16]

The Ramayana very early reached the ancient Hindu kingdoms (Funan, Chenla, Champa) in the territory of present-day Cambodia, southern Vietnam and eastern Thailand through contact with the south Indian kingdoms, but the oldest extant literary version, the Reamker in the Khmer language, appears to date from the 16th century.  It preserves closer links to Valmiki’s original than do the other Southeast Asian versions. The Rama story became a favourite theme for frescoes on temple walls and was the exclusive subject of the traditional Cambodian shadow play. The popular masked dance drama, lkhon khol, was based on certain episodes from the Ramayana, and with Rama being regarded a former incarnation for the Buddha himself the story forms part of the repertoire of theRoyal Ballet  to the present day.


Dancer of the Royal Ballet in the costume of Hanuman.  Postcard from around 1915 issued by the Comité Cambodgien de la Société des Amis d’Angkor, from a collector’s album of postcards from Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Siam.  British Library, ORB. 30/6309, p. [30]

The literary text Reamker has the form of a dramatic recitative that was intended to accompany a mimed dance performance. Live recitations of parts of the Reamker by one of the most famous Cambodian storytellers of the 20th century, Ta Krut, had been recorded in the 1960s and are available online from the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center.

Further reading:

Reamker (Ramakerti), the Cambodian version of the Ramayana. Translated by Judith Jacob with the assistance of Kuoch Haksrea. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1986 (ORW.1989.a.1223)

J. J. Boeles, The Ramayana relief from the Khmer sanctuary at Pimai in Northeast Thailand.
 
Sachchidanand Sahai (ed.), The Ramayana in South East Asia. Gaya 1981 (W 6784)


Jana Igunma, Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian

Related articles

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (3) Burma

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (4) Indonesia and Malaysia

The Ramayana in Southeast Asia: (2) Thailand and Laos

Curator's perspective: accessing the Mewar Ramayana

Posted by Annabel Gallop at 1:40 AM

01 APRIL 2014

Curator's perspective: accessing the Mewar Ramayana

The digital version of the complete Valmiki Ramayana prepared for  Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar in 1649-53 was launched on 21 March at the CSMVS, Mumbai, making freely available to the world one of the greatest achievements of Indian art.  For the complete digital version of the manuscript together with descriptions of the paintings and essays on its various aspects, seewww.bl.uk/ramayana.  My own involvement with the manuscript goes back to 1971 when as a young Sanskritist straight from Oxford I first joined the British Museum, before the collections were transferred to the British Library in 1973.  I spent a lot of time exploring the oriental select manuscripts lobby, pulling the manuscripts off the shelf one by one for a brief examination.  The bound manuscripts were kept in so far as possible in strict numerical sequence in the main runs of Additional and Oriental manuscripts, so that Arabic, Persian, Hebrew or Sanskrit manuscripts could be found side by side, encouraging a serendipitous tendency to explore other cultures.  I was vaguely aware of the great Mughal manuscripts in the collections, the subject of British Library exhibitions in 1982 and 2012, but was there I wondered anything comparable from the Hindu world? 

Covers and doublure of a volume of the Ramayana as bound in the British Museum bindery in 1844.  British Library, Add.15295. 

I soon found three massive bound volumes which announced themselves on the spines as five volumes of the Ramayana, books 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7.  On hauling them off the shelf and opening them I found them crammed with paintings.  Each of the volumes had had all its folios, the unillustrated ones as well as the full page paintings, let into heavy guard papers which were then bound up in these elaborate bindings.  The folios being in landscape format, the volumes had to be turned on their sides to be read.  On further investigation, one of the volumes, the Bala Kanda or first book, with over 200 paintings, turned out to have been written in 1712 in Udaipur under Maharana Sangram Singh (Add.15295), but the other four books containing 286 full page paintings were prepared in Udaipur for Rana Jagat Singh between 1649 and 1652, as well as in the first year of his successor Rana Raj Singh in 1653 (Add.152396-7).  They had, I found, never been exhibited, since the volumes were too large to fit into the department’s then exhibition cases; they had never been lent to be exhibited elsewhere, not even to the great exhibition of Indian art at Burlington House in 1947, since the British Museum did not then lend at all; and I could find only one brief reference to them in the art historical literature, in Douglas Barrett and Basil Gray’s Indian Painting of 1963.  They were of course mentioned in Cecil Bendall’s Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the British Museum (London, 1902), but he was concerned about the text and not the pictures:  back then in 1902 no one in the west knew anything about Indian painting, while A.K. Coomaraswamy had yet to publish his book on Rajput painting.  In 1971 when I told those of my colleagues who were interested in Persian and Indian painting about these great volumes, my excitement was greeted with some indifference: they knew of their existence of course, but Rajput painting and manuscripts did not conform to Mughal standards of painting, let alone Persian.  The volumes turned out to be illustrated in three different styles of contemporary Mewar painting, involving the artists Sahib Din and Manohar and their studios and an unknown master working in a mixed Mewar-Deccani style. 

Hanuman espies Rama and Laksmana as they approach Lake Pampa.  Ramayana, Kiskindha Kanda.  Mewar-Deccani style, Udaipur, 1653.  British Library, Add.15297(1), f.2r. 

Since that to me momentous discovery in 1971, I have been occupied with trying to publish these volumes and to place them within their artistic and cultural contexts.  I had found only four volumes of Jagat Singh’s Ramayana – where were the other three?  I soon found some of the original Bala Kanda of 1649 ascribed to the artist Manohar in the then Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay, and most of the rest of the paintings in the book in a private collection in that city.  But when Dr Moti Chanda published some of its paintings in 1955, he was unaware of the four London volumes.  It emerged that one volume, book 3, the Aranya Kanda or Forest book, was still in Udaipur.  It had been transferred along with the rest of the royal Mewar library to the Udaipur branch of the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, and was subsequently moved to that institute’s headquarters in Jodhpur.  In 1982 the four London volumes formed some of the highlights of my exhibition The Art of the Book in India in the British Library.  

Hanuman is brought bound before Ravana and his tail set on fire.  Ramayana, Sundara Kanda.  Mewar-Deccani style, Udaipur, c. 1650.  British Library, IO San 3621, f.9r. 

While I was preparing that exhibition Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, who had been working on a catalogue of the Indian miniatures in the then separate India Office Library, brought to my attention a volume of 18 paintings of a Sundara Kanda that had been acquired in 1912.  This it seems was what remained of the final volume to be unearthed and I included it in my exhibition.  I also brought to London for the exhibition folios from the two volumes still in India, thereby uniting the entire manuscript for the first time since 1820.  Since then I have published various articles on different aspects of them and other scholars including Vidya Dehejia and Andrew Topsfield have also worked on them, but the task is immense, since we are concerned here with over 400 paintings as well as a most interesting text, which is earlier than most of the manuscripts used for the critical edition of the Ramayana prepared in Baroda in 1960-75.

Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar (reg. 1778-1828) out hunting.  Mewar, 1810-20.  British Library, Add.Or.4662. 

But how did these volumes get to London in the first place?  Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar was the typical Rajput ruler of the time, more interested in hunting and grand festivals than in literary pursuits, but he did revive the royal painting studio.  He was on very friendly terms with Captain James Tod, the future historian of the Rajputs, who was appointed in 1818 as the East India Company’s Agent to the western Rajput states.   On Tod’s final departure from Udaipur in 1820 the Maharana presented to him four volumes of Jagat Singh’s Ramayana as well as the Bala Kanda of 1712 prepared under Sangram Singh.   Tod on his return to London in 1823 presented the five volumes to the Duke of Sussex, one of the younger sons of King George III, who had accumulated a vast and important library, and it was at the sale of the Duke’s library in 1844 that the five volumes were purchased for the British Museum.  They were still in bundles in their loose-leaf traditional format and it was then that they were bound up in their handsome bindings, the enormous Bala Kanda in one volume (Add.15295) and the remaining four books in two volumes (Add.15296 and Add.15297).

It emerged over the 40 years since 1971 that the bound volumes in London had kept the paintings in absolutely pristine condition, since up to that time scarcely anyone had looked at them, but as I and other scholars turned their pages in subsequent years it became increasingly obvious that the paintings were suffering, since the folios housed in their rigid bindings could not be turned without the paintings flexing and with that the ensuing risk of the pigments flaking.  One of my first tasks was to organise the splitting of Add.15297 since the two heavily illustrated books within, including Sahib Din’s masterpiece the Yuddha Kanda (Book 6), were most at risk. 

Hanuman disturbs the divine inhabitants of the Himalaya when fetching herbs to cure Laksmana who had been wounded by Ravana.  Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda.  By Sahib Din, Udaipur, 1652.  British Library, Add.15297(1), f.150r. 

In Valmiki’s hermitage Lava and Kusa recite the story of Rama before Satrughna.  Ramayana, Uttara Kanda.  Style of Manohar, Udaipur, 1653.  British Library, Add.15297(2), f.88r. 

Book 7 the Uttara Kanda was removed and a new binding matching the original was prepared for it, as well as a new spine for the Yuddha Kanda.  In 1995, some 20 folios concerned with Rama’s quest for Sita were detached and mounted separately in an exhibition at the British Library, The Mythical Quest, and were later lent to several exhibitions in the UK as well as to the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore. 

It seemed to me many years ago that the best way to ensure the safety of the paintings was to dismantle the volumes entirely and mount the paintings separately, but this raised opposition within the Library as the volumes themselves were of great historic interest.  However my view eventually prevailed.  The volumes were dismantled and the paintings individually mounted and a large part of the London volumes were shown in a grand Ramayana exhibition in the British Library in 2008 with my accompanying book published both in London and in India.  From them on it was but a step to conceive of reuniting the whole manuscript digitally, not just the paintings but the text as well, so that scholars could work in particular on the relationship between text and painting, and also so that everyone could have access to one of the greatest monuments of Indian art.

 J.P. Losty, Curator of Visual Arts (Emeritus) 

Further Reading:

www.bl.uk/ramayana

Chandra, M., ‘Paintings from an Illustrated Version of the Ramayana Painted at Udaipur in AD 1649’ in Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India Bombay, vol. 5, 1955-57, pp. 33-49

Losty, J.P., The Art of the Book in India, British Library, London, 1982

Losty, J.P., The Ramayana:  Love and Valour in India’s Great Epic – the Mewar Ramayana Manuscripts, British Library, London, 2008

Topsfield, A., Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the Patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, Artibus Asiae, Zurich, 2002

http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/2014/05/the-ramayana-in-southeast-asia-4-indonesia-and-malaysia.html

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Dates of Ramayana

Dates of sky views in Ramayana

           

The story of Shri Ram‘s life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in the ‘Ramayan’ wherein he has made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram. By entering the precise details of these planetary configurations using the software named ‘Planetarium Gold’ corresponding exact dates of these events can be known.

           

Date of Birth of Lord Ram - 

In Baal Kand (1/18/8-10) it has been stated that Shri Ram was born on 9th tithi of Chaitra month during day time when the position of different planets vis-à-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras was as under:

1. Sun in Aries        

2. Venus in Pisces

3. Mars in Capricorn  

4. Saturn in Libra

5. Jupiter rising in Cancer                    
6. Moon near star Punar vasu (Pollux) in Gemini Constellation

Amazing! See the sky view below shows exactly similar location of planets, stars and zodiac constellations on the 10th of January in the year 5114 BC if viewed from latitude/longitude of Ayodhya (25°N 81°E). By making use of software to convert solar calendar into lunar calendar, it was found that this date also happened to be the 9th day of Shukla Paksha in ‘Chaitra’ month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ramnavmi is celebrated all over India till date.

Date of Exile of Shri Ram

In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned in Ayodhya Kaand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary positions the king dies or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Zodiac sign of king Dashratha was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary position was prevailing on the 5th of January 5089 BC and it was on this day that Shri Ram had to leave Ayodhya for 14 years. Thus he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089) and there are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram was 25 years old when he left Ayodhya for his 14 years of exile.

Solar Eclipse during War with Khar-Dushan

Ramayan refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khar-Dushan in later half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s stay in the forests. Valmiki has also mentioned that it was Amavasya day and planet Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the sky view generated by Planetarium software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on 7th October, 5077 BC which could be seen from Panchvati (20° N; 73° E) On that date planetary configuration was the same as has been described by Valmiki i.e. Mars was in the middle; on one side were Mercury, Venus and Jupiter and on the other side were Sun, Moon and Saturn. (Fig. 2).

Other Eclipses mentioned in Ramayan

In Kishkindha kaand there is a reference to solar eclipse (4/15/3) on the day Bali was killed. Software shows a solar eclipse on 3rd April 5076 BC which was the only solar eclipse during the entire year.

In Sunder Kaand there is a reference to lunar eclipse when Hanuman spots Sita in Ashok Vatika (5/19/14, 5/29/7, 5/35/87). Sky view reveals lunar eclipse starting from 4.15 pm on 12th September 5076 BC from Colombo (7°N; 80°E).

Thus the planetary references in Valmiki Ramayan correspond to actual sky seen from the given places around 5100 BC in the same sequence as narrated. The way in which archaeological, paleobotanical, genetic, oceanographic, geological, ecological and remote sensing research reports corroborate the astronomical dates is amazing! These details will also be shared through our upcoming website, bhootkaal.com.

Lessons from the life of Lord Ram

The story of Shri Ram, when appreciated in its true perspective, would emerge as the biggest unifying factor for India. He remains unparalleled as an ideal son, an ideal brother, an ideal warrior and an ideal king; that is why he is described as Maryada Purushottam Ram!

He was a nationalist par excellence who left his kingdom to help the small kings located all over India to save their kingdoms from being usurped by wicked King Ravana of Sri Lanka and his relatives and devils like Khar, Dushan, Trishira and Maarich representing him in India.

Shri Ram moved from place to place to spread the message of unity by showing very high level of respect for the people from backward tribes and those considered untouchable. He embraced Guh Nishad who belonged to Kol tribe, considered to be a lower caste; he gave a strong message against untouchability by eating with great affection jootha berries of Bhilni (Shabri) of Bhil tribe. He sent his wife and children to be brought up and educated by Maharishi Valmiki who is stated to be Shudra but was a great scholar in the ancient world.

Shri Ram tried and succeeded in establishing victory of good over evil. He helped rishis and munis in living a life of honor. He got the kingdoms of small noble kings restored to them and acted as the biggest unifying factor. He set the finest example of a welfare state, in which the supreme duty of the king is working for the well being and happiness of masses.

We all need to strive to establish Ram Rajya in India for rich and poor of all communities and castes!

Posted by Saroj Bala at 8:51 PM 2 comments: 

Labels: Astronomical Dating, Ramayan

RAMSETHU - Faith vis-a-vis Reality

Ramsetu is a natural chain of islands, hills, shoals, submerged in Palk Strait from Dhanushkoti to Talaimannar, in which certain gaps have been filled up, indicating the contribution of human hand. One of the two surviving fillings can be seen in the picture revealing well defined boundaries and stone fillings. During visit to Rameshwaram, I got an extra-ordinary opportunity to observe the depth at which a part of Ramsethu was found submerged under the sea which measured 9.5 feet (about 3 meters) on the fisherman’s oar.

Fig. 8: Boundaries looking like ropes & the fillings in between

Ram’s Bridge – references in Ramayan

In Yuddh Kand, sarg 22 (shlokas 45-73) Valmiki has given graphic details of Lord Ram carrying out research and exploration to identify a suitable location for construction of the bridge. After identifying the location, he requested Sugriva to search for an expert Shilpakar who could construct such a bridge. Sugriva recommended the name of Nal, a famous shilpakar, who had the expertise similar to that of Vishwakarma in constructing the bridge. Accordingly Nal was called; he concurred that bridge could indeed to constructed at the location identified by Shri Ram. The construction of this bridge was completed under the supervision of Nal in five days by filling up of the gaps in the existing natural chain of land route consisting of islands, rocks and shoals (6/22/68-73).

The armymen of Lord Ram utilized various tools and implements for uprooting trees like saal, taar, coconut, mango, ashoka, arjun, bakul and bilva etc (6/22/47). With the help of various yantras they transported these stones, trees, creepers, and boulders to the seashore (2/22/60). Shilpakar Nal directed the armymen to stand with long ropes on either side and got the bridge constructed in five days by binding such transported materials together. Even the use of measuring tools has been described (6/22/65).

Rama's Bridge - its satellite image and oceanographic evidences:

The bridge is composed of a series of islands, rocks, and shoals and it is stated to be 30 kilometers long. It is found exactly at the location narrated in Valmiki Ramayan. See NASA picture of this Bridge given above.

Sea level curve prepared by the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, corroborates the fact that sea level was about three meters lower around 5100 BC; thus corroborating the fact that in 5100 BC Ramsethu was above the sea level and could be used as a land route between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka. Thus even fluctuations in sea levels corroborate references to Ramsethu in Ramayan.

Some very Interesting facts about Ramsethu

All attempts to create shipping route by completing the Sethu Samudram project have so far failed. Shri Subramnian Swamy summarized the report dated January 23, 2007 published in the Asian Age stating that “the Dredging Corporation of India’s (DCI) dredger imported from Holland had broken into two and sunk into the sea when it began work on the Ram Setu. The DCI crane that went to pick up the dredger pieces also broke and sank. The Russian engineer consultant who went to inspect the mishap broke his leg.” As a result all efforts made on behalf of the Government so far to destroy remains of Ram Setu have failed and consequently Sethusamudram Shipping Canal could not become a reality.

 

We suggest that why not construct a the bridge as several multi-nationals are offering to construct the bridge under BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) scheme? Can one imagine the number of people from India who will walk over this reconstructed Ramsethu every year and the kind of profit the builder as well as Indian and Sri Lankan Governments would be able to earn! The relations between the two neighboring countries would drastically improve.

Posted by Saroj Bala at 8:51 PM 1 comment: 

Labels: Archaelogy, Oceanography, Ramayan, Remote Sensing

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Ram Vanshavali

We all know that Shri Ram belonged to Suryavansh dynasty and the kings of this Vanshavali have been listed sequentially in Valmiki Ramayan and in Puranas. We completed these lists and compared these with the latest genetic studies. These also led to the conclusion that time of Lord Ram are around 7100 years back, who was the 64th eminent Ruler of this dynasty. Raja Sagar was 40th and and Samrat Bhagirath was 44th ruler of this dynasty, therefore their period was around 8000 years back. Look at the Geneology Charts and the genetic studies which corroborate the continuous development of indigenous civilization in India for last more than 10000 years -

Posted by Saroj Bala at 2:55 PM 1 comment: 

Labels: Genetic Studies, Ramayan

Monday, December 14, 2015

Wepons during Ramayan time

Astronomical dates of Ramayana references are 7000 years old. Archaeologists have excavated 7000 years old copper Bow and Arrow from middle Ganga plains. See just one out of many pictures of several excavated weapons

Posted by Saroj Bala at 7:53 PM No comments: 

Labels: Archaelogy, Ramayan

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Slides on Astronomical dating of events in Ramayan

Amazing facts about ancient India

revealed through

Exhibition on Cultural continuity from Rigveda to Robtics 

(From 17th to 23^rd September, 2015) – establishes the historicity of Ramayana and Mahabharata eras

Some Slides from the exhibition

Coverage by TV channels of

Recording followed by Penal Discussion on

TV Channel NEWS 24 

Click on following for viewing on youtube

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z26YBXZ-rt0&feature=youtu.be

Coverage of exhibition on other TV channels

TV9 (Telgu) 

Posted by Saroj Bala at 8:55 PM No comments: 

Labels: Astronomical Dating, Ramayan

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Genetic affinity of the Bhil, Kol and Gond mentioned in epic Ramayana

Genetic study of Ramayana tribes rejects Aryan invasion theory and supports indigenous common ancestry of Indian populations

            An international team of researchers consisting of geneticists, anthropologists and Research Scholars have found that Ramayana, composed around 7,100 years ago, is a chronicle of events and characters recorded by Sage Valmiki and is not a work of fiction. They also found that North Indians & Dravidians share their genetic profile; they have lived in India for more than 12000 years and there is no evidence of any Gene –inflow. 

            Normally it is being taught in schools and colleges in India that Aryans immigrated into Indian Subcontinent from Central Asia around 1500 BC and that the aboriginal Indians who were uncivilised at that time were defeated and pushed towards south & they became Dravidians whereas invading Aryans occupied North India and are settled there till date. This view was based on linguistic guess work but many scientific researches like astronomy, archaeology, paleobotany, and space imagery have been providing evidence that this Aryan Invasion theory is incorrect, having no scientific basis.

            Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas had earlier reported that skyviews of planetary references in Ramayana could be seen sequentially 7100 ago and that several archaeological and paleobotanical evidences had supported these dates for Ramayana era Latest in the series are the genetic studies. A paper published in the internationally reputed journal PLOS ONE has thrown light on this issue by utilizing the data obtained fromValmiki Ramayan and testing this with the genetic studies carried out by using advanced genetic research and tools. The research team comprised of:

1.      Geneticist, Dr Gyaneshwer Chaubey, from Estonian Biocentre, Tartu

2.      Traditional Anthropologist, Prof. V.R. Rao, Anthropology Department, Delhi University

3.      Ramayana Scholar, Mrs. Saroj Bala, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas

4.      IITian from Delhi, Mr. Anurag Kadiyan,

            The team extracted detailed information about Indian tribal populations from the oldest epic Valmiki Ramayana and tested their concordance and discordance with the high resolution genetic data. This was an interdisciplinary project between the scientists and scholars from India and from Estonia. It took around three years to complete this research project. 

            To begin with, the team selected three main tribal populations, namely: Kol (e.g. Guh Nishad), Bhil (e.g. Bhilni) and Gond (from Dandakvan area), and extracted references to these tribes from different chapters of Ramayana, along with their geographic locations. Then they, particularly Dr. Gyaneshwar Chaubey, scanned hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms among these three ancient tribes, and also compared the results with their neighboring populations and other world populations.

            The analysis, conducted using various statistical methods/tools, suggested that:

·      These tribes have been living in India for last more than 12000 years and there are no evidences of any gene inflow.

·      The genetic structuring of these ancient tribes is largely similar to their contemporary tribal and caste populations, suggesting genetic continuity of Indian population for more than 10000 years.

·      Further, extent of genetic component sharing among different populations reflected their similarity with other Indian populations establishing that these were primarily founded over indigenous component, having continuity since last over ten thousand years. 

            The team has also concluded that all Indians from North or from South, irrespective of their caste and tribal affiliations, share a common genetic ancestry, which is undoubtedly founded over the indigenous ASI component.

Title: Genetic affinity of the Bhil, Kol and Gond mentioned in epic Ramayana

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127655,

Posted by Saroj Bala at 12:25 PM 2 comments: 

Labels: Genetic Studies, Ramayan

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

RAMAYANA AND GENOME STUDIES

Sky views, generated through Planetarium software, of planetary references in Valmiki Ramayana relate sequentially to the period around 5100 BC i.e. 7000 BP. There is some very interesting corroboration through DNA studies.

Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram s/o Raja Dashrath, belonged to Surya Vansh and he was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. Most of the names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed in Vishnu Purana (Chaturth Ansha, Chapter 5), Srimad Bhagwat Purana (Navam Skandha, Chapter 13), Valmiki Ramayan (Baal Kaand, Sarga 70-71).

Manu was the first king, Iksavaku second, Harishchandra was 33^rd ruler, whereas Sagar was 40^th and Bhagirath was 44^th ruler of Suryavansha. There are also names of 62 successors of Lord Ram listed in these ancient books. Thus the dates of Suryavanshi rulers get pushed back by around 2000 years i.e. to 9000 BP. It is obvious that it would have taken at least 2000 years for the civilization to develop practices relating to agriculture and irrigation, trade and industry, navigation and shipping, urban planning and civil administration; leading to formation of large kingdoms and the institution of kingship. It would have taken a few thousand years, after the beginning of the Nutan Yug, for the evolving society to attain the level of intellectual, philosophical, cultural and scientific activity as is evident from the contents of Vedas and Ramayan.

Almost all the major Genome studies carried out for the Holocene (nutan yug) period, including those carried out by Kenneth A. R. Kennedy and Cavalli-Sfroza, have revealed an amazing correlation of the genealogy with the genetic profile of humans settled in Indian Subcontinent since the Holocene (about 11000 years). These have also corroborated the development of civilization revealed through Vedas and Epics. Almost all the Genome studies have concluded that genetic profile of people of the Indian subcontinent has remained the same for last more than 55000 years. For last 11000 years, this genetic profile is of culturally developing people who had started speaking a structured language and were taking cooked food. It has also been concluded that the Dravidians as well as north Indians have common ancestors and both are originals of India, have common genetic profile and had common ancestors.

A very interesting study was recently conducted by Dr. Gyaneshwar Chaubey of Estonian Biocentre. He scanned genepool of three most ancient tribes mentioned in Ramayana, i.e. Kol (e.g. Guh nishad), Bhil (e.g. Bhilni) and Gond, and compared the results with their neighboring populations and other world populations. It was concluded that the genepool of these tribes was primarily founded over indigenous component, having continuity for last over ten thousand years. Is it not a most emphatic rejection of Aryan Invasion theory, and corroboration of astronomical dates of Ramayana references?

  

Suggested Readings

1. 

Saroj Bala and Kulbhushan Mishra. 2012. Historicity of Vedic and Ramayan Eras: Scientific Evidences from the Depths of Oceans to the Heights of Skies. Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas. Abridged editions also available in English and Hindi.

2. Cavalli-Sforza LL, Feldman MW (2003) The application of molecular genetic approaches to the study of human evolution. Nat Genet 33 Suppl: 266-275.

3. Chaubey G, Metspalu M, Kivisild T, Villems R (2007) Peopling of South Asia: investigating the caste-tribe continuum in India. Bioessays 29: 91-100.

(http://hdl.handle.net/10062/15240)

4. Chaubey G The demographic history of India: A perspective based on genetic evidence (http://hdl.handle.net/10062/15240). PhD. Universitatis Tartuensis, Evolutionary Biology;(2010)

5. Kazanas N (1999) The Rigveda and Indo-Europeans. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

6. Tiwari SK Tribal roots of Hinduism. Sarup & Sons; (2002)

7. Kapil Kapoor and Sheshagiri Rao, Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Vols. I and XI) India Heritage Research Foundation-USA

8. Rajaram N.S. and David Frawley, The Vedic"Aryans" and the origins of civilization : a literary and scientific perspective: World Heritage Press.

Posted by Saroj Bala at 8:01 PM 

http://sarojbala.blogspot.in/search/label/Ramayan

The government’s economists must represent India. NaMo,don't recruit NRIs for high-profile bureaucrat.jobs.

July 19, 2016, 8:41 pm

≫ Next: koḍiya ‘young bull’ with 'single horn' rebus koṭiya on Indus Script signifies eka-shingi, 'a dhow, single-masted seafaring vessel'

≪ Previous: रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः Rama personifiedf dharma Evidences for abiding memory across space and time of Ramayana on sculptures, inscriptions

$

0

0

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-the-government-s-economists-must-represent-india-2236165

The government’s economists must represent India

ARVIND KUMAR | Wed, 20 Jul 2016-08:05am , Mumbai , dna

Historically, international economic institutions have worked against India while helping the cause of Europe and America

The government’s economists must not make the country subservient to any international system, but must facilitate the Indian ethos of saving money and working in a decentralized manner. Historically, international economic institutions have worked to the detriment of India while benefiting Europe and America. Now that the economies of USA and European countries are in a shambles, they want a new system so that Indian resources can be used to bail out their economies. The advocates of such a new system have articulated their objectives which will be destructive for India. According to their proposals, a new regulatory authority controlled by Americans and Europeans will control all banks in the world. Going by the name of Basel III, their measures will purportedly save banks from failure by applying economic theories taught at American universities.

Another plan is to impose negative interest rates, which is another way of saying that they will periodically deduct money from the savings accounts of depositors. It will not be possible to escape this system by withdrawing money from the bank because this system will be accompanied by what they call cashless currency, forcing everyone to use banks for all transactions.

The Western system is based on consumption and centralisation of financial power in the government and a few corporations resulting in one economic crisis after another. The seeming prosperity in the West is actually an illusion. While the American government freely prints the US dollar and hands it out to its citizens, people in Asia, Africa and Latin America work hard and create goods and services to earn small amounts of the same global reserve currency.

Americans who benefit through welfare schemes for corporations such as periodic bailouts and contracts from the World Bank swear by capitalism, while those who get freebies in the form of grants given to non-profit organisations, universities and other self proclaimed do-gooders swear by socialism. America also enables the socialism of Europe by supporting their currency, sharing the spoils of wars and sending them global contracts.

To understand how easy the West has it, one only has to imagine the Rupee as the global reserve currency with the Indian government freely handing it out to Indian citizens while Americans and Europeans working hard to produce goods and services for Indians in order to earn a few rupees.

Clearly, both capitalism and socialism which are extolled by the West are unsustainable as both these systems depend on owning the printing press of the global reserve currency. The disparity caused by the current set-up exists not only at the international level, but also within USA. For example, the bar to become a humanities professor at top ranked universities is extremely low for white people who thus have easy access to free money.

Blacks are shut out and any welfare payments made to them does not go beyond partial payments for their basic needs.

In the recent past, economists at NITI Aayog have recommended opening up India to foreign universities and modifying laws so that American corporations are granted more patent privileges. Patent laws are another manifestation of corporate welfare schemes and unfairly help American corporations become monopolies without having to face competition in the markets. NITI Aayog’s recommendations perpetuate the existing system of the West leeching off the rest of the world and their advice must be rejected along with all global economic systems.

koḍiya ‘young bull’ with 'single horn' rebus koṭiya on Indus Script signifies eka-shingi, 'a dhow, single-masted seafaring vessel'

August 12, 2016, 7:09 am

≫ Next: Mohenjodaro movie review -- Mumbai Mirror, Open letter on next movie Codex Sarasvati to Gowariker from SRC

≪ Previous: The government’s economists must represent India. NaMo,don't recruit NRIs for high-profile bureaucrat.jobs.

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jtxchka

Dilmun seals, Magan boats and Indus Script show eka-shingi 'dhow, single masted' seafaring vessels

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/07/pattamara-kotiya-sangada-bagala-types.html 

paṭṭamara, koṭiya, sangaDa, bagala types of 'seafaring dhow' signified on Indus Script inscriptions

A cargo carrier on the Ganga (After Fig. 27 in James Harnell, 1920, The origins and ethnological significance of Indian boat designs, Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal

Amaravati ca. 199 BCE. Stupa casing slab. Purnaghata or Kumbha.

Hieroglyph: kumbha 'waterpot' Rebus: 'mast': kūpa2, °aka -- m. ʻ mooring post, mast ʼ lex. [← Drav. (Tam. kūmpu ʻ mast, cone -- shaped pinnacle of chariot ʼ, Mal. kūmpu ʻ mast, pointed heap ʼ, Tu. kū˘vè ʻ mast ʼ) T. Burrow BSOAS xi 135, xii 375. Prob. therefore to be separated from kūˊpa -- 1: nevertheless for semantic development, ʻ pit ~ heap ~ post ʼ see kūˊpya -- , *khaḍa -- 2, khātra -- , mēthí -- , skambhá -- and esp. kūpaka -- ʻ funeral pyre, hole under it ʼ lex.] Pa. kūpa -- , °aka -- m. ʻ mast of a boat ʼ, Pk. kūva -- , °aya<-> m., G. kuvɔ m. -- X stambha -- or skambhá -- : Pa. kumbhaka -- n. ʻ mast of a boat ʼ, Si. kum̆baya rather than directly ← Tam. kūmpu. *kūpakastambha -- .Addenda: kūpa -- 2: Md. kun̆bu ʻ mast ʼ.(CDIAL 3401)

koḍiya ‘young bull’ which is signified on hundreds of Indus inscriptions is often orthographed with a single horn. Is this orthography any way related to eka-sringa narratives of the Great Epics and the heritage of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization?

This monograph suggests a nautical -- of or concerning navigation, sailors, or the sea-- explanation recounting the maritime heritage of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization which evolved concomitant with the Bronze Age Revolution. The suggestion is based on the nautical technical expression eka-shingi which means 'a single-masted seafaring vessel'. 

The cognate literary expression ekasringa is used in the Mahabharata by Sri Krishna: “Having previously become the Unicorn Boar (Ekasringa Varaha), who increases joy, I upheld this world. Therefore I am called the Unicorn (Ekasringa)” (Mahabharata in Shanti Parva 343, Sloka 92).

The key function signified by the metaphoric expression is ‘upholding the world’. As Eka-Shingi‘one-masted sailing vessel’, the passenger & cargo vessel is a carrier to transport food and other essential requirements. Such a transport is narrated in Mahabharta, to cope with the famine conditions of the Kingdom of Anga by bringing Rishyasringa on a boat.

కోడియ (p. 326) kōḍiya Same as కోడె (p. 326) kōḍe kōḍe. [Tel.] n. A bullcalf. కోడెదూడ. A young bull. కాడిమరపదగినదూడ. Plumpness, prime. తరుణము. జోడుకోడయలు a pair of bullocks. కోడె adj. Young. కోడెత్రాచు a young snake, one in its prime. "కోడెనాగముం బలుగుల రేడుతన్ని కొని పోవుతెరంగు"రామా. vi. కోడెకాడు kōḍe-kāḍu. n. A young man. పడుచువాడు. கொட்டியம் koṭṭiyam
, n. prob. gōṣṭha. [M. koṭṭiyam.] 1. Bull, ox; எருது. (சூடா.) 2. Herd of pack-bullocks; பொதிமாட்டுத்திரள். (W.) கடாய்க்கன்று kaṭāy-k-kaṉṟu
, n. < கடாய்¹ +. Bull-calf; காளைக்கன்று. (யாப். வி. 3.)

 

koḍe, koḍiya‘young bull’ (Telugu) खोंड [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. Rebus: kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’ (B.) कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi) कोंडण [kōṇḍaṇa] f A fold or pen. (Marathi) Rebus: 

koṭiya 'dhow, seafaring vessel with one to four sail masts'. 

koḍiya ‘young bull’ on Indus Script inscriptions is an eka-shingi orthographed with 'a single horn' to signify a koṭiya as a 'single-masted seafaring vessel'. 

Thus, hieroglyph koḍiya ‘young bull’ rebus koṭiya on Indus inscriptions signifies a single-masted seafaring vessel.

Some artifacts and inscriptions show mamca'platform' as a semantic determinative rebus: manji'dhow, seafaring vessel'.

PathyA svastih are Rigvedic rica-s praying for the protection of seafaring navigators in RV X.63.15-16 by Rishi GAyah PlAtah (Text and translation below).

"All the universe rests within your nature, in the ocean, in the heart, in all life. (Rig Veda 4.58.11)  Bhujyu, son of Tugra, Rishi was king went on a war expedition; his ship was wrecked in a storm when Asvins in their hundred-oared galley rescue Bhujyu. (RV 1.116.3). Varuna knew the sea routes (RV 1.25.7), merchants navigated to foreign lands, frquent all parts of the ocean (RV  1.56.2) The fourth passage (VII. 88.3 and 4) Vasishtha and Varuna are on a voyage in a ship skillfully fitted out, with a prosperous swing(RV 7.88.3-4)." http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/seafaring-merchants-indus-script_22.html


Seals excavated from Bahrain and Failaka showing planked boats ca. 2000 BCE.  Two seals show boats with the head of an antelope on the stern. meDDa 'ram' rebus: meDho 'merchant' meD 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic)


Silver model of a boat from Ur ca. 2250 BCE.British Museum
http://www.worldhistory.biz/sundries/41718-the-third-millennium-bc.html



Scale model, Magan boat.  boats made of wood, reeds and bitumen sailed the waters of the Oman Sea and the Arabian Gulf carried cargo to and from Sarasvati-Sindhu river basins through Persian Gulf and Tigris-Euphrates doab. Opened up copper and metals trade during the Bronze Age Revolution of ca. 3000 BCE.
Al Baleed timber. Shows a stitched boat.
http://omanetlamer.fr/_en/exhibition_firstnav_en.html

Translation (Griffith):

RV X.63. 15 Vouchsafe us blessing in our paths and desert tracts, blessing in waters and in battle, for the light; Blessing upon the wombs that bring male children forth, and blessing, O ye Maruts, for the gain of wealth. 16 The noblest Svasti with abundant riches, who comes to what is good by distant pathway,- May she at home and far away preserve us, and dwell with us under the Gods' protection

See: http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/72148/12/12_chapter%204.pdf

Why was the narrative of Rishyas'ringa so intensely linked to the boat? 

I suggest that there was a pun on the expression 'eka sringa'. This technical expression signified eka-shingi which meant 'a single-masted boat'. 

Thus, the one-horned young bull as a signifier on scores of Indus Script inscriptions signifies a dhow, a single-masted sail boat. The Rishyas'ringa narrative of Mahabharata was a metaphor to refer to the eka-shingi 'single-masted boat' which had to bring in cargo of food grains and other essentials to cope with the famine in the Kingdom of Anga. 

Eka-shingi was a cargo boat. Rishyas'ringa was a brahmacharin who had yogic powers.

What is narrated in metaphorical terms in the Mahabharata gets related rebus in Indus Script inscriptions with one-horned young bull to signify koDiya rebus: koTiya 'dhow, seafaring, cargo vessel'.

Story of Rishyas'ringa on a boat, from Mahabharata

The story is a story of a boat sailing to the Kingdom of Anga with Rishyas'ringa as a passenger.

According to Vanaparvan of Mahabharat, there was an Ashram of Vibhandak Rishi in the area of Kaushiki Devnadi river. Kaushiki Devnadi river is identified as Kunwari or Kwari river, a tributary of Chambal river which joins Yamuna River downstream beyond Etawah District. The name of Bhind town is named after this great saint, Sage Vibhandaka, son of Kashyapa, who lived with his son Rishyasringa, 

Rishyasringa had not met any human being, man or woman, other than his own father.

There was a great famine in the Anga kingdom. 

Vidhura Pandita Jataka describes Rajagriha (the Magadhan Capital) as the city of Anga and Mahabharata also refers to a sacrifice performed by the king of Anga at Mount Vishnupada (at Gaya).

King of Anga was advised to bring Rishyasringa who has many yogic powers.

The king decided to send beautiful courtesans to entice the brahmachari. The musicians and dancers constructed a big boat. In that boat they made an artificial garden. In the center of that garden they built a hermitage resembling that in which Rishyasringa lived. The boat with the courtesans was brought through the river and anchored near hermitage.

The brahmachari surprised to see such divine-form in a courtesan who won the brahmacarin’s confidence.

As the boy’s father might return any time she took leave and returned to the boat.

When the father returned, Rishyasringa explained: “A brahmachari was here. I have never seen a more  beautiful figure in my life.

He had such a sweet voice! I was powerfully attracted towards the new comer. We had a great time”. 

Sage Vibhandaka, the father of Rishyasringa looked for the boat but it was not to be seen.

After a few days the boat came again. This time they should win him over. Thankfully it was easier than expected. The courtesan took young sage to her boat and before  the boy could gather his wits, the boat sailed to the kingdom of Anga.

koTiya manji 'masted dhow'

Uruk cylinder seal. A cylinder seal impression from a seal found at Uruk and likely dating to the late Uruk period. The seal shows a ruler with attendants in what is likely a bitumen-coated reed boat

Shows one-horned young bull on a boat, a phonetic determinant: koDiya 'young bull' rebus: koTiya 'dhow, seafaring vessel'. 

Semantic and phonetic determinant: koṭṭa 'fortified settlement', koṭiya ʻsailing vessel dhow'. The helmsman carries on his hand,  a stalk/twig, sprout (or tree branch) kūdī, kūṭī bunch of twigs (Sanskrit) Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelting furnace' (Santali). 

koṭṭhaya 'storeroom' shown atop the young bull is a phonetic determinant: koTiya 'youngbull' rebus: koTiya 'dhow, seafaring vessel'. The 

 

maṇḍa 

  'twig with leaves' carried by the helmsman is a semantic determinative of

 Rebus: 

maṇḍā 

  

 = warehouse, workshop; a synonym for koṭṭhaya signified by koDiya 'young bull'. 

kṓṣṭha2 n. ʻ pot ʼ Kauś., ʻ granary, storeroom ʼ MBh., ʻ inner apartment ʼ lex., °aka -- n. ʻ treasury ʼ, °ikā f. ʻ pan ʼ Bhpr. [Cf. *kōttha -- , *kōtthala -- : same as prec.?] Pa. koṭṭha -- n. ʻ monk's cell, storeroom ʼ, °aka<-> n. ʻ storeroom ʼ; Pk. koṭṭha -- , kuṭ°, koṭṭhaya -- m. ʻ granary, storeroom ʼ; Sv. dāntar -- kuṭha ʻ fire -- place ʼ; Sh. (Lor.) kōti (ṭh?) ʻ wooden vessel for mixing yeast ʼ; K. kōṭha m. ʻ granary ʼ, kuṭhu m. ʻ room ʼ, kuṭhü f. ʻ granary, storehouse ʼ; S. koṭho m. ʻ large room ʼ, °ṭhī f. ʻ storeroom ʼ; L. koṭhā m. ʻ hut, room, house ʼ, °ṭhī f. ʻ shop, brothel ʼ, awāṇ. koṭhā ʻ house ʼ; P. koṭṭhā, koṭhā m. ʻ house with mud roof and walls, granary ʼ, koṭṭhī, koṭhī f. ʻ big well -- built house, house for married women to prostitute themselves in ʼ; WPah. pāḍ. kuṭhīʻ house ʼ; Ku. koṭho ʻ large square house ʼ, gng. kōṭhi ʻ room, building ʼ; N. koṭho ʻ chamber ʼ, °ṭhi ʻ shop ʼ; A. koṭhā, kõṭhā ʻ room ʼ, kuṭhī ʻ factory ʼ; B. koṭhā ʻ brick -- built house ʼ, kuṭhī ʻ bank, granary ʼ; Or. koṭhā ʻ brick -- built house ʼ, °ṭhī ʻ factory, granary ʼ; Bi. koṭhī ʻ granary of straw or brushwood in the open ʼ; Mth. koṭhī ʻ grain -- chest ʼ; OAw. koṭha ʻ storeroom ʼ; H. koṭhā m. ʻ granary ʼ, °ṭhī f. ʻ granary, large house ʼ, Marw. koṭho m. ʻ room ʼ; G. koṭhɔ m. ʻ jar in which indigo is stored, warehouse ʼ, °ṭhī f. ʻ large earthen jar, factory ʼ; M. koṭhā m. ʻ large granary ʼ, °ṭhī f. ʻ granary, factory ʼ; Si. koṭa ʻ storehouse ʼ. -- Ext. with -- ḍa -- : K. kūṭhürü f. ʻ small room ʼ; L. koṭhṛī f. ʻ small side room ʼ; P. koṭhṛī f. ʻ room, house ʼ; Ku. koṭheṛī ʻ small room ʼ; H. koṭhrī f. ʻ room, granary ʼ; M. koṭhḍī f. ʻ room ʼ; -- with -- ra -- : A. kuṭharī ʻ chamber ʼ, B. kuṭhrī, Or. koṭhari; -- with -- lla -- : Sh. (Lor.) kotul (ṭh?) ʻ wattle and mud erection for storing grain ʼ; H. koṭhlā m., °lī f. ʻ room, granary ʼ; G. koṭhlɔ m. ʻ wooden box ʼ. kōṣṭhapāla -- , *kōṣṭharūpa -- , *kōṣṭhāṁśa -- , kōṣṭhāgāra -- ; *kajjalakōṣṭha -- , *duvārakōṣṭha -- , *dēvakōṣṭha -- , dvārakōṣṭhaka -- . Addenda: kṓṣṭha -- 2: WPah.kṭg. kóṭṭhi f. ʻ house, quarters, temple treasury, name of a partic. temple ʼ, J. koṭhā m. ʻ granary ʼ, koṭhī f. ʻ granary, bungalow ʼ; Garh. koṭhu ʻ house surrounded by a wall ʼ; Md. koḍi ʻ frame ʼ, <-> koři ʻ cage ʼ (X kōṭṭa -- ). -- with ext.: OP. koṭhārī f. ʻ crucible ʼ, P. kuṭhālī f., H. kuṭhārī f.; -- Md. koṭari ʻ room ʼ. kōṣṭhapāla m. ʻ storekeeper ʼ W. [kṓṣṭha -- 2, pāla -- ]M. koṭhvaḷā m.*kōṣṭharūpa ʻ like a room ʼ. [kṓṣṭha -- 2, rūpá -- ] B. kuṭru ʻ tent ʼ.  *kōṣṭhāṁśa ʻ share of store ʼ. [kṓṣṭha -- 2, áṁśa -- ] Pa. koṭṭhāsa -- m. ʻ share, portion ʼ, adj. ʻ divided into ʼ (ā felt as contraction of a -- a and preserved before ṁs; consequent āṁs > ās: cf. re -- establishment of prefix ā before MIA. double consonant, e.g. Pk. āṇavēdi < *āṇṇ° replacing aṇṇ -- < Sk. ājñ -- ); Si. koṭasa, kohoṭa ʻ share, part, piece ʼ. Pa. koṭṭhāgāra -- n. ʻ storehouse, granary ʼ; Pk. koṭṭhāgāra -- , koṭṭhāra -- n. ʻ storehouse ʼ; K. kuṭhār m. ʻ wooden granary ʼ, WPah. bhal. kóṭhār m.; A. B. kuṭharī ʻ apartment ʼ, Or. koṭhari; Aw. lakh. koṭhār ʻ zemindar's residence ʼ; H. kuṭhiyār ʻ granary ʼ; G. koṭhār m. ʻ granary, storehouse ʼ, koṭhāriyũ n. ʻ small do. ʼ; M. koṭhār n., koṭhārẽ n. ʻ large granary ʼ, -- °rī f. ʻ small one ʼ; Si. koṭāraʻ granary, store ʼ. kōṣṭhāgārika -- . Addenda: kōṣṭhāgāra -- : WPah.kṭg. kəṭhāˊr, kc. kuṭhār m. ʻ granary, storeroom ʼ, J. kuṭhār, kṭhār m.; -- Md. kořāru ʻ storehouse ʼ ← Ind. kōṣṭhāgārika m. ʻ storekeeper ʼ BHSk. [Cf. kōṣṭhā- gārin -- m. ʻ wasp ʼ Suśr.: kōṣṭhāgāra -- ]Pa. koṭṭhāgārika -- m. ʻ storekeeper ʼ; S. koṭhārī m. ʻ one who in a body of faqirs looks after the provision store ʼ; Or. koṭhārī ʻ treasurer ʼ; Bhoj. koṭhārī ʻ storekeeper ʼ, H. kuṭhiyārī m.

Addenda: kōṣṭhāgārika -- : G. koṭhārī m. ʻ storekeeper ʼ.(CDIAL 3536 to 3541)

Alternative:  మండ (p. 933) maṇḍa చెట్టుకొమ్మ. A small branch, ఉపశాఖ.  

maṇḍa 

  

 = a branch; a twig; a twig with leaves on it (Telugu) Rebus: 

maṇḍā 

  

 = warehouse, workshop (Konkani)

maṇḍa6 ʻ some sort of framework (?) ʼ. [In nau -- maṇḍḗ n. du. ʻ the two sets of poles rising from the thwarts or the two bamboo covers of a boat (?) ʼ ŚBr. (as illustrated in BPL p. 42); and in BHSk. and Pa. bōdhi -- maṇḍa -- n. perh. ʻ thatched cover ʼ rather than ʻ raised platform ʼ (BHS ii 402). If so, it may belong to maṇḍapá -- and maṭha -- ] Ku. mã̄ṛā m. pl. ʻ shed, resthouse ʼ (if not < *mã̄ṛhā < *maṇḍhaka -- s.v. maṇḍapá -- ).(CDIAL 9737) maṇḍapa m.n. ʻ open temporary shed, pavilion ʼ Hariv., °pikā -- f. ʻ small pavilion, customs house ʼ Kād. 2. maṇṭapa -- m.n. lex. 3. *maṇḍhaka -- . [Variation of ṇḍ with ṇṭsupports supposition of non -- Aryan origin in Wackernagel AiGr ii 2, 212: see EWA ii 557. -- Prob. of same origin as maṭha -- 1 and maṇḍa -- 6 with which NIA. words largely collide in meaning and form] 1. Pa. maṇḍapa -- m. ʻ temporary shed for festive occasions ʼ; Pk. maṁḍava -- m. ʻ temporary erection, booth covered with creepers ʼ, °viā -- f. ʻ small do. ʼ; Phal. maṇḍau m. ʻ wooden gallery outside a house ʼ; K. manḍav m. ʻ a kind of house found in forest villages ʼ; S. manahũ m. ʻ shed, thatched roof ʼ; Ku. mãṛyā, manyā ʻ resthouse ʼ; N. kāṭhmã̄ṛau ʻ the city of Kathmandu ʼ (kāṭh -- <kāṣṭhá -- ); Or. maṇḍuā̆ ʻ raised and shaded pavilion ʼ, paṭā -- maṇḍoi ʻ pavilion laid over with planks below roof ʼ, muṇḍoi, °ḍei ʻ raised unroofed platform ʼ; Bi. mã̄ṛo ʻ roof of betel plantation ʼ,mãṛuā, maṛ°, malwā ʻ lean -- to thatch against a wall ʼ, maṛaī ʻ watcher's shed on ground without platform ʼ; Mth. māṛab ʻ roof of betel plantation ʼ, maṛwā ʻ open erection in courtyard for festive occasions ʼ; OAw. māṁḍava m. ʻ wedding canopy ʼ; H. mãṛwā m., °wī 

f., maṇḍwā m., °wī f. ʻ arbour, temporary erection, pavilion ʼ, OMarw. maṁḍavo, māḍhivo m.; G. mã̄ḍav m. ʻ thatched open shed ʼ, mã̄ḍvɔ m. ʻ booth ʼ, mã̄ḍvī f. ʻ slightly raised platform before door of a house, customs house ʼ, mã̄ḍaviyɔ m. ʻ member of bride's party ʼ; M. mã̄ḍav m. ʻ pavilion for festivals ʼ, mã̄ḍvī f. ʻ small canopy over an idol ʼ; Si. maḍu -- va ʻ hut ʼ, maḍa ʻ open hall ʼ SigGr ii 452. 2. Ko. māṁṭav ʻ open pavilion ʼ. 3. H. mã̄ḍhā, māṛhā, mãḍhā m. ʻ temporary shed, arbour ʼ (cf. OMarw. māḍhivo in 1); -- Ku. mã̄ṛā m.pl. ʻ shed, resthouse ʼ (or < maṇḍa -- 6?]*chāyāmaṇḍapa -- .(CDIAL 9740)

 mācī ʻ posts rising from the body of a cart ʼ (Bihari)(CDIAL 9715) rebus: manji 'masted seafaring vessel'. The single horn on the young bull signifies eka-shingi koTiya, 'single masted' seafaring vessel. Together with he platform shown atop the young bull, the reading is: manji koTiya 'single-masted dhow, seafaring vessel'. dhow < dhAv (Arabic) signifies the cargo: dhAu 'mineral'.

dhatu 'scarf' rebus: dhatu ' Atop the one-horned young bull a manji 'platform' is shown with two flags unfurled. The flags are eruvai 'reed' rebus: eruvai 'copper' PLUS dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' PLUS dhatu 'scarf' rebus: dhatu 'mineral'. thus, the seafaring vessel koTiya carries the cargo of copper mineral with sailors and helmsman kAraNika 'spread legs' rebus: karNahAra 'helmsman' karNI 'supercargo'. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/07/dhau-red-minerals-cargo-on-dawa-dhows.html The hieroglyphs on the stern: kolmo 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge' dala 'leaf' rebus: dhALa 'large oxhide ingot'.

కమ్మటము (p. 247) kammaṭamu Same as కమటము. కమ్మటీడు kammaṭīḍu. [Tel.] A man of the goldsmith caste. கம்பட்டக்காரன் kampaṭṭa-k-kāraṉ , n. < கம்பட்டம் +. Coiner; நாணயம்செய்வோன். (W.) கம்பட்டக்கூடம் kampaṭṭa-k-kūṭam , n. < id. +. Mint; நாணயசாலை. (W.)கம்பட்டம் kampaṭṭam, n. [K. kammaṭa, M. kammṭṭam.] Coinage, coin; நாணயம். (W.)கம்பட்டமுளை -muḷai, n. < id. +. Die, coining stamp; நாணயமுத்திரை. (W.)

kamaṭha m. ʻ bamboo ʼ lex. 2. *kāmaṭha -- . 3. *kāmāṭṭha -- . 4. *kammaṭha -- . 5. *kammaṭṭha -- . 6. *kambāṭha -- . 7. *kambiṭṭha -- . [Cf. kambi -- ʻ shoot of bamboo ʼ,kārmuka -- 2 n. ʻ bow ʼ Mn., ʻ bamboo ʼ lex. which may therefore belong here rather than to kr̥múka -- . Certainly ← Austro -- as. PMWS 33 with lit. -- See kāca -- 3]1. Pk. kamaḍha -- , °aya -- m. ʻ bamboo ʼ; Bhoj. kōro ʻ bamboo poles ʼ.2. N. kāmro ʻ bamboo, lath, piece of wood ʼ, OAw. kāṁvari ʻ bamboo pole with slings at each end for carrying things ʼ, H. kã̄waṛ, °ar, kāwaṛ,
 °ar f., G. kāvaṛ f., M. kāvaḍ f.; -- deriv. Pk. kāvaḍia -- ,kavvāḍia -- m. ʻ one who carries a yoke ʼ, H. kã̄waṛī, °ṛiyā m., G. kāvaṛiyɔ m.3. S. kāvāṭhī f. ʻ carrying pole ʼ, kāvāṭhyo m. ʻ the man who carries it ʼ.4. Or. kāmaṛā, °muṛā ʻ rafters of a thatched house ʼ; G. kāmṛũ n., °ṛī f. ʻ chip of bamboo ʼ, kāmaṛ -- koṭiyũ n. ʻ bamboo hut ʼ.5. B. kāmṭhā ʻ bow ʼ, G. kāmṭhũ n., °ṭhī f. ʻ bow ʼ; M. kamṭhā, °ṭā m. ʻ bow of bamboo or horn ʼ; -- deriv. G. kāmṭhiyɔ m. ʻ archer ʼ.6. A. kabāri ʻ flat piece of bamboo used in smoothing an earthen image ʼ.7. M. kã̄bīṭ, °baṭ, °bṭī, kāmīṭ, °maṭ, °mṭī, kāmṭhī,
kāmāṭhī f. ʻ split piece of bamboo &c., lath ʼ.(CDIAL 2760)

bhr̥ta ʻ carried, brought ʼ MBh. 2. ʻ hired, paid ʼ Mn., m. ʻ hireling, mercenary ʼ Yājñ.com., bhr̥taka -- m. ʻ hired servant ʼ Mn.: > MIA. bhaṭa -- m. ʻ hired soldier, servant ʼ MBh. [√bhr̥]
1. Ash. 3 sg. pret. bəṛə, f. °ṛī ʻ brought ʼ, Kt. bŕå; Gaw. (LSI) bṛoet ʻ they begin ʼ.
2. Pa. bhata -- ʻ supported, fed ʼ, bhataka -- m. ʻ hired servant ʼ, bhaṭa -- m. ʻ hireling, servant, soldier ʼ; Aś.shah. man. kāl. bhaṭa -- ʻ hired servant ʼ, kāl. bhaṭaka -- , gir. bhata -- , bhataka -- ; Pk.bhayaga -- m. ʻ servant ʼ, bhaḍa -- m. ʻ soldier ʼ, bhaḍaa -- m. ʻ member of a non -- Aryan tribe ʼ; Paš. buṛīˊ ʻ servant maid ʼ IIFL iii 3, 38; S. bhaṛu ʻ clever, proficient ʼ, m. ʻ an adept ʼ; Ku. bhaṛ m. ʻ hero, brave man ʼ, gng. adj. ʻ mighty ʼ; B. bhaṛ ʻ soldier, servant, nom. prop. ʼ, bhaṛil ʻ servant, hero ʼ; Bhoj. bhar ʻ name of a partic. low caste ʼ; G. bhaṛ m. ʻ warrior, hero, opulent person ʼ, adj. ʻ strong, opulent ʼ, ubhaṛ m. ʻ landless worker ʼ (G. cmpd. with u -- , ʻ without ʼ, i.e. ʻ one without servants ʼ?); Si. beḷē ʻ soldier ʼ < *baḷaya, st. baḷa -- ; -- Pk. bhuaga -- m. ʻ worshipper in a temple ʼ, G. bhuvɔ m. (rather than < bhūdēva -- ).*bhārta -- ; abhr̥ta -- ; subhaṭa -- .Addenda: bhr̥ta -- : S.kcch. bhaṛ ʻ brave ʼ; Garh. (Śrīnagrī dial.) bhɔṛ, (Salānī dial.) bheṛ ʻ warrior ʼ.*bhr̥takarman ʻ soldier -- work ʼ. [bhr̥ta -- , kárman -- 1]Si. baḷām ʻ warfare ʼ.*bhr̥tagātu ʻ hero song ʼ. [bhr̥ta -- , gātú -- 2]Ku. bhaṛau ʻ song about the prowess of ancient heroes ʼ.(CDIAL 9588 to 9590)

mañca m. ʻ stage, platform ʼ MBh., ʻ bed ʼ Divyāv., mañcaka -- m.n. ʻ stage ʼ MBh., ʻ bed ʼ Kathās., mañcikā -- f. ʻ trough on legs ʼ Suśr. [√mac?] Pa. mañca -- , °aka -- m. ʻ bed ʼ; Pk. maṁca -- m. ʻ platform ʼ, °cī -- f. ʻ bed ʼ; Paš.gul. mánǰū ʻ bed ʼ; K. manzulu m. ʻ child's swinging cot ʼ; S. mañjo m. ʻ poor bed ʼ, °jī f. ʻ low stool ʼ; L. mañjām., °jī f. ʻ bed, cot ʼ, awāṇ. mañjī, P. mañjā, mañjolā m., WPah.bhal. manj̈o m., pāḍ. manzā, paṅ. cur. mañjā; Ku. mã̄co m. ʻ platform ʼ; N. mã̄c ʻ platform to keep fodder on ʼ; A. māsiyā ʻ chair ʼ; B.mācā ʻ platform, scaffolding ʼ; Or. mañcā ʻ platform ʼ, (Sambhalpur) macā ʻ scaffolding inside a thatched house ʼ; Bi. mã̄c ʻ mason's scaffolding ʼ, mācī ʻ posts rising from the body of a cart ʼ, maciyā, macolā ʻ four -- legged wooden stool ʼ; Mth. mācī, maciā ʻ seat ʼ; Bhoj. mã̄c ʻ watchman's platform ʼ, mãciyā ʻ raised platform, chair ʼ; H. mã̄cā m. ʻ watchman's platform, bed ʼ, °cī f. ʻ four -- legged stool ʼ, mãjā m. ʻ bed ʼ (← P.); G. mã̄cī f. ʻ stool ʼ, mã̄cṛɔ m. ʻ platform ʼ; M. māċ m. ʻ platform ʼ, māċā m. ʻ bed ʼ, Ko. mã̄nċo; Si. mässa, pl. mähi ʻ platform on posts, watch hut in rice fields ʼ < mañcikā -- .*ghaṭamañca -- , *phalakamañca -- .Addenda: mañca -- : WPah.kṭg. manj̈ɔ m. ʻ cot, bedstead ʼ, J. mã̄jā m.(CDIAL 9715) Ta. maccu terraced roof, flat roof, wainscot ceiling, upper story, board partition for the gable of a room, or boarded enclosure of an upper room, loft under the roof of a house. Ma. maccu boarded ceiling, upper story; macc-akam house or room with boarded ceilings. Ka. maccu upper story. Koḍ. macci ceiling. Te. maccu terrace; masela loft in a house. / Possibly < IA; cf. Turner,CDIAL, no. 9715, mañca- stage, platform. (DEDR 4631)

மஞ்சி² mañci, n. 1. cf. mañca. [M. mañji.] Cargo boat with a raised platform; படகு. (W.)

Sailing boat (Mohenjodaro Polished painting, 3000 BCE, National Museum, New Delhi)

Single-masted sailing vessel is called Eka Shingi. Manji was an eka shingi. Kothaya, Kotiya, Kothia was a dvi-shingi. It is possiblethat kothaya was a single-masted seafaring vessel of the Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization.

Eka Shingi: A Sanskrit work titled Abdhiyana referred to by the late K.V. Vaze in one of his offprints ‘Naukashastra’ – Science of navigation - states four methods of propelling ships. One, by means of a long pole – naukadandah -, second by oars, third by oars fixed on a wheel with a handle – chakrani putabhedah – and the fourth by a sort of wooden screw coming out of the water – bhrama jalanirgamah. According to Vaze propulsion by means of a wheel with oars fixed on it is practised on the Ganga. Propulsion by a sort of wooden screw i.e. a bhrama is really remarkable. Unfortunately nothing is known about the date and the author of the Abdhiyana. The Abdhiyana recommends that a ship should have one to four masts (eka shringa one mast, chatuh shringa four masts), and their ends should have a metal covering.(BK Apte, 1973, A history of the Maratha navy and merchantships, State Board for Literature and Culture, Govt. Central Press, Bombay,58)

One of the 'Rosetta stones' identified to validate Indus Script decipherment is the spinner lady on a bitumen mastic of neo-elamite period. See:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/07/rosetta-stones-for-deciphered-indus.html
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/05/spinner-bas-relief-of-susa-8th-c-bce.html "Hieroglyphs of a spinner bas-relief fragment from Susa dated to 8th cent. BCE (now in Louvre Museum) are identified. The Elamite lady spinner bas-relief is a composition of hieroglyphs depicting a guild of wheelwrights or ‘smithy of nations’ (harosheth hagoyim). The hieroglyphs are read rebus using lexemes of Indian sprachbund given the archeological evidence of Meluhha settlers in Susa."

H. 9 cm. W. 13 cm. Bituminous stone, a matte, black sedimentary rock. With her arms full of bracelets, the spinner holding a spindle is seated on a stool with tiger-paw legs. Elegantly coiffed, her hair is pulled back in a bun and held in place with a headscarf crossed around her head. Behind the spinner is an attendant holding a square wickerwork(?) fan. In front is a table with tiger-paw legs, a fish with six bun ingots. Susa. Neo-elamite period. 8th to 6th century BCE. The bas-relief was first cited in J, de Morgan's Memoires de la Delegation en Perse, 1900, vol. i. plate xi Ernest Leroux. Paris. Current location: Louvre Museum Sb2834 Near Eastern antiquities, Richelieu, ground floor, room 11.

Reviewing eight volumes of Délégation en Perse, Memories publiès sous la direction de M. J. de Morgan, délégué-général (quarto, Leroux, editeur, Paris) and noting that a ninth volume was in print (1905), Ernst Babelon offers the following comments on the ‘bas-relief of the spinner’ of the Elamite Period (3400 - 550 BCE): “Again Chaldæan in origin, although of far later date, is a small diorite fragment of bas-relief called the bas-relief of the Spinner. It represents a woman sitting on a stool, her legs crossed and feet behind in the tailor's attitude. She is holding her spindle with both hands; in front of her is a fish lying on a table, and behind her a slave is waving the fly-flap.The round chubby faces of the figures recall the bas-reliefs of Khorsabad, which represent the eunuchs of the Ninevite palace.” (Ernst Babelon, 1906, Archaeological discoveries at Susa, in: Encyclopaedia Iranica.) http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Archaeology/susa.htm

Porada refers to the bas-relief as from the neo-Elamite period and notes, from the details of dress and jewelry, of hair style and furniture found on the relief: “One would like to conclude from this that the Elamites were principally metal-workers who favoured more than other techniques that of modeling in wax in preparation for casting.” (Edith Porada, with the collaboration of RH Dyson and contributions by C K Wilkinson, The art of elamites http://www.iranchamber.com/art/articles/art_of_elamites.php )

Elamites used bitumen, a naturally occurring mineral pitch, or asphalt, for vessels, sculpture, glue, caulking, and waterproofing. Characteristic artifacts of Susa of 2nd millennium are of bitumen compound (containing ground-up calcite and quartz grains). Bitumen is naturally available around Susa and in Khuzistan. (Connan, I. and Deschesne, O. 1996. Le Bitume d Suse: Collection du Musee du Louvre. Paris: Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 228-337.) While discounting the possibility of Chaldæan origin, it is possible that the bas-relief was made at Susa by bronze-age settlers in Susa using the locally available bitumen.

The fish on a stool in front of the spinner with head-wrap can be read rebus for key hieroglyphs:

Hieroglyph: small ball: *gōṭṭa ʻ something round ʼ. [Cf. guḍá -- 1. -- In sense ʻ fruit, kernel ʼ cert. ← Drav., cf. Tam. koṭṭai ʻ nut, kernel ʼ, Kan. goṟaṭe &c. listed DED 1722]K. goṭh f., dat. °ṭi f. ʻ chequer or chess or dice board ʼ; S. g̠oṭu m. ʻ large ball of tobacco ready for hookah ʼ, °ṭī f. ʻ small do. ʼ; P. goṭ f. ʻ spool on which gold or silver wire is wound, piece on a chequer board ʼ; N. goṭo ʻ piece ʼ, goṭi ʻ chess piece ʼ; A. goṭ ʻ a fruit, whole piece ʼ, °ṭā ʻ globular, solid ʼ, guṭi ʻ small ball, seed, kernel ʼ; B. goṭā ʻ seed, bean, whole ʼ; Or. goṭā ʻ whole, undivided ʼ, goṭi ʻ small ball, cocoon ʼ, goṭāli ʻ small round piece of chalk ʼ; Bi. goṭā ʻ seed ʼ; Mth. goṭa ʻ numerative particle ʼ; H. goṭ f. ʻ piece (at chess &c.) ʼ; G. goṭ m. ʻ cloud of smoke ʼ, °ṭɔm. ʻ kernel of coconut, nosegay ʼ, °ṭī f. ʻ lump of silver, clot of blood ʼ, °ṭilɔ m. ʻ hard ball of cloth ʼ; M. goṭā m. ʻ roundish stone ʼ, °ṭī f. ʻ a marble ʼ, goṭuḷā ʻ spherical ʼ; Si. guṭiya ʻ lump, ball ʼ; -- prob. also P. goṭṭā ʻ gold or silver lace ʼ, H. goṭā m. ʻ edging of such ʼ (→ K. goṭa m. ʻ edging of gold braid ʼ, S. goṭo m. ʻ gold or silver lace ʼ); M. goṭ ʻ hem of a garment, metal wristlet ʼ.*gōḍḍ -- ʻ dig ʼ see *khōdd -- .Addenda: *gōṭṭa -- : also Ko. gōṭu ʻ silver or gold braid ʼ.(CDIAL 4271) Rebus:  L. khoṭ f. ʻ alloyʼ,°ṭā ʻ alloyed ʼ, awāṇ. khoṭā ʻ forged ʼ; P. khoṭ m. ʻ base, alloy ʼG. khoṭũ ʻ alloyedʼ; M. khoṭā ʻ alloyed ʼ(CDIAL 3931)

The stool on which the hieroglyph hypertext of fish PLUS fin is a platform: maṁca -- m. ʻ platform ʼ (Prakram) rebus:manji 'seafaring sail vessel'. 

The tiger paws on the legs of the platform makes it kola manji or kola machava, i.e. a manji 'seafaring vessel' carrying the cargo of kol 'iron work'.

khuṭo ʻleg, footʼ. khũṭ ‘community, guild’ (Santali)

kāti ‘spinner’ rebus: ‘wheelwright.’ 

vēṭha’head-wrap’. Rebus: veṭa , veṭha, veṇṭhe ‘a small territorial unit’.

sāi kol ayas kāṇḍa baṭa ‘friend+tiger+fish+stool+six’ rebus: association (of) iron-workers’ metal stone ore kiln. 

The Elamite lady spinner bas-relief is a composition of hieroglyphs depicting a guild of wheelwrights or ‘smithy of nations’ (harosheth hagoyim).

khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus:kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'.

1. Six bun ingots. bhaṭa ‘six’ (Gujarati). Rebus: bhaṭa ‘furnace’ (Gujarati.Santali) 

2. ayo ‘fish’ (Munda). Rebus: ayas ‘metal’ (Sanskrit) aya ‘metal’ (Gujarati)

3. kātī ‘spinner’ (G.) kātī ‘woman who spins thread’ (Hindi). Rebus: khātī ‘wheelwright’ (Hindi). kāṭi = fireplace in the form of a long ditch (Ta.Skt.Vedic) kāṭya = being in a hole (VS. XVI.37); kāṭ a hole, depth (RV. i. 106.6) khāḍ a ditch, a trench; khāḍ o khaiyo several pits and ditches (G.) khaṇḍrun: ‘pit (furnace)’ (Santali) kaḍaio ‘turner’ (Gujarati) 

4. kola ‘woman’ (Nahali). Rebus: kolami ‘smithy’ (Te.) 

5. Tiger’s paws. kola ‘tiger’ (Telugu); kola ‘tiger, jackal’ (Kon.). Rebus: kol ‘working in iron’ (Tamil) Glyph: ‘hoof’: Kumaon. khuṭo ʻleg, footʼ, °ṭī ʻgoat's legʼ; Nepalese. khuṭo ʻleg, footʼ(CDIAL 3894). S. khuṛī f. ʻheelʼ; WPah. paṅ. khūṛ ʻfootʼ. (CDIAL 3906). Rebus: khũṭ ‘community, guild’ (Santali) 

6. Kur. kaṇḍō a stool. Malt. kanḍo stool, seat. (DEDR 1179) Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar, furnace’ (Santali) kāṇḍa ’stone ore’.

7. meḍhi, miḍhī, meṇḍhī = a plait in a woman’s hair; a plaited or twisted strand of hair (P.) Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) 

8. ‘scarf’ glyph: dhaṭu m. (also dhaṭhu) m. ‘scarf’ (Wpah.) (CDIAL 6707) Rebus: dhatu ‘minerals’ (Santali)

9. Glyph 'friend': Assamese. xaï ʻfriendʼ, xaiyā ʻpartner in a gameʼ; Sinhala. saha ʻfriendʼ (< nom. sákhā or < sahāya -- ?). sákhi (nom. sg. sákhā) m. ʻfriendʼ RigVeda. 2. sakhī -- f. ʻwoman's confidanteʼ (Sanskrit), ʻa mistressʼ VarBrS. 1. Pali. sakhā nom. sg. m. ʻfriendʼ, Prakrit. sahi -- m.; Nepalese. saiyã̄ ʻlover, paramour, friendʼ (or < svāmín -- ); 2. Pali. sakhī -- , sakhikā -- f. ʻwoman's female friendʼ, Prakrit. sahī -- , °hiā -- f., Bengali. sai, Oriya. sahi, saï, Hindi. poet. saïyo f., Gujarati. saï f., Marathi. say, saī f. -- Ext. -- ḍ -- : OldMarwari. sahalaṛī f. ʻwoman's female friend’; -- -- r -- : Gujarati. sahiyar, saiyar f.; -- -- ll -- (cf. sakhila -- ): Sindhi. Lahnda. Punjabi. sahelī f. woman's female friendʼ, N. saheli, B. saylā, OAw. sahelī f.; H. sahelī f. ʻ id., maidservant, concubineʼ; OldMarwari. sahalī, sahelī ʻwoman's female friendʼ, OldGujarati. sahīlī f., Marathi. sahelī f. (CDIAL 13074). Apabhramśa. sāhi 'master'-- m.; Gypsy. pal. saúi ʻ owner, master ʼ, Sindhi. sã̄ī˜ m., Lahnda. sã̄i, mult. (as term of address) sāi; Punjabi. sāī˜, sāīyã̄ m. ʻmaster, husbandʼ; Nepalese. saiyã̄ ʻlover, paramour, friendʼ (or < sákhi -- ); Bengali. sã̄i ʻmasterʼ, (used by boys in play) cã̄i; Oriya. sāĩ ʻlord, king, deityʼ; Maithili. (ETirhut) saĩẽ ʻhusband (among lower classes)ʼ, (SBhagalpur) sã̄ĩ ʻhusband (as addressed by wife)ʼ; Bhojpuri. sāī˜ ʻGodʼ; OldAwadhi. sāīṁ m. ʻlord, master , lakh. sāī ʻsaintʼ; Hindi. sã̄ī m. ʻmaster, husband, God, religious mendicantʼ; Gujarti. sã̄ī m. ʻfaqirʼ, sã̄ ʻterm of respectful addressʼ; Marathi. sāī ʻtitle of respect, term of addressʼ; Sinhala. sāmi -- yā, hä° ʻhusbandʼ, himi -- yā ʻmaster, owner, husbandʼ (Perh. in Marathi. -- s affix to names of relationship (see śrī -- Add.). WPahari.poet. saĩ m. (obl. saĩ) ʻ friend, lover, paramour '. (CDIAL 13930). Rebus: 'association': Oriya. sāhi, sāi ʻ part of town inhabited by people of one caste or tribe '; sākhiya (metr.), sākhyá -- n. ʻ association, party ʼ RigVeda., ʻfriendshipʼ Mahāv. [sákhi] Pa. sakhya -- n. ʻ friendship ʼ (< sākhyá -- ? -- acc. sg. n. sakkhi and sakkhī -- f. from doublet sakhyaṁ ~ *sākhiya: cf. type sāmagrī -- ~ sāmagrya -- ) (CDIAL 13323). 10. Glyph: 'head-wrap': veṭha [fr. viṣṭ, veṣṭ] wrap, in sīsa˚ head-- wrap, turban M i.244; S iv.56. (Pali) Prakrit. veṭṭhaṇa -- n. ʻwrappingʼ, °aga -- n. ʻturbanʼ (CDIAL 12131). vēṣṭá m. ʻband, nooseʼ ʻenclosureʼ (Sanskrit), °aka- m. ʻfenceʼ, n. ʻturbanʼ lex. [√vēṣṭ] Marathi. veṭh, vẽṭh, veṭ, vẽṭ m.f. ʻroll, turn of a ropeʼ; Sinhala. veṭya ʻenclosureʼ; -- Pali. sīsa -- vēṭha -- m. ʻhead -- wrapʼ,vēṭhaka -- ʻsurroundingʼ; Prakrit. vēḍha -- m. ʻwrapʼ; Sindhi. veṛhu m. ʻencirclingʼ(CDIAL 12130). Rebus: 'territorial unit': veṭa , veṭha, veṇṭhe ‘a small territorial unit’ (Ka.IE8-4) (Pali) Assamese. Beran ʻact of surroundingʼ; Oriya. beṛhaṇa, °ṇi ʻgirth, circumference, fencing, small cloth worn by womanʼ. (CDIAL 12131). Pushto: باره bāraʿh, s.f. (3rd) ‘A fortification, defence, rampart, a ditch, palisade, an entrenchment, a breastwork’. Pl. يْ ey. (Pushto). Prakrit. vēḍha -- m. ʻwrapʼ; S. veṛhu m. ʻencirclingʼ; Lahnda. veṛh, vehṛ m. ʻfencing, enclosure in jungle with a hedge, (Ju.) blockadeʼ, veṛhā,vehṛā m. ʻcourtyard, (Ju.) enclosure containing many housesʼ; Punjabi. veṛhā, be° m. ʻenclosure, courtyardʼ; Kumaon. beṛo ʻcircle or band (of people)ʼ WesternPahari.kṭg. beṛɔ m. palaceʼ, Assamese. also berā ʻ fence, enclosure ʼ (CDIAL 12130). Hindi. beṛhnā ʻ to enclose, surround ʼ; Marathi. veḍhṇẽ ʻto twist, surroundʼ; (CDIAL 12132). kharoṣṭī 'blacksmith lip, carving' and harosheth 'smithy' kharoṣṭī the name of a script in ancient India from ca. 5th century BCE is a term cognate with harosheth hagoyim of the Old Bible. kharoṣṭī (khar + oṣṭa ‘blacksmith + lip’ or khar + uṣṭa – ‘blacksmith’ + ʻsettledʼ) is a syllabic writing system of the region where Indian hieroglyphs were used as evidenced by Indus Script corpora. The word –goy- in hagoyim is cognate with goy ‘gotra, clan’ (Prakrit). (Details in S. Kalyanaraman, 2012, Indian Hieroglyphs). gōtrá n. ʻ cowpen, enclosure ʼ RigVeda., ʻ family, clan ʼ1. Pali. gotta -- n. ʻ clan ʼ, Prakrit. gotta -- , gutta -- , amg. gōya -- n.(CDIAL 4279). http://tinyurl.com/79nm28f Etymology of harosheth is variously elucidated, while it is linked to 'chariot-making in a smithy of nations'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harosheth_Haggoyim. Harosheth Hebrew: חרושת הגויים‎; is pronounced khar-o-sheth? Most likely, (haroshet) a noun meaning a carving. Hence, kharoṣṭī came to represent a 'carving, engraving' art, i.e. a writing system. Harosheth-hagoyim See: Haroshet [Carving]; a forest; agriculture; workmanship; harsha [Artifice: deviser: secret work]; workmanship; a wood http://tinyurl.com/d7be2qh Cognate with haroshet: karṣá m. ʻ dragging ʼ Pāṇ., ʻ agriculture ʼ Āp.(CDIAL 2905). karṣaṇa n. ʻ tugging, ploughing, hurting ʼ Manu (Sanskrit), ʻ cultivated land ʼ MBh. [kárṣati, √kr̥ṣ] Prakrit. karisaṇa -- n. ʻ pulling, ploughing ʼ; Gujarati. karsaṇ n. ʻ cultivation, ploughing ʼ; OldGujarati. karasaṇī m. ʻ cultivator ʼ, Gujarati. karasṇī m. -- See *kr̥ṣaṇa -- .(CDIAL 2907). 

The Spinner, Louvre Museum / department of Near East antiquities. 

A fragment of a relief 'The spinner' made of Bitumen mastic of Neo-Elamite period (8th cent. BCE - middle of 6th cent. BCE) was found in Susa. This fragment displayed a well-coiffured woman being fanned by an attendant while the woman wearing bangles on both arms -- seated on a stool with feline legs -- held what may be a spinning device before a table with feline legs with a bowl containing a whole fish with six blobs assembled on top of the fish.

Hieroglyphs: curls on hair, fan, feline-legged stools, six round objects, fish, arms with bangles, headband, hair-knot, spindle, circles on scarf.

Hieroroglyph: aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Rigveda)
kola 'tiger' Rebus: kolle 'blacksmith' kol 'working in iron'; kolhe 'smelter' kole.l 'smithy, temple'; kolimi 'smithy, forge' Hieroglyph: bhaṭa 'six' Rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace'. 

2861 karttr̥2 m. ʻ spinner ʼ MBh. [√kr̥t2]H. kātī f. ʻ woman who spins thread ʼ; -- Or. kãtiā ʻ spinner ʼ with ã from verb kã̄tibā (CDIAL 2861) See: khātrī m. ʻ member of a caste of Hindu weavers ʼ.(Gujarati)(CDIAL 3647) kātī 'spinner' Rebus: khātī m. ʻ member of a caste of wheelwrights ʼ(Hindi) kṣattŕ̊ m. ʻ carver, distributor ʼ RV., ʻ attendant, door- keeper ʼ AV., ʻ charioteer ʼ VS., ʻ son of a female slave ʼ lex. [√kṣad]Pa. khattar -- m. ʻ attendant, charioteer ʼ (CDIAL 3647)

A fragment called 'spinner' is a relief of bitumen mastic from Susa. This relief has remarkable Indus Script hieroglyphs and has been called a Rosetta Stone of Indus Script cipher. One characteristic feature of the hieroglyph-multiplex is the use of a numerical semantic determinative. Six round objects are shown on a fish. In this pictorial, fish is a hieroglyph. Numeral six is a hieroglyph. Together, the Indus Script cipher is: aya 'fish' Rebus: ayas 'metal' goṭ 'round' Rebus: khoṭ 'alloy' PLUS  bhaṭa 'six' Rebus:  bhaṭa'furnace.' Thus, the hieroglyph-multiplex proclaims the message: aya khoṭ bhaṭa 'metal (alloy) furnace'. Similar examples of the significance of 'six' numeral as a cipher from Ancient Near East are presented to signify phrases such as: meḍ bhaṭa 'iron furnace'.  करडा karaḍā bhaṭa 'hard alloy furnace'.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/09/spinner-kati-lady-rebus-khati.html

Machava: The machava of the Maratha period seems to have changed its function according to its size. The smallest machava was employed for fishing and was known as Kola or Koli machava. (p.197)

Machava (After Fig. 28 BK Apte, p. 201)

The manji belongs to a merchant of Camorin. It is obviously a merchantship. Its construction makes it sea-worthy. It carries a large lateen sail. The stern has a thatched roof made for rest. This might help us in giving some idea of a Maratha manji. (BK Apte, 1973, A history of the Maratha navy and merchantships, State Board for Literature and Culture, Govt. Central Press, Bombay, p.203)

Manja, Manji: A kind of ship akin to a machava. SPD. XXXV. 10· Four manjis belonging to the Government armada were carried away. GBP. XIII. ii. 719. “Manja is said to be the same as machawa. The word is of doubtful origin, but apparently Indian. Mr. Whitworth states that the Gujarat manja is an undecked craft of the same shape bow and stern, and from thirty to seventy tons. (100-200) khandis, in capacity. The word is perhaps connected with manji a hod, in the sense of a load carrier.” Manja in Arabic means, any high place where one escapes a flood. It may therefore mean a ship of high gunwale.A kind of ship akin to a machava. SPD. XXXV. 10· Four manjis belonging to the Government armada were carried away. GBP. XIII. ii. 719. “Manja is said to be the same as machawa. The word is of doubtful origin, but apparently Indian. Mr. Whitworth states that the Gujarat manja is an undecked craft of the same shape bow and stern, and from thirty to seventy tons. (100-200) khandis, in capacity. The word is perhaps connected with manji a hod, in the sense of a load carrier.” Manja in Arabic means, any high place where one escapes a flood. It may therefore mean a ship of high gunwale.(pp.304-305)

m1181. Seal. Mohenjo-daro. Three-faced, horned person (with a three-leaved pipal branch on the crown), wearing bangles and armlets and seated on a hoofed platform.

m1181 Text of inscription.

Each glyphic element on this composition and text of inscription is decoded rebus:

Two glyphs 'cross-road' glyph + 'splice' glyph -- which start from right the inscription of Text on Seal m1181.The pair of glyphs on the inscription is decoded: dhatu adaru bāṭa 'furnace (for) mineral, native metal’. dāṭu 'cross'(Telugu); bāṭa 'road' (Telugu). aḍar = splinter (Santali); rebus: aduru = native metal (Ka.) aduru = gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Kannada. Siddha_nti Subrahman.ya’ S’astri’s new interpretation of the Amarakos’a, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330)

Other glyphic elements: aḍar kuṭhi 'native metal furnace'; soḍu 'fireplace'; sekra 'bell-metal and brass worker'; aya sal 'iron (metal) workshop'.

*the person is seated on a hoofed platform (representing a bull): decoding of glyphics read rebus: ḍangar ‘bull’; ḍhangar ‘blacksmith’ (H.); koṇḍo ‘stool’; rebus: koḍ ‘workshop’. The glyphics show that the seal relates to a blacksmith's workshop.

*the seated person's hair-dress includes a horned twig. aḍaru twig; aḍiri small and thin branch of a tree; aḍari small branches (Ka.); aḍaru twig (Tu.)(DEDR 67). aḍar = splinter (Santali); rebus: aduru = native metal (Ka.) Vikalpa: kūtī = bunch of twigs (Skt.) Rebus: kuṭhi = furnace (Santali)

mamca 'platform' (Prakrtam) rebus: manji 'seafaring single-masted vessel' PLUS bovine legs: koDiya 'young bull' rebus: koTiya 'seafaring vessel'.

karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, bangles (Gujarati) rebus: khAr 'blacksmith'

mũh 'face' Rebus mũhã̄ 'iron furnace output' kolom 'three' (faces) rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'

*tiger's mane on face: The face is depicted with bristles of hair, representing a tiger’s mane. cūḍā, cūlā, cūliyā tiger’s mane (Pkt.)(CDIAL 4883)Rebus: cuḷḷai = potter’s kiln, furnace (Ta.); cūḷai furnace, kiln, funeral pile (Ta.); cuḷḷa potter’s furnace; cūḷa brick kiln (Ma.); cullī fireplace (Skt.); cullī, ullī id. (Pkt.)(CDIAL 4879; DEDR 2709). sulgao, salgao to light a fire; sen:gel, sokol fire (Santali.lex.) hollu, holu = fireplace (Kuwi); soḍu fireplace, stones set up as a fireplace (Mand.); ule furnace (Tu.)(DEDR 2857). 

khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus:kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'.

*fish + splinter glyph ayo, hako 'fish'; a~s = scales of fish (Santali); rebus: aya = iron (G.); ayah, ayas = metal (Skt.)sal stake, spike, splinter, thorn, difficulty (H.); sal ‘workshop’ (Santali) Vikalpa: Glyph: ḍhāḷiyum = adj. sloping, inclining; rebus: ḍhāḷako = a large metal ingot (G.) H. dhāṛnā ‘to send out, pour out, cast (metal)’ (CDIAL 6771). Thus, the ligatured 'fish + sloping (stroke)' is read rebus: metal ingot.

•dāṭu = cross (Te.); dhatu = mineral (Santali) dhātu ‘mineral (Pali) dhātu ‘mineral’ (Vedic); a mineral, metal (Santali); dhāta id. (G.)H. dhāṛnā ‘to send out, pour out, cast (metal)’ (CDIAL 6771). aṭar a splinter; aṭaruka to burst, crack, slit off, fly open; aṭarcca splitting, a crack; aṭarttuka to split, tear off, open (an oyster)(Ma.); aḍaruni to crack (Tu.)(DEDR 66). dāravum = to tear, to break (G.) dar = a fissure, a rent, a trench; darkao = to crack,to break; bhit darkaoena = the wall is cracked (Santali) Rebus: aduru 'native (unsmelted) metl' (Kannada).

Seated person in penance: kamaḍha ‘penance’ (Pkt.); rebus: kampaṭṭa ‘mint’(Ma.) Glyphics of shoggy, brisltles of hair on the face of the person: Shoggy hair; tiger’s mane. sodo bodo, sodro bodro adj. adv. rough, hairy, shoggy, hirsute, uneven; sodo [Persian. sodā, dealing] trade; traffic; merchandise; marketing; a bargain; the purchase or sale of goods; buying and selling; mercantile dealings (G.lex.) sodagor = a merchant, trader; sodāgor (P.B.) (Santali.lex.) 

Kotiya 'seafaring vessel'

Akkadian Seal and modern impression (Oriental Institute museum), showing Mesopotamian sun god in a boat with human torso; from Tell Asmar (Iraq); date: ca. 2,200 B.C. (copyright: Oriental Institute) The composite animal dragged by a rope: human head PLUS feline body PLUS rope: kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' meDh 'rope' rebus: meD 'iron' medha 'yajna' medhA 'dhanam, wealth'. Thus, cargo of iron implements. The thrree strands of rope:dhAu 'strand' rebus: dhAu, dhAtu 'mineral'. Thus, cargo of iron mineral.

Modern impression of a cylinder seal from Tell Billa, showing two cultic scene involving a boat ride and a procession towards a temple; date: ca. 3,000 B.C.; probably stolen from Iraq Museum (copyright: Hirmer Verlag, Munich) 

Sumerian cylinder seal from British Museum showing Marshmen in traditional mashuf boat in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in Sumerian times

The boat journey of the god Ea (cylinder seal impression, ca. 2300–2150 BCE)
Source: W. H. Ward, The Seal Cylinders of Western Asia, Washington, 1910, 40, fig. 102.

Crescent-shaped boat with two boatmen equipped with round paddles (seal impression, Early Dynastic, from Ur).
Source: L. Legrain, Archaic Seal-Impressions, New York, 1936 (Ur Excavations III), plate 28, 492.

Boat with high horn-like stern and prow decorated with leaf ornaments. The boatman is armed with a long pole. (seal impression, Early Dynastic, from Ur). Source: L. Legrain, Archaic Seal-Impressions, New York, 1936 (Ur Excavations III), plate 16, 300.

Source: https://eleppu.hypotheses.org/tag/mesopotamian-ships.

After Fig 25 in BK Apte, p. 199 Kothaya B Broadside Plan C Plan of the Hold D - Cross Section

Unfired steatite seal with a flat-bottomed boat, Mohenjo-daro.

In Ajanta cave (No.2) a ship is shown with 3 masts. Representation of a boat, possibly from Magan, on a stamp seal from the Indus valley (Cleuziou S., Tosi M., In the shadow of the ancestors, Muscat 2007: 193, fig. 202)

"From the Mesopotamian cuneiform texts Magan appears as a seafaring nation, and the ‘black boats’ from Magan are mentioned many times. From the Mesopotamian cuneiform texts Magan appears as a seafaring nation, and the ‘black boats’ from Magan are mentioned many times. Archaeological and textual evidence attest that Magan boats were built with reeds and coated with bitumen. A cuneiform tablet, dated to the 21st century BC, provides a detailed list of items used for the construction of these ships. The fame of Magan boats was so well known in the Mesopotamian culture that we find references to it also in the Sumerian legend of Gilgamesh and in the Ur-Nammu Code of laws. The Magan boats were often represented in Mesopotamian seals (in mythological subjects) and in Indus valley seals as well." 

http://ancientoman.cfs.unipi.it/index.php?id=115

In Ajanta cave (No 7) a ship is shown with 2 masts (c. 7th cent.)

 
Lothal: Terracotta model. Provision for fixing sail. Two masted ships .

Satavahana Coin with a 2 masted ship, 1st-2nd Century CE

Two masted ships from Satavahana (2nd cent. CE) and Pallava (6th cent. CE) coins. National Museum. Delhi.

Kothaya: It is a sharp straight-keeled vessel with two masts.   Its tonnage varied from 100 to 400 khandis, [One khandi = 1,600 lb (approximately).] rarely exceeding 800 khandis. Its overall length was about 60 feet, breadth of beam 45 feet and depth of hold about 10 feet. The captains belonged to the ports of Kathiawar. The sailors were skilful and adventurous, and crossed the Indian Ocean westward to Zanzibar, Mozambique, Seychellas Islands and southward to Lakhadiv and eastward to Nicobar Islands and Chittagong. Along the west coast, the kothaya covered the whole strip from Karachi to Cape Camorin.Skt. kostha; Pkt, kotta, kottya. Contents GBP. XIII. ii. 719. Kothia is a large ship belonging to Cutch and Kathiawar. The origin of the word is doubtful. It is given in the Periplus (A.D. 250) under the form kotimba, as one of the local vessels that piloted Greek ships to the Narmada. It means something hollowed, akin to a kothar i.e. a granary. (p.198, 199, 291) 

Dav: MSK. An Arabic vessel. GBP. XIII. ii 718. The origin of the Dhau is the Red Sea. The word is used vaguely and is applied also to the baghlas. It appears in Nikitin’s travell’s (1470) as tavs in which people sailed from Persia to India. GBP. XIII. i. 353 & JRAS. I. The Arab Dhau, formerly the best known of the Arab crafts, is falling into disuse. It is 150 to 250 tons. It is calculated for sailing with small cargoes, and is fully prepared for defence. It has one mast. Arabic, dav means, a kind of ship. (p.294)

This stamp depicts the “Galbat”, a one-masted longboat designed for high speeds and having enemy ship boarding parties on board. 

This stamp depicts the “Pal” which was a three-masted Maratha man-of-war (warship) with 12 to 20 Guns placed on its broadsides.

 Batela. (After Fig 23 in BK Apte, p. 197)

Batela: This is a merchant batela with 30 crew. For storing the cargo more than half the batela has roofing. It has a high deck with a flag fluttering from its backside. No guns are seen in the drawing. The batela carries a large lateen sail and a jib-sail supported by a boom. The nationality of the batela is not known(p.197)

Bagala: MSK. A kind of Arabic vessel. GBP. XIII. ii. 718. “Baghla is a large deep-sea going vessel of Arab or Red Sea origin. The name is generally derived from the Arabic baghla, a mule, because of its carrying power. A later derivation seems to be from baghahal a slow trading vessel, opposed to sambuk, a passenger-boat apparently from sabk fast or outstripping. The shape of the baghla is said to have remained unchanged since the early Egyptian times. Ganj, the name of a large baghla with a figure-head is of doubtful origin.” JRAS. 1st December 1834. “The peculiarity of form and extraordinary equipment of these vessels (Baggla or Budgerow) is said to have been the same from the period of Alexander the Great. They generally trade like Dows, and are navigated by Arabs and the people of Cutch. This singular and rude vessel, as well as the Arab Dow, is peculiarly adapted to the coasts of Arabia and Red Sea, which are subject to the periodical winds, during which these vessels are navigated with much ease. It is not known when this word first came into Marathi. The corruption of the Arabic baghla, as bagla is very natural, as the word bagla (a crane) is originally Marathi.”(pp.299-300)

*majjhika ʻ boatman ʼ. [Cf. maṅga -- ?]N. mājhi, mã̄jhi ʻ boatman ʼ; A. māzi ʻ steersman ʼ, B. māji; Or. mājhi ʻ steersman ʼ, majhiā ʻ boatman ʼ, Bi. Mth. H. mã̄jhī m..(CDIAL 9714) Ta. mañci cargo boat with a raised platform; vañci canoe. Ma. mañci a large sort of boat, single-masted Pattimar in coasting trade, holding 10-40 tons; vañci a large boat. Ka. mañji a large boat with one mast used in coasting trade; (Bark.) maccïve a kind of boat. Tu. mañji a long boat, a single-masted country vessel. / Possibly < IA; Turner, CDIAL, no. 9715, mañca- stage, platform. Cf. also 4631 Ta. maccu. (DEDR 4638) மஞ்சி² mañci , n. 1. cf. mañca. [M. mañji.] Cargo boat with a raised platform; படகு. (W.) 2. cf. மஞ்சில்¹. Ridge between garden beds; சிறுவரம்பு. (W.) 3. cf. மச்சு¹. Gable; குறுமாடி. Loc. manchua 'Portuguese corruption of the original Malayalam word manji, for a single-masted country boat used on the Malabar coast of India' (Fernão Mendes Pinto, Rebecca D. Catz, 1989, The Travels of Mendes Pinto, Univ. of Chicago Press, p.40)

https://msblc.maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/newpdf/next20/A%20HISTORY%20OF%20THE%20MARATHA%20NAVY%20AND%20MERCHANTSHIPS.pdf BK Apte, 1973, A history of the Maratha navy and merchantships, State Board for Literature and Culture, Govt. Central Press, Bombay

[quote]The earliest references to the navigational activities of our people are to be found in the Rigveda. The words definitely indicative of these activities are nau (boat), shataritram navam (a hundred-oared boat), samudra (sea or expanse of water), and navah samudriyah (paths of the boats in the sea). [For these references see in order I-116-2; I-116-4; I-116-3; I-25-6. The Roman figure stands for the Mandala, the second figure for the Sukta and the third for the Richa of the Rigveda] Terms for a stormy sea, for crossing the sea etc. are also not wanting. The reference to a hundred-oared ship presumes knowledge of ship-building and navigation. Macdonell and Keith in their Vedic Index explain the word samudra to mean a vast expanse of water connoting not necessarily the sea (sam plus udra = collection or expanse of water). Their conclusion is based on the assumption that the Aryans were not primarily a seafaring people like the Semites. The Aryans may not have known seafaring but it would be too presumptuous to state that they had not known the sea.They used the word samudra for the vast expanse of water they came across in the region of the Seven Rivers – Sapta Sindhu. They might also have applied the word samudra for the extensive water they saw at the estuaries of the great rivers like the Sindhu. At any rate the Rigvedic Aryans cannot be denied the knowledge of ship-building and navigation whether the term samudra stands for sea or just for an expanse of water. [Viven the Saint Martin, mentioned by MACDONELL and KETTH in the Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, denies that the Aryans had known the sea.]Besides the Rigveda, the Shatapatha Brahmana, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Manusmriti and the Puranas afford evidence regarding the maritime activities of our ancestors. The sabhaparvan of the Mahabharata mentions the conquest of kings residing on a sea-island by Sahadeva, and the Adiparvan refers to a boat that could stand bad weather and was equipped with mechanical devices. Similarly, references to sea-trade and sea-voyage are available in the Mahabharata. [Hindustahanacha Sagarvikrama, 31-2, by Dr. BHASKAR MAHADEO TEMBE (1943), Yeaotmal District Association Puraskrita Granthamala.] he Manusmriti (7-192) includes naval fights in the discussion on warfare in general.The Arthashastra of Kautilya while describing the duties of the navadhyaksa – the superintendent of ships - gives a brief yet systematic account of navigation. It was the duty of the superintendent of ships to inspect the accounts concerning navigation on the sea, the estuaries, the lakes natural as well as artificial, and the rivers. Varying duties were levied on different articles transported on board the ships. The fisheries and passengers had also to pay taxes. The large ships are called mahanavah and were provided with a shasaka – captain - Niyamaka – steersman, and also with men who worked at the cordage and baled out water.The word datrarashmigrahaka means one who holds a cutter or a cord. The meaning of the word datra as sickle, given by Dr. R. Shamashastry is not significant nautically. However, if datragrahaka is taken to mean holder of the needle, it at once becomes meaningful nautically. If the compass was known in the time of Kautilya a needle-holder (a person operating at the compass) might have been appointed on board a ship. These nautical terms are indicative of the advanced state of navigation in the days of Kautilya. [Kautilya’s Arthashastra, 139-[unquote](ibid., pp.57-58)

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 12, 2016

Mohenjodaro movie review -- Mumbai Mirror, Open letter on next movie Codex Sarasvati to Gowariker from SRC

August 13, 2016, 1:38 am

≫ Next: Codex Sarasvati, 007, Da Vinci and Raja Raviverma

≪ Previous: koḍiya ‘young bull’ with 'single horn' rebus koṭiya on Indus Script signifies eka-shingi, 'a dhow, single-masted seafaring vessel'

$

0

0

Open letter to Gowariker, Director of the Movie

Gowariker ji, when you make a sequel called Codex Sarasvati, work on a

riveting spy 007 thriller script of Codex, the IT (Artificial Intelligence expert) girl

from Chennai reading the 7000 messages written in mlecchita vikalpa

'meluhha cipher'. 

The script is so breath-taking, bristling with science and technology, it should

beat Da Vinci Code hollow.

Sarasvati Research Center (SRC)

August 13, 2016

Movie review: Mohenjodaro

Mumbai Mirror | Aug 12, 2016, 07.22 PM IST

Critic's Rating: 2.5/5

Avg Readers' Rating: 2.5/5

REVIEW THIS MOVIE

CAST:Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde, Arunoday Singh, Kabir Bedi, Manish Chaudhary

DIRECTION:Ashutosh Gowarikar

GENRE:Drama

A period trauma

Making a film set in an ancient civilisation can be both, tricky and creatively liberating. While piecing together a way of life from dusty remains may risk much assumption, it also empowers the makers to visualise history and embellish it with all that a disclaimer can afford.

But illuminated pools, feathered headgears, off-shoulder dresses knitted out of jute sacks and men flaunting mascara from hell only bring cinematic liberty under the scanner.

The film opens to a serene sight. The year—2016 B.C. A group of villagers from Aamri are drifting on a boat on a tranquil colour-corrected lake, when a monstrous alligator attacks them. Just as the mighty reptile pounces for the kill, the most fearless of the lot jabs a trishul into the reptile's middle and dives into the lake to complete the job. Soon, identified as Sarman (Hrithik Roshan), the muscled lad is lauded by his community for busting the "magarmach rakas". An indigo farmer by profession, Sarman hopes to visit the city of Mohenjo Daro (MD), the commerce capital frequented by traders from across lands for exchanging goods for, well, other goods (money was yet to become a medium of exchange). His kaka, Durjan (Nitish Bharadwaj) warns him that this city is infested with greed. But Sarman does what he must, so joined by his friend Hojo, he sets off to retail his blue produce.

Arriving at the forted city, Sarman marvels at the architectural proficiency of MD and is soon charmed by a local — Chaani (Pooja Hegde), the royal pujari's daughter. But like in DDLJ, Chaani is sworn to marry Moonja (Arunoday Singh), a megalomaniacal warlord. Moonja is also successor to Maham (Kabir Bedi), the evil horn-crowned leader of MD who has aspirations of ousting the Harappans.

It's obvious that Sarman will, at some point, cross swords, trishuls and other ancient battle gear with Maham and co. But before Chaani becomes his "sangini", he also discovers much about his own history, geography and physics.

In a dream, Sarman sees a holographic eksingha (unicorn), conceived by computer graphics possibly from the era being depicted. The computer graphics are consistently average across the film, save for the final deluge sequence in which this imagined land is reduced to rubble.

Hrithik Roshan's commitment to his character is unquestionable. Even when delivering lines, which would be a mouthful to repeat, he manages with sincerity and conviction. Pooja Hegde, with her feathery mukut and slit maxi dress, could pass for an extra from Coming to America (1988). And since most won't recognise her without this garish garb, she can safely make a debut again in her next film. Kabir Bedi channels a mean version of Scar (the devilish villain from The Lion King) and is decidedly intimidating and abominable. Arunoday Singh packs his ruthless warlord image with a few extra sniggers and is well-cast.

One would imagine that Ashutosh Gowarikar is well in his comfort zone with this period epic. Elaborate sets that depict a lost world, an Arabian Nights-like story of power and deceit and even Rahman to score — it has the anatomy of a calculated investment. But look closely and costumes from Lagaan, a few props from Jodhaa Akbar, and perhaps some extras from Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey may peek out of this big budget period drama. Unfortunately, where he (possibly) saved on doubling up his resources wasn't invested in research. If he did, the findings surely didn't find their way into the script.

It's strange to find Gowariker, whose zenith was the Oscar-nominated Lagaan 15 years ago, burying himself into a faux-archaeological nadir of his own making with this tacky rendition of a bygone era. But then again, reminiscing past glories — national or personal — is a Bollywood pastime.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/movie-review/Movie-Review-Mohenjo-Daro/articleshow/53672472.cms?prtpage=1

Codex Sarasvati, 007, Da Vinci and Raja Raviverma

August 13, 2016, 5:40 am

≫ Next: “Wherever you dig in Dholavira, you get a wall,” ASI official

≪ Previous: Mohenjodaro movie review -- Mumbai Mirror, Open letter on next movie Codex Sarasvati to Gowariker from SRC

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/hch8qrx

(Preliminary Script of a short story covering a period of several millennia, for a Movie of the same name: Codex Sarasvati)

Codex was stunned by the Bollywood movie Mohenjodaro directed by Ashutosh Gavariker, which depicted some images of Indus Script inscriptions.

Codex told her friend Sharada who was her colleague in an Artificial Intelligence IT Multinational, “Sharada, I want to find out the meaning of those inscriptions.”

Sharada giggled, “That is a tough job even for a modern-day 007, Codex.”

“Why do you say so?” Codex asked.

Sharada replied, “I will show you a three-sided prism tablet from Mohenjodaro.”

This is what Codex saw.

Codex couldn’t believe her eyes. She saw two oxhide ingots which were dated in archaeological diggings only to 1200 BCE. How could he oxhide ingots be shown as cargo on a boat of a tablet from Mohenjodaro dated to 3300 BCE?

Codex at once realized that she has gotten the biggest lead for any investigator since the time when Champollion got his inspiration from a Rosetta stone to crack the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The lead was simply the metallurgical advances of the Bronze Age Revolution. This picture of oxhide ingots on a trade tablet proved the point that the river called Sarasvati which flowed from the Himalayas to the Sindhu sagar was the epicentre of the Revolution.

Codex went to the Illustrated London News story which showed the quality of metalwork done on a site called Chanhudaro on the right bank of River Sarasvati.

Illustrated London News 1936 - November 21st

Codex had written a review of Da Vinci Code movie (based on Dan Brown’s thriller fiction) and had criticised the epigraphist professor who made some wrong moves identifying a lady at the The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Ever since the discovery of Mohenjodaro on the banks of River Sindhu, many scientists have been on a search for River Sarasvati and all they have found so far is a dry bed of a river with a 20 kilometers wide channel at Shatrana, 60 miles south of Patiala.

“Making that river which nurtured our ancestors flow again will be a thriller,” Codex said excitedly to Sharada.

“You are mixing up issues, Codex. Making Sarasvati flow again is an engineering problem. Your problem as an Artificial Intelligence Expert is to explain what the word used was to mean an oxhide ingot which has been shown on the Mohenjodaro inscription.”

“Da Vinci Code was broken by a clever substitution. I will follow the Da Vinci Code method,” muttered the tired Codex who felt sleepy.

“We do not even know the language spoken by our ancestors, what is your decipherment?” asked Sharada as Codex dozed off.

(Note. The script gets broken here because Codex is caught up in a dream sequence during her sleep. She dreamt of Sarasvati teaching a child how to write and draw the dewlap of the zebu, bos indicus.)

A zebu was painted on a storage pot from a site on Sarasvati River Basin.

Codex knew that there was an annual pola festival which celebrated the animals in her home town. Children would play with animal toys like the toys found in Daimabad.

Codex had wondered why the festival was called pola.

The tradition in Codex’s village was to allow the zebu to roam free and dedicate them to divinities.

Now, the Sarasvati Code unraveled, the way Da Vinci Code unraveled.

The freed bull was called poLa.

What did the oxhide ingot have to do with poLa?

“Aha,” wondered Codex in her dream and continued to mutter, “poLa means magnetite ferrite ore.” The elders of the village had told Codex’s mother, “poLa is our treasure, this ore is our wealth, That’s why we allow the poLa zebu to roam free as a repayment of debt we owe to Mother Nature who has given us the wealth of this natural resource, the metallic ore.”

Codex was woken up from her dream sequence as Sharada reminded Codex again, “what was the oxhide ingot called?”

“DhALa,” exclaimed Codex as the image of a shield flashed and merged with the image of the majestic dewlap of zebu.

“Now, I need to go to 007 to learn the art of spying,” said Codex calmly, as she reached out to touch Sharada’s outstretched hand which held a cup of tea in her right hand. Codex’s hand spilled the tea from the cup on to the carpet. “I am sorry, Sharada, I don’t know what happened to me. This dewlap, this majestic zebu is so central to my work on Artificial Intelligence. I did not realise that you were offering me a cup of tea and I saw the cup as a hindrance and spilled the tea from the cup.”

The script unravels further as Codex makes a determined effort to document the Bronze Age Revolution achieved by her ancestors who have also left behind over 7000 inscriptions which are a data mine (an IT technical jargon). The data mine is nothing but a catalogue of metalwork activities documented by Codex’s ancestors.

007 told Codex when the latter met him in the MI headquarters in London, “The key is to find out the Maritime Tin Route which linked Hanoi in Vietnam to Haifa in Israel.”

Codex was taken aback by this 007 clue, which struck her like a bolt from the blue.

“What has the Tin Route to do with the Bronze Age Revolution?” thought Codex, “Aha, tin was needed to alloy with copper to create bronze. This alloy created the Bronze Age Revolution, because arsenical copper which was a natural bronze was in short supply and some brilliant metallurgist of yore had found a way to create Tin Bronzes.”

“Why, Hanoi?” Codex asked 007.

“My dear girl, you are too young to understand. The largest tin belt of the globe is in the Mekong delta.Mekong is a great Himalayan river. With an estimated length of 4,350 km, this could be the largest glacial-fed river of the globe.”

Codex got back to her apartment in Chennai and started reading Da Vinci Code of Dan Brown.

Dan Brown had not merely speculated on Mary Magdalene as the sorrowing figure next to Jesus Christ on Da Vinci’s painting but details how police cryptographer Sophie Neveu explains to symbologist, Harvard University Professor Robert Langdon, that the last line in the cryptic message of Louvre Curator who was murdered said:”PS. Find Robert Langdon.” This was a lead to use the expertise of Robert Langdon who knows the identity of the murderer.

007 said, “Codex, now you see the parallel between Da Vinci Code and Codex Sarasvati. The seeds of the Bronze Age Revolution were sown in Hanoi drawing upon the Tin Belt of Mekong Delta, making Dong Son Bronze Drums. The knowledge of this tin as an alloy additive was known to the Nahal Mishmar artisans who left behind in a cave some exquisite bronze (arsenical copper) artificats dated to 5^th millennium BCE. A Hanoi brazier and a Sarasvati merchant had reached the Nahal Mishmar cave with the ormula for Tin Broze. That is the Mystery to be solved and hence the need to resolve the Mystery of the Maritime Tin Route which predated the Silk Route by 2 millennia”:

Codex was dumbfounded as 007 showed her samples of artifacts of Naha, Mishmar which were made using cire Perdue (lost wax casting) method, the same method used to make the tympanum on Dong Son Bronze drums.

Sample. Tympanum on  Dong Son Bronze Drum

 Nahal Mishmar cire perdue artifacts

Little did Codex realise that the training she had received in IT Artificial Intelligence was not enough to unravel this mystery. She had to start learning chandas to read the original text of one of the oldest human documents called Rigveda. In this text, and following the tradition, there was a Soma SamsthA in vogue to perform yAga and document the work done on octagonal pillar inscriptions called yupa. Another text called Atharva Veda Skambha Sukta (AV X.7,8) is a philogophical enquiry into the nature of the yupa as Skambha. Other texts describe the carburization process of infusing carbon into the molten metal in a furnace by using wheat chaff as caSAla on yupa. The godhuma, carbon from the burning wheat chaff resulted in the infusion of carbon into the minerals in the furnace to harden them. That, realized, Codex was the Peoples’ Revolution.

The Curator of Sarasvati Museum in Kurukshetra has been found murdered. Codex was called in as the expert trained by 007 to solve the murder case. The Curator had not left any written message, unlike the Louvre Curator who had left a cryptic message in writing providing a lead to Harvard Professor Robert Langdon.

The only clue left by the Curator of Sarasvati Museum, Sundara, was an anthropomorph.

Codex needed the help of Robert Langdon, the expert symbologist to figure this out as a message. Langdon had no clue since he did NOT know Prakritam language words.

Codex, the Artificial Intelligence IT Expert had the work cut out for her. She figured that this anthropomorph was made of bronze, NOT copper.

She met a Prakritam Professor in Kurukshetra University, who had taught Sundara, the murdered curator of Sarasvati Museum. The Professor’s name was Ishwar Sharan. Sharan told Codex, “This is a simple message, Codex. The words are: ram’s horns (ram), spread legs, one-horned young bull, boar. The Prakritam words are: meDDa ‘ram’, karNika ‘spread legs’, koDiya ‘young bull’ eka shingi ‘one horn’ barea ‘boar’. Do the words make sense to you? Go figure out, similar sounding words which document metalwork catalogues: medha ‘yajna’ medha ‘wealth’ med ‘copper’; karNI ‘supercargo, merchant’s representative responsible for the cargo’; koTiya ‘dhow, seafaring single-masted eka-shingi vessel’; barea ‘merchant’.” The Curator Sundara who was murdered was also involved in the profession of a merchant selling copper/bronze artifacts and had entrusted cargo to a karNI, ‘supercargo’. Go find this supercargo.”

Codex wondered if the anthropomorph really conveyed the message of a lead to the identity of the murderer who had killed Sundara, the Museum curator. “Why should a supercargo murder a merchant who also doubled up as a curator of a museum?” wondered Codex.

007 interjected: “Codex, the trade in archaeological artifacts has become a big multinational enterprise. Some jealous Harvard Professor might have got jealous of Ishwar Sharan who knew Prakritam and was able to read the code of the anthropomorph. Who knows what jealous professors can do to write a monograph and get it pubished in a peer-reviewed science journal? A big dispute was raging about the source of tin for the Tin Bronzes which heralded the Bronze Age Revolution. One school of archaeometallurgists held the view that the anthropomorph was mixed accidentally with 3% tin and the source of tin is a bone of contention because many experts refused to believe that Hanoi boatmen could have carried the tin to Dwaraka to be further handled by merchants there as intermediaries Shu Ilishu, who had contact with merchants of Haifa and Bogazkhoy. See the Bogazhkoy seal with Indus Script message. Figure this out, Codex.”

Codex had seen this seal impression and responded to 007 without any hesitation:

“These are Prakritam hieroglyphs. Dula ‘pair’ rebus: dul ‘metal casting’ eruvai ‘kite’ rebus: eruvai ‘copper’ khambhaṛā‘fish fin’ rebus; kammaTa ‘mint’ dhAu ‘strand’ rebus: dhAu ‘mineral’ meDha ‘twisted’ rebus: meD ‘iron’ med ‘copper’. So, the seal belonged to a mintmaster working with iron and copper. I have to figure out who was the real owner of this seal was and what his name was since the early practice was NOT to name themselves, but only to name their professions and work-life-activities.”

007 replied, “you are on the right track, Codex. Go figure out who in Bogazhkoy had knowledge of Prakritam; maybe you will find some Professor of Linguistics who can give you the clue to solve the murder of the Curator of the Sarasvati Museum in Kurukshetra. The murderer could be somewhere in Ancient Near East, who knows?”

Sharada had accompanied Codex and participated in all the meetings Codex had with 007. Sharada knew about ancient sacred marriages.

Sharada calmly advised Codex, “Take the advice of 007 seriously, Codex. There were many ancient sacred marriages, like the spring fertility rites witnessed by Dan Brown’s Sophie Neveu. Maybe, some merchant’s supercargo from Kurukshetra had participated in such rites in Bogazhkoy, with a Professor of Linguistics as a translator of Prakritam into Ancient Indo-European. Meybe, the rites also involved the use of cauldrons like the Gundestrup Cauldron which as a metalwork catalogue also showed a brass-worker working with metals.”

“You are right, Sharada. See how the ancient metalworkers used copper plates as printing templates using some ferrous ink. Of course, this shows a rhinoceros, NOT a boar. kANDa ‘rhino’ rebus: kaNDa ‘metal implements’. Aha, the printing technique enabled the merchants to make multiple printed copies for wide dissemination from Kurukshetra to Bogazhkoy”

“Don’t rule out merchants of Haifa,” warned 007 pointing to the three pure tin ingots found in a shipwreck in Haifa.

 

“Do you see the girl’s face on one of the tin ingots, in addition to the two Indus Script hieroglyphs? I wonder if this girl was engaged in any sacred marriage in Israel during the days prior to Christ. I see a face: mũh 'face' Rebus: mũhe 'ingot' the other two hieroglyphs signify ranku ‘antelope’, ranku ‘liquid mesure’ rebus: ranku ‘tin’; dATu ‘cross’ rebus: dhAtu ‘mineral’. So, the three are recorded in a data mine: tin ingots in Prakritam. 

Sharada intervened with a profound question: “I see the face of Sarasvati on one tin ingot. She is vAgdevi, the divinity of speech, hence signified by mũh 'face'. Why this penchant for reading every word rebus? Is it because of your training in IT Artificial intelligence, Codex?”

Codex replied calmly, “You may be right, Sharada. I am obsessed with the newfound knowledge of archaeometallurgical terms expressed in Prakritam. The words for Sarasvati in Prakritam were many: Sasruti, Sacchu, Hravat, Haraqvaiti  and Professors of Linguistics will come to blows arguing which phonetic version of the word was borrowed from where and when.”

Sharada, 007 and Codex went together to meet with Professor Ishwar Sharan in Kurukshetra to resolve this question which is crucial to pin down the identity of the girl’s face on the Haifa shipwreck tin ingot. This is the only clue found so far which has the clear line drawing of a face of a woman who could prove to be a murder suspect, for the murder of Kurukshetra Sarasvati Museum Curator, Sundara. Maybe, this girl had a quarrel with her boy-friend, Sundara, who knows? They had to seek a resolution of their doubts and speculations by listening to Professor Ishwar sharan.

Ishwar Sharan was amused as he listened to the Artificial Intelligence arguments advanced by Codex suggesting the link between the girl’s face on a tin ingot and the murdered curator.

Ishwar Sharan said, “Sundara was a devotee of Matrika-s, divine mothers. Yes, he was a curator and also moonlighting as a merchant selling bronze artifacts using seafaring merchants of Meluhha. See if you find any miniature Rajasthan painting comparable to Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper whowing somesone who looks like Sundara and the girl on the Haifa tin ingot..”

Codex was perplexed. She was also baffled by the theoretical formulations which have only muddled the waters even in the dried lakes along the Sarasvati River Basin. People of the dry region needed waters from the Himalayan glaciers which constituted the largest water tower of the globe. What is important?  Decipherment of Indus Script Corpora with 7000 inscriptions or providing water to 6.2 lakh villages with assured 24x7 water supply to every home and every farm?

Codex wondered if she has chosen the wrong profession in IT Artificial intelligence. Maybe, she should learn from Bhoja Raja’s tradition of providing drinking water facilities near Nagaur. At Nagur, every school girl walks about 10 kms every morning to fetch pots of water to quench the thirst of pilgrims to the temple town of Nagaur. How to make the school girls go to school instead of making them walk 10 kms. every day to fetch water? How to establish a national water grid using the growing Himalayan water tower, growing because of plate tectonics with Indian palte lifting up the Eurasian plate about 1 cm. every year?

Codex had no answers to the questions which hit her like showers of bullets or thunderbolts. She chose the best option. She went into sleep and started dreaming about Devi Sarasvati. Hence, she was called Codex Sarasvati, the dreaming girl who dreams of Sarasvati.

As she dreamt, the tANDava nrityam imagery did the karaNas in her dream, reporting plate tectonic events in the dynamic Himalaya ranges which extend from Hanoi, Vietnam to Tehran, Iran. This Cosmic Dance is coterminous with the growing Himalayan heights where the rain waters above 8000 ft. height convert to snow and ice storing water to meet the water needs of 2 billion people of the globe. Yes, this tANDava nrityam is as breath-taking as the recurring Super s of Mount Krakatoa.near Aceh.

Codex told 007, “My mother has told me that Sarasvati, Yamuna and Ganga rivers met at Prayag to constitute Triveni sangamam where every 12 years people celebrate Kumbha Mela. Is this history? I am Codex. I have to figure out the propaganda machinery which make over 50 million people assemble at Prayag every 12 years at a given time and date. That will fulfil my life mission. I am only nimitta mAtram, 007.”

So begins the script of Codex Sarasvati to be followed by many episodes and narratives, performing the karaNa-s of Codesx’s life. She is only 20 years old today and already an acclaimed Artificial Intelligence IT Expert.

Codex decided to learn painting after she was inspired by the painting of Devi Sarasvati by Raja Raviverma.

Codex will spend a significant of her professional life decoding the meaning of this metaphor, this painting of Devi Sarasvati.

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 18, 2016

---

“Wherever you dig in Dholavira, you get a wall,” ASI official

August 13, 2016, 10:34 pm

≫ Next: Identical Indus Script hypertexts on Mohenjo-daro prism tablet and on Bharhut coping sculptural frieze

≪ Previous: Codex Sarasvati, 007, Da Vinci and Raja Raviverma

$

0

0

Published: August 14, 2016 02:23 IST | Updated: August 14, 2016 02:23 IST  CHENNAI, August 14, 2016

4,500-year-old Early Harappan wall damaged

• T. S. Subramanian

Special Arrangement

The trench dug by ASI at the Harappan site of Dholavira, Gujarat, which damaged the 4500-year-old mud brick wall.

It was built as a fortification on the southern side of Dholavira in Kutch

About 400 metres of the remains of a 4,500-year-old mud-brick wall, which lay under the soil in the Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat, has been damaged by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) when it dug up the area, despite being aware that the wall existed there. The portion of the wall that was above the ground had collapsed long ago. The Early Harappans built it as a fortification on the southern side of the city.

After the ASI officials had decided to build a “modern boundary wall” on the southern side of the Dholavira site, a contractor engaged for the purpose used a Poclain machine some weeks ago to dig a trench for the foundation of the new wall and, in the process, damaged the Early Harappan wall.

Specialists in the Harappan civilisation are anguished that this happened despite “the contours of the buried wall being available on the elevated surface.” Besides, Dholavira is the ASI’s protected site coming under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.

Spectacular testimony

Dholavira is situated in an island called Khadir in the Great Rann of Kutch. Its Harappan story began around 3000 BCE and ended around 1500 BCE. Its excavated remains bear a spectacular testimony to the Early Harappan, the Mature Harappan, the Late Harappan and the post-Harappan phases of the civilisation. Its genesis, growth, decay and then collapse spanned seven stages during those 1,500 years.

Jagat Pati Joshi, who went on to become the ASI Director-General, discovered Dholavira in the mid-1960s. An army of ASI archaeologists conducted 13 field seasons of excavations at Dholavira from 1990 to 2005 and again in 2008-09. They unravelled its monumental architecture, fortifications, meticulous town-planning with mathematical precision, amazing water management system with a series of 16 reservoirs forming a garland around it, two stadia with terraced stands for spectators and its funerary architecture. The site yielded the longest Indus inscription — three metres long and comprising 10 large-sized Indus signs made of white gypsum, which sparkled at night.

According to sources, although the site was protected by a fence on its eastern, western and northern sides, there was confusion on the site’s protection limits, especially on the southern side. An ASI surveyor drew a line demarcating the southern limit, but the line passed over the Dholavira city’s southern mud-brick wall

ASI officials at Vadodara and elsewhere said they stopped the work of erecting a fence/ “a dwarf wall” on the southern side once they came to know that “two brick structures” were revealed by the trench.

“Wherever you dig in Dholavira, you get a wall,” an ASI official in Vadodara said dismissively.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/4500yearold-early-harappan-wall-damaged/article8986983.ece?css=print

Identical Indus Script hypertexts on Mohenjo-daro prism tablet and on Bharhut coping sculptural frieze

August 14, 2016, 12:27 am

≫ Next: Sculptural forms of Soma Skanda evolve from Rudra, lord of Soma, i.e. purifier (carburizer) of Soma (through yupa caSAla)

≪ Previous: “Wherever you dig in Dholavira, you get a wall,” ASI official

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/h6uecfd

In a remarkable orthographic continuum, hypertexts shown on a Mohenjo-daro prism tablet (Boat with oxhide ingots) get repeated on a frieze on a coping at Bharhut (two birds on boats flanking archway decorated with oxhide ingot). Each bird flanking the oxhide ingot arch on Bharhut coping is shown on a boat !!

On both these inscriptions -- the one on the Mohenjo-daro prism tablet and the other on coping at Bharhut)-- the message is the same: seafaring ship cargo of karaDa'hard alloy'dhALa 'oxhide ingots'.

Inscription on Mohenjo-daro prism tablet (ca. 3000 BCE)

This Mohenjo-daro prism tablet signifies on Side A a pair of palm trees flanking two oxhide ingots. It has been suggested that the hieroglyphs on all three sides of the tablet are read rebus to signify a metalwork catalogue of cargo carried on the boat (bagala?). Side A; tALa 'palm trees' rebus: DhALa 'large ingot (oxhide)' karaDa 'aquatic bird' rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy' Side B: ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' PLUS karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith', thus aya-kara 'metalsmith' Side C: from l.to r.  Part 1: karaNika 'spread legs' rebus: karNI 'supercargo' kanka, karNaka 'rim of jar' rebus: karNI 'supercargo, script, engraver' dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' muh 'ingot' khANDA 'notch' rebus:kaNDa 'implements' Part 2: kanka, karNaka 'rim of jar' reebus: karNI 'supecargo, script, engrave' ayo, aya 'fish' PLUS khambhaṛā 'fish-fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint' kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy.forge' muh 'ingot' PLUS kolmo 'rice plant' rebus: kolimi 'smithy/forge'. Thus, the inscription on the three sides signifies mint, metalwork, hard alloys,metalcastings ingots, metal implements from smithy/forge.

Hieroglyph: tamar 'palm' (Hebrew). Rebus: tamba 'copper' (Santali) tamra id .(Samskrtam)See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/07/indus-script-hieroglyphs-on-ancient.html

Inscription on Bharhut coping (ca. 200 BCE)

Coping.Bharhut. Pl.XLV Fig. 7

dhALa 'large ingot (oxhide)'  ढाळ (p. 204) ḍhāḷa Cast, mould, form (as ofmetal vessels, trinkets &c.) (Marathi)

dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting'

karaDa 'aquatic bird' rebus: करडा karaḍā 'hard alloy' Thus, hard alloy cast ingots (Marathi)

S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center

August 14, 2016

Sculptural forms of Soma Skanda evolve from Rudra, lord of Soma, i.e. purifier (carburizer) of Soma (through yupa caSAla)

August 14, 2016, 8:32 am

≫ Next: I’ve Seen ‘Mohenjo Daro’ And It’s Not A Right-Wing Conspiracy -- Aravindan Neelakandan

≪ Previous: Identical Indus Script hypertexts on Mohenjo-daro prism tablet and on Bharhut coping sculptural frieze

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jehzkb8

To carburize is to add carbon to (iron or steel), in particular by heating in the presence of carbon to harden the surface. Such a carburizing process is elaborated in Taittiriya Samhita and S'atapatha Brahmana with early intimationf from Rigveda. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/01/casala-on-yupa-indus-script-hieroglyph_6.html Case-hardening is a carburization process. "Case-hardening involves packing the low-carbon iron within a substance high in carbon, then heating this pack to encourage carbon migration into the surface of the iron. This forms a thin surface layer of higher carbon steel, with the carbon content gradually decreasing deeper from the surface. The resulting product combines much of the toughness of a low-carbon steel core, with the hardness and wear resistance of the outer high-carbon steel.The traditional method of applying the carbon to the surface of the iron involved packing the iron in a mixture of ground bone and charcoal or a combination of leather,hooves, 

salt and urine, all inside a well-sealed box. This carburizing package is then heated to a high temperature but still under the melting point of the iron and left at that temperature for a length of time. The longer the package is held at the high temperature, the deeper the carbon will diffuse into the surface." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case-hardening

Tamil lexicon explains the expression ஸோமாஸ்கந்தன் sōmāskantaṉ, n. < SaUmāSkanda. See சோமாஸ்கந்தன். சோமாற்கந்தன் cōmāṟkantaṉ, n. See சோமாஸ்கந்தன். சோமாற்கந்தனைச் சிந்தனை செய்தால் (சிவரக. கணபதியு. 1).சோமாஸ்கந்தன் cōmāskantaṉ, n. < Sa + UmāSkanda. Šiva, with Pārvatī and Skanda; உமையோடும் கந்தனோடுங்கூடியுள்ள சிவ மூர்த்தம். 

The basis for the derivation of  sōmāskantaṉ, from SaUmāSkanda is not clear.

The Tamil lexicon thus explains Somaskanda as a murti of Siva with Uma and Skanda (KArtikeya). I suggest that there could be an alternative explanation for the expression Soma Skanda as Soma samsthA PLUS skanda 'protector', thus protecto of the Soma yAga. चषाल mn. (g. अर्धर्चा*दि) a wooden ring on the top of a sacrificial post RV. i , 162 , 6 TS. vi Ka1t2h. xxvi , 4 (चशाल) S3Br. &c atop the Skambha (yupa) is central to the carburization process by godhuma 'carbon' infusion into metal in the fire-altar to harden the metal. Hence, the use of the hieroglyph meDDa 'ram' rebus: medha 'yAga' as a signifier of Rudra, Skambha (m. a prop , support , pillar , buttress , fulcrum , the Fulcrum of the Universe (personified in AV. x , 7 and x , 8 , and identified with ब्रह्मन्, the Supreme Being , as well as with पुरुष ; » Muir's Sanskrit Texts , v , 378) RV. AV.). This metaphor is elaborated in an AdhyAtmikA enquiry in Atharva Veda Skambha Sukta (AV X.7,8). The significance of Rudra is that the Skambha is the fulcrum in the processing of Soma and hence gets the metaphorical elaboration in the expression Soka Skanda as a synonym for Rudra.

The association of Rudra-S'iva with Skambha is seen in the following examples of sculptures in ancient Hindu temples.

12th Century's Shiva Lingodbhavamurti (emergence of the Linga). Musee Guimet

Shiva is depicted rising from the Lingam (an infinite fiery pillar) Brahma and Vishnu are depicted atop and below: as hamsa and varAha fathoming the infinite pillar, skambha.

I suggest hat the murti of Soma Skanda evolved independently of and earlier to the family representation and was sourced from the iconography of Rudra.

A Calukya murti of Rudra of ca. 800 CE is shown with the कृष्ण--मृग [p= 307,2] black antelope and battle-axe as the signifiers; the murti is NOT accompanied by Uma or Skanda. Other sculpturral signifiers of Rudra are also known holding the antelope in one hand. This is a hieroglyph in Indus Script tradition.

13th century. Rudra.

Siva. Musee Guimet.

Aditya flanked by Brahman and Rudra. Note Rudra and Brahma flanking Surya (Aditya).just above the kirITam (crown). It is notable that a makara is shown as a vAhana of Rudra.

Siva. Musee Guimet.

स्कन्द [p=1256,1]" Attacker " , N. of कार्त्तिकेय (q.v. , son of शिव or of अग्नि ; he is called god of war as leader of शिव's hosts against the enemies of the gods ; he is also leader of the demons of illness that attack children [cf. -ग्रह] , also god of burglars and thieves ; cf. -पुत्र and IW. 427 n. 1) MaitrS.MBh. &c. N. of शिव MBh.

Thus, Soma Skanda is associated with कार्त्तिकेय who is attacker, a leader of शिव's hosts or gaNa.

I suggest that Skanda protects the soma samsthA.or soma yAga.

Soma Skanda is associated with soma samsthA as a participant in the soma processing through yajna. The participation occurs in the form of caSAla atop yupa which is installed before any soma yAga begins. sōmḥसोमः-संस्था a form of the Soma-sacrifice; (these are seven:- अग्निष्टोम, अत्यग्निष्टोम, उक्थ, षोढशी, अतिरात्र, आप्तोर्याम and वाजपेय).

The yupa is Rudra-Siva. This yupa is Skambha of Atharva Veda Skambha Sukta (AV X.7,8).

The sculptural signifiers of Soma Skanda S'iva follow the iconographic forms associated with Rudra. This is the reason why the 'antelope' is common to both Rudra and Soma Skanda murti-s. The antelope is a hypertext: meDDa 'ram' rebus: medha 'yajna' medhA 'dhanam' meD 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic). मेधा = धन Naigh. ii , 10.

Thus, Soma Skanda is a metallurgical allegory, a metaphor in Chandas of the Vedas.

Translation Griffith RV 6.74 Soma-Rudra.

1. HOLD fast your Godlike sway, O Soma-Rudra: let these our sacrifices quickly reach you.Placing in every house your seven great treasures, bring blessing to our quadrupeds and bipeds.
2 Soma and Rudra, chase to every quarter the sickness that hath visited our dwelling.Drive Nirrti away into the distance, and give us excellent and happy glories.
3 Provide, O Soma-Rudra, for our bodies all needful medicines to heal and cure us.Set free and draw away the sin committed which we have still inherent in our persons.
4 Armed with keen shafts and weapons, kind and loving, be gracious unto us, Soma and Rudra.Release us from the noose of Varuṇa; keep us from sorrow, in your tender loving-kindness.

Parvati as four-armed Lalita with her sons Ganesha and Skanda, Odisha, India. 11th century sculpture from the British Museum.

श्वेताश्वतरोपनिशद IAST Śvetāśvataropaniṣad  is embedded in the Yajurveda (Karakas Sakha, Taittiriya Samhita). "The Shvetashvatara ("the one carrying beyond on white horse") Upanishad opens with metaphysical questions about the primal cause of all existence, its origin, its end, and what role, if any, time, nature, necessity, chance, and the spirit had as the primal cause.It then develops its answer, concluding that "the Universal Soul exists in every individual, it expresses itself in every creature, everything in the world is a projection of it, and that there is Oneness, a unity of souls in one and only Self". The text is notable for its discussion of the concept of personal god – Ishvara, and suggesting it to be a path to one's own Highest Self.^[3][4]The text is also notable for its multiple mentions of both Rudra and Shiva, along with other Vedic deities, and of crystallization of Shiva as a central theme."

तिलेषु तैलं दधिनीव सर्पिरापः स्रोतःस्वरणीषु चाग्निः ।
एवमात्माऽत्मनि गृह्यतेऽसौ सत्येनैनं तपसा योऽनुपश्यति ॥ १५ ॥
सर्वव्यापिनमात्मानं क्षीरे सर्पिरिवार्पितम् ।
आत्मविद्यातपोमूलं तद्ब्रह्मोपनिषत्परं तद्ब्रह्मॊपनिषत्परमिति ॥ १६ ॥^[35]

As oil in sesame seeds, as butter in milk, as water in Srota,^[36] as fire in fuel-sticks,
he finds in his own self that One (Atman), he, who sees him through Satya (truthfulness) and Tapas (austerity). (15)
He sees the all prevading Atman, as butter lying dormant in milk,
rooted in self-knowledge and self-discipline – which is the final goal of the Upanishad, the final goal of Upanishad. (16)

— Shvetashvatara Upanishad 1.15-1.16

Rudra and Shiva – Fourth Adhyāya

(...) । विश्वस्यैकं परिवेष्टितारं ज्ञात्वा शिवं शान्तिमत्यन्तमेति ॥ १४ ॥
घृतात्परं मण्डमिवातिसूक्ष्मं ज्ञात्वा शिवं सर्वभूतेषु गूढम् । (...) ॥ १६ ॥

(...), the one embracer of the universe, by knowing Him as "kind, benign" (śivam), one attains peace forever. (14)
By knowing as "kind, benign" (śivam) Him, who is hidden in all things, like subtle cream inside fine butter, (...)

— Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.14, 4.16

 Rudra is elevated to the status of Īśa ("Lord"), a god with cosmological functions such as those later attributed to Shiva.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shvetashvatara_Upanishad

"Rudra's transformation from an ambiguously characterized deity to a supreme being began in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400-200 BCE), which founded the tradition of Rudra-Shiva worship. Here they are identified as the creators of the cosmos and liberators of souls from the birth-rebirth cycle. The period of 200 BCE to 100 CE also marks the beginning of the Shaiva tradition focused on the worship of Shiva, with references to Shaiva ascetics in Patanjali's Mahabhasya and in the Mahabharata." https://www.pinterest.com/pin/475692779372024998/

Rudra.

अष्टाश्रि 'having eight corners' (Vedic) yupa in Indus Script tradition signifies medha,अहीन सत्त्र soma yajña validated by19 yupa inscriptions

Binjor agnikunda with octagonal, अष्टाश्रि yūpa

Read in the context of the Vedic tradition of Vajapeya as a सोमः [सू-मन् Uṇ.1.139]-संस्था a form of the Soma-sacrifice, the Binjor agnikunda evidences the performance of a Vajapeya yajna. 

Shapes of Yupa: A. Commemorative stone yupa, Isapur – from Vogel, 1910-11, plate 23; drawing based on Vedic texts – from Madeleine Biardeau, 1988, 108, fig. 1; cf. 1989, fig. 2); C. Miniature wooden yupa and caSAla from Vaidika Samsodana Mandala Museum of Vedic sacrificial utensils – from Dharmadhikari 1989, 70) (After Fig. 5 in Alf Hiltebeitel, 1988, The Cult of Draupadi, Vol. 2, Univ. of Chicago Press, p.22)

Rudra

Chief of all born art thou in glory, Rudra, armed with the thunder, mightiest of the mighty (2.33.03)

To him the strong, great, tawny (Bhabru Varna), fair-complexioned, I utter forth a mighty hymn of praises. We serve the brilliant God with adorations, we glorify, the splendid name of Rudra.(2.33.08)

With firm limbs, multiform, the strong, the tawny adorns himself with bright gold decorations: The strength of Godhead never departs from Rudra, him who is Sovereign of this world, the mighty.(2.33.09)

Worthy, thou carry thy bow and arrows, worthy, thy many hued and honoured necklaces.

Worthy, thou cut here each fiend to pieces: a mightier than thou there is not, Rudra.(2.33. 10)

Praise him the chariot-borne, the young, the famous, fierce, slaying like a dread beast of the forest (2.33.11).
...

In the Shata-rudriya, or the hundred names of Rudra, or the famous Namaka hymn of Rudra Prashna found in the Vajasaneyi samhita of Yajurveda:

” Rudra is described as possessing many contradictory attributes; for example, he is a killer and destroyer; he is terrible, fierce ( ugra), inauspicious ; he is a deliverer and saviour; he causes happiness, and prevents disease ; he has a healing and auspicious body (siva tanuh); he is yellow-haired, brown- coloured, copper-coloured, ruddy, tall, dwarfish; he has braided locks (kapardin), wears the sacred thread, and is clothed in a skin ; he is blue-necked and thousand-eyed; he dwells in the mountains, and is the owner of troops (gana-pati) of servants who traverse the earth obeying his orders ; he is ruler and controller of a thousand Rudras who are described as fierce and ill-formed (virupa); he has a hundred bows and a thousand quivers; he is the general of vast armies; he is lord of ghosts, goblins, and spirits; of beasts, horses, and dogs; of trees, shrubs, and plants; he causes the fall of leaves ; he is lord of the Soma-juice; he is patron of thieves and robbers, and is himself present in a thief, robber, and deceiver; he presides over carpenters, chariot-makers, blacksmiths, architects, huntsmen; he is present in towns and houses, in rivers and lakes, in woods and roads, in clouds and rain, in sunshine and lightning, in wind and storm, in stones, dust, and earth.”

– -Monier-Williams (of the Boden Chair of Sanskrit at Oxford University)

...

The following are some instances of the names of the eleven Rudras according to different authorities:

Shatarudriya hymns celebrates Rudra in his eleven forms as : Aghora (benevolent); Kapardi (with matted hair); Girisha (Lord of mountains) ; Bhima( terrible) ; Nilagriva (blue throated); Trayambaka (three eyed); Sabhapathi (master of the assembly); Ganapathi (leader of the hosts);  Senani(commander of forces);  Samkara(doer of good ); and Shambhu (appearing for the welfare of all).

Rudra Prasna (3.5): Bhava; Sharva; Pashupathi; Nilagriva; Shithikanta; Kapardina; Vyupta-kesha; Shasraksha; Shatadhanva; Girisha ; and Shipivista.

Rupa-mandana (a text of Shilpa sastra) : Isana; Tatpurusha; Aghora; Vamadeva; Sadyojatha; Mruthyunjaya; Kiranaksha;Srikanta;Abhirbhudhya;Bahurupa; and Tryamkaka.

Visvakarma Shilpa (a text of Shilpa sastra): Aja; Ekapat; Abhirbudhya; Virupaksha; Revata; Hara; Bahurupa; Tryambaka; Suresvara; Jayanta; and Aparajita.

Amsumad bheda agama ( a text of Shilpa sastra): Mahadeva; Siva; Rudra ;Sankara; Nilalohita; Isana; Vijaya; Bhima; Deva -Deva; Bhava ; and Kapali.

Padma Purana: Rta-dhvaja; Manu; Manyu; Ugra-retas; Mahan; Siva; Bhava; Kala; Mahinasa; Vamadeva; and Dhrta-vrata.

Mahabharata (Adi Parva): Mrigavyadha; Sarpa; Niriti; Ajaikapat ; Abhivardhana ; Pinaki ; Dahana ; Iswara ;Kapali ;Sthanu ;and Bharga.

Valmiki Ramayana (4.43): Aja; Ekapada; Abhirbhudya; Hara; Shambu: Tryambaka; Aparajita; Isana; Tribhuvana; Twasta; and Rudra.

Srimad Bhagavata (3.12.12):Manyu ; Manu; Mahinasa; Mahan; Siva; Rta-dhvaja; Ugra-reta; Bhava; Kala; Vamadeva; and Dhrta-vrata.

Agni Purana (Ch 18) :Aparajita; Hara; Bahurupa; Tryambaka; Vrsakapi; Shambu; Kapardina; Raivata; Mriga vyadha; Sarpa; and Kapali.

And

According to Jothish Sastras (Astrology ) : Kapali; Pingala; Bhima; Virupaksha;Vilohita; Shasta; Ajapada; Abhirbudhnya; Shambu; Chanda ;and Bhava.

https://sreenivasaraos.com/tag/rudra/


Siva. Octo-morphic form.Eight forms

Soma Skanda. Gangaikonda cholapuram.

Walters Art Museum. Soma Skanda.






Cast bronze of Shiva from Kerala,14th-15th century

Soma Skanda. Tiruvalangadu. Reign of Aditya Chola, ca. 880 CE. KumAra missing.

Nagesvara Rudra. Kilappudanur

Ekapada Siva. Lingam shape replicated.

Bhairava in Ekapada form.

Siva, Vishapaharana, 9thC,Chennai Museum

~1400 yrs old Kartikeya, either from Kashmir or Gandhara, Gupta Vakataka age. http://www.metmuseum

Umāmaheśvara 11 CE - Malhar, Bilaspur. Chhattisgarh

Pierced window - A special feature of the Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple 9th cent.Bhoganandeeshvaratemple, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka,India,810 CE Cosmic dancer on makara.

Devi Sarasvati. PAla.

Devi Sarasvati. 4 armed. Pala. 12th cent. National Museum, Delhi.

Sarasvati. Deepa lakshmis. Bronze.

Woman writer. Jalasangi. Bidar.Calukya 11th cent.
maM-thaM-ka-bhA-dA-ma-tha-lo-ga-ta-ra-sha-a-ga-la-[]-[]-ka-ye-laM-cha-le

Sanchi 200-100 BCE. ayo-kammaTa 'iron mint' on a dhvaja

Sangam Chera coin. ayo-kammaTa 'iron mint' dhvaja carried on elephant

 Coin found in Thailand. ayo-kammaTa on elephant Reverse: lamp & horsehead

Bharhut 200-100 BCE. ayo-kammaTa dhvaja 'metal mint' proclamation

Indra with vajra. Sanchi 200-100 BCE.

Sanchi.Smiths at work. The same fire altar recurs on an Indra-Vajra-Amruta frieze

Indra with vajra + Soma (Amruta). Sanchi 200-100 BCE

Elephant, lotus. Sanchi 200-100 BCE

Varuṇa, Lord of the Celestial Waters and of Cosmic Law, with Consort

Basalt, Karnataka circa 8th Century CE. Makara vAhana

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 14, 2016

I’ve Seen ‘Mohenjo Daro’ And It’s Not A Right-Wing Conspiracy -- Aravindan Neelakandan

August 14, 2016, 9:42 am

≫ Next: srivatsa hieroglyph galleries ayo kammata 'iron mint', sippi on Sanchi torana, sword-wielding Mañjuśrī are Indus Script proclamations

≪ Previous: Sculptural forms of Soma Skanda evolve from Rudra, lord of Soma, i.e. purifier (carburizer) of Soma (through yupa caSAla)

$

0

0

I’ve Seen ‘Mohenjo Daro’ And It’s Not A Right-Wing Conspiracy 

Aravindan Neelakandan - August 14, 2016, 12:56 pm

SNAPSHOT

What ‘Mohenjo Daro’ is—a usual Hindi movie

What it’s not—a great Hindutva conspiracy

In 2011, in Tamil Nadu, a movie titled Paalai was released. It had Harappan symbols in its posters. Purportedly telling the history of ancient Tamils during the Sangham age, the movie essentially placed a visual narrative of racial interpretation of ancient Indian history before the audience. The local Tamil leaders were given names like “Vrithura”. The “others” were identified as those who came from outside. In short, it was a case of “Aryan” versus “Dravidian”.

Then, in 2012, came Shudra: the Rising by director Sanjiv Jaiswal. It again rehashed the same Aryan invasion story and gave a racial basis to the varna (caste) system. Dr Ambedkar in his critical study, Who Were the Shudras?, had exactly refuted the main thesis of the movie. He had stated that the Shudras were not Dasyus and that there was no Aryan invasion and that the Dasyu-Arya was not a racial binary. Jaiswal, in a calculated insult to the scholarship of Dr Ambedkar, dedicated the movie to Dr Ambedkar.

Throughout such blatant misrepresentations of history in films, and in the arena of political rhetoric, India’s “eminent historians” have maintained a strict vow of silence. This is, indeed, an interesting phenomenon. Usually, social scientists vocal in the media would stand in the forefront when fighting racial stereotypes of a colonial past persisting in the society. In India, this is exact opposite. 

Despite the fact that the colonial racial narrative has been challenged and even demolished to a great extent, through the works of archeologists and population-geneticists, the “eminent historians’” decry any attempt to popularise these scientific developments in the public psyche.

Ashutosh Gowariker’s movie ‘Mohenjo Daro’ provides one such interesting incident. Here is a typical example of ‘scholarly’ response to the very trailer of the movie: “With no clear disclaimer for the liberties taken with the portrayal of the historical site, Gowariker’s Mohenjo Daro shows an unambiguous deference to the popular myths of our times. Hindutva forces are in the habit of making mythology synonymous with history, and their cause is starting to enter into our popular entertainment media.” Subsequently there was widespread attacks in the social media from the leftwing warriors who deciphered a great Hindutva conspiracy in the movie. 

But was it really?

All these prompted this writer to go and watch it. The movie actually starts with a very clear disclaimer about the deficiency of our knowledge regarding the real nature of the language and culture the Mohenjodaro people spoke and practiced. Nevertheless, one should say the movie has come up with an impressive reconstruction of the Indus valley town. The movie tries to show as much as possible in a Hindi movie. 

There is neither pure glorification nor demonisation of any people. The visuals of Mohenjodaro are stunning. Good graphics as well as carefully made Bollywood sets make the viewers feel the historic reality of Mohenjodaro’s social life. The city is made to look cosmopolitan for its time. It is also segregated into upper and lower parts. All these depictions can be substantiated by what archeology says about Mohenjodaro. The movie team needs to be congratulated here. 

Then, however, the usual Hindi movie takes place. After twenty minutes into the movie one cannot but feel that we are watching a DDLJ, set in Mohenjodaro. The dances are the pathologically typical hip gyrations of the Bollywood kind. And to add variety there is even a Dervish swirl. Marx and Macaulay forbid that their memetic descendants do not discover the nefarious Hindutva designs of saffronization of Dervish traditions.

Even beyond that romantic clone stories that plague Bollywood, there are interesting asides, like the presence of horses. The residents of Mohenjodaro get bewildered by the animal which they have never seen and which are imported by the Mongolians. Now that should explain how the remnants of the notorious ‘Aryan steeds’ (equus callbus) could be found in Surkatoda, without the film makers getting into the ugly whirlpool of Indological McCarthyism, linking any mention of horse in Indus valley to Hindutva agenda. 

The famed unicorn itself becomes the vehicle of ‘Sindu Ma’ – Mother Indus. And the ruler tried to dam the river. There are certain festivals – including a full moon festival – with a romantic undercurrent. One can now say from Mohenjodaro to DDLJ, there is a Bollywood continuity. Now would that count as jingoistic Hindutva?

The really interesting part of the movie starts after the intermission though. Here, the movie makes two interesting contentious claims, which make up for all its steering clear of the steed and Saraswathi controversies. One is that the people abandoned the city because of an ecological disaster – a veritable Indus flood, which was largely man made. One may say that this is an attempt to look at the present through the rear view mirror of the past. 

While in the late 1960s hydrologist Robert Raikes and archeologist George Dales had proposed a theory that floods were the reason for the decline of Mohenjodaro, it might not have been as dramatic as the movie shows. But then movies do need dramatic catastrophes. Archeologist Posshel though contended this view. These discussions on the downfall of Indus valley urban centers happened after Dales conclusively proved that there was no massacre at Mohenjodaro as suggested by colonial archeologist Sir John Mortimer Wheeler.

Yet most of our textbooks and popular political narratives were clinging on to the outdated ‘invasionist’ model of the collapse of Mohenjodaro. This movie in a way updates the public psyche with the academic debate.

Second the movie ends with the same Indus Valley people moving and settling by a new river – the Ganga. In other words it bats for a cultural and ethnic continuity from the Indus Valley to Gangetic valley civilizations. Then there is the subtle hint. The hero battles the villain who had dammed the river and who tried to create a coalition with the merchants. This is remarkably similar to the Panis siding with Vrithura who dammed the waters causing drought. Thus there is a subtle linking between the Vedic legend and the story line of the movie – but then the implication would be that the Vedic hymns were post Indus Valley. 

If the movie suggests a post–Mohenjodaro date to Vedic hymns then it could not well go with a nefarious Hindutva design, cruelly depriving our secularists the pleasure of discovering one. Tsk tsk. Nevertheless they can cling on to the depiction of continuity between the Indus and Gangetic valley civilizations. As far as the acting skills of hero, heroine, villain and the rest, they are as good as any average Bollywood movie which is not exactly that good, though one shudders to think of any famous Khan as the hero. Music is unobtrusive and a bit too modern.

Despite all the shortcomings, the movie is a brave attempt to look at the ancient Indian heritage and bring it to the public psyche – informing them of the two basic changes that unearthed empirical evidence has brought to the colonial narrative: that Indus valley (or Indus-Saraswathi valley) civilization did not disappear but suffered and got a set back because of natural disasters and that there is a strong continuity and transformation rather than discontinuity between the Indus-Saraswathi and Gangetic civilisations.

And that is no mean achievement. The movie is definitely a good family entertainment and may even stroke interests in the young minds for the mystery of Indus-Saraswathi civilization.

Aravindan Neelakandan

Aravindan is a contributing editor at Swarajya.

http://swarajyamag.com/culture/ive-seen-mohenjo-daro-and-its-not-a-right-wing-conspiracy

srivatsa hieroglyph galleries ayo kammata 'iron mint', sippi on Sanchi torana, sword-wielding Mañjuśrī are Indus Script proclamations

August 14, 2016, 6:54 pm

≫ Next: Life stories of three nuns: Sr Mary Sebastian, Sr. Jesme, Sr. Abhaya (murdered)

≪ Previous: I’ve Seen ‘Mohenjo Daro’ And It’s Not A Right-Wing Conspiracy -- Aravindan Neelakandan

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/h2tlv43

śrivatsa शिल्पकर्म [ śilpakarma ] is an Indus script hieroglyph which signifies iron mintwork. श्री--वत्स [p=1100,1]m. " favourite of श्री " N. of विष्णु L.a partic. mark or curl of hair on the breast of विष्णु or कृष्ण (and of other divine beings ; said to be white and represented in pictures by a symbol resembling a cruciform flower) MBh. Ka1v. &cthe emblem of the tenth जिन (or विष्णु's mark so used) L.

The proclamation of śilpakarma on Sanchi torana is the emphatic signifier of metal sculptural work of Sanchi (Vidisha or Besnagar) artificers of 3rd-2nd century BCE. The auspicious symbol (hieroglyph) spans Hindu, Bauddha and Jaina traditions and extends into Arakan (Rakhine) state of Myanmar.

Ear-rings of Satavahana era Cakravartin with Srivatsa and related hieroglyphs

Three hieroglyphs on the gold ear-rings: 1. A spathe flanked by a pair of molluscs emerges out of the purnaghaTa (sacred vase); 2. tiger; 3. elephant.

 दळ (p. 406)[ daḷa ] दल (p. 404) [ dala ] n (S) A leaf. 2 A petal of a flower. dula 'pair'

Rebus: metalcast: ढाळ [ ḍhāḷa ] ḍhāḷako 'ingot' (Marathi) Hieroglyph: gāb(h)ā ʻ foetus, spathe of a plant,gābhā m. ʻ new leaf springing from centre of plaintain tree ʼ, gāb m. ʻ pulp, pith ʼgābbo ʻ inner core of plaintain stem ʼ; (CDIAL 4055)  Rebus: Dhātughara "house for a relic," a dagoba SnA 194. (Pali)

hangi 'molusc' Rebus: sanghi 'member of sangha, community

Tiger (cat) Hieroglyph: kola 'tiger' Rebus:kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter'

Hieroglyph: ibha 'elephant' rebus: ib 'iron'

 
 

A Pair of Royal Earrings

Date: ca. 1st century B.C.

Culture: India

Medium: Gold

Dimensions: H. 1 5/16 in. (3.3 cm); W. 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm); L. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm)

Classification: Jewelry

Credit Line: Gift of John and Evelyn Kossak, The Kronos Collections, 1981

Accession Number: 1981.398.4

On view in Gallery 234

Necklace, Centre Bead and Pendants, Shunga, India, Cleveland Museum, 180-70 B.C.E, Sculpture and painting- The Cleveland Museum, ACSAA

Does Chakravartin shown on Jaggayyapeta relief wear similar ear rings? The frieze shows an oxhide ingot atop a pillar, together with another pillar showing tAmarasa 'lotus' rebus: tAmra 'copper' capital, both pillars flanking the cakravartin. These are proclamations of wealth created by metal- and mint-work.

American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) 12452. Jaggayyapeta. Analogous Chakravartin and 7 jewels versions are found in Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. Zimmer, 1955, p. 349 and pl. 37; Combas, 1935, pp. 89, fig. 35 and 89; Coomaraswamy, 1935, figs. 19 and 20.Square coins descend from the clouds? Or, is it stylized representationof a tree (branches), as a background ligature?

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/03/ox-hide-ingot-and-other-hieroglyphs-on.html

Manjusri Creation date 1700s Materials bronze Dimensions H: 11 1/4 in.Accession number 1986.249 Indianapolis Museum,.

"A mantra commonly associated with Mañjuśrī is the following:^[9]

oṃ arapacana dhīḥ

The Arapacana is a syllabary consisting of forty-two letters, and is named after the first five letters: a, ra, pa, ca, na.This syllabary was most widely used for the Gāndhārī language with the Kharoṣṭhī script, but also appears in some Sanskrit texts. The syllabary features in Mahāyāna texts such as the longer Prajñāpāramitā texts, the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the Lalitavistara Sūtra, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya.In some of these texts, the Arapacana syllabary serves as a mnemonic for important Mahāyāna concepts." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manjushri

Srivatsa atop Sanchi torana.

Srivatsa on the chest of red sandstone Tirthankara. British Museum

• Title: Red sandstone figure of a tirthankara
• Date Created: 200/299
• External Link: British Museum collection online
• Registration number: 1901,1224.5
• Place: Found/Acquired Mathura
• Material: sandstone
• Sometimes it is signified by an endless knot.
• Silver coin of king Nitichandra, Arakan. Brahmi legend "NITI" in front, Shrivatasa symbol on the reverse. 8th century CE. Arakan = Rakhine people, Burma (Myanmar).
• The dotted circle is dhAu 'strand' rebus: dhAu, dhAtu 'mineral'. poLa 'zebu' rebus:poLa 'magnetite ferrite ore'.
• See:

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/bharhut-besnagar-sculptural-makara.html 

Bharhut, Besnagar sculptural Makara hieroglyphs ayo kammaṭa 'iron mint' -- expression used in Mahavams'a validates Indus Script proclamation
Two pillars with capitals of Besnagar (ca. 2nd cent.BCE) signify two proclamations of services offered in the city workshop complex: ayo 'fish' rebus:" aya 'metal, iron' PLUS khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint'; hence, ayo kammaTa 'iron mint' and kāraṇikā 'pericarp of lotus' rebus: karaṇī 'scribe, supercargo'. Supercargo is a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale. Hieroglyphs as hypertexts on the two capitals: Capitl 1: kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy' kāraṇikā 'pericarp of lotus' rebus: karaṇī 'scribe, supercargo', kañi-āra 'helmsman'. capital 2: ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' PLUS khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage' PLUS karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith'.

kambha 'pillar' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' as a semantic determinative. Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. (DEDR 1236) kammaTa is also a Pali word with the same meaning, attested by Mahavams'a.

Thus, these two pillars with hieroglyph hypertexts in Indus Script tradition, are two proclamations of services provided by artificers at the workshops of Besnagar. 

Confirmation for this decipherment is provided by Mahaavams'a, XXV, 28, which uses an expression: ayo-kammata-dvAra, translated as "iron studded gate" (of a city), but more accurately should translate as: iron mint gate. 

[quote]Ayas: not in the Dictionary. This word is always used for iron (see loha, below). Mahavamsa, XXV, 28, ayo-kammata-dvara, "iron studded gate " (of a city) ; ib., 30, ayo-gulath, " iron balls "; ib., XXIX, 8, ayo-jala, an iron trellis used in the foundations of a stfipa. Reference might have been made to the iron pillars at Delhi and Dhar, and the use of iron in building at Konarak. [unquote]
(Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,  Indian Architectural terms, in: American Oriental Society, Vol. 48, 1928, pp.250-275).http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/03/indus-script-hieroglyphs-1-fish-fin.html
I was stunned by the Bharhut and Sanchi toranas. The hieroglyphs which constituted proclamations on the gateways are recognizable as Indus Script hieroglyph-multiplexes (hypertexts).

Tatsama and tadbhava words in a comparative lexicon of Bharatiya languages (e.g. Indian Lexicon), establish the reality of Bharatiya sprachbund. It appears mlecchita vikalpa wass based on a artificer-lapidary-metalwork lexis of Prakrtam (i.e., vAk, spoken form of Samskrtam).

1. tAmarasa 'lotus' (tAmra); sippi 'palm spathe, mollusc' (s'ilpi 'sculptor'); eraka (arka 'copper, gold'); aya 'fish' (aya, ayas 'iron') khambhaṛā ʻfinʼ (kammaTa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada); kariba 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' (ib 'iron' karba 'iron' (Kannada). Hence the proclamation as an advertisement hoardings by the Begram dantakara (ivory carvers) who moved to Bhilsa topes. There is an epigraph in Sanchi stupa which records the donations of dantakara to the dhAtugarbha (dagoba, stupa).

śilpin ʻ skilled in art ʼ, m. ʻ artificer ʼ Gaut., śilpika<-> ʻ skilled ʼ MBh. [śílpa -- ]
Pa. sippika -- m. ʻ craftsman ʼ, NiDoc. śilpiǵa, Pk. sippi -- , °ia -- m.; A. xipini ʻ woman clever at spinning and weaving ʼ; OAw. sīpī m. ʻ artizan ʼ; M. śĩpī m. ʻ a caste of tailors ʼ; Si. sipi -- yā ʻ craftsman ʼ.(CDIAL 12471) शिल्प [ śilpa ] n (S) A manual or mechanical art, any handicraft.

शिल्पकर्म [ śilpakarma ] n (S) Mechanical or manual business, artisanship. शिल्पकार [ śilpakāra ] m or शिल्पी m (S) An artisan, artificer, mechanic. शिल्पविद्या [ śilpavidyā ] f (S) Handicraft or art: as disting. from science. शिल्पशाला [ śilpaśālā ] f (S) A manufactory or workshop. शिल्पशास्त्र [ śilpaśāstra ] n (S) A treatise on mechanics or any handicraft. शिल्पी [ śilpī ] a (S) Relating to a mechanical profession or art.(Marathi) శిల్పము [ śilpamu ] ṣilpamu. [Skt.] n. An art, any manual or mechanical art. చిత్తరువు వ్రాయడము మొదలైనపని. శిల్పి or శిల్పకారుడు ṣilpi. n. An artist, artisan, artificer, mechanic, handicraftsman. పనివాడు. A painter, ముచ్చి. A carpenter, వడ్లంగి. A weaver, సాలెవాడు. (Usually) a stonecutter, a sculptor, కాసెవాడు. శిల్పిశాస్త్రము ṣilpi-ṣāstramu. n. A mechanical science; the science of Architecture. చిత్రాదికర్మలను గురించిన విధానము.(Telugu) சிப்பம்³ cippam, n. < šilpa. Architecture, statuary art, artistic fancy work; சிற்பம். கடி மலர்ச் சிப்பமும் (பெருங். உஞ்சைக். 34, 167).சிப்பியன் cippiyaṉ

,n. < šilpin. [T. cippevāḍu, K. cippiga, Tu. cippige.] 1. Fancy- worker, engraver; கம்மியன். (W.) 2. Tailor; தையற்காரன். (யாழ். அக.)சில்பி šilpi , n. < šilpin. See சிற்பி.சிலாவி³ cilāvi

, n. prob. šilpin. Artisan; சிற்பி. சிற்பர் ciṟpar, n. < šilpa. Mechanics, artisans, stone-cutters; சிற்பிகள். (W.) சிற்பி ciṟpi, n. < šilpin. Mechanic, artisan, stone-cutter; கம்மியன். (சூடா.)

khambhaṛā ʻfinʼ (kammaTa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada): the Prakrtam word for 'fin' khambhaṛā has related phonemes and allographs: 

*skambha2 ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, plumage ʼ. [Cf. *skapa -- s.v. *khavaka -- ]

S. khambhu, °bho m. ʻ plumage ʼ, khambhuṛi f. ʻ wing ʼ; L. khabbh m., mult. khambh m. ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, feather ʼ, khet. khamb ʻ wing ʼ, mult. khambhaṛā m. ʻ fin ʼ; P. khambh m. ʻ wing, feather ʼ; G. khā̆m f., khabhɔ m. ʻ shoulder ʼ.(CDIAL 13640).

skambhá1 m. ʻ prop, pillar ʼ RV. 2. ʻ *pit ʼ (semant. cf. kūˊpa -- 1). [√skambh]1. Pa. khambha -- m. ʻ prop ʼ; Pk. khaṁbha -- m. ʻ post, pillar ʼ; Pr. iškyöp, üšköb ʻ bridge ʼ NTS xv 251; L. (Ju.) khabbā m., mult. khambbā m. ʻ stake forming fulcrum for oar ʼ; P. khambh, khambhā,khammhā m. ʻ wooden prop, post ʼ; WPah.bhal. kham m. ʻ a part of the yoke of a plough ʼ, (Joshi) khāmbā m. ʻ beam, pier ʼ; Ku. khāmo ʻ a support ʼ, gng. khām ʻ pillar (of wood or bricks) ʼ; N. khã̄bo ʻ pillar, post ʼ, B. khām, khāmbā; Or. khamba ʻ post, stake ʼ; Bi. khāmā ʻ post of brick -- crushing machine ʼ, khāmhī ʻ support of betel -- cage roof ʼ, khamhiyā ʻ wooden pillar supporting roof ʼ; Mth. khāmh, khāmhī ʻ pillar, post ʼ, khamhā ʻ rudder -- post ʼ; Bhoj. khambhā ʻ pillar ʼ, khambhiyā ʻ prop ʼ; OAw. khāṁbhe m. pl. ʻ pillars ʼ, lakh. khambhā; H. khām m. ʻ post, pillar, mast ʼ, khambh f. ʻ pillar, pole ʼ; G. khām m. ʻ pillar ʼ, khã̄bhi, °bi f. ʻ post ʼ, M. khã̄b m., Ko. khāmbho, °bo, Si. kap (< *kab); -- X gambhīra -- , sthāṇú -- , sthūˊṇā -- qq.v.2. K. khambürü f. ʻ hollow left in a heap of grain when some is removed ʼ; Or. khamā ʻ long pit, hole in the earth ʼ, khamiā ʻ small hole ʼ; Marw. khã̄baṛo ʻ hole ʼ; G. khã̄bhũ n. ʻ pit for sweepings and manure (CDIAL 13639).

These semantic clusters indicate that the skambha 'pillar' and skambha 'wing' are also hieroglyphs and so depicted in Indus Script Corpora. This leads to a reasonable inference that the Atharva Veda SkambhaSukta (AV X.7) -- an extraordinary philosophical enquiry into the Ruda hieroglyph as linga, s'ivalinga is also embellished with a caSAla (wheatchaff godhUma, snout of boar, varAha) is an intervention to explain the phenomenon of pyrolysis (thermachemical decomposition) and carburization which infuse carbon into soft metal (e.g. wrought iron) to create hard metal. The snout of boar is also called pota, evoking the potR 'purifier' of Rigveda and hence the abiding metaphor of Bharatiya tradition venerating varAha as yagna purusha personifying the Veda.

S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
August 15, 2016

Life stories of three nuns: Sr Mary Sebastian, Sr. Jesme, Sr. Abhaya (murdered)

August 14, 2016, 8:59 pm

≫ Next: Susa ritual basin 13th-12th cent. BCE Indus Script hieroglyphs sippi, 'bivalve shell, spathe of date palm' sippi 'craftsman' ayo medha kammata sippi 'iron metal mint artisan'

≪ Previous: srivatsa hieroglyph galleries ayo kammata 'iron mint', sippi on Sanchi torana, sword-wielding Mañjuśrī are Indus Script proclamations

$

0

0

Church

A nun who wanted to quit a Kerala church, now faces criminal cases, branded mentally unstable

"I forgave them and tolerated everything till now. I cannot take it any further,” Sr Mary Sebastian says.

Megha Varier| Monday, August 8, 2016 - 12:24

Kerala Kaumudi

The Church preaches charity, kindness, and compassion towards everyone but Sr. Mary Sebastian, a 45-year-old nun, is afraid that the very institution that she has served for 25 years might harm her.

Sr. Mary wants to leave the Church and it is a well-known fact that the Church does not take too kindly to rebels.

In January this year, Sr. Mary took the decision to quit the Church because of the harassment that she allegedly faced in the hands of her superiors at the Syro-Malabar Church’s Cherthungal Nasrathubhavan Convent under Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC) in Pala, Kottayam district of Kerala. She has been living there for the past three years.

Sr. Mary approached the Church to grant her 3 years of exclaustration that allows a nun to stay outside the convent as a common citizen and return to the convent after the designated period.

However, she was denied permission as the Church feared that granting her this would encourage other nuns to follow suit.

When the Church deliberately delayed the proceedings, Sr. Mary approached the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement, an organization that works for rehabilitation of ex-priests and ex-nuns. Matters went haywire after the organization intervened.

In May, she was given dispensation and was asked to quit the Church. Having decided that it is best to do so, Sr. Mary demanded that she be paid her due in order for her to lead a life outside the church. The authorities objected.

Renji Njellani, organizing secretary of KCRM, points out that any priest or nun who wishes to quit the Church is entitled to be given money according to the canon law. The Church refused to pay the sum of Rs.30 lakh that Sr. Mary demanded and offered to pay Rs.1 lakh, after months of negotiation.

Two weeks ago, Sr. Mary filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and Women’s Commission alleging that she was facing physical and mental harassment at the hands of her superiors. But after she approached Women’s Commission, the Church, she alleges, has found new ways of taunting her.

They even filed a police complaint recently, accusing her of theft. She says that police officials threatened her to quit the Church as per their order. 

Last week, a complaint was filed with Child Welfare Committee accusing her of harassing the children at Balabhavan, a children’s home associated with the convent. Sr. Mary claims that the authorities of the committee forcefully made her sign a document pledging that she will stay away from the children.

Renji points out that the Church in fact uses the committee to its own advantage, with priests appointed in key positions.

“I am scared for my life…They are so powerful that they may even harm me!” - these were her first words as Sr. Mary spoke to The News Minute over phone.

Sr. Mary claims that false allegations have been levelled against her ever since she joined the Church.

In 1997 when she was a student of Master of Social Work, her superiors at the convent had accused her of being in a relationship with a priest.

“Nobody asked for any explanation from my side…I wasn’t given a chance to prove the allegations wrong, or at the least defend myself. They accused me of wrongdoing and I was forcefully sent for retreat camps where I wasn’t allowed to speak to anybody. I used to spend the days cut off from the outside world,” she says.

But things became worse when in the early 2000s, Sr. Mary objected to a misappropriation at Shanthinilayam, a special school in Pala run by the Church. 

“When I found that they were forging documents to include nuns in the teachers’ list to claim university grants, I objected. I discussed the issue with other nuns and the superiors came to know about it. Since then, they have constantly been trying to tag me as a mentally challenged person,” she says.

She also alleges that she was repeatedly transferred from one convent to the other, at the behest of the Church, often in the middle of an academic year.

Sr. Mary, who works as a teacher at a school run by the Church, says that she was brutally assaulted by her superiors at the various convents she has lived over the years.

“They would hit me, accusing me of various things, including robbery. They hid letters addressed to me. I forgave them and tolerated everything till now. I cannot take it any further,” she says.

The Church involved her family in all these matters too and would demand that they visit to sort things out.

Sr. Mary’s decision to leave the Church citing harassment is not a unique instance. Only a few years ago, Sister Jesme, who had been a nun for over 33 years, quit the Church alleging harassment by her superiors. Her leaving and the subsequent release of her autobiography "Amen: The autobiography of a nun" had created a huge controversy at that time. Sr. Abhaya’s murder, in which priests are the prime accused, is yet another example of how things are not exactly holy in the Church.

Once she leaves the convent, Sr. Mary cannot go back home.

"Do you know what it means to be a nun who quit the Order? Our society hasn't grown enough to accept such things. People will see it as my betrayal towards Jesus. But only if they knew that my fight is against the Church and not Jesus...." 

She says that her family does not want her to return home. "In fact they don't want me to quit the Church. It is all because of the stigma that is associated with it. Society will only target my family for my actions."

Dismissing the allegations of harassment at the hands of superiors, spokesman for Syro-Malabar order of the Catholic Church, Dr Paul Thelakkat states that the Church does not stop anybody from quitting.

Saying that he is unaware of the case in detail, Dr. Thelakkat claims that the canon law does not prescribe the Church to pay compensation to those who quit.

“As far as I understand, there is only one problem here. If the nun wants to quit, it is up to her to decide. But she cannot hold the Church responsible to provide rehabilitation. When a nun joins the Church, she voluntarily does so, agreeing that she will not hold any property under her name. Then how can she now stake claim in the Church’s joint property?” he asks.

Instances where the Church does provide monetary help to those who quit are purely out of ‘humanitarian concerns’, he maintains, adding that the nunnery is a service and not a means to earn money.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/nun-who-wanted-quit-kerala-church-now-faces-criminal-cases-branded-mentally-unstable-47810

Published: November 14, 2009 17:09 IST | Updated: November 14, 2009 17:09 IST  November 14, 2009

‘My story had to be told'

•  SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY

THE HINDU

In the eye of a storm: Sister Jesme.

Sister Jesme on why she wrote that controversial book Amen.

Over three decades ago, when she consigned herself to the nunnery, life seemed to have made a beautiful promise to Sister Jesme. Barely 17, she was convinced that her path was serving her Master as his bride. So with care, she chose her new name as a nun, Jesme by adding ‘me' (herself) to the first three letters (Jes) from Jesus's name.

Today, Sister Jesme (now 53) lives in a small flat in Kozhikode outside the walls of the Congregation of Mother of Carmel, her abode from the 1970s to mid-2007. She is an outcast from the church now due to her refusal to bow to set norms and never failing to ask why.

“Gradually, the breeze became a storm,” is how she puts it. Her family abandoned her; it hurt her then, she admits but reasons, “but they wanted to be within the community.”

Picking up her pen

After living in hiding for a while, she resolved to pick up the pen. The result was a Malayalam book that came out earlier this year and is now considered heretical or an eye-opener depending on the reader's perspective. The English version Amen: The Autobiography of a Nun , published by Penguin India, recently hit the stands.

In a telephone conversation, Sister Jesme is bright and breezy. “When I came out of CMC, I was desolate, but Jesus took care of me. Considering I served the Congregation for so long, it didn't give even a penny for my survival. But miraculously, just then I started getting my pension from the Government. A month before, the pension money would have been the Congregation's.”

Sister Jesme, a Masters in English Literature, taught in educational institutes run by the Congregation across Kerala, her last posting being Principal of the prestigious Amala College in Kerala. As the college is a Government–aided institution, she is entitled to a modest pension, which she says is, “enough to keep me going and help needy students.”

Amen is just 178 pages but what hits you is the frankness and sincerity of narration. At times, the reader may get tired of one detailed episode after another, but finally comes a realisation that each episode is a bead in a chain of events that finally prompted her to step out of the grey habit.

She accuses the Congregation of rampant corruption, “the huge chunk of money raised during admissions hardly goes though any accounting.” The infighting and viciousness of sisters come into the open. The victim has no succour.

Homosexuality seems to be a bane many young girls have to silently endure at the nunnery. Sister Jesme suffered it too. Yet another taboo she talks about is how a few church fathers force themselves sexually on nuns. She plucks out an episode from her life as an example.

Gender inequality

Above all, the book brings to fore an important point of gender inequality. While a nun has to wear only her habit, a father can choose to dress the way he likes. While a nun can't marry, a father can. “The nuns do menial jobs while fathers don't,” her list goes on.

With the Congregation not ready to answer her searching questions, Sister Jesme had to make a break. “Or else, I would have been declared insane. Appointments with various doctors were being fixed. What hurt most was the church calling me a sex worker.”

But she is not scared, she insists; although there is a flicker of fear when she says, “After I came out of the nunnery, I chose to wear a saffron sari. Those photographs were flashed in the local media. Fearing attack by fanatics, my friends and students brought salwar kameezes for me to wear. I couldn't go out of my place of hiding for sometime.” A few nuns and some fathers, she says, supported her but feared stepping out of the threshold of the church. “It is not easy you see,” she says softly.

But now Sister Jesme thinks Jesus chose her to do the needful. “My story had to be told. He chose me to let the world know the truth. I hope there will be a change for better.”

She wrote the book “also because it was important to declare that I can think coherently and am not insane as the Congregation alleged. I also wanted to show that my love for Jesus has not dwindled even after so much suffering.” She first wrote the book in English, but her local publisher, D.C. Books, wanted it in Malayalam. “My Malayalam is not so good enough, so a friend helped me.”

Today, Sister Jesme is thinking of her second book, a novel “about the struggle of a poor student I feel people should know”.

She also has “an offer from an award-winning Malayalam director” to turn Amen into a film. “I also talk about my experience as a nun in gender workshops.”

http://www.thehindu.com/books/my-story-had-to-be-told/article48423.ece?css=print

Kerala: Nun Struck Sister Abhaya In The Head With An Axe: CBI

Tootiefairy / 7 yrs ago / 

Nun struck Sister Abhaya in head with axe: CBI

VR Jayaraj | Kochi

Kerala was on Monday shocked to hear the CBI’s revelation in the Sr Abhaya murder case that it was Knanaya Catholic nun Sr Seffi, then 26 years of age, who had struck Sr Abhyaya in her head with an axe before throwing her in the well of the convent at an unearthly hour on March 27, 1992.

The CBI told the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam that Sr Seffi had struck Abhaya three times in the head at St Pius X Convent, Kottayam before hurling the nun's body in the well behind the convent in the wee hours of the day. Sr Seffi had struck Sr Abhaya with the back of an axe twice behind her right ear and a third time right in the top of the head, inside the kitchen of the convent.

The investigating team of the CBI said in the court that with the strike in the top of the head, Sr Abhaya had gone unconscious. The investigators explained the brutality of the act of Sr Seffi, now 42, and her companions towards a younger co-nun by saying the perpetrators of the crime had left the spot only after ensuring that Sr Abhaya was dead in the well. Sr Seffi was presently the third accused in the case in which Knanaya Church's senior priests Fr Thomas M Kottoor (59) and Fr Jose Puthrukayil(56) are first and second accused respectively.

After Sr Abhaya had fallen unconscious following Sr Seffi's axe-strikes in the head, Fr Kottoor and Fr Puthrukayil had dragged her with the help of the nun to the well behind the convent and hurled her in it. The three waited near the well to ensure the death of the nun, the CBI said. The court extended the remand of the three in judicial custody till January 12.

After ensuring that Sr Abhaya was dead in the well, the three accused persons had in a strategic move closed the door of the kitchen from outside with the express intention of diverting the focus of any probes. The CBI told the court that the destruction and distortion of evidences in the case had started right with that act.

Sr Seffi had struck Sr Abhaya in the head with an axe that she found near the kitchen of the convent after the latter spotted her with Fr Kottoor and Fr Puthrukayil in a small room near the kitchen in compromising postures. {DP } The nun had committed the cruel act out of fear of humiliation and possible expulsion from her ascetic life if Sr Abhaya reported what she saw to the higher authorities of the Church, the CBI said.

The investigators told the court that the two priests and the nun with the help of several others had made efforts to destroy evidences in order to project Sr Abhaya's death as a case of suicide by influencing the investigating agencies, first the local police and later the Crime Branch. The local police and the Crime Branch had written off the murder case as one of suicide. The CBI also said that it was likely that more persons could be arrayed as accused though the number of accused was now limited to three. However, the agency did not make clear whether the addition of more persons as accused was in connection with the murder of the activities later during the investigation stage.

The Central investigating agency had said earlier that the killers had struck Sr Abhaya with an axe in the head three times before throwing her in the well but had not made clear who had struck her. Dr C Radhakrishnan, the former police surgeon at the Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, who had done the autopsy on Sr Abhaya's body, had told the CBI that he had seen three massive injury marks on the nun's head.

The period of the third remand of the three accused, arrested on November 19, had come to an end on Monday and the court extended it till January 12. The CBI told the court that releasing the three at this juncture could cause serious problems to the investigations as a massive public relations campaign was on from some quarters (the Knanaya Church) to project the Central agency's probe as an effort at victimizing innocent church personalities. {this specific persecution of christians, anybody wants to defend???? There is another persecuted gangraped raped 'nun' from Orissa who is MIA after a flurry of allegations}

The CBI told the court that a big campaign was going on against the CBI with the intention of derailing the probe and pamphlets, demonstrations and other means were being used for this. {name the worthies who want to hamper the investigation **wringing hands**}

Several nuns from St Joseph's Generate and St Pius X Convent in Kottayam had been present at the court premises to see the accused persons. The court allowed the visitors to talk to them briefly before moving them back to the Sub-Jail, Ernakulam where they would spend their remand period.

http://creative.sulekha.com/kerala-nun-struck-sister-abhaya-in-the-head-with-an-axe-cbi_384880_blog

Susa ritual basin 13th-12th cent. BCE Indus Script hieroglyphs sippi, 'bivalve shell, spathe of date palm' sippi 'craftsman' ayo medha kammata sippi 'iron metal mint artisan'

August 14, 2016, 10:44 pm

≫ Next: Metalwork catalogues. Crocodile, fish-fin, fish Indus Script signify Vedic karmāra Kashmiri khār खार् Pali ayakāra Kannada kammaṭa, kambāra in smithy, mint

≪ Previous: Life stories of three nuns: Sr Mary Sebastian, Sr. Jesme, Sr. Abhaya (murdered)

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/j7bdpbl

It is possible that makara is derived from kar-makara:  karmakara m. ʻ workman, hired labourer ʼ MBh. Pali. kammakara -- m., °rī -- f.; Prakrtam. kammayara -- m. ʻ servant ʼ(CDIAL 2887)

In the context of spathe and mollusc (shell) hieroglyphs on a gold ear ring, this monograph details how these constitute Indus Script hieroglyphs signified in conjunction with fish, fish-fin, goat on a Susa ritual basin of 13th-12th cent. and on a Harappa seal h330 (ca. 3300 BCE?)
Harappa seal (h330). Seal. National Museum: 135 
The rebus readings of the hieroglyphs are: koDe, koDiya 'young bull' rebus: koTiya 'dhow,s seafaring vessel' aya 'fish'; rebus: aya 'cast metal' (G.). barad, balad 'ox' rebus: bharata 'alloy of pewter, copper, tin' sangaDa 'joined animals' rebus: sAngaDa 'double-canoe, seafaring vessel'. khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'. Thus, seafaring merchant's cargo of copper alloy (from) mint. Stupa-1 North Torana, East pillar showing ayo kammaTa motif. Sanchi, Dist Raisen, Madhya Pradesh. Atop tAmarasa 'lotus' rebus: tAmra 'copper'. sippi 'spathe of date palm' rebus: sippi 'artisan'. Thus, copper artisan. khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'.Thus, copper mint artisan. dAma 'garland' rebus: dhAu 'mineral'
Molluscs on Sanchi Monument Stupa II Huntington Scan Number 0010873 
Gold ear ring 1st cent. BCE
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/srivatsa-hieroglyph-galleries-ayo.html 

srivatsa hieroglyph galleries ayo kammata 'iron mint', sippi on Sanchi torana, sword-wielding Mañjuśrī are Indus Script proclamations

Hieroglyph: 1. sippī f. ʻ shell, spathe of date palm ʼ, (Prakritam)

Hieroglyph 2: Sippikā1 (f.) [fr. sippī] a pearl oyster J i.426; ii.100 (sippika- sambukaŋ); Vism 362 (in comp.)=VbhA 68.Sippī [cp. Prākrit sippī] (f.) a pearl oyster J ii.100; sippi- puṭa oyster shell J v.197, 206. sippi -- sambuka oysters and shells D i.84; M i.279; A i.9; iii.395. *sippī ʻ shell ʼ. [← Drav. Tam. cippi DED 2089]Pa. sippī -- , sippikā -- f. ʻ pearl oyster ʼ, Pk. sippī -- f., S. sipa f.; L. sipp ʻ shell ʼ, sippī f. ʻ shell, spathe of date palm ʼ, (Ju.) sip m., sippī f. ʻ bivalve shell ʼ; P. sipp m., sippī f. ʻ shell, conch ʼ; Ku.sīp, sīpi ʻ shell ʼ; N. sipi ʻ shell, snail shell ʼ; B. sip ʻ libation pot ʼ, chip ʻ a kind of swift canoe ʼ S. K. Chatterji CR 1936, 290 (or < kṣiprá -- ?); Or. sipa ʻ oyster shell, mother -- of -- pearl, shells burnt for lime ʼ; Bi. sīpī ʻ mussel shells for lime ʼ; OAw. sīpa f. ʻ bivalve shell ʼ, H. sīp f.; G. sīp f. ʻ half an oyster shell ʼ, chīp f. ʻ shell ʼ; M. śīp, śĩp f. ʻ a half shell ʼ, śĩpā m. ʻ oyster shell ʼ; -- Si.sippiya ʻ oyster shell ʼ ← Tam.(CDIAL 13417) Ta. ippi pearl-oyster, shell; cippi shell, shellfish, coconut shell for measuring out curds. Ma. ippi, cippi oyster shell. Ka. cippu, sippu, cimpi, cimpe, simpi, simpu, simpe oyster shell, mussel, cockle, a portion of the shell of a coconut, skull, a pearl oyster; (Gowda) cippi coconut shell. Tu. cippi coconut shell, oyster shell, pearl; tippi, sippi coconut shell. Te. cippa a shell; (kobbari co) coconut shell; (mōkāli co) knee-pan, patella; (tala co) skull; (muttepu co) mother-of-pearl. Go. (Ma.) ipi shell, conch (Voc. 174). / Cf. Turner, CDIAL, no. 13417, *sippī-; Pali sippī- pearl oyster, Pkt. sippī- id., etc. (DEDR 2835) 

Rebus:   śílpa n. ʻ artistic work ʼ Br. ʻ manual craft ʼ Mn. [śilpá -- ʻ bright, decorative ʼ VS. -- Derivation from *piśla -- (P. Tedesco Language 23, 383) is improbable]
Pa. sippa -- , °aka -- n. ʻ art, craft ʼ, NiDoc. śilpa, Pk. sippa -- n.; Ku. sīp ʻ skill, ability ʼ, N. sip (Ku. N. sipālu ʻ clever, dexterous ʼ), OAw. sīpa; Si. sip -- a ʻ art, handiwork ʼ.
śilpin -- .śilpin ʻ skilled in art ʼ, m. ʻ artificer ʼ Gaut., śilpika<-> ʻ skilled ʼ MBh. [śílpa -- ]
Pa. sippika -- m. ʻ craftsman ʼ, NiDoc. śilpiǵa, Pk. sippi -- , °ia -- m.; A. xipini ʻ woman clever at spinning and weaving ʼ; OAw. sīpī m. ʻ artizan ʼ; M. śĩpī m. ʻ a caste of tailors ʼ; Si. sipi -- yā ʻ craftsman ʼ.(CDIAL 12470, 12471) Sippika [fr. sippa] an artisan Sn 613, 651; Miln 78; Vism 336. Also sippiya J vi.396, 397.Sippavant [fr. sippa] one who masters a craft J vi.296. Sippaka=sippa J i.420. Sippa (nt.) [cp. Sk. śilpa] art, branch of knowledge, craft Sn 261; A iii.225; iv.281 sq., 322; D iii.156, 189; J i.239, 478; Miln 315; excludes the Vedas Miln 10; sabbasippāni J i.356, 463; ii.53; eight various kinds enumerated M i.85; twelve crafts Ud 31, cp. dvādasavidha s. J i.58; eighteen sippas mentioned J ii.243; some sippas are hīna, others ukkaṭṭha Vin iv.6 sq.; VbhA 410. asippa untaught, unqualified J iv.177; vi.228=asippin Miln 250. -- sippaŋ uggaṇhāti to learn a craft VvA 138. -- āyatana object or branch of study, art D i.51; Miln 78; VbhA 490 (pāpaka). -- uggahaṇa taking up, i. e. learning, a craft J iv.7; PvA 3. -- ṭṭhāna a craft M i.85; cp. BSk. śilpasthāna Divy 58, 100, 212. -- phala result of one's craft D i.51. -- mada conceit regarding one's accomplishment VbhA 468. शिल्प[p= 1073,3]n. (of doubtful derivation) the art of variegating , variegated or diversified appearance , decoration , ornament , artistic work VS. Br. Hariv.Katha1s. BhP.any manual art or craft , any handicraft or mechanical or fine art (64 such arts or crafts , sometimes called बाह्य-कला , " external or practical arts " , are enumerated e.g. carpentering , architecture , jewellery , farriery , acting , dancing , music , medicine , poetry &c [cf. IW. 185] ; and 64 अभ्यन्तर-कला , " secret arts " e.g. kissing , embracing , and various other arts of coquetry) S3a1n3khBr. Mn. MBh. &cskill in any art or craft or work of art , ingenuity , contrivance MBh. Ka1v. &cany act or work (also m.) BhP.ceremonial act , ceremony , rite (also m.) MW.form , shape Naigh. iii , 7 (cf. सु-शिल्प) शिल्पी f. a female artisan or mechanic Cat.

• Bassin cultuel orné de poissons-chèvres (See Annex: Blurb on Museum catalogue)
  Epoque médio-élamite
  Suse
• Calcaire
  H. 62.8 cm; W. 92 cm
• Fouilles J. de Morgan 1904 - 1905
  Sb 19

Fish, fish-fin hieroglyph-multiplexes (hypertexts) on pottery inscriptions and on seals/tablets

The Susa ritual basin decipherment demonstrates the possibility that some 'fish' hieroglyphs read as aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' may also signify khambhaṛā 'fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint'.

A Susa ritual basin dated to ca. 12th or 13th century BCE depicts goat and fish ligatured into a 'fabulous' or 'composite' animal representation, clearly intended to connote the underlying hieroglyphic meaning. Susa ritual basin dates from 13th or 12th cent. BCE. The hieroglyph-multiplex flanks reedposts, spathes, molluscs. http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/ritual-basin-decorated-goatfish-figures aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Rigveda) meḷh ‘goat’ (Br. mr̤eka (Te.); mēṭam (Ta.); meṣam (Samskritam) Te. mr̤eka (DEDR 5087)  (DEDR 5087) Rebus:  medha 'yajña' medhA 'dhanam' (Yaska Nirukta) meluh.h.a (Akkadian) mleccha (Samskritam) milakkhu 'copper' (Pali)  An alternative reading for the composite animal: goat PLUS fish-fin. mr̤eka 'copper' rebus: milakkhu 'copper' PLUS khamba 'wing' fish-fin 'khambhaṛā' (Lahnda) rebus: kammaTa 'mint' (Kannada) eruvai 'reed' rebus: eruvai 'copper' sippi 'mollusc' rebus: sippi 'artificer, sculptor'. Thus, the hieroglyph-multiplex (hypertext) signifies a copper metalwork sculptor. The basin is for purification by Potr. 'purifier' who is also dhā̆vaḍ 'smelter', derived from dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV; dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ (Prakrtam) 

Thus, the expression is read: ayo medha kammata sippi 'iron metal mint artisan'.

 sippī f. ʻ shell, spathe of date palm ʼ, (Prakritam); rebus: sippi 'craftsman, artificer'.

Harappa: Fish +fins on one side of a four-sided tablet

A Munda gloss for fish is 'aya'. Read rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Vedic). 

The script inscriptions indicate a set of modifiers or ligatures to the hieroglyph indicating that the metal, aya, was worked on during the early Bronze Age metallurgical processes -- to produce aya ingots, aya metalware,aya hard alloys.

Fish hieroglyph in its vivid orthographic form is shown in a Susa pot which contained metalware -- weapons and vessels. 

Context for use of ‘fish’ glyph. This photograph of a fish and the ‘fish’ glyph on Susa pot are comparable to the ‘fish’ glyph on Indus inscriptions.

Read on the arguments at: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2011/11/decoding-fish-and-ligatured-fish-glyphs.html 

The modifiers to the 'fish' hieroglyph which commonly occur together are: slanted stroke, notch, fins, lid-of-pot ligatured as superfix:For determining the semantics of the messages conveyed by the script. Positional analysis of ‘fish’ glyphs has also been presented in: The Indus Script: A Positional-statistical Approach By Michael Korvink, 2007, Gilund Press.

Table from: The Indus Script: A Positional-statistical Approach By Michael Korvink, 2007, Gilund Press. Mahadevan notes (Para 6.5 opcit.) that ‘a unique feature of the FISH signs is their tendency to form clusters, often as pairs, and rarely as triplets also. This pattern has fascinated and baffled scholars from the days of Hunter posing problems in interpretation.’ One way to resolve the problem is to interpret the glyptic elements creating ligatured fish signs and read the glyptic elements rebus to define the semantics of the message of an inscription.

karaṇḍa ‘duck’ (Sanskrit) karaṛa ‘a very large aquatic bird’ (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi) Rebus: fire-god: @B27990.  #16671. Remo <karandi>E155  {N} ``^fire-^god''.(Munda) Rebus:. kharādī ‘ turner’ (Gujarati)

The 'parenthesis' modifier is a circumfix for both 'fish' and 'duck' hieroglyphs, the semantics of () two parenthetical modifiers are: kuṭilá— ‘bent, crooked’ KātyŚr., °aka— Pañcat., n. ‘a partic. plant’  [√kuṭ 1] Pa. kuṭila— ‘bent’, n. ‘bend’; Pk. kuḍila— ‘crooked’, °illa— ‘humpbacked’, °illaya— ‘bent’DEDR 2054 (a) Ta. koṭu curved, bent, crooked; koṭumai crookedness, obliquity; koṭukki hooked bar for fastening doors, clasp of an ornament. A pair of curved lines: dol ‘likeness, picture, form’ [e.g., two tigers, two bulls, sign-pair.] Kashmiri. dula दुल । युग्मम् m. a pair, a couple, esp. of two similar things (Rām. 966). Rebus: dul meṛeḍ  cast iron (Mundari. Santali) dul ‘to cast metal in a mould’ (Santali) pasra meṛed, pasāra meṛed = syn. of koṭe meṛed = forged iron, in contrast to dul meṛed, cast iron (Mundari.) Thus, dul kuṭila ‘cast bronze’.

The parenthetically ligatured fish+duck hieroglyphs thus read rebus: dul kuṭila ayas karaḍā 'cast bronze ayasor cast alloy metal with ayas as component to create karaḍā ''hard alloy with ayas'.

Ligatures to fish: parentheses + snout dul kuṭila ayas 'cast bronze ayas alloy with tuttha, copper sulphate' 

Modifier hieroglyph: 'snout' Hieroglyph: WPah.kṭg. ṭōṭ ʻ mouth ʼ.WPah.kṭg. thótti f., thótthəṛ m. ʻ snout, mouth ʼ, A. ṭhõt(phonet. thõt) (CDIAL 5853). Semantics, Rebus: 

tutthá n. (m. lex.), tutthaka -- n. ʻ blue vitriol (used as an eye ointment) ʼ Suśr., tūtaka -- lex. 2. *thōttha -- 4. 3. *tūtta -- . 4. *tōtta -- 2. [Prob. ← Drav. T. Burrow BSOAS xii 381; cf. dhūrta -- 2 n. ʻ iron filings ʼ lex.]1. N. tutho ʻ blue vitriol or sulphate of copper ʼ, B. tuth.2. K. thŏth, dat. °thas m., P. thothā m.3. S.tūtio m., A. tutiyā, B. tũte, Or. tutiā, H. tūtā, tūtiyā m., M. tutiyā m.

4. M. totā m.(CDIAL 5855) Ka. tukku rust of iron; tutta, tuttu, tutte blue vitriol. Tu. tukků rust; mair(ů)suttu, (Eng.-Tu. Dict.) mairůtuttu blue vitriol. Te. t(r)uppu rust; (SAN) trukku id., verdigris. / Cf. Skt. tuttha- blue vitriol (DEDR 3343).

Fish + corner, aya koṇḍa, ‘metal turned or forged’

Fish, aya ‘metal’

Fish + scales, aya ã̄s (amśu) ‘metallic stalks of stone ore’. Vikalpa: badhoṛ ‘a species of fish with many bones’ (Santali) Rebus: baḍhoe ‘a carpenter, worker in wood’; badhoria ‘expert in working in wood’(Santali)

Fish + splinter, aya aduru ‘smelted native metal’

Fish + sloping stroke, aya ḍhāḷ ‘metal ingot’

Fish + arrow or allograph, Fish + circumscribed four short strokes

This indication of the occurrence, together, of two or more 'fish' hieroglyphs with modifiers is an assurance that the modifiers ar semantic indicators of how aya 'metal' is worked on by the artisans.

ayakāṇḍa ‘’large quantity of stone (ore) metal’ or aya kaṇḍa,  ‘metal fire-altar’. ayo, hako 'fish'; ãs = scales of fish (Santali); rebus: aya ‘metal, iron’ (G.); ayah, ayas = metal (Skt.) Santali lexeme, hako ‘fish’ is concordant with a proto-Indic form which can be identified as ayo in many glosses, Munda, Sora glosses in particular, of the Indian linguistic area.

beḍa hako (ayo) ‘fish’ (Santali); beḍa ‘either of the sides of a hearth’ (G.) Munda: So. ayo `fish'. Go. ayu `fish'. Go <ayu> (Z), <ayu?u> (Z),, <ayu?> (A) {N} ``^fish''. Kh. kaDOG `fish'. Sa. Hako `fish'. Mu. hai (H) ~ haku(N) ~ haikO(M) `fish'. Ho haku `fish'. Bj. hai `fish'. Bh.haku `fish'. KW haiku ~ hakO |Analyzed hai-kO, ha-kO (RDM). Ku. Kaku`fish'.@(V064,M106) Mu. ha-i, haku `fish' (HJP). @(V341) ayu>(Z), <ayu?u> (Z)  <ayu?>(A) {N} ``^fish''. #1370. <yO>\\<AyO>(L) {N} ``^fish''. #3612. <kukkulEyO>,,<kukkuli-yO>(LMD) {N} ``prawn''. !Serango dialect. #32612. <sArjAjyO>,,<sArjAj>(D) {N} ``prawn''. #32622. <magur-yO>(ZL) {N} ``a kind of ^fish''. *Or.<>. #32632. <ur+GOl-Da-yO>(LL) {N} ``a kind of ^fish''. #32642.<bal.bal-yO>(DL) {N} ``smoked fish''. #15163. Vikalpa: Munda: <aDara>(L) {N} ``^scales of a fish, sharp bark of a tree''.#10171. So<aDara>(L) {N} ``^scales of a fish, sharp bark of a tree''.

Indian mackerel Ta. ayirai, acarai, acalai loach, sandy colour, Cobitis thermalis; ayilai a kind of fish. Ma.ayala a fish, mackerel, scomber; aila, ayila a fish; ayira a kind of small fish, loach (DEDR 191) aduru native metal (Ka.); ayil iron (Ta.) ayir, ayiram any ore (Ma.); ajirda karba very hard iron (Tu.)(DEDR 192). Ta. ayil javelin, lance, surgical knife, lancet.Ma. ayil javelin, lance; ayiri surgical knife, lancet. (DEDR 193). aduru = gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddhānti Subrahmaṇya’ Śastri’s new interpretation of the AmarakoŚa, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p.330); adar = fine sand (Ta.); ayir – iron dust, any ore (Ma.) Kur. adar the waste of pounded rice, broken grains, etc. Malt. adru broken grain (DEDR 134).  Ma. aśu thin, slender;ayir, ayiram iron dust.Ta. ayir subtlety, fineness, fine sand, candied sugar; ? atar fine sand, dust. அய.ர³ ayir, n. 1. Subtlety, fineness; நணசம. (த_வ_.) 2. [M. ayir.] Fine sand; நணமணல. (மலசலப. 92.) ayiram, n.  Candied sugar; ayil, n. cf. ayas. 1. Iron; 2. Surgical knife, lancet; Javelin, lance; ayilavaṉ, Skanda, as bearing a javelin (DEDR 341).Tu. gadarů a lump (DEDR 1196) 

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/03/indus-script-inscriptions-43-deciphered.html

Annex

This limestone basin dates from the 13th or 12th century BC. It was used for ritual libations. The decoration depicts goatfish figures around a sacred tree in reference to the Mesopotamian god Enki/Ea. This reveals the full extent of the mutual influence of the Iranian and Mesopotamian cosmogonies. The sacred palm, the ancestor of the Assyrian sacred tree, reflects the importance of dates as a food source in the region. 

A basin symbolizing the water cycle

This basin was broken into several pieces when it was found and has been reconstituted. Used by priests in their ritual libations, liquid was poured out over the basin and was then collected for re-use. There were two types of ritual libations. The first reflected the water cycle, with water rising up from underground, filling rivers and wells. The other was an offering of beer, wine or honey, poured out for the deity in anticipation of his meal. The decoration of this basin suggests it was used for the first type of ritual libation. It is made in the shape of the realm of Enki/Ea, Apsu, the body of fresh water lying beneath the earth and feeding all the rivers and streams. Apsu is likewise represented in the bronze model called Sit-Shamshi (Louvre, Sb2743). The fact that it was found in Susa indicates that the Elamites adopted certain aspects of Mesopotamian mythology.

Goatfish figures around a sacred palm

The rim of the limestone basin is decorated with a single repeated motif: two goatfish figures, or Nou, on either side of a stylized tree. These creatures were the attributes of Enki/Ea, the Mesopotamian god of underground water, symbolizing his power to replenish vegetation, represented by the sacred palm tree. A similar stylized tree can be seen on the stele of King Untash-Napirisha (Sb12). The tree consists of a central trunk with a number of offshoots curved at the tip and with three palmettes on the upper part. The image is completely stylized, bearing only a very distant resemblance to actual date palm trees. This symbol of plant life reflects the importance of date palms in the region. Dates were a staple foodstuff for the local population. This type of sacred palm was the predecessor of the sacred trees of Assyria. A relief from the palace of Assurnazirpal II in Nimrud depicts a winged spirit with a bird's head in front of just such a sacred tree (AO19849). The upper part of the basin is decorated with an intertwining pattern resembling flowing water. The inside of the basin consists of a series of squared steps leading down to the bottom of the dish. Traces of an inscription, too worn to be read, indicate that there was originally a text along the edges of the basin.

Bibliography

Amiet Pierre, Élam, Auvers-sur-Oise, Archée, 1966, p. 394 et pp. 467-468, fig. 298 A-B.
Borne interactive du département des Antiquités orientales.
Contenau Georges, Manuel d'archéologie orientale depuis les origines jusqu'à l'époque d'Alexandre, vol. II, Histoire de l'art : IIIe et IIe millénaires avant notre ère, Paris, A. Picard, 1931, pp. 912-913, fig. 629.

http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/ritual-basin-decorated-goatfish-figures

S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center

August 15, 2016

---

Metalwork catalogues. Crocodile, fish-fin, fish Indus Script signify Vedic karmāra Kashmiri khār खार् Pali ayakāra Kannada kammaṭa, kambāra in smithy, mint

August 15, 2016, 8:11 am

≫ Next: Metals artificer, sailor, mariner emerges out of makara in Indus Script cipher

≪ Previous: Susa ritual basin 13th-12th cent. BCE Indus Script hieroglyphs sippi, 'bivalve shell, spathe of date palm' sippi 'craftsman' ayo medha kammata sippi 'iron metal mint artisan'

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jx8nhcs

It is possible that makara is derived from kar-makara:  karmakara m. ʻ workman, hired labourer ʼ MBh. Pali. kammakara -- m., °rī -- f.; Prakrtam. kammayara -- m. ʻ servant ʼ(CDIAL 2887) kamma + kāra sailor, mariner; kammara'artisan, smith'. Makara is sometimes shown with a fin and a mollusc twist: sippi'mollusc' rebus: sippi 'artificer'.

Fragment of a Makara Capital Allahabad Museum, Allahabad Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh. C.2nd Century BCE Shunga 

Vedic karmāra Kashmiri khārखार् Pali ayakāra Kannada kammaṭa, kambāRa -- terms used in smithy and, mintwork are etyma which explain the formation and evolution of some expressions in the lingua franca, of Indian sprachbund (language union) during the Bronze Age Revolution.

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/susa-ritual-basin-13th-12th-cent-bce.html 

Susa ritual basin 13th-12th cent. BCE Indus Script hieroglyphs sippi, 'bivalve shell, spathe of date palm' sippi 'craftsman' ayo medha kammata sippi 'iron metal mint artisan'. This monograph reinforces the Indus Script cipher as a continuum in the writing systems of ca. 3rd-2nd centuries BCE. The roots of the rebus signifiers of hypertexts can be seen from Indus inscriptions of 3rd millennium BCE.

kammaṭa'mint' (Kannada) is కమటము (p. 246) kamaṭamu kammaṭamu 

[Telugu.] n. A portable furnace for melting the precious metals. This is a hieroglyph, the bottom portion of the ligatured standard device sãghāṛɔ (Gujarati) generally signified in front of a young bull on scores of Indus Script inscriptions. Another hieroglyph signifier is khambhaṛā 'fish fin'. Kannada words kammaṭa, kambāRa signify 'coiner (mint)/blacksmith'. The Telugu word కమ్మటీడు kammaṭīḍu signifies 'goldsmith'.

That the signified term is a 'blacksmith' is also seen on the anthropomorphic ligatured fish-man, fish-woman on an Assyrian seal.

[Anthony Green, A Note on the Assyrian "Goat-Fish", "Fish-Man" and "Fish-Woman", Iraq, Vol. 48 (1986), pp. 25-30; After Plate X, b, on seal. BM 119918. 2.5X2.5X2.5cm. Late Babylonian stamp seal depicting kulullu and kuliltu(?); streams flow from a vase at top left;top centre, a crescent. Previously published: Van Buren 1933: Pl. XX:70, p. 116, with earlier references cited in n.3, to which may be added Munter 1827: Tab. II:18, p. 139. Cf. also Unger 1957: 71, Nr. 2; Unger 1966.)

Kalibangan 37, 34

Two Kalibangan seals show an antelope and fish glyphs as the inscription. Mẽḍha ‘antelope’; rebus: ‘iron’ (Ho.) ayo ‘fish’; rebs: ayo ‘metal’ (G.) [These are examples which clearly demonstrate that Indus script is a glyptic writing system and hence, all glyphs and glyptic elements have to be decoded.] miṇḍālmarkhor (Tor.wali) meḍho a ram, a sheep (G.)(CDIAL 10120) iron (Ho.) meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda) meḍ ‘iron’.

Mohenjo-daro Seals m1118 and Kalibangan 032, glyphs used are: Zebu (bos taurus indicus), fish, four-strokes (allograph: arrow).ayo ‘fish’ (Mu.) + kaṇḍa ‘arrow’ (Skt.) ayaskāṇḍa ‘a quantity of iron, excellent  iron’ (Pāṇ.gaṇ) aya = iron (G.); ayah, ayas = metal (Skt.) gaṆḌa, ‘four’ (Santali); Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’, ‘furnace’), arrow read rebus in mleccha (Meluhhan) as a reference to a guild of artisans working with ayaskāṇḍa ‘excellent quantity of iron’ (Pāṇini) is consistent with the primacy of economic activities which resulted in the invention of a writing system, now referred to as Indus Writing. poLa 'zebu' Rebus: poLa 'magnetite'. poLa 'zebu' rebus: poLa 'magnetite, ferrite ore'.

Tell AsmarCylinder seal modern impression [elephant, rhinoceros and gharial (alligator) on the upper register] bibliography and image source: Frankfort, Henri: Stratified Cylinder Seals from the Diyala Region. Oriental Institute Publications 72. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, no. 642. Museum Number: IM14674 3.4 cm. high. Glazed steatite. ca. 2250 - 2200 BCE. ibha 'elephant' Rebus: ib 'iron'.gaṇḍa, kāṇḍā 'rhinoceros' Rebus: khāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’.  karā 'crocodile' Rebus: khar 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri) Alternative: ghariyal 'crocodile' rebus: karb 'iron'.

With curved horns, the ’anthropomorph’ is a ligature of a mountain goat or markhor (makara) and a fish incised between the horns. Typical find of Gangetic Copper Hoards.  At Sheorajpur, three anthropomorphs in metal were found. (Sheorajpur, Dt. Kanpur. Three anthropomorphic figures of copper. AI, 7, 1951, pp. 20, 29).

One anthropomorph had fish hieroglyph incised on the chest of  the copper object, Sheorajpur, upper Ganges valley,   ca. 2nd millennium BCE,   4 kg; 47.7 X 39 X 2.1 cm. State Museum,   Lucknow (O.37) Typical find of Gangetic Copper Hoards. miṇḍāl markhor (Tor.wali) meḍho a ram, a sheep (G.)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: meḍh ‘helper of merchant’ (Gujarati) meḍ iron (Ho.) meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda) ayo ‘fish’ Rebus: ayo, ayas ‘metal. Thus, together read rebus: ayo meḍh ‘iron stone ore, metal merchant.’

 Santali glosses.

To convey the metalwork category of blacksmith's iron mint, the hieroglyph signifiers or hypertext is composed of:

karA'crocodile' rebus: khAr'blacksmith'

ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya'iron'ayas'metal'

khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage'

ayakāra kammaṭa is thus an expression in hypertext to signify, descriptively, 'ironsmith mint'.

The hypertext is seen in the following examples of Indus Script inscriptions.

m0482A One side of a two-sided tablet  m1429C One side of a prism tablet. ayo ‘fish’ (Mu.); rebus: aya ‘(alloyed) metal’ (G.) kāru  a wild crocodile or alligator (Te.) Rebus:khār  a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār) (Kashmiri) 

Combined rebus reading: ayakāra ‘iron-smith’ (Pali) PLUS khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' (since the crocodile grabs the fish-fin).

Mohenjodaro. Tablet. Crocodile + fish DK 8037. E 2500 Purana Qila, New Delhi. ASI.

m1429B and two other tablets showing the typical composite hieroglyph of fish + crocodile.

See m1429C See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/05/goat-fish-on-assyrian-seal-ayaskara.html

Triangula tablet. Horned seated person. crocodile. Split ellipse (parenthesis). On this tablet inscription, the hieroglyphs are: crocodile, fishes, person with a raised hand, seated in penance on a stool (platform). eraka 'raised hand' rebus: eraka 'molten cast, copper' arka 'copper'. manca 'platform' rebus: manji 'dhow, seafaring vessel' karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal'. kamaDha 'penance' rebus: kammaṭa'mint, coiner, coinage'.

m0489A One side of a prism tablet shows: crocodile + fish glyphic on the top register. Glyphs: crocodile + fish Rebus: ayakāra ‘blacksmith’ (Pali) PLUS khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' (since the crocodile grabs the fish-fin).

Glyph: Animals in procession: खांडा [khāṇḍā] A flock (of sheep or goats) (Marathi) கண்டி¹ kaṇṭi  Flock, herd (Tamil) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, and metal-ware’.

RV 10.72.1-2 Translation (Griffith)

Let us with tuneful skill proclaim these generations of the Gods, That one may see them when these hymns are chanted in a future age

These Brahmanaspati produced with blast and smelting, like a Smith,

Existence, in an earlier age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.

धम [p= 509,3] mfn. blowing , melting (ifc. ; cf. करं- , खरिं- , जलं- &c )

ब्रह्मणस्-पति [p= 741,1] m. (fr. ब्रह्मणस् gen. of ब्रह्मन् + प्°) = ब्/ऋहस्-प्/अति RV. &c ( -सू*क्त n. N. of wk.) ऋण ṛṇa -चित् a.acknowledging (praise) as a debt to be paid for. N. of ब्रह्मणस्पति (Apte).   ऋण--चित् a [p= 225,3] mfn. " giving heed to worship " (paid as a debt by men to gods) , N. of ब्रह्मणस्-पति RV. ii , 23 , 17.

The Sukta RV 2.23 is a prayer to Brahmanaspati. At RV 2.23.17 Brahmanaspati is called RNacit, 'giving heed to worship' (paid as a debt by men to gods). The Rica notes Tvastar brought Brahmanaspati to life. RV 10.72.1-2 had noted how Brahmanaspati, like a Smith, produced (metals, dhanam, wealth) with blast and smelting. The Kavi are the smiths who declare in chandas the documentation in 10,800 ricas, comparable to the Indus Script Corpora of over 7000 inscriptions generated by the smiths and artisans of the Bronze Age Revolution.

Translation RV 2.23.17 (Griffith):

For Tvastar, he who knows each sacred song, brought thee to life, preeminent o’er all the things that be.Guilt scourger, guilt-avenger is Brhaspati, who slays the spoiler and upholds the mighty Law.

ब्र(व्र)ह्मणस्पति पु० ६ त० अकुकस० निघण्टौ तस्य पदणपत्पौक्तेः एतपदत्वमं । १ ब्राह्मणजातिखामिनि यजु०

१४-२८ (२)मन्त्रस्वामिनि च "पवित्रं ब्रह्मणस्पते" ताण्ड्य० १ । २ । ८ । “हे ब्रह्मणस्पते! मन्त्रस्वामिन्” भा०  https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/वाचस्पत्यम्/

1. Mohenjo-daro seal M006 with the pictorial motif combination: First image: 'one-horned young bull calf' + pannier + rings on neck + Second image: 'gimlet' + 'portable furnace' combined into a 'standard device' in front of the first image.

This method of cypher dealing with both pictorial motifs and signs as hieroglyphs read as part of a logo-semantic system of representation, led to the elucidation of almost the entire corpora of Indus writing -- characterised by a set of vivid, unambiguous hieroglyphs for e.g. of a crocodile holding a fish in its jaw or a wild animal in front of a trough etc. etc. -- as lists of metalware catalogs.

Hieroglyph: kāru a wild crocodile or alligator (Telugu) ghariyal id. (Hindi)kāru 'crocodile' (Telugu) கராம் karām, n. prob. grāha. 1. A species of alligator; முதலைவகை. முதலையு மிடங்கருங் கராமும் (குறிஞ்சிப். 257). 2. Male alligator; ஆண் முதலை. (திவா.) కారుమొసలి a wild crocodile or alligator. (Telugu) Rebus: kāru ‘artisan’ (Marathi) kāruvu 'artisan' (Telugu) khār 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

[fish = aya (G.); crocodile = kāru (Telugu)] Rebus: ayakāra ‘ironsmith’ (Pali) 

Kāra [fr. kār -- , cp. Vedic kāra song of praise, which is, however, derived fr. kṛ=kir to praise; also Vedic ˚kāra in brāhma˚, fr. kṛ] 1. abs. (a) deed, service, act of mercy or worship, homage... [cp. kara] one who does, handles or deals with: ayakāra iron -- smith Miln 331.(Pali)

khār 1 खार् । लोहकारः m. (sg. abl. khāra 1 खार; the pl. dat. of this word is khāran 1 खारन्, which is to be distinguished from khāran 2, q.v., s.v.), a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār, p. 111b, l. 46; K.Pr. 46; H. xi, 17); a farrier (El.). This word is often a part of a name, and in such case comes at the end (W. 118) as inWahab khār, Wahab the smith (H. ii, 12; vi, 17). khāra-basta khāra-basta खार-बस््त । चर्मप्रसेविका f. the skin bellows of a blacksmith. -büṭhü -ब&above;ठू&below; । लोहकारभित्तिः f. the wall of a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -bāy -बाय् । लोहकारपत्नी f. a blacksmith's wife (Gr.Gr. 34). -dŏkuru -द्वकुरु‍; । लोहकारायोघनः m. a blacksmith's hammer, a sledge-hammer. -gȧji -ग;जि; or -güjü -ग;जू; । लोहकारचुल्लिः f. a blacksmith's furnace or hearth. -hāl -हाल् । लोहकारकन्दुः f. (sg. dat. -höjü -हा;जू;), a blacksmith's smelting furnace; cf. hāl 5. -kūrü -कूरू‍&below; । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter. -koṭu -क;टु; । लोहकारपुत्रः m. the son of a blacksmith, esp. a skilful son, who can work at the same profession. -küṭü - । लोहकारकन्या f. a blacksmith's daughter, esp. one who has the virtues and qualities properly belonging to her father's profession or caste. -më˘ʦü । लोहकारमृत्तिका f. (for 2,see [khāra 3] ), 'blacksmith's earth,' i.e. iron-ore. -nĕcyuwu -न्यचिवु&below; । लोहकारात्मजः m. a blacksmith's son. -nay -नय् । लोहकारनालिका f. (for khāranay 2, see[khārun] ), the trough into which the blacksmith allows melted iron to flow after smelting. -ʦañĕ -च्&dotbelow;ञ । लोहकारशान्ताङ्गाराः f.pl. charcoal used by blacksmiths in their furnaces. -wān वान् । लोहकारापणः m. a blacksmith's shop, a forge, smithy (K.Pr. 3). -waṭh -वठ् । आघाताधारशिला m. (sg. dat. -waṭas -वटि), the large stone used by a blacksmith as an anvil. khārun खारुन् । आरोपणम् conj. 1 (caus. of khasun, Gr.Gr. 175; 1 p.p. khôru खोरु‍&below;), to cause to rise, to raise, to elevate, lift up, carry up (K.Pr. 72, 87, 114; W. 149; Śiv. 61, 123, 1254,(Kashmiri)

Kammāra [Vedic karmāra] a smith, a worker in metals generally D ii.126, A v.263; a silversmith Sn 962= Dh 239; J i.223; a goldsmith J iii.281; v.282. The smiths in old India do not seem to be divided into black -- , gold -- and silver -- smiths, but seem to have been able to work equally well in iron, gold, and silver, as can be seen e. g. from J iii.282 and VvA 250, where the smith is the maker of a needle. They were constituted into a guild, and some of them were well -- to -- do as appears from what is said of Cunda at D ii.126; owing to their usefulness they were held in great esteem by the people and king alike J iii.281.   -- uddhana a smith's furnace, a forge J vi.218; -- kula a smithy M i.25; kūṭa a smith's hammer Vism 254; -- gaggarī a smith's bellows S i.106; J vi.165; Vism 287 (in comparison); -- putta "son of a smith," i. e. a smith by birth and trade D ii.126; A v.263; as goldsmith J vi.237, Sn 48 (Nd2 ad loc.: k˚ vuccati suvaṇṇakāro); -- bhaṇḍu (bhaṇḍ, cp. Sk. bhāṇḍika a barber) a smith with a bald head Vin i.76; -- sālā a smithy Vism 413; Mhvs 5, 31. (Pali)

Standard device.
Gold fillet. Lathe + portable furnaceకమటము (p. 246) kamaṭamu kamaṭamu. [Tel.] n. A portable furnace for melting the precious metals. అగసాలెవాని కుంపటి. "చ కమటము కట్లెసంచియొరగల్లును గత్తెర సుత్తె చీర్ణముల్ ధమనియుస్రావణంబు మొలత్రాసును బట్టెడ నీరుకారు సా నము పటుకారు మూస బలునాణె పరీక్షల మచ్చులాదిగా నమరగభద్రకారక సమాహ్వయు డొక్కరుడుండు నప్పురిన్"హంస. ii. 

కమ్మటము (p. 247) kammaṭamu Same as కమటము. కమ్మటీడు kammaṭīḍu. [Tel.] A man of the goldsmith caste. Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner.(DEDR 1236).

కమ్మ (p. 247) kamma kamma. [Tel.] n. A branch, or bough of any tree of the palm species. మట్టు. A letter or bond written upon a palm leaf, a bond or agreement. 

కమసాలవాడు (p. 246) kamasālavāḍu Same as కంసాలి. కంసాలి (p. 227) kaṃsāli or కంసాలవాడు kamsāli. [Tel.] n. A goldsmith or silversmith. 

கம்மகாரர் kamma-kārar 

, n. < Pkt. kamma + kāra. Sailors, mariners; 

கப்பலோட்டிகள்

. 

கம்மகாரர் கொண்டாடும்படி நன்றாக ஓடிற்று (சீவக. 501, உரை).

கம்பட்டக்காரன் kampaṭṭa-k-kāraṉ , n. < கம்பட்டம் +. Coiner; நாணயம்செய்வோன். (W.) கம்பட்டக்கூடம் kampaṭṭa-k-kūṭam , n. < id. +. Mint; நாணயசாலை. (W.)கம்பட்டம் kampaṭṭam , n. [K. kammaṭa, M. kammṭṭam.] Coinage, coin; நாணயம். (W.) கம்பட்டமுளை kampaṭṭa-muḷai , n. < id. +. Die, coining stamp; நாணயமுத்திரை. (W.)

కంసము (p. 227) kaṃsamu kamsamu. [Skt.] n. Bell metal.కంచు. 

This remarkable Kannada expression finds a parallel in the sculptural images of Candi Sukuh, based on Bhima Swarga where Bhima is the blacksmith producing the steel sword, while Arjuna works the bellows and Ganesa performs a dance step.ತಿದಿಯೊತ್ತುವ ಕಮ್ಮರೊಮ್ಬಲ್ ಇರ್ದಮ್ ಭೀಮಮ್ 

Ta. meṭṭu (meṭṭi-) to spurn or push with the foot. Ko. meṭ- (mec-) to trample on, tread on; meṭ sole of foot, footstep, footprint. To. möṭ- (möṭy-) to trample on; möṭ step, tread, wooden-soled sandal. Ka. meṭṭu to put or place down the foot or feet, step, pace, walk, tread or trample on, put the foot on or in, put on (as a slipper or shoe); n. stepping, step of the foot, stop on a stringed instrument; sandal, shoe, step of a stair; meṭṭisu to cause to step; meṭṭige, meṭla step, stair. Koḍ. moṭṭï footprint, foot measure, doorsteps. Tu. muṭṭu shoe, sandal; footstep; steps, stairs. Te meṭṭustep, stair, treading, slipper, stop on a lute; maṭṭu, (K. also) meṭṭu to tread, trample, crush under foot, tread or place the foot upon; n. treading; maṭṭincu to cause to be trodden or trampled. Ga.(S.3) meṭṭu step (< Te.). Konḍa maṭ- (-t-) to crush under foot, tread on, walk, thresh (grain, as by oxen); caus. maṭis-. Kuwi (S.) mettunga steps. 

Malt. maḍye to trample, tread. (DEDR 5057)

meD 'dance' (Remo); rebus: meD 'iron'; bat.a 'pot'; bat.hi 'furnace'.

Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Mu.Ho.)  कर्णक kárṇaka, kannā 'legs spread', 'rim of jar', 'pericarp of lotus' karaṇī 'scribe, supercargo', kañi-āra 'helmsman'. baTa 'rimless pot' rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'.

Santali glosses.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/05/dance-step-as-indus-script-hieroglyph.html

கம்மம் kammam , n. < Pkt. kammakar- man. Smith's work; கம்மியர்தொழில். கம்மஞ் செய் மாக்கள் (நாலடி, 393).கம்மால் kammāl , n. < Pkt. kammakarma-šālā. Brazier's forge; பித்தளை வேலை செய்யுமிடம். Madr.கம்மாளச்சி kammāḷacci , n. < Pkt. kam- māra. Woman of kammāḷaṉ கம்மாளத்தி kammāḷatti, n. See கம்மா ளச்சி.கம்மாளன் kammāḷaṉ, n. < Pkt. kammāra < karmāra. Smith, mechanic, artisan, of five castes, viz., தட்டான், கன்னான், சிற்பன், தச்சன், கொல்லன்; பொன்வேலை முதலிய தொழில் செய்யுஞ் சாதியான்.

कर्मार [p= 259,3]m. an artisan , mechanic , artificer; a blacksmith &c RV. x , 72 , 2 AV. iii , 5 , 6 VS. Mn. iv , 215 &c

karmakŕ̊t ʻ performing work, skilful in work ʼ AV., ʻ one who has done any work ʼ Pāṇ., m. ʻ workman ʼ Rājat. [kárman -- 1, kr̥t -- ]Si. kam̆buḷa ʻ doing menial work ʼ or pp. of kam̆buranavā s.v. karmakara -- .(CDIAL 2891) karmaśālā f. ʻ workshop ʼ MBh. [kárman -- 1, śāˊlā -- ]Pk. kammasālā -- f.; L. kamhāl f. ʻ hole in the ground for a weaver's feet ʼ; Si. kamhala ʻ workshop ʼ, kammala ʻ smithy ʼ. (CDIAL 2896) karmāˊra m. ʻ blacksmith ʼ RV. [EWA i 176 < stem *karmar -- ~ karman -- , but perh. with ODBL 668 ← Drav. cf. Tam. karumā ʻ smith, smelter ʼ whence meaning ʻ smith ʼ was transferred also to karmakāra -- ]Pa. kammāra -- m. ʻ worker in metal ʼ; Pk. kammāra -- , °aya -- m. ʻ blacksmith ʼ, A. kamār, B. kāmār; Or. kamāra ʻ blacksmith, caste of non -- Aryans, caste of fishermen ʼ; Mth. kamār ʻ blacksmith ʼ, Si. kam̆burā. 

*karmāraśālā -- . Addenda: karmāˊra -- : Md. kan̆buru ʻ blacksmith ʼ. *karmāraśālā ʻ smithy ʼ. [karmāˊra -- , śāˊlā -- ] Mth. kamarsārī; -- Bi. kamarsāyar?(CDIAL 2898, 2899).

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 15, 2016

Metals artificer, sailor, mariner emerges out of makara in Indus Script cipher

August 15, 2016, 9:44 pm

≫ Next: Bronze weapons fit for a war divinity found in Oman

≪ Previous: Metalwork catalogues. Crocodile, fish-fin, fish Indus Script signify Vedic karmāra Kashmiri khār खार् Pali ayakāra Kannada kammaṭa, kambāra in smithy, mint

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jqvgp2k

See:http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/metalwork-catalogues-crocodile-fish-fin.htmlMetalwork catalogues. Crocodile, fish-fin, fish Indus Script signify Vedic karmāra Kashmiri khār खार् Pali ayakāra Kannada kammaṭa, kambāra in smithy, mint

It is possible that makara is derived from a pun on the expression kar-makara:  karmakara m. ʻ workman, hired labourer ʼ MBh. Pali. kammakara -- m., °rī -- f.; Prakrtam. kammayara -- m. ʻ servant ʼ(CDIAL 2887) kamma + kāra sailor, mariner; kammara 'artisan, smith'. Makara is sometimes shown with a fin and a mollusc twist and/or elephant legs: sippi 'mollusc' rebus: sippi 'artificer'& sometimes with an elephant ligature: karibha 'elephant trunk' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' (Tulu); ib 'iron' (Santali). The shortest name for a railway station on Nagpur-Howrah route, close to Rourkela. No wonder, the colonial looters laid the railway line linking Calcutta and Mumbai through IB.

Fragment of a Makara Capital Allahabad Museum, Allahabad Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh. C.2nd Century BCE Shunga 

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/08/metalwork-catalogues-crocodile-fish-fin.html

Begram ivory. The artificer emerges out of the pair of makara-s. dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting'.

He is कर्णिका f. the pericarp of a lotus MBh. BhP. &c kárṇikā f. ʻ round protuberance ʼ Suśr., Rebus: karaṇī 'scribe, supercargo', kañi-āra 'helmsman'. Thus, the helmsman makes a hAra 'garland' and produces the makara torana. Idenfitication as helmsman is consisstent with the semantics: kamma + kāra 'sailor, mariner'

Makara, an Indus Script hieroglyph is

sãgaḍ f. ʻa body formed of two or more fruits or animals or men &c. linked together' (Marathi). sãghāṛɔ  (Gujarati) 'joined animal or animal parts, linked together' Rebus: . sãgāḍa 'double-canoe, seafaring vessel'; sangara 

'proclamation'. 

ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' khambhaṛā 'fish fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'

karibha, 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' ib 'iron'

karA 'crocodile' rebus: khAr 'blacksmith'.

kaulo mengro'blacksmith' (Gypsy) 

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 16, 2016

Bronze weapons fit for a war divinity found in Oman

August 15, 2016, 11:48 pm

≫ Next: Indus Script dāmān 'sheet of a sail' + ayo kammata sīpī 'iron mint artificer' kaṇṇahāra, kammakāra 'helmsman, sailor, mariner'

≪ Previous: Metals artificer, sailor, mariner emerges out of makara in Indus Script cipher

$

0

0

Fit for a War God

By JARRETT A. LOBELL

Monday, June 13, 2016

Bronze quivers with arrows (top), bronze bows (above, left), and building site, Mudhmar East, Oman (above, right)

Guillaume Gernez / Mission archéologique française en Oman central))

Archaeologists from the French National Center for Scientific Research working in a large building at the site of Mudhmar East near the city of Adam in Oman have made an “exceptional find.” Inside the structure, which is thought to have had a religious function, the team uncovered a collection of bronze weapons dating to between 900 and 600 B.C. The metal artifacts—two very rare quivers (ordinarily made of leather) with arrows, five battleaxes, five daggers, 50 arrowheads, and five bows, are too small to have been used in combat and were, explains project director Guillaume Gernez, perhaps intended as offerings to a war god. This region of the Arabian Peninsula, which sits at an important crossroads of ancient trade routes on the border between Oman’s desert and oases, is almost entirely archaeologically unexplored.

http://www.archaeology.org/issues/221-1607/trenches/4544-trenches-oman-bronze-weapons

Indus Script dāmān 'sheet of a sail' + ayo kammata sīpī 'iron mint artificer' kaṇṇahāra, kammakāra 'helmsman, sailor, mariner'

August 16, 2016, 7:24 pm

≫ Next: Wikileaks: Soros email giving Clinton her marching orders

≪ Previous: Bronze weapons fit for a war divinity found in Oman

$

0

0

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/zmgyh2v

Proclamations atop Bharhut and Sanchi dvAra torana signified as Indus Script hieroglyphs (hypertext) are reinforced by elephant-/horse-riders carrying flagposts with versions or orthographic variants of the same hieroglyphs.

The centre-piece on this sculptural frieze shows the hypertext ayo kammata -- ayo 'fish' PLUS khambhaṛā'fish fin' rebus: aya 'iron' PLUS kammata 'mint' ligatured to a sheet of a sail PLUS tAmarasa 'lotus' rebus: tAmra 'copper'.

The 'sheet of a sail' is hieroglyph dāmān 'sheet of a sail' rebus: dhAu 'mineral'. Rebus: M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ)(CDIAL 6773).The sailing mat also signifies: Sadasa [sa+dasā] a squatting mat with a fringe Vin iv.171 (Pali) Rebus: sadas 'assembly' Thus, the flagpost in the centre signifies tAmra dhāvḍī ayo kammata 'copper, smelted mineral, iron mint assembly'.

To the left of this flagpost is a flagpost flying two garlands: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' PLUS dāma 'garland' rebus: dhAu 'mineral'. Thus, dhAu dul'mineral metalcastings'

To the right of this flagpost is a flagpost with a parasol:Ta. kuṭai umbrella, parasol, canopy. Ma. kuṭa umbrella. Ko. koṛ umbrella made of leaves (only in a proverb); keṛ umbrella. To. kwaṛ id. Ka. koḍe id., parasol. Koḍ. koḍe umbrella. 

Tu. koḍè id. Te. goḍugu id., parasol. Kuwi (F.) gūṛgū, (S.) gudugu, (Su. P.) guṛgu umbrella (< Te.). / Cf. Skt. (lex.) utkūṭa- umbrella, parasol.(DEDR 1663) Rebus: koD 'workshop, smithy'.

The flagpost carried on the trunk of the elephant is a set of twigs with leaves. Hieroglyph: 

maṇḍa 

  

 = a branch; a twig; a twig with leaves on it (Telugu) Rebus: 

maṇḍā 

  

 = warehouse, workshop (Konkani)

Thus, the four flagposts on this sculptural frieze signify:

maṇḍā 'warehouse (workshop)', dhAu dul 'minerals metal castings', tAmra dhAu ayo kammata  'copper, mineral, iron mint assembly', koḍ 'workshop/smithy' PLUS sadas 'assembly'.Thus, assembly of workshops.

The sailing mat also signifies: Sadasa [sa+dasā] a squatting mat with a fringe Vin iv.171 (Pali).

The pair of horses bearing parasols (umbrellas) on Bharhut Stupa signify: Sadassa [sat(=sant)+assa] a horse of good breed Rebus: सदस् 'assembly' PLUS koḍe 'umbrella, parasol' rebus: koḍ 'workshop'.

Cognate word, sadana is close to the sailing vessel port: sádana n. ʻ coming to rest, seat ʼ RV. 2. sāˊdana -- n. ʻ setting down (of vessels &c.) ʼ ŚBr., ʻ seat, dwelling ʼ MBh. [√sad]1. Gmb. sã̄ ʻ chair, stool ʼ.2. M. sāṇ f. ʻ appropriate spot for the palanquin of Hoḷī Devī on the day of burning the Hoḷī ʼ (LM 418 < chādana -- ), sāṇā m. ʻ the spot where a ferry boat plies ʼ.

Sanchi and Bharhut stupa reliefs on a torana. Two mahouts ride on two elephants. One mahour carries a flagpost with a standard of 'srivatsa' hieroglyphmultiplex. This has been explained as metalcraftsmanship.

dāmān 'sheet of a sail' rebus: dhAu 'mineral' is ligatured to the hieroglyph 

sippī 'oyster shell' on the flagpost  to signify sīpī 'artificer' of metals/minerals. That the word sippī 'is intended by the semantic determinants of sippī f. ʻ shell, spathe of date palmʼ.

A flagpost carried by a horse rider signifies a sippi 'artificer' by the hypertext hieroglyph: sippi 'oyster shell' PLUS dāma 'garland'. This artificer statue on the flagpost is comparable to the sippi shown on Sanchi torana. He is also a kammakāraka'a sailor J iv.139' (Pali) kamma + kāra'sailor, mariner' close to the ayo kammata 'iron mint'. 

This is kárṇaka m. ʻ projection on the side of a vessel, handle ʼ ŚBr. [kárṇa -- ]

Pa. kaṇṇaka -- ʻ having ears or corners ʼ; Wg. kaṇə ʻ ear -- ring ʼ NTS xvii 266; S. kano m. ʻ rim, border ʼ; P. kannā m. ʻ obtuse angle of a kite ʼ (→ H.kannā m. ʻ edge, rim, handle ʼ); N. kānu ʻ end of a rope for supporting a burden ʼ; B. kāṇā ʻ brim of a cup ʼ, G. kānɔ m.; M. kānā m. ʻ touch -- hole of a gun 

The person shown is a karṇadhāra m. ʻ helmsman ʼ Suśr. [kárṇa -- , dhāra -- 1]

Pa. kaṇṇadhāra -- m. ʻ helmsman ʼ; Pk. kaṇṇahāra -- m. ʻ helmsman, sailor ʼ; H. kanahār m. ʻ helmsman, fisherman ʼ.(CDIAL 2831, 2836)

Bharhut and Sanchi sculptors in metal had the competence to build and consecrate a Lohapasada, 'lofty copper mansion' (pace Mahavams'a).

Ta. cīppu a comb, a small cluster or bunch of plantain fruits; cīvu (cīvi-) to comb or brush the hair. Ma. cīka to comb; cīntuka to comb the hair with the fingers; cīppi a comb, a cluster or comb of a plantain bunch; cīrppu a comb. To. ki·c- (ki·&cangle;-) to comb. Ka. (Jēnu Kuruba, LSB 4.12) sīpe comb; (Coorg) sippe comb of banana; sīpe comb. Koḍ. ci·p- (ci·pi-) to comb; ci·pï a comb. Tu. kīpu a bunch [of plantains]; cīpu, (B-K.) sīpu a comb or cluster of plantains; cimpu id. Te. (B.) cīpu a comb, part of a bunch of plantains. Pa. kīpid a comb.(DEDR 1610)

 Ta. ippi pearl-oyster, shell; cippi shell, shellfish, coconut shell for measuring out curds. Ma. ippi, cippi oyster shell. Ka. cippu, sippu, cimpi, cimpe, simpi, simpu, simpe oyster shell, mussel, cockle, a portion of the shell of a coconut, skull, a pearl oyster; (Gowda) cippi coconut shell. Tu. cippi coconut shell, oyster shell, pearl; tippi, sippi coconut shell. Te. cippa a shell; (kobbari co) coconut shell; (mōkāli co) knee-pan, patella; (tala co) skull; (muttepu co) mother-of-pearl. Go. (Ma.) ipi shell, conch (Voc. 174). *sippī-; Pali sippī- pearl oyster, Pkt. sippī- id., etc.(DEDR 2535)

*sippī ʻ shell ʼ. [← Drav. Tam. cippi DED 2089]Pa. sippī -- , sippikā -- f. ʻ pearl oyster ʼ, Pk. sippī -- f., S. sipa f.; L. sipp ʻ shell ʼ, sippī f. ʻ shell, spathe of date palm ʼ, (Ju.) sip m., sippī f. ʻ bivalve shell ʼ; P. sipp m., sippī f. ʻ shell, conch ʼ; Ku. sīp, sīpi ʻ shell ʼ; N. sipi ʻ shell, snail shell ʼ; B. sip ʻ libation pot ʼ, chip ʻ a kind of swift canoe ʼ S. K. Chatterji CR 1936, 290 (or < kṣiprá -- ?); Or. sipa ʻ oyster shell, mother -- of -- pearl, shells burnt for lime ʼ; Bi. sīpī ʻ mussel shells for lime ʼ; OAw. sīpa f. ʻ bivalve shell ʼ, H. sīp f.; G. sīp f. ʻ half an oyster shell ʼ, chīp f. ʻ shell ʼ; M. śīp, śĩp f. ʻ a half shell ʼ, śĩpā m. ʻ oyster shell ʼ; -- Si. sippiya ʻ oyster shell ʼ ← Tam.(CDIAL 13417)

சிற்பியர். (சூடா.) சிற்பம்¹ ciṟpam , n. < šilpa. 1. Artistic skill; தொழிலின் திறமை. செருக்கயல் சிற்பமாக (சீவக. 2716). 2. Fine or artistic workmanship; நுட்பமான தொழில். சிற்பந் திகழ்தரு திண்மதில் (திருக்கோ. 305). சிற்பர் ciṟpar , n. < šilpa. Mechanics, artisans, stone-cutters; சிற்பிகள். (W.)சிற்பி ciṟpi, n. < šilpin. Mechanic, artisan, stone-cutter; கம்மியன். (சூடா.)சிற்பியல் ciṟpiyal , n. < சிற்பம்¹ + இயல். Architecture, as an art; சிற்பசாஸ்திரம். மாசில் கம் மத்துச் சிற்பியற் புலவர் (பெருங். இலாவாண. 4, 50).

śílpa n. ʻ artistic work ʼ Br. ʻ manual craft ʼ Mn. [śilpá -- ʻ bright, decorative ʼ VS. -- Derivation from *piśla -- (P. Tedesco Language 23, 383) is improbable]Pa. sippa -- , °aka -- n. ʻ art, craft ʼ, NiDoc. śilpa, Pk. sippa -- n.; Ku. sīp ʻ skill, ability ʼ, N. sip (Ku. N. sipālu ʻ clever, dexterous ʼ), OAw. sīpa; Si. sip -- a ʻ art, handiwork ʼ.śilpin -- .śilpin ʻ skilled in art ʼ, m. ʻ artificer ʼ Gaut., śilpika<-> ʻ skilled ʼ MBh. [śílpa -- ]Pa. sippika -- m. ʻ craftsman ʼ, NiDoc. śilpiǵa, Pk. sippi -- , °ia -- m.; A. xipini ʻ woman clever at spinning and weaving ʼ; OAw. sīpī m. ʻ artizan ʼ; M. śĩpīm. ʻ a caste of tailors ʼ; Si. sipi -- yā ʻ craftsman ʼ.(CDIAL 12470, 12471).Sippika [fr. sippa] an artisan Sn 613, 651; Miln 78; Vism 336. Also sippiya J vi.396, 397.Sippavant [fr. sippa] one who masters a craft J vi.296.

daśā f. ʻ fringe of a garment ʼ ŚBr., ʻ wick ʼ Gobh.
Pa. dasā -- f. ʻ unwoven thread of the web, fringe ʼ, dasika -- in cmpd. ʻ of a fringe ʼ; Sh. (Lor.) daiĩ ʻ edge ʼ; S. ḍ̠ahī f. ʻ an untwisted thread, thrum ʼ; N.dasi ʻ fibres of hemp &c. from which rope is twisted ʼ; A. dai ʻ fringe of a woven cloth ʼ; B. dasī ʻ loose warp thread at end of a piece of cloth, wick ʼ; Or.dasi ʻ loose threads of woof, skin round the nails, flange or corner of a door ʼ, dasī ʻ having loose threads hanging down, having wicks ʼ (whence dasiā ʻ a kind of coarse cloth ʼ); H. dasī f. ʻ thread, unwoven threads, fringe ʼ (→ P. dassī f. ʻ ends of warp left unwoven ʼ, L. ḍ̠assī f.), G. dasī f.; M. daśī f. ʻ unwoven thread, fringe ʼ, dasḍī f. (contemptuous) ʻ id. ʼ, dasāḍẽ n.; Si. daha ʻ seam ʼ. -- Paš. dāsṓ ʻ thread ʼ, Shum. dásə, Gaw. dahū, Bshk. dā: ← Pers.dasa, Yid. loso(CDIAL 6236)

Sadasa [sa+dasā] a squatting mat with a fringe Vin iv.171.Dasā (f.) & dasa (nt.) [Sk. daśā] unwoven thread of a web of cloth, fringe, edge or border of a garment D i.7 (dīgha˚ long -- fringed, of vatthāni); J v.187; DhA i.180; iv.106 (dasāni). -- sadasa (nt.) a kind of seat, a rug (lit. with a fringe) Vin iv.171 (=nisīdana); opp. adasaka (adj.) without a fringe or border Vinii.301=307 (nisīdana). -- anta edge of the border of a garment J i.467; DhA i.180 sq., 391.Dasika2 (adj.) [fr. dasā] belonging to a fringe, in dasika -- sutta an unwoven or loose thread Vin iii.241; DhA iv.206 (˚mattam pi not even a thread, i. e. nothing at all, cp. Lat. nihīlum=ne -- fīlum not a thread=nothing).(Pali)

Sadassa [sat(=sant)+assa] a horse of good breed A i.289.

सदस् [p=1138,3]n. (accord. to some also f.) a seat , residence , abode , dwelling , place of meeting , assembly (esp. at a sacrifice ; स्/अदसस्-प्/अति m. = स्/अदस्-प्/अति ; सदसि , " in public ") RV. &ca shed erected in the sacrificial enclosure to the east of the प्राचीनवंश AV. VS. : Br. MBh. Hariv.

P دامن or دامان dāman or dāmān, s.m. (2nd) The skirt of a garment, the sheet of a sail. Pl. دامنونه or دامانونه dāmanūnah or dāmānūnah. See p. 451. دامن ګیر dāman-gīr, adj. Affected, impressed, inspired, enkindled, excited, touched. 2. Seizing the skirts, attached to. (Fem.) دامن ګیره dāman-gīraʿh. (Pashto)

*dāmakara ʻ string -- maker ʼ. [dāˊman -- 1, kará -- 1]L. dāvur, dãvar, mult. ḍã̄var (Ju. ḍ̠ -- ) m. ʻ spider ʼ. *dāmadhāra ʻ holding the rope ʼ. [dāˊman -- 1, dhāra -- 1]N. dayẽro ʻ the man who drives the animals treading out rice ʼ.dāˊman 6283 dāˊman1 ʻ rope ʼ RV. 2. *dāmana -- , dāmanī -- f. ʻ long rope to which calves are tethered ʼ Hariv. 3. *dāmara -- . [*dāmara -- is der. fr.n/r n. stem. -- √dā2]1. Pa. dāma -- , inst. °mēna n. ʻ rope, fetter, garland ʼ, Pk. dāma -- n.; Wg. dām ʻ rope, thread, bandage ʼ; Tir. dām ʻ rope ʼ; Paš.lauṛ. dām ʻ thick thread ʼ, gul.dūm ʻ net snare ʼ (IIFL iii 3, 54 ← Ind. or Pers.); Shum. dām ʻ rope ʼ; Sh.gil. (Lor.) dōmo ʻ twine, short bit of goat's hair cord ʼ, gur. dōm m. ʻ thread ʼ (→ Ḍ.dōṅ ʻ thread ʼ); K. gu -- dômu m. ʻ cow's tethering rope ʼ; P. dã̄u, dāvã̄ m. ʻ hobble for a horse ʼ; WPah.bhad. daũ n. ʻ rope to tie cattle ʼ, bhal. daõ m., jaun.dã̄w; A. dāmā ʻ peg to tie a buffalo -- calf to ʼ; B. dām, dāmā ʻ cord ʼ; Or. duã̄ ʻ tether ʼ, dāĩ ʻ long tether to which many beasts are tied ʼ; H. dām m.f. ʻ rope, string, fetter ʼ, dāmā m. ʻ id., garland ʼ; G. dām n. ʻ tether ʼ, M. dāvẽ n.; Si. dama ʻ chain, rope ʼ, (SigGr) dam ʻ garland ʼ. -- Ext. in Paš.dar. damaṭāˊ, °ṭīˊ, nir. weg. damaṭék ʻ rope ʼ, Shum. ḍamaṭik, Woṭ. damṓṛ m., Sv. dåmoṛīˊ; -- with -- ll -- : N. dāmlo ʻ tether for cow ʼ, dã̄wali, dāũli, dāmli ʻ bird -- trap of string ʼ,dã̄wal, dāmal ʻ coeval ʼ (< ʻ tied together ʼ?); M. dã̄vlī f. ʻ small tie -- rope ʼ.2. Pk. dāvaṇa -- n., dāmaṇī -- f. ʻ tethering rope ʼ; S. ḍ̠āvaṇu, ḍ̠āṇu m. ʻ forefeet shackles ʼ, ḍ̠āviṇī, ḍ̠āṇī f. ʻ guard to support nose -- ring ʼ; L. ḍã̄vaṇ m.,ḍã̄vaṇī, ḍāuṇī (Ju. ḍ̠ -- ) f. ʻ hobble ʼ, dāuṇī f. ʻ strip at foot of bed, triple cord of silk worn by women on head ʼ, awāṇ. dāvuṇ ʻ picket rope ʼ; P. dāuṇ, dauṇ, ludh. daun f. m. ʻ string for bedstead, hobble for horse ʼ, dāuṇī f. ʻ gold ornament worn on woman's forehead ʼ; Ku. dauṇo m., °ṇī f. ʻ peg for tying cattle to ʼ, gng. dɔ̃ṛ ʻ place for keeping cattle, bedding for cattle ʼ; A. dan ʻ long cord on which a net or screen is stretched, thong ʼ, danā ʻ bridle ʼ; B. dāmni ʻ rope ʼ; Or. daaṇa ʻ string at the fringe of a casting net on which pebbles are strung ʼ, dāuṇi ʻ rope for tying bullocks together when threshing ʼ; H. dāwan m. ʻ girdle ʼ, dāwanī f. ʻ rope ʼ, dã̄wanī f. ʻ a woman's orna<-> ment ʼ; G. dāmaṇ, ḍā° n. ʻ tether, hobble ʼ, dāmṇũ n. ʻ thin rope, string ʼ, dāmṇī f. ʻ rope, woman's head -- ornament ʼ; M. dāvaṇ f. ʻ picket -- rope ʼ. -- Words denoting the act of driving animals to tread out corn are poss. nomina actionis from *dāmayati2.3. L. ḍãvarāvaṇ, (Ju.) ḍ̠ã̄v° ʻ to hobble ʼ; A. dāmri ʻ long rope for tying several buffalo -- calves together ʼ, Or. daũ̈rā, daürā ʻ rope ʼ; Bi. daũrī ʻ rope to which threshing bullocks are tied, the act of treading out the grain ʼ, Mth. dã̄mar, daũraṛ ʻ rope to which the bullocks are tied ʼ; H. dã̄wrī f. ʻ id., rope, string ʼ, dãwrī f. ʻ the act of driving bullocks round to tread out the corn ʼ. -- X *dhāgga<-> q.v.*dāmayati2; *dāmakara -- , *dāmadhāra -- ; uddāma -- , prōddāma -- ; *antadāmanī -- , *galadāman -- , *galadāmana -- , *gōḍḍadāman -- , *gōḍḍadāmana -- , *gōḍḍadāmara -- .dāmán -- 2 m. (f.?) ʻ gift ʼ RV. [√dā1]. See dāˊtu -- .*dāmana -- ʻ rope ʼ see dāˊman -- 1.Addenda: dāˊman -- 1. 1. Brj. dã̄u m. ʻ tying ʼ.3. *dāmara -- : Brj. dã̄wrī f. ʻ rope ʼ.(CDIAL 6281 to 6283)

sádana n. ʻ coming to rest, seat ʼ RV. 2. sāˊdana -- n. ʻ setting down (of vessels &c.) ʼ ŚBr., ʻ seat, dwelling ʼ MBh. [√sad]1. Gmb. sã̄ ʻ chair, stool ʼ.2. M. sāṇ f. ʻ appropriate spot for the palanquin of Hoḷī Devī on the day of burning the Hoḷī ʼ (LM 418 < chādana -- ), sāṇā m. ʻ the spot where a ferry boat plies ʼ.(CDIAL 13117)

Photograph of some sculpture pieces excavated from the stupa at Bharhut taken by Joseph David Beglar in 1874. It shows a close view of the east gateway with the first three pillars of the rail and coping. The date that a stupa was first erected at this site is not known, however, by the time the gateways were added in the early part of the first century BC, Bharhut had been established as a Buddhist place of worship for centuries. At this stage, the stupa complex consisted of a hemispherical dome, encircled by an inner and an outer railing or vedika which was added in the latter part of the second century BC. This was made up of rectangular stone posts (stambha) joined together by three sets of cross-bars (suchi) mortised into the pillars on either side and capped by a huge coping (ushnisha). The railing had openings in each of the four cardinal directions and therefore consisted of 4 quadrants of 16 pillars each. The pillars of the railing were ornamented by a medallion in the middle and by half medallions at the top and the bottom, elaborately carved with sculptures mainly representing scenes from the life of Buddha and lotuses. About half a century after the addition of the railing, its openings were adorned with the addition of gateways like the one pictured.

Procession on Horseback

Bharhut, c. 100 BC 

Indian Museum, Calcutta

Continuing the procession seen on the previous page, a princely figure on horseback is holding a royal standard that is topped (closeup) by the figure of a kinnara. The riders on this are very large relative to their mounts, probably to highlight their importance.

*skambha2 ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, plumage ʼ. [Cf. *skapa -- s.v. *khavaka -- ]S. khambhu, °bho m. ʻ plumage ʼ, khambhuṛi f. ʻ wing ʼ; L. khabbh m., mult. khambh m. ʻ shoulder -- blade, wing, feather ʼ, khet. khamb ʻ wing ʼ, mult.khambhaṛā m. ʻ fin ʼ; P. khambh m. ʻ wing, feather ʼ; . khā̆m f., khabhɔ m. ʻ shoulder ʼ.(CDIAL 13640).

Sanchi torana.A flagpost by an elephant-rider signifies: ayo kammaTa 'iron mint'

Bharhut. Sculptural frieze venerating 'srivatsa'.

Abb.: Der Mahbodhi-Baum Koṇāgamana's, Bharhut, 150/100 v. Chr. (Mahabodhi tree of Koṇāgamana)

Section of a coping rail. 30.5x122 cm. 2nd cent. BCE Sunga. Bharhut.

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

August 17, 2016

Wikileaks: Soros email giving Clinton her marching orders

August 16, 2016, 9:26 pm

≫ Next: Mehrgarh like Bhirrana is an ancient site of Sarasvati -Sindhu civilization. Impoverished Balochistan bleeds through a thousand cuts

≪ Previous: Indus Script dāmān 'sheet of a sail' + ayo kammata sīpī 'iron mint artificer' kaṇṇahāra, kammakāra 'helmsman, sailor, mariner'

$

0

0

Wikileaks: Soros email giving Clinton her marching orders

By TK Whiteman -

 

August 12, 2016

Undoubtedly another stunner that the American media will ignore. This time it’s that Wikileaks has revealed that multi-billionaire and renown globalist George Soros has at least once issued orders to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As reported by the Moscow-based RT.com, a recently released Wikileaks email sent directly from Soros to Clinton gives her step-by-step instructions on how to intervene in the internal workings of the sovereign nation of Albania.

Not only did Soros give Clinton specific instruction how to handle the Albanian situation, he also made clear that his instructions will be carried out.

At the end of the Soros email, there is a strong suggestion (order?) from Soros to Clinton that his “foundation” in the Albanian capital of Tirana can double as the de facto US State Department and CIA in country.

Per the leaked email (direct link here): (Emphasis mine)

Dear Hillary, A serious situation has arisen in Albania which needs urgent attention at senior levels of the US government. You may  know that an opposition demonstration in Tirana on Friday resulted in the deaths of three people and the destruction of property. There are serious concerns about further unrest connected to a counter-demonstration to be organized by the governing party on Wednesday and a follow-up event by the opposition two days later to memorialize the victims. The prospect of tens of thousands of people entering the streets in an already inflamed political environment bodes ill for the return of public order and the country’s fragile democratic process. I believe two things need to be done urgently:

1. Bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements.

2. Appoint a senior European official as a mediator.

While I am concerned about the rhetoric being used by both sides, I am particularly worried about the actions of the Prime Minister. There is videotape of National Guard members firing on demonstrators from the roof of the Prime Ministry. The Prosecutor (appointed by the Democratic Party) has issued arrest warrants for the individuals in question. The Prime Minister had previously accused the opposition of intentionally murdering these activists as a provocation. After the tape came out deputies from his party accused the Prosecutor of planning a coup d’etat in collaboration with the opposition, a charge Mr. Berisha repeated today. No arrests have been made as of this writing.

The demonstration resulted from opposition protests over the conduct of parliamentary elections in 2009. The political environment has deteriorated ever since and is now approaching levels of 1997, when similar issues caused the country to slide into anarchy and violence. There are signs that Edi Rama’s control of his own people is slipping, which may lead to further violence.

The US and the EU must work in complete harmony over this, but given Albania’s European aspirations the EU must take the lead. That is why I suggest appointing a mediator such as Carl Bildt. Martti Ahtisaari or Miroslav Lajcak, all of whom have strong connections to the Balkans.

My foundation in Tirana is monitoring the situation closely and can provide independent analysis of the crisis.

Thank you,

George Soros

As RT.com also noted, “Several days after the email was sent to Clinton, the EU did send one of Soros’ suggested nominees, Miroslav Lajcak, to meet Albanian leaders in Tirana to try to mediate an end to the unrest”

Related:

• Note to conservatives: Knock it off or learn to live with Soros in the White House
• Voter Fraud in Ohio Tied to Hillary Clinton and George Soros
• Hungary’s Viktor Orban Accuses Soros of Using Refugees to Weaken Europe
• Tax Records Show George Soros Funded the Ferguson Riots

http://conservativefiringline.com/wikileaks-soros-email-giving-clinton-marching-orders/