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Four शार्दूल on lotus platform of pillared-hall maṇḍapa roof in Ellora Kailasa temple with elephants holding the structure aloft

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The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 32 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in 756-773 Common Era.

Cave 16 (Kailash Temple, Kailasanatha) 

There are four lion-tiger-like animals on lotus platform of pillared-hall maṇḍapa roof in Kailasa temple. I suggest that these lion-tiger like animals signify शार्दूल to signify metaphorically, eminent persons. These animals are shown around a yūpa-like structure. This structure seems to be a replica, in miniature, of the Kailasa temple. 

Some Indus Script hypertexts are read rebus on this structure: tāmarasa, 'lotus' rebus: tāmra 'copper' is the base for these roof sculptures. gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: kaṇḍa 'equipment' PLUS kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter'. Rows of lephants uphold the entire tempie structure: karba, ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba, ib 'iron'. 

Based on these rebus readings of some Indus Script hypertexts on the Ellora Kailasa temple, I suggest that the sculptures on the roop of the pillared-hall maṇḍapa signify the wealth-producing life activities of smelter, iron-workers, protected and sustained by the artisanal guild signified by the four tigers.

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शार्दूल  m. (of unknown derivation) a tiger VS. &c; a lion; a panther , leopard;the fabulous animal शरभ; any eminent person , best , excellent , pre-eminent (ifc. ; cf. व्याघ्रMBh. Ka1v. &c as in नरशार्दूलः

It is the largest monolithic human built structure of the world, up to 36,6 metres high. Length of structure – 84,1 m, width – 47 mWithin the courtyard, there is a central shrine dedicated to Shiva, and an image of his mount Nandi (the sacred bull). The central shrine housing the lingamfeatures a flat-roofed mandapa supported by 16 pillars, and a Dravidian shikhara.
Ellora: Uma Devi and Surya from Lankesvara (top), Lions from the roof or mandapa of Kailasa (bottom)

Ellora: Alternate transcriptions: Ellura, Elapura Writing in Marathi: वेरूळ Illustration of Uma Devi and Surya from Lankesvara (top), Lions from the roof or mandapa of Kailasa (bottom) from Kailasanatha [Kailasa] Temple, cave XVI, at Ellora from James Burgess''Original Drawings [of] Elura Cave Temples Buddhist and Brahmanical.' 

Ellora: Brahma, Siva and Vishnu in Lankesvara

 Illustrated panel includes the figures of Brahma, Siva and Vishnu. Inscribed: 'Elure: Central compartments in the back of Lanka'

"The spectacular site of Ellora, in Maharashtra, is famous for its series of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples excavated into the rocky façade of a cliff of basalt. The works were done under the patronage of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties between the 6th and the 9th centuries. The Kailasanath is the most noted of all the splendours of Ellora, a free-standing temple rather than a cave, entirely sculpted out of a great mass of basalt. Commissioned by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the mid-eighth century, it symbolises Mount Kailasa, the sacred abode of Shiva. A tall screen marks the entrance, and river goddesses mark the route to the three sections of the temple (a Nandi shrine, a mandapa, and the main sanctuary) which are on a raised plinth borne by elephants. The principal shrine is topped by a pyramidal tower (shikara). Superb sculptural friezes in the temple tell tales from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and of Shiva. Two monolithic obelisks are situated on the side of the main temple. They are 17 metres high and decorated with relief carvings.

Surveyor: Burgess, James (1832-1916)
Medium: Pen and ink on paper
Date: 1876"
Ramayana panel
Mahabharata panel

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Source: https://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g297649-d317351-i59935194-Ellora_Caves-Aurangabad_Aurangabad_District_Maharashtra.html
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Veda word amśu 'soma' is ancu 'iron' (Tocharian).Rāma Story and Sanskrit in Ancient Xinjiang.

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Link with R̥gveda Tocharian ancu 'iron' is cognate amśu 'soma' bought from merchants of Mt.Mujavant (Mushtag Ata, Kyrgystan, Tarim basin). Soma 'electrum' pyrite is identified.

Subhash Kak

सुभाष काक. Author, scientist.

Aug 18

Rāma Story and Sanskrit in Ancient Xinjiang


Śiva-Maheśvara from Khotan, British Museum

Most people do not know that until about a thousand years ago, the Tarim Basin (northwest of Tibet, which is the part of Xinjiang below the Tian Shin Mountains) was Indic in culture and it was a thriving part of the Sanskritic world; its people spoke the Gāndhārī language which many see as descended from Vedic Sanskrit, and Khotanese Saka, which is also closely related to Sanskrit. Perhaps the region to compare it most is Kashmir, to whose north it lay. There was also much interaction between the two regions with many scholars traveling from Kashmir to Khotan, and silk culture is believed to have passed from Khotan to Kashmir and then into India.

Ancient Khotan by Aurel Stein

Gāndhārī inscriptions have been found as far east as Luoyang and Anyang in Henan province in Eastern China which attests to the vastness of the influence of Sanskrit. Europeans in recent centuries called the whole region Serindia, indicating the meeting place of China and India.

Wikipedia

Khotanese kings were Mahāyāna Buddhist but as we know this sect incorporates Vedic and Tantric systems, with all the devas such as Indra, Śiva, Viṣṇu and Sarasvatī, and just places the Buddha at the head of the system (as in Vidyākara’s Treasury). There was also Krishna worship in Khotan and we find the Rāma story in Khotanese language, of which there is also a Tibetan version.
The Buddhists put a characteristic spin on the Rāma story, which has had immense power on the imagination of the people all over Asia. In their variant, Rāvaṇa, after losing the war is spared his life, and becomes a worthy Buddhist to accord with the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, set in Laṅkā, in which the Buddha instructs Rāvaṇa. Likewise, in an effort not to lose followers of Rāma, Jain texts show him as a faithful Jain.
The Khotanese Rāmāyaṇa is not the standard Rāma story. In it Daśaratha, who is called Sahasrabāhu (“thousand-armed”), fights with Paraśurāma and gets killed, and his sons Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are saved by a queen. When they grow older they slay Paraśurāma in revenge and become masters of all Jambudvīpa.
Meanwhile, the Rākṣasas are ruled by Rāvaṇa (Daśagrīva). A daughter is born to his chief queen and it is prophesied that she will be the cause of his ruin. So he orders the girl, Sītā, to be cast upon the great river in a box. A ṛṣi chances upon the box and raises the girl lovingly. This is of course somewhat similar to the account in Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa.
Later in the story, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā are in the forest and as the brothers leave to hunt, Lakṣmaṇa draws the magic circle around Sītā for protection. Daśagrīva sees this lovely woman from the air, and not knowing she is his own daughter, approaches her and persuades her to step out of the circle to abduct her.
There is war and Dasagriva is defeated. But in the end Rāma doesn’t kill him. Here’s the original with translation that gives a sense of the language:
sahasrrabāhi: pūra harya
the sons of Sahasrabāhu escaped.
rrāmi hamye śūrāṃ myāña
Rama was among the heroes. (Bailey translation)
At the end of the story, the Buddha Śākyamuni is identified with Rāma and Maitreya with Lakṣmaṇa. Daśagrīva comes to the Buddha and receives instruction in the Dharma as in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra.
Some history
The traditional date for the founding of Khotan, on the southern and the more ancient branch of the Silk Road, is the reign of Aśoka Maurya (3rd century BCE). It was ruled by Buddhist kings until it was conquered by the Muslims in 1006. Some of the kings mentioned in the “Prophecy of the Li Country”, composed in 746 CE, dealing with events of the recent past are Vijaya Kīrti, Vijaya Saṅgrāma, Vijaya Dharma, Vijaya Saṃbhava, and Vijaya Vāhana.
Many Khotanese cities had Sanskrit names. For example, Khotan in Sanskrit was Gaustana गौस्तन and the modern city of Kashi (Kashgar) was called Śrīkrīrāti (in Sanskrit Śrī+krī+rāti, श्रीक्रीराति ‘Glorious Hospitality’). Kashgar itself appears to be the popular name from Sanskrit Kāśa+giri (काशगिरि bright mountain). The Khotanese called their language hvatanai ह्वतनै which later became hvaṃnai ह्वंनै; this is equivalent to the name deśī that is used for language in India (vatan, from svatana = deśa).
The liturgical texts in the region were written in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, whereas those in the region of Krorän (Chinese Loulan), an important oasis further east of Khotan, used Prakrit in administration. A third language called Tocharian was also used both to translate Buddhist texts and as an administrative language. Many Sanskrit texts of India remember the general region as Tuṣāra or Tukhāra, and it retains currency as a popular proper name.
Another major language was Khotanese Saka, which is sometimes seen as an eastern Iranian language (that is emerging from the region just west of Kashmir). But since the large number of the Śaka who ended up in India as rulers or soldiers have always spoken the more easterly Indo-Aryan languages, I personally believe that the Saka languages were also principally Indo-Aryan, although as one traveled further west, the Iranian elements would have increased.
That Khotanese Saka was principally a Indo-Aryan Prakrit is reinforced by the fact that the texts are in Indian scripts of Brāhmī and Kharoṣṭhī. Many of these documents were collected in archaeological explorations to Chinese Turkestan by Aurel Stein, who is also known for his translation of Kalhaṇa’s Rājataraṅginī. Stein came across tens of thousands of manuscripts from 5th to 11th centuries in various sites including the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in the Kansu (Gansu) province. One of the principal scholars who edited and translated many of these texts was H.W. Bailey and this literature remains a popular field of study for scholars.
Aurel Stein says in his celebrated Ancient Khotan: “There was little to prepare us for such overwhelming evidence .. on the large place which Indian language and culture must have occupied in the administration and daily life of this region during the early centuries of our era. That Sanskrit Buddhist literature was studied in Khotan down to the end of the eighth century A.D. has been proved beyond all doubt by the texts in Brāhmī script which I excavated.”
The mummies of Tarim Basin
The discovery of the Tarim mummies that go back to 1800 BCE strengthen the view that the region was Sanskritic. The earliest mummies in the Basin are exclusively Caucasoid, and the American Sinologist Victor H. Mair has said: “Because the Tarim Basin Caucasoid corpses are almost certainly the most easterly representatives of the Indo-European family and because they date from a time period that is early enough to have a bearing on the expansion of the Indo-European people from their homeland, it is thought they will play a crucial role in determining just where that might have been.”
Some have suggested Europoid identification to explain the blonds and red-heads among the mummies, but there is no need to travel thousands of miles to Western Europe to explain this; Kashmir, just south of the Basin has plenty of red-heads and blonds.
One of the DNA studies notes that the population had “relatively close relationships with the modern populations of South Central Asia and Indus Valley, as well as with the ancient population of Chawuhu.” This is perfectly reasonable if the original inhabitants of the region were from Indus Valley [code for India] and they left a genetic trace in the region.
The end of a civilization
Protected by the Taklamakan Desert, the Tarim Basin world survived attacks from steppe nomads for a long time. There was a break in the tradition of Buddhist learning during the social and political turmoil under Tibetan rule from after 790 to the mid-9th century. Things began to change with the arrival of Turkic immigrants, who included Buddhist Uyghurs and Muslim Karluks, from the collapsing Uyghur Khaganate of modern-day Mongolia in 840.
The Islamic attacks and conquest of the Buddhist cities east of Kashgar was started by the Turkic Karakhanid Satok Bughra Khan who in 966 converted to Islam. Islamic Kashgar launched many jihads which eventually ended in the conquest in 1006 of Khotan by the Karakhanid leader Yusuf Qadir.
The end of civilization makes one wonder about assumptions regarding life. Going beyond ephemeral loves and heartbreaks, does one see it as parikalpa (false assumption) and śūnyatā, as scholars had argued? There was no time for philosophizing, and fearing the worst, monks during the reigns of Khotanese kings Viśa Śūra (r. 966–977) and Viśa Dharma (r. from 978) began to copy texts which were sealed in caves to be preserved for posterity. What followed was a period of destruction and vandalism equaling the worstelsewhere in the world. At the end of it, the populace retained no memory of their collective past and until the discovery of the mummies and the literature they did not know that their ancestors spoke Indian Prakrits.
kãlñizlãyũ aqtimiz
kãndlãr õzã čiqtimiz
furxan ãwin yiqtimiz
burxan ũzã sičtimiz
“We came down on them like a flood,
We went out among their cities,
We tore down the idol-temples,
We shat on the Buddha’s head!”
https://medium.com/@subhashkak1/the-r%C4%81ma-story-and-sanskrit-in-ancient-xinjiang-4ce8636285ae

Indus Script hieroglyph two readings. ancu 'rim-of-pot , brim' is rebus amśu 'soma' is ancu 'iron' (Tocharian) karṇika 'rim-of-jar''scribe; karṇaka 'steersman' karṇi 'supercargo'

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https://tinyurl.com/ya44tod7

In both alternative readings, the most frequently used Indus Script Sign 342 (rim-of-jar) signifies a wealth-accounting ledger, metalwork catalogue:1. scribe, supercargo, stersman; 2. iron, electrum alloy.

Alternative 1: Hieroglyph: brim:  aṉsu aṉsu 57 Ta. aṉsu selvage, edge of a cloth (< Te.). To. oc edge, bank of river, border of thicket. Ka. añcu edge, brim, boundary, bank, shore, selvage, border, skirt. Te. ancu skirt, border or selvage of cloth, edge (of sword, etc.), shore, brim. /Cf. Skt. añcala- edge or border of a garment.(DEDR 57) brim the upper edge or lip of a cup, bowl, or other container. "he filled her glass to the brim

Alternative 2: Indus script. Meluhha rebus readings karṇika'rim-of-jar''scribe; karṇaka'steersman'karṇi'supercargo'

 
Link with R̥gveda Tocharian ancu 'iron' is cognate amśu 'soma' bought from merchants of Mt.Mujavant (Mushtag Ata, Kyrgystan, Tarim basin). Soma 'electrum' pyrite is identified.

Iravatham Mahadevan, Extraordinary Scholar of Indus and Brahmi Scripts -- Nayanjot Lahiri

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Nayanjot Lahiri
Nayanjot Lahiri November 28, 2018

Iravatham Mahadevan, Extraordinary Scholar of Indus and Brahmi ScriptsIravatham Mahadevan (1930-2018)
A bureaucrat who took early retirement to focus on his hobby in epigraphy, he wrote two magisterial books, "The Indus Script" and "Early Tamil Epigraphy".

The scholar-epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan passed away at the age of  88 on November 26 in Chennai, having lived a life – or should one say half-a-life – devoted to scholarship. Like many who have made a career out of the study of ancient India, I will fondly remember him as a man who made a large contribution to a key foundation stone in this edifice – through the study of epigraphy.
Mahadevan’s two magisterial works – The Indus Script: Texts, Concordances and Tables (1977) and Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century AD (2003) – are essential reading for anyone interested in the Indus and Brahmi scripts. He would later link the two and see vestiges of the Indus Civilisation in old Tamil. That is not an interpretation I would agree with, but I write this piece not to remember those publications but to draw attention to some lesser-known aspects of his life and the choices he made.
Born on the banks of the Kaveri river in 1930, a couple of hundred kilometres from Chennai, Mahadevan was educated at Tiruchirapalli. There was nothing in his education in that part of Tamil Nadu which showed any inclination towards a career in ancient writings. The young Mahadevan studied science and law. His chose, in fact, to be a bureaucrat and joined the Indian Administrative Service at 24. It was only much later that he became an epigraphist. He saw himself, as he once put it, in a long tradition of such men in India. “Many of the greatest scholars of the 19th century had been civil servants, so I may claim to be in that tradition.” When summed up like this, it would seem as if he himself had planned his life in the manner he lived it.
Well into his bureaucratic life, when he was posted to Delhi as an IAS officer, Mahadevan began to seriously look at artefacts with writing. When I met him in January 2006 in Chennai, he recounted that in Delhi, his official work in the ministry that he was attached to used to get over rather quickly and by late morning, he had nothing to do. So, he would amble down Janpath to the National Museum, where C. Sivaramamurti, the director of the museum, took him under his wing and encouraged him to begin working on all kinds of ancient epigraphs.
What had started as a pursuit for making his working day as a bureaucrat meaningful soon became an all-consuming passion. Once he turned 50, he took voluntary retirement: “I felt that the remaining years of my life I must devote to the Indus script and the Brahmi script, especially the Tamil Brahmi script.”
Mahadevan’s turn to epigraphy reminds us that outstanding epigraphists are not always those who trained in the study of signs and symbols within academic portals but, instead, became scholars because a bureaucrat’s life allowed serious hobbies to be pursued. It is a pity, though, that it is only a rare bureaucrat, as Mahadevan was, who excels in what begins as a hobby.
On a personal note, he was appalled when I became a babu at the University of Delhi for a few years and urged me to get back to my academic work as soon as possible. “You will make valuable contributions as an academic scholar,” he reminded me “and not by pushing files in an office (This advice is from a former bureaucrat!).”
This advice and a great deal else came from Mahadevan through a series of emails from 2006 till 2014. I met him only once, but because of these exchanges, I felt close enough to be able to discuss all kinds of things with him, from the career of D.D. Kosambi to Classical Tamil. As he told me, he was not a Marxist but remained a great admirer of Kosambi. He had copies of Kosambi’s books and studied his ideas carefully, being particularly fascinated by his account of the survivals of the Indus civilisation. He felt that his tracing of the Harappan influence on later cultures remained true. He was also planning to write a paper that took its leads from Kosambi’s reconstruction of the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro. Kosambi, it should be remembered, saw it as a religious structure. Kosambi also saw the three-faced deity on stamp seals as having some of the attributes of the later Hindu god Shiva.
But more than his views on scholars of ancient India, what struck me was Mahadevan’s ability to address academic disagreements through scholarly commerce rather than through vitriolic sniping. In 2010, for instance, he wrote in The Hindu that Asko Parpola, a distinguished Finnish Indologist, who had become the first recipient of the Classical Tamil award instituted by the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, richly deserved this honour. After reading the piece, I immediately wrote to Mahadevan that although Parpola’s scholarship was undoubted, he himself would probably be the first to admit that he had not made a contribution to Classical Tamil which was the award he was honoured with. I also hoped, as I told him, that he would not misunderstand what I wrote.
His reply was instantaneous: “Where is the question of misunderstanding when the debate is academic and not personal?”
We disagreed on lots of issues such as a supposed Aryan influx into India after the decline of the Indus civilisation, and whether there was a Dravidian language encoded in the Indus script, as he believed.
Such exchanges, though, were always conducted by him in such a fundamentally  decent and dignified way that it never failed to fill me with admiration. His belief about how scholars must conduct themselves remains, beyond question, the one aspect of his persona that I will remember – and miss – the most.
Nayanjot Lahiri is a Professor of History at Ashoka University.

Ancient Maritime Tin Route Project which predates Silk Road by 2 millennia to ca. 4500 BCE

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Ancient Maritime Tin Route Project which predates Silk Road by 2 millennia to ca. 4500 BCE
nAn Ancient Bhāratīya Itihāsa Research Proposal


Background and Executive Summary


Bhāratīya Itihāsa or History of Hindu Civilization is often traced back to several millennia Before Common Era based on the archaeological findings of sites like Bhirrana, Rakhigarhi and Kunal on the River Basin of Vedic Sarasvati River. A significant contribution was made by Angus Maddison, Cambridge Economic Historian who submitted a historical monograph to OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), prior to the initiatives of European Union. The following graph summarizes his findings.

Source: Data table in Maddison A (2007), Contours of the World Economy I-2030AD,Oxford University Press,

The framework of the research proposal is to explain how Ancient India accounted for over 33% of World GDP. What are the contributory factors which explain this phenomenal Wealth of an Ancient Nation, prior to 1 Common Era?


This research project proposal presents evidences pointing to the existence of an Ancient Maritime Tin Route which powered the Tin-Bronze Revolution of 5th millennium BCE which contributed to the Wealth of Nations, together with the inventions of domestication of rice cultivation (from ca. 7th millennium BCE), domestication of cotton cultivation (from ca. 6th millenniumBCE) which are explanatory factors for the wealth of nations of the ancient periods.

A significant contributor is the economic organization, a corporate form which predate the Roman corporate form by 2 millennia. The corporate form relates to the organization of guilds, called śreṇi of artisans and seafaring merchants, which were governed by the principle of Shared Commonwealth. It appears that this was the major contributory factor which may explain the Wealth of Ancient India, ca. 4500 BCE.

The key to this phenomenal economic enterprise is the navigability of Himalayan rivers: Mekong, Irrawaddy, Salween, Brahmaputra, Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati which linked up the seafaring merchants through the Persian Gulf, Tigris-Euphrates doab and Mediterranean Sea, thus effectively complementing a Maritime route from Hanoi (Vietnam) to Haifa (Israel) powering the Tin-Bronze Revolution of 5th millennium BCE.

The largest tin belt of the globe is in Ancient Far East on the river basins of Irrawaddy, Salween and Mekong. This cassiterite (tin ore) resource was accumulated as placer deposits as the Himalayan rivers ground down granite rocks and created the plater deposits of tin ore. The challenge is to prove the use of this tin resource during the Tin-Bronze Revolution of Eurasia.
Image result for tin belt of the globe bharatkalyan97


European Union has embarked on a multi-million Euro project (Euro 2,340,000) coordinated in Germany, to research on the provenance of tin of the Tin-Bronze Age. The closed project is called 

Tin Isotopes and the Sources of Bronze Age Tin in the Old World."This multidisciplinary project comprising archaeology, history, geochemistry, and geology aims at the decipherment of the enigma of the origin of a material that emerged in the third millennium BCE and gave an entire cultural epoch its name, namely the alloy of copper and tin called bronze. While copper deposits are relatively widely distributed there are only very few tin deposits known in the Old World (Europe, the Mediterranean basin and southwest Asia). "



The proposed project will complement these efforts and drawn up the contours of the Ancient Maritime Tin Route which linked Hanoi and Haifa. It appears that Ancient Indian artisans and merchants were intermediaries in distribution of the tin and other mineral resources of the Tin-Bronze Revolution. The proposed research willd define the contours of this economic enterprise which spanned several millennia from 5th to 2nd millennium BCE.

Brief overview of the socio-economic situation of Ancient Indian Polity of centures prior to 1 Common Era


The rediscovery of Vedic River Sarasvati is a momentous historical record. Archaeologicalevidences attest the existence of over 2000 archaeological sites along the basin of Vedic River Sarasvati; accounting for over 80% of all 2600+ sites of the so-called Indus Valley Civilization. This has led some scholars to call this Sarasvati Civilization since the river basin constituted the epicentre of life-activities of the artisans and seafaring merchants of the Civilization.

Rakhigarhi was on the banks of River Drishadvati, a tributary of River Sarasvati navigable through and beyond Dwaraka through Persian Gulf into Ancient Near East. (Map after JM Kenoyer harappa.com).:


Rakhigarhi


The discovery of the archaeological site of Rakhigarhi is of great significance in this economic enterprise of ancient peoples. The site is seen to be the largest site of Sarasvati civilization and could have been a paṭṭaṇa which linked the navigable Sarasvati River with Ganga-Yamuna doab and Brahmaputra navigable waterway to link up further with the RiverBasinf of Irrawaddy, Salween,Mekong in Ancient Far East.


Backbone of Indus Script Corpora. Tin Road of Bronze Age Indian Ocean Community linking Ancient Far East and Ancient Near East.


An Indian Ocean Community existed in the Bronze Age transacting on the Tin Road.

The monograph is a postscript to the decipherment of 'backbone' and 'skeleton' hieroglyphs used extensively on Indus Script Corpora in the context of metalwork catalogues of the civilization contact areas. The hieroglyhphs signify hard alloy and deep boat (canoe) respectively which indicate the need for researches on seafaring and maritime activities of Meluhha artisans and merchants of the Indian Ocean. A Tin Road of the Bronze Age is posited preceding the Silk Road of Sutra texts from Indian sprachbund. This hypothesis is framed on the George Coeded, French savant's magnum opus, in the wake of discovery of Angkor Wat: Ancient History of Hinduised States of Far East (French original: Histoire ancienne des états hindouises d'Extrême Orient, 1944.) The state formation in Ancient Far East should have been founded on centuries of earlier contacts and cultural exchanges between the seafaring Meluhha merchants and seafaring artisans of the Ancient Far East. A profound set of researches related to the spread of Austro-Asiatic languages from Indian sprachbund to Ancient Far East provide the evidence for this possibility of cultural exchanges starting from the Bronze Age. (See correlating maps embedded. 
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/05/archaeometallury-and-meluhha.html). An archaeometallurgical evidence of the discovery of a Bronze Age village and cemetery site of Ban Chiang of Thailand is compelling and matches with the geological reality of the largest tin belt of the globe located in the Ancient Far East.

The presentation is organized in three sections suggesting the pursuit of an area of research of Bronze Age suggested by Wilhelm G. Solheim's hypothesis of a trade/culturfal link between Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean (referenced at 

Section 1: Backbone of Indus Script Corpora. Archaeometallurgical messages revealed by the cipher, suggesting Tin Road links between Ancient Far East and Ancient Near East

Section 2: Seafaring Ancient Near East -- Rationale for linking messages from Indus Script Corpora and Archaeometallury of Ancient Far East

Section 3. Background profiles on Indus Scipt Corpora and related archaeometallurgy as a framework for further researches to define the Tin Road of the Bronze Age linking Ancient Far East and Ancient Near East
Pinnow-map of Austro-Asiatic language speakershttp://www.ling.hawaii.edu/faculty/stampe/aa.html
Some Bronze Age sites, Far East. (After Fig. 2.2 in Higham, Charles, 1996, The bronze age of Southeast Asia, Cambridge Univ. Press
 
Stannifrous areas of the world (From RG Taylor, Geology of Tin Deposits, Amsterdam 1979, 6, fig. 2.1)

Bronze Age sites of eastern Bha_rata and neighbouring areas: 1. Koldihwa; 2. Khairdih; 3. Chirand; 4. Mahisadal; 5. Pandu Rajar Dhibi; 6. Mehrgarh; 7. Harappa; 8. Mohenjo-daro; 9. Ahar; 10.Kayatha; 11. Navdatoli; 12. Inamgaon; 13. Non Pa Wai; 14. Nong Nor; 15. Ban Na Di and Ban Chiang; 16. Non Nok Tha; 17. Thanh Den; 18. Shizhaishan; 19. Ban Don Ta Phet [After Fig. 8.1 in: Charles Higham, 1996, The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia, Cambridge University Press].
 
Section 1: Backbone of Indus Script Corpora. Archaeometallurgical messages revealed by the cipher, suggesting Tin Road links between Ancient Far East and Ancient Near East

Three Meluhha glosses denote three types of metal ingots:

1. ḍhālako ‘large ingot’. ढाळ [ ḍhāḷa ]  Cast, mould, form (as of metal vessels, trinkets &c.) (Marathi)
2. mũhe 'ingot' mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes.
3. ḍab, ḍhimba, ḍhompo ‘lump (ingot?)’, clot, make a lump or clot, coagulate, fuse, melt together (Santali)

Based on the decipherment of Indus Scipt Corpora in Meluhha language (Proto-Prakritam of Indian sprachbund), it is suggested that 

1. ḍhālako ingots were signified by the ox-hide shaped ingots
2. mũhe ingots were signified by the cargo of cast metal out of a furnace
3. ḍab ingots were smaller sized, bun-shaped ingots.

The specification that the ingots were made of alloyed hard metal was signified by hieroglyphs which were shaped like a skeleton-backbone:

 Rebus-metonymy layered readings of these hieroglyphs are: 

Hieroglyph: dōkkū skeleton (Kuwi) ḍogor peṛeka backbone (Go.)

Rebus: ḍhũgo ʻ stoneʼ (Ku.) Rebus: ḍõgā 'deep boat' (P.)

Hieroglyph: karaṁḍa -- m.n. ʻ bone shaped like a bamboo ʼ, karaṁḍuya -- n. ʻ backbone ʼ (Prakrit) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi)

Thus, to signify cast ingots of hard alloy, the hieroglyphs deployed were:

S. karaṛa -- ḍhī˜gu m. ʻ a very large aquatic bird ʼ;  L. karṛā m., °ṛī f. ʻ the common teal 
A Hamsa sacred goose reliquary,stupa 32 of the Gangu group, Babar Khana, TaxilaGandhara, 1st century CE. This Hamsa was found inside a granite bowl, with an inscribed gold sheet stating "Shira deposited the relics of her departed parents in the Hamsa". It has a cavity in the middle for the insertion of the relics. British Museum.
bar-headed goose (Anser indicus)



Paśu 'animals' in R̥gveda yajña, animal hieroglyphs Indus Script wealth accounting ledgers, metalwork catalogues

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This is an addendum to:

Yūpa brick found in Binjor; Vedic Sarasvati River basin; Veda pillars of yajña, in Harappa = Hari-yúpíyá  https://tinyurl.com/yagemuwv



Source: Keith and Macdonnell, Vedic Index, Vol. I, pp.509-511

 


Pasaramu 'cattle' పసరము pasaramu or పసలము pasaramu. [Tel.] n. A beast, an animal. గోమహిషహాతి.  rebus: pajhar 'smelter, smithy', rebus: పసారము pasāramu or పసారు pasārdmu. [Tel.] n. A shop. associated triplets of hypertext clusters. Thus, clusters of animals (expanded also as a composite animal or animals shown in procession) are wealth-accounting classifiers of distinct metalwork categories related to a smelter or a smithy.  prasara m. ʻ advance, extension ʼ Kālid. [√sr̥]Pk. pasara -- m. ʻ extension ʼ; Ku. pasar ʻ extension of family, lineage, family, household ʼ; N. pasal ʻ booth, shop ʼ; B. Or. pasarā ʻ tray of goods for sale ʼ; M. pasar m. ʻ extension ʼ; -- N. pasar ʻ the two hands placed together to receive something, one hand so held out ʼ, H. pasar m. ʻ hollowed palm of hand ʼ: rather < prasr̥ta -- .(CDIAL 8824) prasāra m. ʻ extension ʼ Suśr., ʻ trader's shop ʼ Nalac. [Cf. prasārayati ʻ spreads out for sale ʼ Mn. -- √sr̥Paš. lāsar ʻ bench -- like flower beds outside the window ʼ IIFL iii 3, 113; K. pasār m. ʻ rest ʼ (semant. cf. prásarati in Ku. N. Aw.); P. puhārā m. ʻ breaking out (of fever, smallpox, &c.) ʼ; Ku. pasāro ʻ extension, bigness, extension of family or property, lineage, family, household ʼ; N. pasār ʻ extension ʼ; B. pasār ʻ extent of practice in business, popularity ʼ, Or. pasāra; H. pasārā m. ʻ stretching out, expansion ʼ (→ P. pasārā m.; S. pasāro m. ʻ expansion, crowd ʼ), G. pasār°rɔ m., M. pasārā; -- K. pasôru m. ʻ petty shopkeeper ʼ; P. pahārā m. ʻ goldsmith's workshop ʼ; A. pohār ʻ small shop ʼ; -- ← Centre: S. pasāru m. ʻ spices ʼ; P. pasār -- haṭṭā m. ʻ druggist's shop ʼ; -- X paṇyaśālā -- : Ku. pansārī f. ʻ grocer's shop ʼ.(CDIAL 8835)

Sign 15 reads: Sign 12 kuṭi 'water-carrier' (Telugu) Rebus: kuṭhi. 'iron smelter furnace' (Santali) kuṭhī factory (A.)(CDIAL 3546) PLUS Sign 342 kanda kanka 'rim of jar' कार्णिक 'relating to the ear' rebus: kanda kanka 'fire-trench account, karika 'scribe, account' karṇī 'supercargo',कर्णिक helmsman'. Thus, the composite hypertext of Sign 15 reads: kuṭhi karika 'smelter helmsman/scribe/supercargo'.

Semantics of the expression कारणिक a. (-का or -की f.) include:  a teacher MBh. ii , 167. कच्चित्कारणिका धर्मे सर्वशास्त्रेषु कोविदाः Mb.2.5.34.mfn. (g. काश्य्-ादि) " investigating , ascertaining the cause " , a judge (Pañcatantra)(Monier-Williams); Causal, causativ (Apte)

Thus, Sign 342  karika 'rim-of-jar' read कारणिक signifies that the scribe,engraver performed the functions for the guild of 'inspecting' or 'judging' the quality of the metal products categorised, classified and catalogued in the wealth accounting ledgers.
Pairs associated withbuffalo FS 6 (FS 15, 16, 17)

Hieroglyhph: buffalo: Ku. N. rã̄go ʻ buffalo bull ʼ (or < raṅku -- ?).(CDIAL 10538, 10559) Rebus: raṅga3 n. ʻ tin ʼ lex. [Cf. nāga -- 2, vaṅga -- 1Pk. raṁga -- n. ʻ tin ʼ; P. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m. ʻ pewter, tin ʼ (← H.); Ku. rāṅ ʻ tin, solder ʼ, gng. rã̄k; N. rāṅrāṅo ʻ tin, solder ʼ, A. B. rāṅ; Or. rāṅga ʻ tin ʼ, rāṅgā ʻ solder, spelter ʼ, Bi. Mth. rã̄gā, OAw. rāṁga; H. rã̄g f., rã̄gā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; Si. ran̆ga ʻ tin ʼ.(CDIAL 10562) B. rāṅ(g) ʻ tinsel, copper -- foil ʼ.(CDIAL 10567). The decipherment of all these pairs have been subsumed in the decipherment of 31 triplets presented at 

 

https://tinyurl.com/ybf2p98h


FS 6 FS Fig.15 to 17
bica 'scorpion' rebus: bica 'haematite, ferrite ore'; mẽḍhā ʻcrook, hook' rebus: meḍ 'iron' (Mu.Ho.); dāṭu cross (Te.); dhatu = mineral (Santali) Hindi. dhāṭnā 'to send out, pour out, cast (metal)' (CDIAL 6771).
FS 3 FS Fig. 10Cluster1

 Sign 293 kanac kuṭila 'pewter'; kuṭhi. 'iron smelter furnace', 'factory';

Sign 123 kuṭi 'a slice, a bit, a small piece'(Santali) Rebus: kuṭhi. 'iron smelter furnace' (Santali) kuṭhī factory (A.)(CDIAL 3546) PLUS 'notch' hieroglyph:  खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, kuṭhi khāṇḍā smelter metalware.

Sign 343 kanda kanka 'rim of jar' कार्णिक 'relating to the ear' rebus: kanda kanka 'fire-trench account, karika 'scribe, account' karṇī 'supercargo',कर्णिक helmsman' PLUS खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, khāṇḍā karṇī 'metalware supercargo'.


FS 4 FS Fig. 11 to 13aḍar 'harrow' Rebus: aduru = gaṇiyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Kannada); bhaṭa 'warrior' rebus:bhaṭa 'furnace'l karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo'.
 Sign 48 is a 'backbone, spine' hieroglyph: baraḍo = spine; backbone (Tulu) Rebus: baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) Tir. mar -- kaṇḍḗ ʻ back (of the body) ʼ; S. kaṇḍo m. ʻ back ʼ, L. kaṇḍ f., kaṇḍā m. ʻ backbone ʼ, awāṇ. kaṇḍ, °ḍī ʻ back ʼH. kã̄ṭā m. ʻ spine ʼ, G. kã̄ṭɔ m., M. kã̄ṭā m.; Pk. kaṁḍa -- m. ʻ backbone ʼ.(CDIAL 2670) Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’ (Santali) bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier; bharatar, bharatal, bharata = moulded; an article made in a mould; bharata = casting metals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in; to pour into (Gujarati) bhart = a mixed metal of copper and lead; bhartīyā = a brazier, worker in metal; bha, bhrāṣṭra = oven, furnace (Sanskrit. )baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) 
käti ʻwarrior' (Sinhalese)(CDIAL 3649). rebus:  khātī m. ʻ 'member of a caste of wheelwrights'ʼVikalpa: bhaa 'warrior' rebus: bhaa 'furnace'.
Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo'
 Hieroglyph:  dhāḷ 'a slope'; 'inclination'  ḍhāla n. ʻ shield ʼ lex. 2. *ḍhāllā -- .1. Tir. (Leech) "dàl"ʻ shield ʼ, Bshk. ḍāl, Ku. ḍhāl, gng. ḍhāw, N. A. B. ḍhāl, Or. ḍhāḷa, Mth. H. ḍhāl m.2. Sh. ḍal (pl. °le̯) f., K. ḍāl f., S. ḍhāla, L. ḍhāl (pl. °lã) f., P. ḍhāl f., G. M. ḍhāl f.Addenda: ḍhāla -- . 2. *ḍhāllā -- : WPah.kṭg. (kc.) ḍhāˋl f. (obl. -- a) ʻ shield ʼ (a word used in salutation), J. ḍhāl f.(CDIAL 5583). Rebus:  ḍhālako a large metal ingot  PLUS ayo 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal'. 
 Hypertext of Sign 336 has hieroglyph components: muka 'ladle' (Tamil)(DEDR 4887) Rebus:mū̃h 'ingot' (Santali).PLUSSign 328  baṭa 'rimless pot' rebus: baṭa 'iron' bhaṭa 'furnace'. The hypertext reads: mū̃h bhaṭa 'ingot furnace'
kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.
 Variants of Sign 293 Sign 293 is a ligature ofSign 287 'curve' hieroglyph and 'angle' hieroglyph (as seen on lozenge/rhombus/ovalshaped hieroglyphs). The basic orthograph of Sign 287 is signifiedby the semantics of: kuṭila ‘bent’ CDIAL 3230 kuṭi— in cmpd. ‘curve’, kuṭika— ‘bent’ MBh. Rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) cf. āra-kūṭa, 'brass'  Old English ār 'brass, copper, bronze' Old Norse eir 'brass, copper', German ehern 'brassy, bronzen'. kastīra n. ʻ tin ʼ lex. 2. *kastilla -- .1. H. kathīr m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; G. kathīr n. ʻ pewter ʼ.2. H. (Bhoj.?) kathīl°lā m. ʻ tin, pewter ʼ; M. kathīl n. ʻ tin ʼ, kathlẽ n. ʻ large tin vessel ʼ.(CDIAL 2984) कौटिलिकः kauṭilikḥ कौटिलिकः 1 A hunter.-2 A blacksmith. Sign 293 may be seen as a ligature of Sign 287 PLUS 'corner' signifier: Thus, kanac 'corner' rebus: kañcu 'bell-metal'.kaṁsá 1 m. ʻmetal cup ʼ AV., m.n. ʻ bell -- metalʼ PLUS kuṭila 'curve' rebus: kuṭila 'bronze/pewter' (Pewter is an alloy that is a variant brass alloy). The reading of Sign 293 is: kanac kuṭila 'pewter'.
 Sign 123 is comparable to Sign 99 'splinter' hieroglyph. kuṭi 'a slice, a bit, a small piece'(Santali) Rebus: kuṭhi. 'iron smelter furnace' (Santali) kuṭhī factory (A.)(CDIAL 3546) PLUS 'notch' hieroglyph:  खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, khāṇḍā kuṭhi metalware smelter.
kanda kanka 'rim of jar' कार्णिक 'relating to the ear' rebus: kanda kanka 'fire-trench account, karika 'scribe, account' karṇī 'supercargo',कर्णिक helmsman'.Note: Hieroglyph: कर्ण [p= 256,2] the handle or ear of a vessel RV. viii , 72 , 12 S3Br. ix Ka1tyS3r. &c Rebus: कर्ण the helm or rudder of a ship R. कर्णी f. of °ण ifc. (e.g. अयस्-क्° and पयस्-क्°) Pa1n2. 8-3 , 46" N. of कंस's mother " , in comp. Rebus: karṇī, 'Supercargo responsible for cargo of a merchant essel'.

Hypertext Cluster 21 reads:  kuṭila kañcu khāṇḍā kuṭhi karṇī  'pewter, bell-metal metalware, smelter, scribe, supercargo;.




FS 7 FS Fig.20 Hypertext of Sign 267 is composed of rhombus/oval/bun-ingot shape and signifier of 'corner' hieroglyph. The hypertext reads: mũhã̄ 'bun ingot' PLUS kanac 'corner' rebus: kañcu 'bell-metal'. Sign 267 is oval=shape variant, rhombus-shape of a bun ingot. Like Sign 373, this sign also signifies mũhã̄ 'bun ingot' PLUS kanac 'corner' rebus: kancu 'bell-metal'.kaṁsá1 m. ʻ metal cup ʼ AV., m.n. ʻ bell -- metal ʼ Pat. as in S., but would in Pa. Pk. and most NIA. lggs. collide with kāˊṁsya -- to which L. P. testify and under which the remaining forms for the metal are listed. 2. *kaṁsikā -- .1. Pa. kaṁsa -- m. ʻ bronze dish ʼ; S. kañjho m. ʻ bellmetal ʼ; A. kã̄h ʻ gong ʼ; Or. kãsā ʻ big pot of bell -- metal ʼ; OMarw. kāso (= kã̄ -- ?) m. ʻ bell -- metal tray for food, food ʼ; G. kã̄sā m. pl. ʻ cymbals ʼ; -- perh. Woṭ. kasṓṭ m. ʻ metal pot ʼ Buddruss Woṭ 109.2. Pk. kaṁsiā -- f. ʻ a kind of musical instrument ʼ;  A. kã̄hi ʻ bell -- metal dish ʼ; G. kã̄śī f. ʻ bell -- metal cymbal ʼ, kã̄śiyɔ m. ʻ open bellmetal pan ʼ. (CDIAL 2756)

sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'

kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.
gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar' khaṇḍa 'implements, metalware'. PLUS 'split parenthesis' is a split of oval hieroglyph read rebus: Sign 373 mũh, muhã 'ingot' or muhã 'quantity of metal produced at one time in a native smelting furnace.' (oval-/rhombus-shaped like a bun-ingot).
 sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'PLUS 'notch'  खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, khāṇḍā sal 'equipment workshop'
Sign 403 is a duplication of  dula 'pair, duplicated' rebus: dul 'metalcasting' PLUS  Sign'oval/lozenge/rhombus' hieoglyph Sign 373. Sign 373 has the shape of oval or lozenge is the shape of a bun ingotmũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced atone time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed likea four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes andformed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends; kolhe tehen mẽṛhẽt komūhā akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali). Thus, Sign 373 signifies word, mũhã̄ 'bun ingot'. Thus, hypertext Sign 403 reads: dul mũhã̄ 'metalcast ingot'.
Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo'

FS 9kanac 'corner' rebus: kancu 'bell-metal'.kaṁsá 1 m. ʻmetal cup ʼ AV., m.n. ʻ bell -- metalʼ PLUS mũh, muhã 'ingot' or muhã 'quantity of metal produced at one time in a native smelting furnace.' (oval-/rhombus-shaped like a bun-ingot)
sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'
Sign 67 khambhaṛā 'fish-fin' rebus: Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭamcoinage, mintKa. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner.(DEDR 1236) PLUS ayo, aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal' अयस् n. iron , metal RV. &c; an iron weapon (as an axe , &c ) RV. vi , 3 ,5 and 47 , 10;  gold (नैघण्टुक , commented on by यास्क); steel L. ; ([cf. Lat. aes , aer-is for as-is ; Goth. ais , Thema aisa ; Old Germ. e7r , iron ; Goth. eisarn ; Mod. Germ. Eisen.]). Thus, ayo kammaṭa 'alloy metalmint'.

FS 11 FS Fig. 26 to 28
Cluster 6

Hypertext reads: mē̃ḍ koḍ dul kāṇḍā 'cast iron workshop';  'metalcast equipment'.

 Variants of Sign 245 Hieroglyph: khaṇḍa'divisions' Rebus: kāṇḍā 'metalware' Duplicated Sign 245: dula 'duplicated' rebus: dul 'metal casting'.
Sign 25 ciphertext is composed of Sign 1 and Sign 86. mē̃ḍ 'body' rebus: mē̃ḍ ‘iron’ (Mu.)Hypertext reads in a constructed Meluhha expression: mē̃ḍ koḍ 'iron workshop'.

kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.
gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar' khaṇḍa 'implements, metalware'. 
 koḍa 'sluice'; Rebus: koḍ 'artisan's workshop (Kuwi) Vikalpa: सांड [ sāṇḍa ] f (षद S) An outlet for superfluous water (as through a dam or mound); a sluice, a floodvent. सांडशी [ sāṇḍaśī ] f (Dim. of सांडस, or from H) A small kind of tongs or pincers.
Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo'
FS 13 FS Fig. 30 to 38



Sign 48 is a 'backbone, spine' hieroglyph: baraḍo = spine; backbone (Tulu) Rebus: baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) Tir. mar -- kaṇḍḗ ʻ back (of the body) ʼ; S. kaṇḍo m. ʻ back ʼ, L. kaṇḍ f., kaṇḍā m. ʻ backbone ʼ, awāṇ. kaṇḍ, °ḍī ʻ back ʼH. kã̄ṭā m. ʻ spine ʼ, G. kã̄ṭɔ m., M. kã̄ṭā m.; Pk. kaṁḍa -- m. ʻ backbone ʼ.(CDIAL 2670) Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’ (Santali) bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier; bharatar, bharatal, bharata = moulded; an article made in a mould; bharata = casting metals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in; to pour into (Gujarati) bhart = a mixed metal of copper and lead; bhartīyā = a brazier, worker in metal; bha, bhrāṣṭra = oven, furnace (Sanskrit. )baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi) 
käti ʻwarrior' (Sinhalese)(CDIAL 3649). rebus:  khātī m. ʻ 'member of a caste of wheelwrights'ʼVikalpa: bhaa 'warrior' rebus: bhaa 'furnace'.
Sign 342 karṇaka, kanka 'rim of jar' rebs: karṇī  'scribe, supercargo'


FS 14 FS Fig. 39 to 41
dhanga 'mountain range' Rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith' Vikalpa: meṭṭu 'hill' Rebus:me 'iron'  (Mu.Ho.)

 मुष्टिक 'fist' rebus: मुष्टिक goldsmith

Sign 245 Hieroglyph: khaṇḍa'divisions' Rebus: kāṇḍā 'metalware' 

Sign 358 मुष्टिक 'fist' rebus: मुष्टिक goldsmith. The rebus reading of upraised arm: eraka 'upraised arm' rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper' araka 'gold'. Since, the fists are ligatured to the rim of jar, the rebus reading includes the two rebus expressions:1. kanka 'rim of jar' rebus: कर्णिक m. a steersman (Monier-Williams) karaṇī 'supercargo, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale.' (Marathi). 2. dula'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'  PLUS muka 'fist' rebus: mũhe 'ingot'. Thus, together dul mũhe 'ingot, metalcasting'.



FS 25 FS Fig.51The underlying sign design principle सांगड sāṅgaḍa 'joined parts' is HTTP hypertext transfer protocol. A hypertext on an Indus Script inscription is composed of hieroglyphs joined together which are classified as both composite 'signs' and composite 'field symbols', for e.g.,: 1. on field symbols with composite animals such as hieroglyphs of a bovine body with bos indicus (zebu horns), ram (hoofs), cobrahood (tail), elephant trunk, human face, scarfs on neck. Each animal part is read rebus to identify the 'metal' signified in the hyper-cluster of animals called 'composite animal'.
kolom 'three' rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'.Hieroglyph:  dhāḷ 'a slope'; 'inclination'  ḍhāla n. ʻ shield ʼ lex. 2. *ḍhāllā -- .1. Tir. (Leech) "dàl"ʻ shield ʼ, Bshk. ḍāl, Ku. ḍhāl, gng. ḍhāw, N. A. B. ḍhāl, Or. ḍhāḷa, Mth. H. ḍhāl m.2. Sh. ḍal (pl. °le̯) f., K. ḍāl f., S. ḍhāla, L. ḍhāl (pl. °lã) f., P. ḍhāl f., G. M. ḍhāl f.Addenda: ḍhāla -- . 2. *ḍhāllā -- : WPah.kṭg. (kc.) ḍhāˋl f. (obl. -- a) ʻ shield ʼ (a word used in salutation), J. ḍhāl f.(CDIAL 5583). Rebus:  ḍhālako a large metal ingot PLUS Sign 403 is a duplication of  dula 'pair, duplicated' rebus: dul 'metalcasting' PLUS  Sign'oval/lozenge/rhombus' hieoglyph Sign 373. Sign 373 has the shape of oval or lozenge is the shape of a bun ingotmũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced atone time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed likea four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes andformed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends; kolhe tehen mẽṛhẽt komūhā akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali). Thus, Sign 373 signifies word, mũhã̄ 'bun ingot'. Thus, hypertext Sign 403 reads: dul mũhã̄ 'metalcast ingot' and  ḍhālako a large metal ingot.
kūdī ‘bunch of twigs’ (Sanskrit) rebus: kuṭhi ‘smelter furnace’ (Santali) Vikalpa: pajhaṛ = to sprout from a root (Santali); Rebus: pasra ‘smithy, forge’ (Santali)

Triplet freq.  41.Triplet freq. 12preferred dot-in-circle environ, miniature tablets  
Triplet frequency  12. preferred FS 07karibha 'elephant' rebus: karba 'iron' PLUS pattar 'trough' rebus: pattar 'goldsmith guild'.
Sign 403 is a duplication of  dula 'pair, duplicated' rebus: dul 'metalcasting' PLUS  Sign'oval/lozenge/rhombus' hieoglyph Sign 373. Sign 373 has the shape of oval or lozenge is the shape of a bun ingotmũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced atone time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed likea four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes andformed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends; kolhe tehen mẽṛhẽt komūhā akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali). Thus, Sign 373 signifies word, mũhã̄ 'bun ingot'. Thus, hypertext Sign 403 reads: dul mũhã̄ 'metalcast ingot'.

Sign 103 is hypertext composed of Sign 87 dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metalcasting' PLUS 'notch' hieroglyph:  खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā 'tools, pots and pans, metal-ware'. Thus, the pair Sign 103 and Sign 403 signify ingots and metalware.

Sign 342 kanda kanka 'rim of jar' कार्णिक 'relating to the ear' rebus: kanda kanka 'fire-trench account, karika 'scribe, account' karṇī 'supercargo',कर्णिक helmsman'.

(FS 18) elephant, FS 91 (FS 129) double-axe, preferred miniature tablets.
Sign 160 is a variant of Sign 137Variants of Sign 137 dāṭu 'cross' rebus: dhatu 'mineral' (Santali) PLUS Sign 134 ayo 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal' ays 'iron' PLUS dhakka 'lid of pot' rebus: dhakka 'bright'. Thus, together, 

Sign 138 reads: dhakka dhatu 'bright mineral ore'

Triplet frequency 12, preferred FS 44 tree (FS 75) kuṭhi. 'tree' rebus: kuṭhi. 'iron smelter furnace', 'factory'


Sign 178 is a ligature of  'three short strokes' and 'crook' hieroglyph shown infixed with a circumscript of duplicated four short strokes as in Sign 179
Sign 178 is: kolmo ‘three’ (Mu.); rebus: kolami ‘smithy’ (Telugu.) मेंढा [ mēṇḍhā ] A crook or curved end (of a stick, horn &c.) and attrib. such a stick, horn, bullock. मेढा [ mēḍhā ] m A stake, esp. as forked. meḍ(h), meḍhī f., meḍhā m. ʻ post, forked stake ʼ.(Marathi)(CDIAL 10317) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ ‘iron’ (Mu.Ho.) Together: kolami meḍ 'iron smithy'.

Sign 389 is a composite hypertext composed of Sign 169 infixed in 'oval/lozenge/rhombus' hieoglyph Sign 373. Sign 373 has the shape of oval or lozenge is the shape of a bun ingotmũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced atone time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed likea four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end; mūhā mẽṛhẽt = iron smelted by the Kolhes andformed into an equilateral lump a little pointed at each of four ends; kolhe tehen mẽṛhẽt komūhā akata = the Kolhes have to-day produced pig iron (Santali). Thus, Sign 373 signifies word, mũhã̄ 'bun ingot'. 
Sign 169 may be a variant of Sign 162. Sign kolmo 'rice plant' rebus:kolami 'smithy, forge'. Thus, the composite hypertext of Sign 389 reads: mũhã̄ kolami 'ingot smithy/forge'.

See: 

 https://tinyurl.com/y84faccq

Two issues that Dr Iravatham Mahadevan could have announced the world before his departure -- Jayasree Saranathan

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If only he had lived for a few more years, he might have come up with a ‘revision’ on his view on Aryan entry.

November 29, 2018
Two issues that Dr Iravatham Mahadevan could have announced the world

As one who has read most of his papers for a research work, the only thought lingering on this writer’s mind is that Mahadevan was truly humble and open for change.

With numerous tributes flowing around us on Iravatham Mahadevan at this moment of his departure, just one thought crosses this writer’s mind – that he was humble to the core. In spite of a long innings in epigraphy, he was very humble and honest to correct his views when faced with a convincing proof. He did make a correction as recently as in 2015 to one of the major assumptions on the Dravidian presence in the Indus upon which he built up his entire work of linguistic decipherment of the Indus Script. This makes us wonder whether he would have done the same to the other assumption on Aryan migration had he lived for some more time, for, there is a glaring absurdity in his original assumption of a small group of Aryans entering the country and the entire country getting linguistically fused with Aryan language though he proposed that the Aryans borrowed the culture of the Dravidian Indus!
He embraced the view of his predecessors that Dravidians were present in North West India (Indus Valley) when the Aryans came and Brahui is the proof of their presence.
Two issues are taken up as foregone conclusions.
The Aryan vs Dravidian debate on the Indus civilization was at the threshold of ‘Mature Phase’ when Mahadevan entered the fray in 1968. Only a couple decades prior to that, Wheeler presented his theory that Rig-Veda could be read as a historical document and wrote in his report on 1946 excavations of Harappa that ‘Indra stands accused’– by proposing a conflict between “the newly arrived Aryan warriors and the indigenous Indus peoples” (Possehl 2002). This was followed by attempts to decipher the signs on the Indus seals. When Mahadevan, after completing his work on Tamil-Brāhmī scripts, turned his attention to the Indus script, two studies were already published. Both these studies claimed that Dravidian language formed the substratum of the Indus script. Impressed with their findings, Mahadevan began his decipherment of the Indus seals on the same lines. The Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) and the Dravidian substratum of the Indus were embraced as foregone conclusions by Mahadevan and taken up as the basic assumptions upon which he weaved all his decipherments.
Change of stance on Brahui as evidence.
He embraced the view of his predecessors that Dravidians were present in North West India (Indus Valley) when the Aryans came and Brahui is the proof of their presence. Though he made a fleeting reference to it in his paper published in 1970, he made a decisive statement in 1972 in his paper, “Study of the Indus script through bi-lingual parallels” where he wrote,
It is now well established that the Dravidians were present in North-west India when the Aryans entered the country, most probably sometime around the middle of the Second Millennium B.C. The survival of the Brahui, a Dravidian language, and the presence of words of Dravidian origin in the Rigveda, provide irrefutable evidence for this fact.”He had the humility and honesty to revise his opinion and admit it in the open certainly puts him on a high pedestal.He repeated this in later works too though he never came up with any words of Dravidian origin in the Rig Veda. For him, the other proof, namely the continuing presence of Brahui even today constituted the basis for the assumption that Dravidians were living in North West India at the time of Aryan Invasion.
This stance on Brahui which he held on for more than 30 years came for a changewhen he was found to make a significant departure from his view on Brahui in his Convocation Address to the Dravidian University at Kuppam in 2015.
I had earlier considered Brahui, a Dravidian language still spoken in Baluchistan as evidence for the Dravidian character of the Indus civilisation. I have revised my opinion as experts in Dravidian linguistics now hold that Brahui was originally a North-eastern Dravidian language with many shared features with Kurux and Malto and that it moved to its present location in later times.”
His academic sincerity in accepting facts notwithstanding, it is no exaggeration that this ‘revision’ of his view comes with a far-reaching implication on whether the Dravidian substratum can be taken for granted in Indus decipherment. This further raises questions like when did Brahui come to North West India and whether its arrival pre-dated Aryan arrival. Without finding answers for these, Mahadevan could have found himself forced to do a re-think on the assumption of Dravidian substratum given the fact that no convincing decipherment of the Indus script had come up till date. That he had the humility and honesty to revise his opinion and admit it in the open certainly puts him on a high pedestal.
Aryan as language and not race.
His adherence to Aryan Invasion Theory as a foregone conclusion was reflected in his 1972 paper as the only possible answer to the question of what happened to the Harappans. He wrote,
Ethnic continuity overlaid by a linguistic change wrought by the incoming Aryans seems to be the only possible answer to the question, ‘What happened to the Harappans?’ ”The newer revelations and discoveries coming on the Indus sites in his later years could have caused a change of mind on his Aryan assumption too.
With many researches having come with indisputable evidence on climatic causes for the demise of the Harappan / Indus civilization, the relevance of Aryan entry as a cause for the death of Indus civilization stands very much diluted and even non-existent. It is perplexing that Mahadevan did not ‘revise’ his view on Aryan invasion in the wake of new discoveries on the end of Indus civilisation.
A perception is gaining that Mahadevan treated Aryan and Dravidian as names of languages and not races. But the fact is that he did harp on these two as races and their merger as racial fusion in his early papers such as the one published in 1972.
His version was that a small group of Aryans entered the Indus and achieved dominance over the local population due to better mobility and advanced weaponry. By mentioning weaponry as a cause for domination he seemed to concur with the olden notion of invasion. Thus initially there were two races in his scheme which were fused in due course giving rise to two sets of language systems, Aryan and Dravidian.
According to him, the Dravidian language was present in the Indus. It was borrowed by Aryans from whom it travelled back to the Dravidian at a much later date. The later Dravidian was secondary Dravidian – the language that we have today. Using the Dravidian languages and the Aryan (Sanskrit) language, he attempted to decipher the Indus script (Primary Dravidian). In this methodology, there is absolutely no need to assume that Aryans came from outside and fused with the Indus people. In his scheme, there were pre-Aryan practices such as Soma cult that was borrowed by the Aryans! He even proposed pre-Aryan indigenous stock to which he attributed the Epics and Puranas of Hindus (1975 paper). All these do not require an outside stock (Aryans) to enter the Indus and re-create the same stuff.  It is intriguing that he failed to think of an indigenously evolving ‘Aryan’ stock. This was because he was more conditioned to think on the dominant narrative of his day.
The newer revelations and discoveries coming on the Indus sites in his later years could have caused a change of mind on his Aryan assumption too. He did change his view on Brahui and it was only a matter of time before he changed his view in Aryan Invasion too. His sincerity in his research could have led him to that view if death had not snatched him now. If only he had lived for a few more years and retained the vigour, he might have come up with a ‘revision’ on his view on Aryan entry too. As one who has read most of his papers for a research work, the only thought lingering on this writer’s mind is that Mahadevan was truly humble and open for change.
References:
  • Possehl, Greory L (2002). The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. Rowman Altamira. Maryland. pp 237-238
  • Mahadevan, Iravatham** (1970). “Dravidian Parallels in Proto-Indian script”. Journal of Tamil studies. II(1). pp 1-120.
  • Mahadevan, Iravatham (1972). “Study of the Indus script through bi-lingual parallels”. The Second All India Conference of Dravidian Linguists. Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.
  • Mahadevan, Iravatham (2015). “Interpreting the Indus Script: The Dravidian Solution”, Convocation Address delivered at the Dravidian University, Kuppam, 26 February 2015.
https://www.pgurus.com/two-issues-that-dr-iravatham-mahadevan-could-have-announced-the-world-before-his-departure/

Toc de scris 'Writing pen' (Romanian); Ink-pen holder with one-horned young bull. Indus Script hypertext kundaṇa koḍ 'Goldsmith guild', kō̃da कोँद fire-altar.

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Harappan civilisation,Indus Valley civilisation,Indus Valley
Karl Martin bought the jar at a car-boot sale with another pot for £4, was told of its antiquity by a colleague at the local auctioneers, Hansons.(Hansons Auctioneers)

There are many priceless Indian items at British museums, with the royal family, and in homes of those who served during the ‘Raj’, but one Briton who bought a pottery jar, for less than £4, has found that the artefact’s antiquity dates back to the Indus Valley, making it around 4,000 years old.

Based in Derby in the west Midlands, Karl Martin, who bought the jar at a car-boot sale with another pot for £4, was told of its antiquity by a colleague at the local auctioneers, Hansons. The jar with a painting of an antelope was put for auction this week, selling for £80.

A keen collector, Martin said: “I liked it straight away. I used it in the bathroom to store my toothpaste and toothbrush – it even ended up getting a few toothpaste marks on it. I suspected it might be very old but forgot all about it”.

“Then, one day at work, I was helping Hansons’ antiquities expert James Brenchley unload a van and noticed some pottery which was similar to my toothbrush pot. The painting style looked the same and it had similar crudely-painted animal figures”.

“I rescued the pot from my bathroom and asked him to examine it for me. He confirmed it was a genuine antiquity from Afghanistan and dated back to 1900 BC. That means it’s around 4,000 years old – made 2,000 years before Christ was born. It’s amazing, really. How it ended up at a South Derbyshire car-boot sale, I’ll never know”.

Brenchley said: “This is an Indus Valley-Harappan civilisation pottery jar dating back to 1900 BC. This was a Bronze Age civilisation mainly in the north western regions of South Asia. The civilisation was primarily located in modern-day India and Pakistan as well as Afghanistan.”

“I do come across items like this from time to time and was familiar with the painting technique. It was probably brought back to the UK years ago by wealthy travellers.”

What Karl Martin calls toothbrush holder may also have been an ink-pen holder. The Indus Script Hypertexts painted on the pot artifact may signify Meluhha rebus readings of: goldsmith guild, together with fire-altar, agni-kuṇḍa pronounced in Old Kashmiri as kō̃da कोँद । कुलालादिकन्दुः f. a kiln; a potter's kiln (Rām. 1446; H. xi, 11); a brick-kiln (Śiv. 133); a lime-kiln. -bal -बल् । कुलालादिकन्दुस्थानम् m. the place where a kiln is erected, a brick or potter's kiln (Gr.Gr. 165)(Kashmiri) 


Toc de scris 'Writing pen'

Tocul este un instrument de scris confecționat din diferite materiale (precum lemnos sau metal), de formă lunguiață, la capătul căruia este atașată de penita (Romanian) Translation: The body is a writing instrument made of various materials (such as wood, bone or metal), of long shape, at the end of which it is attached to the pen



Diferite tipuri de penițe folosite pentru tocuri 'Different types of pens used for writing' 

Three pens of the following type gold pendant have been discovered in Mohenjo-daro. These could have been used as writing/inscribing instruments or simply, toc de scir, 'writing pens'. सूचि f. (prob. to be connected with सूत्र , स्यूत &c fr. √ सिव् , " to sew " cf. सूक्ष्म ; in R. once सूचिना instr.) , a needle or any sharp-pointed instrument (e.g. " a needle used in surgery " , " a magnet " &c ) RV. &c; the sharp point or tip of anything or any pointed object Ka1v. Car. BhP. (Monier-Williams) 

Vikalpa: sūcīˊ’needle’ rebus: sūcika ‘tailor’


*sūcikāgharikā ʻ needle -- case ʼ. [Cf. sūcigr̥haka -- n. lex. -- sūcīˊ -- , ghara -- ]
Ku. suyārīsiyã̄rī ʻ needle bag ʼ.(CDIAL 13550) sūcīˊ f. ʻ needle ʼ RV., sūcí -- m. R. (f. Kālid. lex.), sūcikā -- f. lex.: v.l. śucĭ̄ -- . 2. *sūñcī -- . [Kaf. forms with č -- and Kho š -- can be explained as assimilation of s -- č, but Ash. points to IA. ś -- . If originally IA. had śūci -- (agreeing with Pahl. sūčan, Pers. sōzen), ś -- was perh. replaced by s -- through the influence of sīˊvyati, sūˊtra -- . Cf. similar influence of verb ʻ to sew ʼ in N.] 1. Pa. sūci -- , °ikā -- f. ʻ needle ʼ, Pk. sūī -- f., Gy. eur. suv, pl. suvya f., pal. suʻ , as. siv, Ḍ. sūiya f., Ash. arċūˊċ (ar -- < āˊrā -- ); Kt. čim -- čič ʻ iron needle ʼ, p -- čič ʻ thread ʼ; Paš.ar. sūī ʻ needle ʼ, chil. sūĩ, kuṛ. sũī, Shum. suīˊ, Gaw. suī˜, Kal.rumb. suš (< *suž with -- š carried into obl. sūšuna), urt. sužīk, Bshk. sū̃ī; Sh.gil.  f. ʻ needle, pine needle ʼ, koh. sū̃ f., gur. sūw f.; K. suyu m. ʻ needle ʼ, suwa m. ʻ large pack -- needle ʼ; S. suī f. ʻ needle ʼ, suo m. ʻ pack -- needle ʼ, L.awāṇ. P. sūī f., sūā m., N. siyo (X siunu < sīvayati), B. suisũichũi, Or. sui, Bi. sūī, Mth. sui, Bhoj. suīsūwā ʻ large needle ʼ, Aw.lakh. sūī, H. sūī f., sūā m., G. soy f., soyɔsoiyɔ m., M. sūī f., Ko. suvva, Si. (h)ida, st. (h)idi -- . -- Ext. --  -- : S. suiṛī f. ʻ tattooing needle ʼ; Ku. syūṛo ʻ needle ʼ, gng. śwīṛ; N. suiro ʻ needle, goad, blade of grass ʼ.2. Wg. čunċ ʻ needle ʼ, Dm. čū̃či (NTS xii 163 < *šū̃či), Paš.dar. weg. sū˘nčék, gul. čánčak, Kho. šunǰ, B. sũcsucchũc, Or. suñcichuñci, H. chū̃chī f.; Si. hin̆du ʻ porcupine quill ʼ. -- K. saċ m. ʻ large pack -- needle ʼ,saċan f. ʻ needle ʼ ← Ir., cf. Wkh. siċ, Pahl. sūčan.sūcika -- , *sūcya -- , saucika -- ; *sūcikāgharikā -- .*sūcya -- ʻ tailor ʼ see sūcika -- .Addenda: sūcīˊ -- [Cf. Ir. *sūčī -- in Shgh. X. Rosh. siǰ f. ʻ needle ʼ EVSh 73; also Pahl. sūčan id.]: deriv. WPah.kṭg. súɔ ʻ large needle ʼ. -- In line 2 read v.l. śūcĭ̄ -- .(CDIAL 13551)M. suċṇẽ ʻ to come to mind ʼ, sucẽ n. ʻ hint, suggestion ʼ, caus. Or. sucāibā ʻ to remind ʼ, G. sucavvũ ʻ to hint ʼ, rather than < śúcyati; -- WPah.kc. sunċṇo ʻ to consider ʼ, A. xusāiba rather < †samarthyatē? (J.C.W.)(CDIAL 13551a)1. WPah. (Joshi) sūī m. ʻ tailor ʼ, OG. suī m. (whence saïyaṇi f. ʻ his wife ʼ), G. soisaī m. (or < 2).2. P. soī m. ʻ tailor ʼ, G. see 1.3. K. saċ m. ʻ tailor ʼ?Addenda: sūcika -- . 2. saucika -- : WPah.kṭg. sói m. ʻ tailor ʼ.(CDIAL 13549)

Rebus: sūcika m. ʻ tailor ʼ VarBr̥S. 2. saucika -- m. Kull. 3. *sūcya -- . [sūcīˊ -- ] ஊசி¹ ūci n. < sūcī. 1. Sewing-needle; தையலூசி. (பிங்.). 2. Iron style for writing on palmyra leaves; எழுத்தாணி. பொன்னோலை செம் பொ னூசியா லெழுதி (சீவக. 369)

Rebus: †sūcyatē ʻ is indicated ʼ Kāv., sūcya -- ʻ to be communicated ʼ Sāh. [Pass. of sūcayati ʻ indicates ʼ Up., Pk. suēisuaï. -- Denom. fr. Pk. sūā -- f. ʻ indication ʼ, Sk. sūcā -- f. Buddh. -- Poss. < śūkā -- f. (ʻ sting ʼ Suśr., ʻ scruple, doubt ʼ lex.) ~ śūcĭ̄ -- . -- śūka -- ?]

 


https://tinyurl.com/y9lbeenj


SM Katre (1941) refers to a cuneiform inscription on an Indus silver artefact. This is contradicted by John Marshall (1931). But, there is an Indus Seal with a cuneiform inscription found in Ur, noted by CJ Gadd (1932) which indicates that Indus Script was used to signify a hypertext of a 'bull' (barad, 'bull' rebus:bharata 'alloy copper, pewter, tin) while cuneiform syllabary was used to signify the 'profession' --sag-kusida, 'money-lender'-- of the seal-holder.

“Another fact connected with Mohenjo Daro but strangely omitted from the official reports is the discovery of a piece of silver, bearing the number DK 1341 (NS9), made by Rao Bahadur (then Mr.) KN Dikshit, on the 1st of January 1926, on both sides of which he noted the occurrence of cuneiform punches. This silver piece is the earliest known cuneiform inscription or writing found in India, and will form part of the work of a future palaeographist who will have to revise the now classical treatise of Buhler (Indische Palaeographie, Strassburg, 1896).”(SM Katre, 1941, Introduction to Indian Txtual criticism, p.3)


Gold jewellery, Mohenjodaro (After Marshall, Pl. CXLVIII).

The jewellery was found in a silver vase. The large necklace is made up of barrel-shaped beads of a translucent, light-green jade. Each jade bead is separated from its neighbours on either side by five disc-shaped gold beads, 0.4 in. dia made by soldering two cap-like pieces together. Seven pendants of agate-jasper are suspended by means of a thick gold wire. The pendants are separated one from another by a small cylindrical bead of steatite capped at each end with gold. The smaller necklace (No. 7) inside the large one is made up of small globular gold beads, all of which are cast. The spacers were made by soldering two of these beads together, and it is probable that the beads were originally strung into a bracelet of two rows.  The two bangles (Nos. 1 and 4) were each made of thin sheet gold wrapped over a core (dia. 3 in.) No.2 is a conical gold cap (1.3 in. high) beaten out from a plate of gold; it is perhaps a hair ornament. 
Two silver bracelets were also found with this hoard. (Marshall, Pl. CLXIV)
Silver vase, Mohenjodaro (After Marshall, Pl. CXLVIII). The silver vase contained gold jewellery.
“The jewellery illustrated in Pl. CXLVIII,a, was found in the silver vessel (DK 1341), illustrated on the right of the plate, which was unearthed by Mr. Dikshit in a long trench that he dug to connect up sections B and C in the DK Area…Together with these strings of beads several rough pieces of silver were found, one of which bears chisel-marks remarkably like cuneiform characters. A cast of this piece was submitted to Mr. Sidney Smith, of the British Museum, who, however, could not identify any definite sign upon it. This fragment, which measures 0.95 by 0.9 by 0.25 inch, is part of a bar, from which it was shaped after both ends had been struck with a broad chisel.” (John Marshall, 1931, Mohenjo-daro, p.519)

“It is known for certain that seals and sealings of this class were carried thither by trade from Indus valley in ancient times, and one such seal has already been found (at ur) with a cuneiform in place of an ‘Indus’ inscription. (Mr. CL Woolley in Antiquaries’ Journal, 1928, p.26 and pl. xi,2)”(John Marshall, 1931,Mohenjo-daro, p.406)


I have not had access to the illustration on Pl. XI,2 of CL Woolley's article referred by John Marshall. I think he is referring to the following seal with a cuneiform text:
Image result for indus seal cuneiform text

Note on decipherment of cuneiform text on Indus seal

-- Sag kusida, 'chief money-lender' for bharata, 'metalcasters'  -- cuneiform text on an Indus seal of Ur including kusida as a borrowed word from Meluhha PLUS hieroglyph 'ox' read rebus in Meluhha as bharata, 'metal alloy of copper, pewter, tin'.
Seal impression and reverse of seal from Ur (U.7683; BM 120573); image of bison and cuneiform inscription; cf. Mitchell 1986: 280-1 no.7 and fig. 111; Parpola, 1994, p. 131: signs may be read as (1) sag(k) or ka, (2) ku or lu orma, and (3) zor ba (4)?. The commonest value: sag-ku-zi
This may be called Gadd Seal 1 of Ur since this was the first item on the Plates of figures included in his paper.
Gadd, CJ, 1932, Seals of ancient Indian style found at Ur, in: Proceedings of the British Academy, XVIII, 1932, Plate 1, no. 1. Gadd considered this an Indus seal because, 1) it was a square seal, comparable to hundreds of other Indus seals since it had a small pierced boss at the back through which a cord passed through for the owner to hold the seal in his or her possession; and 2) it had a hieroglyph of an ox, a characteristic animal hieroglyph deployed on hundreds of seals.
This classic paper by Cyril John Gadd F.B.A. who was a Professor Emeritus of Ancient Semitic Languages and Civilizations, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, opened up a new series of archaeological studies related to the trade contacts between Ancient Far East and what is now called Sarasvati-Sindhu (Hindu) civilization. 
There is now consensus that Meluhhan communities were present in Ur III and also in Sumer/Elam/Mesopotamia. (Parpola S., A. Parpola & RH Brunswig, Jr., 1977, The Meluhha village. Evidence of acculturation of Harappan traders in the late Third Millennium Mesopotamia in: Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, 20, 129-165.
Use of rebus-metonymy layered cipher for the entire Indus Script Corpora as metalwork catalogs provides the framework for reopening the investigation afresh on the semantics of the cuneiform text on Gadd Seal 1, the Indus seal with cuneiform text.
This renewed attempt to decipher the inscription on the seal starts with a hypothesis that the cuneiform sign readings as: SAG KUSIDA. The ox is read rebus in Meluhha as: barad, barat 'ox' Rebus: भरत (p. 603) [ bharata ] n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c. The gloss bharata denoted metalcasting in general leading to the self-designation of metalworkers in Rigveda as Bharatam Janam, lit. metalcaster folk.
While SAG is a Sumerian word meaning 'head, principal' (detailed in Annex A), KUSIDA is a Meluhha word well-attested semantically in ancient Indian sprachbund of 4th millennium BCE. The semantics of the Meluhha gloss, kusida signifies: money-lender (Annex B). Thus SAG KUSIDA is a combined Sumerian-Meluhha phrase signifying 'principal of chief money-lender'. This could be a clear instance of Sumerian/Akkadian borrowing a Meluhha gloss.
SAG KUSIDA + ox hieroglyphon Gadd Seal 1, read rebus signifies: principal money-lender for bharata metal alloy artisans. This reading is consistent with the finding that the entire Indus Script Corpora are metalwork catalogs.
The money-lender who was the owner of the seal might have created seal impressions as his or her signature on contracts for moneys lent for trade transactions of seafaring merchants of Meluhha.
The Gadd Seal 1 of Ur is thus an example of acculturation of Sumerians/Akkadians in Ur with the Indus writing system and underlying Meluhha language of Meluhha seafaring merchants and Meluhha communities settled in Ur and other parts of Ancient Near East.
Annex A: Meaning of SAG 'head, principal' 
(Sumerian)
The Sumerians called themselves sag-giga, literally meaning "the black-headed people"
B184ellst.png Cuneiform sign SAG
phonetic values
    • Sumerian: SAG, SUR14
    • Akkadian: šag, šak, šaq, riš
    • sign evolution
Cuneiform sign SAG.svg
1. the pictogram as it was drawn around 3000 BC;
2. the rotated pictogram as written around 2800 BC;
3. the abstracted glyph in archaic monumental inscriptions, from ca. 2600 BC;
4. the sign as written in clay, contemporary to stage 3;
5. late 3rd millennium (Neo-Sumerian);
6. Old Assyrian, early 2nd millennium, as adopted into Hittite;
7. simplified sign as written by Assyrian scribes in the early 1st millennium.

Akkadian Etymology

Noun

𒊕 (rēšu, qaqqadu) [SAG]
  1. head (of a person, animal)
  2. top, upper part
  3. beginning
  4. top quality, the best
Sumerian:
 (SAG)
  1. head

Derived terms[edit]

  • SAG(.KAL) "first one"
  • (LÚ.)SAG a palace official
  • ZARAḪ=SAG.PA.LAGAB "lamentation, unrest"
  • SAG.DUL a headgear
  • SAG.KI "front, face, brow"
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%92%8A%95
Meaning of kusīda 'money-lender'
कुशीदम् Usury; see कुसी. कुषीद a. Indifferent, inert. -दम् Usury. कुसितः 1 An inhabited country. -2 One who lives on usury; see कुसीद below. कुसितायी kusitāyī  (= कुसीदायी).कुसी kusī (सि si) द d कुसी (सि) द a. Lazy, slothful. -दः (also written as कुशी-षी-द) A monkey-lender, usurer; Mbh.4.29. -दम् 1 Any loan or thing lent to be repaid with in- terest. -2 Lending money, usury, the profession of usury; कुसीदाद् दारिद्र्यं परकरगतग्रन्थिशमनात् Pt.1.11; Ms. 1.9;8.41; Y.1.119. -3 Red sandal wood. -Comp. -पथः usury, usurious interest; any interest exceeding 5 per cent; कृतानुसारादधिका व्यतिरिक्ता न सिध्यति कुसीदपथमा- हुस्तम् (पञ्चकं शतमर्हति) Ms.8.152. -वृद्धिः f. interest on money; कुसीदवृद्धिर्द्वैगुण्यं नात्येति सकृदाहृता Ms.8.151. कुसीदा kusīdā  कुसीदा A female usurer. कुसीदायी kusīdāyī कुसीदायी The wife of a usurer. कुसीदिकः kusīdikḥ कुसीदिन् kusīdin कुसीदिकः कुसीदिन् m. A usurer.  (Samskritam. Apte) kúsīda ʻ lazy, inert ʼ TS. Pa. kusīta -- ʻ lazy ʼ, kōsajja -- n. ʻ sloth ʼ (EWA i 247 < *kausadya -- ?); Si. kusī ʻ weariness ʼ ES 26, but rather ← Pa.(CDIAL 3376). FBJ Kuiper identifies as a 'borrowed' word in Indo-Aryan which in the context of Indus Script decipherment is denoted by Meluhha as Proto-Prakritam: the gloss kusīda 'money-lender'. (Kuiper, FBJ, 1948, Proto-Munda words in Sanskrit, Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche Uit. Mij.; Kuiper, FBJ, 1955, Rigvedic loan-words in: O. Spies (ed.) Studia Indologica. Festschrift fur Willibald Kirfel Vollendung Seines 70. Lebensjahres. Bonn: Orientalisches Seminar; Kuiper, FBJ, 1991, Arans in the Rigveda, Amsterdam-Atlanta: Rodopi).

Note on cursive writing of Indus Script hypertext on a gold pendant

This 2.5 inch long gold pendant has a 0.3 inch nib; its ending is shaped like a sewing or netting needle. It bears an inscription painted in Indus Script. This inscription is deciphered as a proclamation of metalwork competence.
Hieroglyph: ib 'needle' Ta. irumpu iron, instrument, weapon. Ma. irumpu, irimpu iron. Ko. ib id. To. ib needle. Koḍ. irïmbï iron. Te. inumu id. Kol. (Kin.) inum (pl. inmul) iron, sword. Kui (Friend-Pereira) rumba vaḍi ironstone (for vaḍi, see 5285).(DEDR 556) Rebus: ib 'iron'

3 Gold pendants: Jewelry Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3

The comments made by John Marshall on three curious objects at bottom right-hand corner of Pl. CLI, B3: “Personal ornaments…Jewellery and Necklaces…Netting needles (?) Three very curious objects found with the studs and the necklace appear to be netting needles of gold. They are shown just above the ear-studs and also in the lower right-hand corner of Pl. CLI, B, 3-5 and 12-14. The largest of these needles (E 2044a) is 2.5 inches long. The handle is hollow and cylindrical and tapers slightly, being 0.2 inch in diameter at the needle-end. The needle point is 0.5 inch long and has a roughly shaped oval eye at its base. The medium sized needle (E 2044b) is 2.5 inches long and of the same pattern: but the cap that closed the end of the handle is now missing. The point which has an oval eye at its base is 0.3 inch long. The third needle (E 2044c) is only 1.7 inches long with the point 0.3 inch in length. Its handle, which is otherwise similar to those of the other two needles, is badly dented. The exact use of these three objects is open to question, for they could have been used for either sewing or netting. The handles seem to have been drawn, as there is no sign of a soldered line, but the caps at either end were soldered on with an alloy that is very little lighter in colour than the gold itself. The two smaller needles have evidently been held between the teeth on more than one occasion.” (p.521)

Evidently, Marshall has missed out on the incription written in paint, as a free-hand writing, over one of the objects: Pl. CLI, B3.

This is an extraordinary evidence of the Indus writing system written down, with hieroglyphs inscribed using a coloured paint, on an object.

Gold pendant with Indus script inscription. The pendant is needle-like with cylindrical body. It is made from a hollow cylinder with soldered ends and perforated joint. Museum No. MM 1374.50.271; Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3 (After Fig. 4.17 a,b in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 196).

ib 'needle' rebus: ib 'iron'
kanac 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'; sal 'splinter' Rebus: sal 'workshop'; dhatu 'cross road' Rebus: dhatu'mineral'; gaNDa 'four' Rebus: khanda 'implements'; kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolami 'smithy, forge'; Vikalpa: ?ea ‘seven’ (Santali); rebus: ?eh-ku ‘steel’ (Te.)

aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron'(Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Rigveda)

Thus, the inscription is: ib kancu sal (iron, bronze workshop), dhatu aya kaṇḍ kolami mineral, metal, furnace/fire-altar smithy. The hypertext message is: artisan with iron, bronze workshop, (competence in working with) minerals,metals, furnace/fire-altar, smithy/forge.

The inscription is a professional calling card -- describing professional competence and ownership of specified items of property -- of the wearer of the pendant.

What could these three objects be? Sewing needles? Netting needles?

Image result for ancient indus mesopotamia gold pendant needle worn on neck as ornament

सूची a [p= 1241,1] f. (prob. to be connected with सूत्र , स्यूत &c fr. √ सिव् , " to sew " cf. सूक्ष्म ; in R. once सूचिना instr.) , a needle or any sharp-pointed instrument (e.g. " a needle used in surgery " , " a magnet " &c ) RV. &c. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2017/09/a-short-note-on-iconography-of-sindhu.html 

Mrugendra Vinod links the needle to an Ashvamedha reference:
The gold needles are found in Mohen jo Daro. They are explicitly referred to in Ashvamedha Ritual. (Ref.7)
Ref. 7 यत्सूच न्नर्रन्नसपिातकल्पयन्नति।----िय्याः सूच्यो र्वन्नति। अयस्िय्यो रजिा हररण्याः। तै .ब्रा.3.9.6
I do not know the explanation for the reference to and use of सूची in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa in the context of Ashvamedha yajña.


ஊசி¹ ūci
n. < sūcī. 1. Sewing-needle; தையலூசி. (பிங்.). 2. Iron style for writing on palmyra leaves; எழுத்தாணி. பொன்னோலை செம் பொ னூசியா லெழுதி (சீவக. 369)

I surmise that all the three gold objects could be pendants tagged to other jewellery such as necklaces. 

The pendants were perhaps worn with a thread of fibre passing through the eye of the needle-like ending of the pendants and used as stylus for writing.

Why needle-like endings? Maybe, the pendants were used as 'writing' devices 1) either to engrave hieroglyphs into objects; 2)or to use the needle-ending like a metal nib to dip into a colored ink or liquid or zinc-oxide paste or cinnabar-paste. This possibility is suggested by the use of cinnabar in ancient China to paint into lacquer plates or bowls. Cinnabar or powdered mercury sulphide was the primary colorant lof lacquer vessels. "Known in China during the late Neolithic period (ca. 5000–ca. 2000 B.C.), lacquer was an important artistic medium from the sixth century B.C. to the second century A.D. and was often colored with minerals such as carbon (black), orpiment (yellow), and cinnabar (red) and used to paint the surfaces of sculptures and vessels...a red lacquer background is carved with thin lines that are filled with gold, gold powder, or lacquer that has been tinted black, green, or yellow.http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/cinnabar
西漢 黑地朱繪雲氣紋漆碗 <br/>Bowl with Geometric Designs
+ glyph on the ink-pen holder (often associated with dotted circles on Indus Script Corpora)
 m0352 cdef

Seals from Afg of BMAC complex with motif shared with Ahar-Banas chalcolithic


Thanks for these exquisite images of seals (called compartmentalised seals) from BMAC.   

Following notes point to the essential similarity between Ahar-Banas artifacts and the finds from other sites of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. In particular, the seal showing a + shaped fire-altar may be explained as a Vedi. Similar hieroglyphs occur on Indus Script Corpora, for example the following:
Kot Diji type seals with concentric circles from (a,b) Taraqai Qila (Trq-2 &3, after CISI 2: 414), (c,d) Harappa(H-638 after CISI 2: 304, H-1535 after CISI 3.1:211), and (e) Mohenjo-daro (M-1259, aftr CISI 2: 158). (From Fig. 7 Parpola, 2013).

Distribution of geometrical seals in Greater Indus Valley during the early and *Mature Harappan periods (c. 3000 - 2000 BCE). After Uesugi 2011, Development of the Inter-regional interaction system in the Indus valley and beyond: a hypothetical view towards the formation of the urban society' in: Cultural relagions betwen the Indus and the Iranian plateau during the 3rd millennium BCE, ed. Toshiki Osada & Michael Witzel. Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora 7. Pp. 359-380. Cambridge, MA: Dept of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University: fig.7

Dotted circles and three lines on the obverse of many Failaka/Dilmun seals are read rebus as hieroglyphs: 


Hieroglyph: āv m. ʻdice-throwʼ rebus: dhāu 'ore'; ̄u ʻtyingʼ, āv m. ʻdice-throwʼ read rebus: dhāu 'ore' in the context of glosses: dhā̆va m. ʻa caste of iron -smelters', dhāvī ʻcomposed of or relating to ironʼ. Thus, three dotted circles signify: tri-dhāu, tri-dhātu 'three ores' (copper, tin, iron).


A (गोटा) ā Spherical or spheroidal, pebble-form. (Marathi) Rebus: khoā ʻalloyedʼ (metal) (Marathi) 
खोट [khōṭa] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge 
(Marathi). P. kho  m. ʻalloyʼ  (CDIAL 3931) goTa 'laterite ferrite ore'.
Hieroglyph/Rebus: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) kāṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans and metal-ware' 
(Marathi) 
kō̃da कोँद । कुलालादिकन्दुः f. a kiln; a potter's kiln (Rām. 1446; H. xi, 11); a brick-kiln (Śiv. 133); 
a lime-kiln. -bal -बल् । कुलालादिकन्दुस्थानम् m. the place where a kiln is erected, a brick or potter's kiln 
(Gr.Gr. 165)(Kashmiri) 


Button seal. Harappa.
Fired steatite button seal with four concentric circle designs discovered at Harappa.    This paper examines the nature of Indus seals and the different aspects of seal iconography and style in the Indus civilization.: Fired steatite button seal with four concentric circle designs discovered at Harappa. 
Sibri cylinder seal with Indus writing hieroglyphs: notches, zebu, tiger, scorpion?. Each dot on the corner of the + glyph and the short numeral strokes on a cylinder seal of Sibri, may denote a notch: खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m  A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.

Ahar-Banas region of Rajasthan (close to the Khetri copper belt) is a copper complex.



Unicorn seal,detail of head, H95-2491, scanning electron microscope photo. (After Figure 6.2, Kenoyer J., 2013)


There is a ring on the neck of the Unicorn. The ring signifies: 

The expressions are explained in the context of hypertexts on a Harappa tablet where a standing person contests with two young bulls: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' PLUS कोंद kōnda ‘young bull' Rebus: कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, कोंदण kōndaṇa n (कोंदणें) Setting or infixing of gems, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi) Rebus 2: kundaṇa pure gold (Tulu) Rebus 3: kũdār, 'turner' (Bengali)
Unicorn contest  with a standing person with wristlets in the middle. Harappa tablet.  H97-3416/8022-50

Side A: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' PLUS कोंद kōnda ‘young bull' Rebus: कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, कोंदण kōndaṇa n (कोंदणें) Setting or infixing of gems, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi) Rebus 2: kundaṇa pure gold (Tulu) Rebus 3: kũdār, 'turner' (Bengali) PLUS standing person in context with the two young bulls: karã̄ n. pl.wristlets, bangles Rebus: khãr 'blacksmith, iron worker' (Kashmiri) PLUS mē̃d, mēd 'body' rebus: mē̃d, mēd 'iron', med 'copper' (Slavic). PLUS karṇika 'spread legs' rebus: karṇika कर्णिक 'steersman'. 

Side B: aya   ‘alloy metal ingot’ (aya 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal';  ‘slope' rebus:  ‘metal ingot')

Ganweriwala unicorn figurines. Collected by Dr. Farzand Masih, Punjab University, curated at Harappa Museum. (loc. cit. Figure 6.8 in Kenoyer, J. 2013, Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: origins and legacy, pp. 107- 125 in: Shinu Anna Abraham et al, Connections and Complexity, new approaches to the Archaeoogy of South Asia, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California)

The hieroglyphs in the Indus Script hypertext ink-pen holder are:
1. Young bull
2. Square with a + sign
I suggest that the one-horned young bull is an Indus Script hypertext composed of hieroglyphs: 1. young bull; 2. horns; 3. rings on neck; 4. cowl (pannier).
I suggest the following Meluhha rebus readings of the hypertext:
The artisan's workshop and the work of the engraver, lapidary infixing gems are signified by the hieroglyph components which are read:  

कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa, 'cattlepen' Rebus: koḍ, 'workshop', kōnda ‘engraver', kōndaṇa, 'lapidary infixing gems'kundaṇa 'pure gold'

1, kōḍe kōnda ‘young bull'  (Telugu, Marathi)  
2. kōḍ (pl. kōḍul) horn (Pargi)
3. kot.iyum = a wooden circle (ring) put round the neck of an animal; kot. = neck (Gujarati)
4. khōṇḍā 'cowl or hood'

Rebus 1: kōnda ‘engraver', kōndaṇa 'lapidary infixing gems’ working with , kundaṇa 'pure gold'

Rebus 2: ko  'artisan's workshop' (Kuwi) ko  = place where artisans work (Gujarti)

Rebus: koṭ 'artisan's workshop'.(Kuwi) ko = place where artisans work (Gujarati) 

kod. = place where artisans work (Gujarati) kod. = a cow-pen; a cattlepen; a byre (G.lex.) gor.a = a cow-shed; a cattleshed; gor.a orak = byre (Santali.lex.) कोंड [ kōṇḍa ] A circular hedge or field-fence. 2 A circle described around a person under adjuration. 3 The circle at marbles. 4 A circular hamlet; a division of a मौजा or village, composed generally of the huts of one caste.कोंडडाव (p. 180) [ kōṇḍaḍāva ] m Ring taw; that form of marble-playing in which lines are drawn and divisions made:--as disting. from अगळडाव The play with holes.कोंडवाड [ kōṇḍavāḍa ] n f C (कोंडणें & वाडा) A pen or fold for cattle.कोंडाळें (p. 180) [ kōṇḍāḷēṃ ] n (कुंडली S) A ring or circularly inclosed space. 2 fig. A circle made by persons sitting round.


kō̃da कोँद । कुलालादिकन्दुः f. a kiln; a potter's kiln (Rām. 1446; H. xi, 11); a brick-kiln (Śiv. 133); a lime-kiln. -bal -बल् । कुलालादिकन्दुस्थानम् m. the place where a kiln is erected, a brick or potter's kiln (Gr.Gr. 165)(Kashmiri) 

dhāī˜ (Lahnda) signifies a single strand of rope or thread.

I have suggested that a dotted circle hieroglyph is a cross-section of a strand of rope: S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f. Rebus: dhāˊtu n. ʻsubstance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour)ʼ; dhāūdhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ(Marathi) धवड (p. 436) [ dhavaḍa ] m (Or धावड) A class or an individual of it. They are smelters of iron (Marathi).  Hence, the depiction of a single dotted circle, two dotted circles and three dotted circles (called trefoil) on the robe of the Purifier priest of Mohenjo-daro.

The phoneme dhāī˜ (Lahnda) signifying a single strand may thus signify the hieroglyph: dotted circle. This possibility is reinforced by the glosses in Rigveda, Tamil and other languages of Baratiya sprachbund which are explained by the word dāya 'playing of dice' which is explained by the cognate Tamil word: தாயம் tāyamn. < dāya Number one in the game of dice; கவறுருட்ட விழும் ஒன்று என்னும் எண். 

The semantics: dāya 'Number one in the game of dice' is thus signified by the dotted circle on the uttariyam of the pōtṟ पोतृ,'purifier' priest. Rebus rendering in Indus Script cipher is dhāˊtu n. ʻsubstance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour)ʼ; dhāūdhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ(Marathi) dhatu 'ore' (Santali)


Meluhha artisans, Indus script writers draw circles with small radii to signify dhātu, dhāv 'mineral' hypertexts
Dotted circle as Indus Script hypertext  धावड dhāvaḍa 'red ferrite ore smelter'.
Artifacts from Jiroft.

Ivory combs. Turkmenistan.


Ivory objects. Sarasvati Civilization

Tablets.Ivory objects. Mohenjo-daro.

Button seal. Baror, Rajasthan.

Courtesy: manasataramgini @blog_supplement

A Harappan button. Note how they had an instrument to precisely mark small circles of various radii
Button tablet. Harappa. Dotted circles.

File:Musée GR de Saint-Romain-en-Gal 27 07 2011 13 Des et jetons.jpg

Dices and chips in bone, Roman time. Gallo-Roman Museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal-Vienne. 
 See the dotted circle hieroglyph on the bottom of the sacred standard device, sangaḍa, 'lathe + portable furnace'. kamaamu, kammaamu = a portable furnace for melting precious metals; kammaṭīḍu = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Telugu) kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' PLUS सांगड sāṅgaḍa, 'portable furnace','combined parts' rebus: melting precious metals; kammaṭīḍu = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Telugu) kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' PLUS सांगड sāṅgaḍa 'catalogues'.
Rbus readings in Meluhha (Indian sprachbund, 'speech union'):





Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. (DEDR 1236)


False English translations distort Soma Samsthā Yajña described as prayer in sacred metaphors

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https://tinyurl.com/y82zv3l8

यष्टृ is NOT a victim. यष्ट्/ऋ or य्/अष्टृ, mf(ट्री A1pS3r. Sch.) n. worshipping , a worshipper RV. Yajña is NOT sacrifice. It is prayer. We have been misled by false English translations. See Swaminathan's evidence

So we can summarise
1.that no animal or man can be sacrificed without consent
2.the victims who were tied to the post were released as soon as the fire was carried around them. So the animal or human sacrifice was only symbolic.
3.We hear the story of first intended human sacrifice—the story of Sunashepa- happenedduring the 28 the king of Solar dynasty, Ikshvaku being the first king. So before Harischandra there was none or after Harischandra none was taken to sacrifice. That means it was only symbolic, because even Sunashepa was ‘rescued’ by Visvamitra.
Yupa is found in
RV 5-2-7 ( of Sunashepa); 1-51-14
AV 9-6-22; 12-1-38;13-1-47
Tait.sam 6-3-4; 7-2-1
Vaja. am.19-17
Pancha.Brah.9-10-2
The elaborate descriptions, exact size and naming of the different parts show they were not pillars or posts for animal sacrifice or tying of the victim of the Yaga. All these explain the philosophy, some of which is already lost, behind the Yupa.
The Yupa was a high wooden post erected eastward of the Supreme Fire altar, with much ceremony, immediately after the transfer of the sacred fire and the offerings had been accomplished. It’s object was to hold the living victims bound upon it for sacrifice. It was itself an object of adoration, being anointed with sacred ghee, the melted butter.
It had three prongs or forks RV 1-24-13,being more or less like a trident. It was made of various woods, according to the object of the sacrifice. In the Rajasuya ,it was made of Khadira wood I.e. Catechu acacia, a forest tree, a native to India most valuable especially for its medicinal qualities.
https://tamilandvedas.com/2018/04/23/yupa-post-in-sangam-tamil-literature-and-rig-veda-post-no-4942/ One correction here. The animals tied to posts are NOT victims. They are worshippers.

சோழன் கரிகால் பெருவளத்தானைப் பாடிய கருங்குளவாதனார் பாடிய (புறம்.224) பாட்டில்,
எருவை நுகர்ச்சி யூப நெடுந்தூண்
வேத வேள்வித் தொழில் முடித்ததூஉம்
என்கிறார்.

அதாவது பருந்து வடிவ யாக குண்டத்தில் அந்தணர் சொற்படி செய்யப்பட்ட யாகத்தில் யூப நெடுந்தூண் நட்டவன் நீ…

இவ்வாறு பதிற்றுப் பத்து,  பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படையிலும் வருகிறது

கேள்வியந்தணர் ரருங்கடனிறுத்த
வேள்வித்தூணத் தசைஇ யவன
ரோதிம விளக்கின்………
–பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை வரி 315, 316
யூபம் பற்றி அக்காலத் தமிழ் அறிஞர்களுக்கு நன்கு தெரியுமாதலால் உரைகாரர்கள் அதிகம் விளக்கவில்லை. இதற்கு நாம் ஸம்ஸ்க்ருத நூல்களையே நாட வேண்டியுள்ளது.
யூபக் கம்பங்களில் வேள்வியில் ‘பலியிடும்’ மனிதர்கள், மிருகங்களைக் கட்டுவார்கள். பின்னர் அவைகளை அவிழ்த்து விட்டு விடுவார்கள்.
Translation: All the tied animals of Yupa are released.

Itihāsa. China's state-run CGTN Television excludes PoK from Pakistan's map, reports attack on Chinese consulate, Karachi and killing of 2 policemen

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China Sends Stern Message to Pakistan With Map Depicting PoK as Part of India For First Time

As it is highly unlikely that a state-run television would ever defy Beijing, sources said that it was a move by China to signal to Pakistan its strong displeasure to Pakistan for its failure to protect its citizens.

Updated:November 30, 2018, 8:26 AM IST
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China Sends Stern Message to Pakistan With Map Depicting PoK as Part of India For First Time
Image for representation.

New Delhi: China’s state-run CGTN Television excluded Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Pakistan’s map for the first time ever while it reported on last Friday’s terror attack on its consulate in Karachi.

As it is highly unlikely that a state-run television would ever defy Beijing, sources said that it was a move by China to signal to Pakistan its strong displeasure to Pakistan for its failure to protect its citizens. 

Beijing often uses state-run media as test balloons to consider reactions before considering policy changes in the domestic and international spheres, and excluding PoK from Pakistan was another such move to gauge Pakistani response. Islamabad has not yet reacted to the broadcast.
pokmap2
The map as shown by CGTN. (Photo: Twitter/@CGTNOfficial)

The timing of the move also assumes significance as it comes just two weeks ahead of the joint drill to be conducted by India and China’s militaries on December 10. Observers, however, warned that this one-off deviation from the norm should not be seen as a change in China’s official policy, the TOI said.

Excluding PoK from Pakistan on the map could also have implications for the China-Pakistan Economic-Corridor (CPEC), against which New Delhi has often voiced strong reservations as it passes through PoK and violates India’s sovereignty.

The CPEC is the most important connectivity link under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China had invested heavily in infrastructure projects in PoK.

Officially released maps in China have never before shown PoK as part of India. Maps are a sensitive issue in China and hence books or magazines showing maps that differ from Beijing’s official view are often blocked.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/china-sends-stern-message-to-pakistan-with-map-depicting-pok-as-part-of-india-for-first-time-1955241.html

Indus Script octopus on Sri Raja Raja māṣa,māṭai gold coin which signifies a smelter, workshop of blacksmithy guild working in iron implements, ingots, guild wealth-accounting ledgers

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https://tinyurl.com/y8n4tuja

Octopus glyph of Indus script, read rebus as fortified enclosure of mleccha (Meluhha) smithy guild workshops (with notes on cephalopods, molluscs of riverine estuaries)


In the corpus of epigraphs of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization (Indus script corpus), there is one remarkable ligatured, composite animal glyph: the head of a one-horned young bull is attached to an octopus. 

This composite hypertext occurs on a seal (Mohenjodaro) and also on a copper plate (tablet)(Harappa). m297a: Seal  h1018a: copper plate. Text of message on m297 seal: baṭa'rimless pot' rebus: baa'iron'bhaa'furnace' PLUS sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop'; कर्णक kárṇaka, kannā 'legsspread' rebus: कर्णक 'helmsman'; कर्णकः karṇakḥकर्णकः Ved. 1 A prominence; handle' rebus: karṇī 'supercargo, scribe'; ayo 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal' PLUS khambhaṛā'fin' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint'  koṭho = a warehouse' Rebus: Hieroglyph: koṭhārī f. ʻ crucible  (Old Punjabi)(CDIAL 3546) Rebus: 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.koṭāra ʻ granary, store ʼ.(CDIAL 3550). 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 3551)

खोंड khōṇḍa 'unicorn, young bull' rebus kundaṇa 'pure gold' (Tulu)  Ta. kuntaṉam interspace for setting gems in a jewel; fine gold (< Te.). Ka. kundaṇa setting a precious stone in fine gold; fine gold; kundana fine gold. Tu. kundaṇa pure gold. Te. kundanamu fine gold used in very thin foils in setting precious stones; setting precious stones with fine gold. (DEDR 1725) koḍ ‘horn’ koḍiyum ‘a wooden circle put round the neck of an animal’(G.) Rebus: koḍ  = artisan’s workshop (Kuwi); koḍ  ‘workshop’ (G.); ācāri koṭṭya ‘smithy’ (Tu.)

This octopus with which the head of a young bull is combined is a hypertext decoded as: be'smithy guild in a citadel (enclosure), with a warehouse (granary)'. 

A lexeme for a Gangetic/Indus river octopus is retained as a cultural memory only in Jatki (language of the Jats) of Punjab-Sindh region. The lexeme is ve. A homonym closest to this is beā building with a courtyard (WPah.) There are many cognate lexemes in many languages of Bharat constituting a semantic cluster of the linguistic area or Indian sprachbund, 'language union' (as detailed below). The rebus decoding of ve(octopus); rebus: beā (building with a courtyard) is a reading consistent with (1) the decoding of the rest of the corpus of inscriptions as mleccha (meluhha) smith guild tokens; and (2) the archaeological evidence of buildings/workers’ platforms within an enclosed fortification on many sites of the civilization.


Many languages of Bharat, that is India, evolved from meluhha (mleccha) which is the lingua franca of the civilization. The language is mleccha vaacas contrasted with arya vaacas in Manusmruti (as spoken tongue contrasted with grammatically correct literary form, arya vaacas). The hypothesis on which decoding of Indus script is premised, is that lexemes of many Indian languages are evidence of the linguistic area of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization; the artefacts with the Indus script (such as metal tools/weapons, Dholavira signboard, copper plates, gold pendant, silver/copper seals/tablets etc.) are mleccha smith guild tokens -- a tradition which continues on mints issuing punch-marked coins from ca. 6th cent. BCE.

vehā  octopus, said to be found in the Indus (Jaki lexicon of A. Jukes, 1900)


वेटा f. the abode of the वैश्य tribe (?); वेडा, (also written बेडा), वेटा a boat (Monier-Williams) L. veh, veh m.  fencing; Mth. behī  granary; L. vehā, vehā enclosure containing many houses;beā building with a courtyard (WPah.) (CDIAL 12130) ṣṭá— ‘enclosure’ lex., °aka- m. ‘fence’, Si. veya ‘enclosure’; — Pa.  vēhaka— ‘surrounding’; S. vehu m. ‘encircling’; L. veh, veh m. ‘fencing, enclosure in jungle with a hedge, (Ju.) blockade’, vehā, vehā m. ‘courtyard, (Ju.) enclosure containing many houses’; P. vehā, be° m. ‘enclosure, courtyard’; Ku. beo ‘circle or band (of people)’; A. ber‘wall of house, circumference of anything’; B. be ‘fence, enclosure’, beā ‘fence, hedge’; Or. beha ‘fence round young trees’, beā ‘wall of house’; Mth. be ‘hedge, wall’, behī‘granary’; H. beh, be, behā, beā m. ‘enclosure, cattle surrounded and carried off by force’; M.veh m. ‘circumference’; WPah.kg. beɔ m. ‘palace’, J. beām. ‘id., esp. the female apartments’, kul. beā ‘building with a courtyard’; A. also berā ‘fence, enclosure’ (CDIAL 12130 ) berā ‘fence, enclosure’ (A.)(CDIAL 12130) vaāvu (vaāvi-) to surround (Ta.);  Ta. vēli fence, hedge, wall. Ma. vēli hedge, fence. Ko. Vj fence. To. ps̱y stone wall of pen; ply fence; ? ps̱ïr dry buffaloes, buffaloes that have gone wild. Ka. bēli fence, hedge.Ko. bli fence. Tu. bēli fence, hedge. Te. vel(u)gu id., enclosure. Kol. veleg (obl. velg-) fence. Go. (Pat.) velum fence; (M.) velūmfencing; (Y.) velum, elum, (Ch.) allum, (Ma.) velmi fence; (Tr.)waluh- tānā to fence; (Ph.) vallānā to be enclosed; caus.vallahtānā, valsahtānā; (Ma.) velˀ - to fence ( Voc. 3298). Kona velgu gōa com- pound wall. (DEDR 5538) Ta. varaippu limit, boundary, wall, enclosure; varaivu limit, measuring, discrimination. Ma. vara- mpu limit, bank in rice-fields; Ka. bara, bare, vari, vare compass, space, room, limit; up to, till. Tu. barabu boundary;baragayi id., limit, shore; barè mud wall round the premises. Te.varuju ridge or dam dividing fields; (inscr.) vrappi ridge; 
vaa limit; vaaku up to, until; (VPK; Telangana dial.) varam bund within or outside field.(DEDR 5261). Ta.  vaaical, vaaippuenclosure, courtyard; vaāvu (vaāvi-) to surround;  Ma. vaayuka to surround; vaek- ka to enclose;vaaccal  enclosing;  vaayal surrounding;vaappu enclosure of a house, compound; 
Ka. baasuto be surrounded, surround;n. act of surrounding or encom- passing, what surrounds, state of being circuitous, one round or turn (as of a rope, etc.); balepuni to enclose, surround, besiege. Te. balayu to surround, (K. also) besiege; (K.)(DEDR 5313). ?Rebus for: வேள்² vēOne belonging to the Vēir class; வேளிர்குலத்தான்தொன்முதிர் வேளிர் (புறநா. 24). Title given by ancient Tamil kings to Vēāas; பண்டைத் தமிழரசரால் வேளாளர் பெற்ற ஒரு சிறப் புரிமைப் பெயர்(தொல்பொ.30.) 
செம்பியன் தமிழவேள் என்னுங் குலப்பெயரும் (S. I. I. iii, 221). 9. Illustrious or great man; hero; சிறந்த ஆண் மகன். (யாழ்அக.) பாப்பைவேளே (பெருந்தொ. 1766). 

वाडी [ vāī ] f (वाटी S) An enclosed piece of meaand keepers. dow-field or garden-ground; an enclosure, a close, a paddock, a pingle. 2 A cluster of huts of agriculturists, a hamlet. Hence (as the villages of the Konkan̤ are mostly composed of distinct clusters of houses) a distinct portion of a straggling village. 3 A division of the suburban portion of a city. वाडा [ vāā ] m (वाट or वाटी S) A stately or large edifice, a mansion, a palace. Also in comp. as राजवाडा A royal edifice; सरकारवाडा Any large and public building. 2 A division of a town, a quarter, a ward. Also in comp. as देऊळवाडाब्राह्मणवाडागौळीवाडा,चांभारवाडाकुंभारवाडा. 3 A division (separate portion) of a मौजा or village. The वाडा, as well as the कोंड, paid revenue formerly, not to the सरकार but to the मौजेखोत. 4 An enclosed space; a yard, a compound. 5 A pen or fold; as गुरांचा वाडागौळवाडा or गवळीवाडाधनगरवाडा. The pen is whether an uncovered enclosure in a field or a hovel sheltering both beasts.




Octopuses have two legs and six arms
Claire Little, a marine expert from the Weymouth Sea Life Centre in Dorset, said: We've found that octopuses effectively have six arms and two legs Photo: BNPS
மாடை  māṭai மாடை māṭain. cf. māṣa. Gold; பொன். ஆடை கொண்டுயர் மாத ரம்புவி மாடை யென்பவை மீதி னெஞ்சக வாசை (அலங்காரச்சிந்து. 16).  माष partic. weight of gold (= 5 कृष्णलs = 1÷10 सुवर्ण ; the weight in common use is said to be about 17 grains troy) Mn. Ya1jn5.; N. of a ऋषि-गण (the children of सु-रभि , to whom RV. ix , 86 , 1-10 is ascribed) RAnukr. R. Hariv. (Monier-Williams) māṣa2 m., ˚aka -- m.n. ʻ a partic. weight of gold ʼ Mn., ʻ a copper coin ʼ Kauṭ. [Same as māˊṣa -- 1]Pa. māsa -- , ˚aka -- m. ʻ small coin of very low value ʼ, Pk. māsa -- , ˚aa -- m.; Ku. rati māso ʻ more or less ʼ; B. mās ʻ a partic. weight ʼ, Or. masā; G. māsɔ m. ʻ a weight of gold = 8 ratīs or 1/12 tolā ʼ; M. māsā m. ʻ a partic. weight ʼ; Si. massa, st. masu -- ʻ a partic. small coin ʼ.(CDIAL 10098)māṣika in cmpds. ʻ worth so many māṣas ʼ e.g. pañca -- māṣika -- Mn. [māṣa -- 2]M. māśī ʻ weighing a māṣa ʼ. (CDIAL 10102)*ardhamāṣaka ʻ half the weight māṣaka ʼ. [ardhá -- 2, māṣaka -- ]Pa. aḍḍhamāsaka -- m. ʻ half a bean as a measure of value or weight ʼ; Si. aḍumahu˚massa ʻ a coin worth half a massa ʼ. (CDIAL 669)
kārṣāpaṇá m.n. ʻ a partic. coin or weight equivalent to one karṣa ʼ. [karṣa -- m. ʻ a partic. weight ʼ Suśr. (cf. OPers. karša -- ) and paṇa -- 2 or āpana -- EWA i 176 and 202 with lit. But from early MIA. kā̆hā˚] Pa. kahāpaṇa -- m.n. ʻ a partic. weight and coin ʼ, KharI. kahapana -- , Pk. karisāvaṇa -- m.n., kāhāvaṇa -- , kah˚ m.; A. kaoṇ ʻ a coin equivalent to 1 rupee or 16 paṇas or 1280 cowries ʼ; B. kāhan ʻ 16 paṇas ʼ; Or. kāhā̆ṇa ʻ 16 annas or 1280 cowries ʼ, H. kahāwankāhankahān m.; OSi. (brāhmī) kahavaṇa, Si. kahavuṇa˚vaṇuva ʻ a partic. weight ʼ.(CDIAL 3080) kāˊrṣāpaṇika ʻ worth or bought for a kārṣāpaṇa ʼ Pāṇ. [kārṣāpaṇá -- ]Pa. kāhāpaṇika -- , Or. kāhāṇiã̄. (CDIAL 3081)Ta. kācu gold, gold coin, money, a small copper coin. Ma. kāśu gold, money, the smallest copper coin. Ko. ka·c rupee. To. ko·s id. Ka. kāsu the smallest copper coin, a cash, coin or money in general. Tu. kāsů an old copper coin worth half a pie, a cash. Te. kāsu a cash, a coin in general, a gold coin, money. Go. (Ko.) kāsu pice (< Te.; Voc. 663). / ? Cf. Skt. karṣa-. (DEDR 1431)


rajaraja_chola_kahavanu_au_obverse

The octopus man stands atop a catamaran. sangaa 'double-canoe, catamaran, seafaring vessel' Rebus:सांगड sāṅgaḍa, saṁgaha'catalogues'. The other hieroglyphs/hypertexts on the obverse and reverse of the gold coin signify the catalogue of metalwork wealth accounting ledgers. 



கற்பு  kaṟpu கற்பு1 kaṟpun. Malabar jasmine, an emblem of female chastity; முல்லை. (திவா.)  Rebus:  கற்புரம் kaṟpuram, n. < karbūra. Gold; பொன். (யாழ். அக.) (Tamil) கற்பு kaṟpu கற்பு kaṟpun. Fort wall; புரிசை. (அக. நி.) கற்பா kaṟ-pān. < கல் + பாவு-. High ground in the narrow path on the inner side of the walls of a fort; கோட்டை உண்மதிலின் வாரி யுள் உயர்ந்தநிலம். (பிங்.)

karā 'crocodile'khār 'blacksmith'Hieroglyph: seed, something round: *gōṭṭa ʻ something round ʼ. [Cf. guḍá -- 1. -- In sense ʻ fruit, kernel ʼ cert. ← Drav., cf. Tam. koṭṭai ʻ nut, kernel ʼ, Kan. goae &c. listed DED 1722]K. goh f., dat. °i f. ʻ chequer or chess or dice board ʼ; S. g̠ou m. ʻ large ball of tobacco ready for hookah ʼ, °ī f. ʻ small do. ʼ; P. go f. ʻ spool on which gold or silver wire is wound, piece on a chequer board ʼ; N. goo ʻ piece ʼ, goi ʻ chess piece ʼ; A. go ʻ a fruit, whole piece ʼ, °ā ʻ globular, solid ʼ, gui ʻ small ball, seed, kernel ʼ; B. goā ʻ seed, bean, whole ʼ; Or. goā ʻ whole, undivided ʼ, goi ʻ small ball, cocoon ʼ, goāli ʻ small round piece of chalk ʼ; Bi. goā ʻ seed ʼ; Mth. goa ʻ numerative particle ʼ; H. gof. ʻ piece (at chess &c.) ʼ; G. go m. ʻ cloud of smoke ʼ, °ṭɔ m. ʻ kernel of coconut, nosegay ʼ, °ī f. ʻ lump of silver, clot of blood ʼ, °ilɔ m. ʻ hard ball of cloth ʼ; M. goā m. ʻ roundish stone ʼ, °ī f. ʻ a marble ʼ, gouā ʻ spherical ʼ; Si. guiya ʻ lump, ball ʼ; -- prob. also P. goṭṭā ʻ gold or silver lace ʼ, H. goā m. ʻ edging of such ʼ (→ K. goa m. ʻ edging of gold braid ʼ, S. goo m. ʻ gold or silver lace ʼ); M. go ʻ hem of a garment, metal wristlet ʼ.*gōḍḍ -- ʻ dig ʼ see *khōdd -- .Addenda: *gōṭṭa -- : also Ko. u ʻ silver or gold braid ʼ.(CDIAL 4271) Ta. koṭṭai seed of any kind not enclosed in chaff or husk, nut, stone, kernel; testicles; (RS, p. 142, items 200, 201) koṭṭāṅkacci, koṭṭācci coconut shell. Ma. koṭṭakernel of fruit, particularly of coconut, castor-oil seed; kuṟaṭṭa, kuraṭṭa kernel; kuraṇṭi stone of palmfruit. Ko. keṭ testes; scrotum. Ka. koṭṭe, goṟaṭe stone or kernel of fruit, esp. of mangoes; goṭṭa mango stone. Ko. koraṇḍi id. Tu. koṭṭè kernel of a nut, testicles; koṭṭañji a fruit without flesh; koṭṭayi a dried areca-nut; koraṇtu kernel or stone of fruit, cashew-nut; goṭṭu kernel of a nut as coconut, almond, castor-oil seed. Te. kuriḍī dried whole kernel of coconut. Kol. (Kin.) goṛva stone of fruit. Nk. goṛage stone of fruit. Kur. goā any seed which forms inside a fruit or shell. Malt. goṭa a seed or berry. / Cf. words meaning 'fruit, kernel, seed' in Turner, CDIAL, no. 4271 (so noted by Turner).(DEDR 2069) Rebus: khōa 'alloy ingot' (Marathi)

rajaraja_chola_kahavanu_au_reverseObverse of coin: Legend in Nagari script to right in three lines Sri RajaRaja
kōṭu கோடு Chank; சங்கு. கோடுமுழங் கிமிழிசை யெடுப்பும் (பதிற்றுப். 50, 25) Rebus: ko  = artisan’s workshop (Kuwi); ko  ‘workshop’ (G.); ācāri koṭṭya‘smithy’ (Tu.)
khaṇḍa 'division'. rebus: kaṇḍa'implements'

The seated person is fused with the tentacles of an octopus and appears like an octopus man.The rebus reading is:

veha 'octopus' rebus: behī 'smithy guild in a citadel (enclosure), with a warehouse (granary)'. 

Thus,together, the readings of the hypertexts are:

धावड dhāvaḍa 'red ferrite ore smelter'.karba'iron' kaṇḍa 'implements' khār 'blacksmith' behī 'smithy guild', i.e. a smelter, workshop of blacksmithy guild working in iron implements and khōa 'alloy ingots'. 

Gold Madai of type known in Lanka as Kahavanu from the period of Chola occupation of Lanka by RajaRaja Chola (985-1014) of Thanjavur in TamilNadu.

SPECIFICATIONS
DenominationKahavanu
MetalGold 0.47
AlloyCu/Ag = 0.21
Typestruck
Diameter20.2 mm
Thickness2.1 mm
Weight4.30 gms
Die Axis180°
rajaraja_chola_kahavanu_au_obverserajaraja_chola_kahavanu_au_reverse
Codrington #104; Mitchiner #729; Biddulph #5
DenominationKahavanu
MetalGold 0.??
AlloyCu/Ag = 0.??
Typestruck
Diameter2?.? mm
Thickness2.? mm
Weight4.3? gms
Die Axis
krcj4tb6c_rajaraja_h01_au_obversekrcj4tb6c_rajaraja_h01_au_reverse
Codrington #104; Mitchiner #729; Biddulph #5
DenominationKahavanu
MetalGold 0.48
AlloyCu/Ag = 0.24
Typestruck
Diameter21.9 mm
Thickness2.1 mm
Weight4.28 gms
Die Axis0.°
krcj4tb6c_rajaraja_h02_au_obversekrcj4tb6c_rajaraja_h02_au_reverse
Codrington #104; Mitchiner #729; Biddulph #5
The design is that of the traditional Lanka type copper massa.

Obverse : Head usually represented by an oval with a projection for the chin ; the oval is countersunk inside leaving the eye standing out ; Two lines above chin for nose and mouth. Crown (makuta), a thick line behind which a triangle. Left arm extended, bent upwards at elbow and holding a jessamine flower. Legs short and straight ; dhoti stiff, line between legs ; the whole standing on a double lotus plant Co-joined in the center by a small circle and terminating on the left in a chank and on the right in a jessamine flower. To the left under arm hanging lamp and further to left a standing lamp, tall with four branches. To write four annulets each with a dot in center surmounted by ball (filled circle). All in bead circle


Reverse : Head and crown as on obverse. Seated king on left facing right with left arm extended, bent down over leg. Right arm raised upwards with elbow outwards, and holding in front of the face, a chank. Asana short with two cross lines. Legend in Nagari script to right in three lines Sri RajaRaja. All in bead circle.


There are two well-known varieties of RajaRaja gold coins closely resembling the Lanka Kahavanuva of type IIIC(1). The type shown above with four annulets surmounted by ball struck in or for use in Lanka where it is not uncommon. The type found only in mainland with a crescent on top the four annulets on the right of obverse. It may have been stuck for circulation in the conquered Pandyan provinces where the Sinhala gold coins were well known.

These coins are extensively discussed by Biddulph in his 1966 monogram on Coins of the Cholas. He goes into extensive discussions to establish that the Rajaraja Chola coins were the prototype to the "Standing and seated King" series associated with Lanka.

These RajaRaja Chola coins found in Lanka resemble the Kahavanuva. The similar coins found in in India, known as Madais, are of better workmanship but of inferior gold which degraded with time in purity, until in later issues were of merely gold plated silver.

Rajaraja Chola (985-1014) invaded Lanka in 990 AD and conquered the northern half. Ruining Anuradhapura he made Polonnaruwa his capital on the island;. Rajendra (1014-1044) Chola succeeded in extended Chola occupation over the whole island of Lanka in 1018. Lanka became regained independence from Chola occupation in 1070 under Vijayabahu I (1055-1110).

Text edited from
  • Ceylon Coins and Currency: H. W. Codrington, Colombo, 1924.
    Chapter VII Mediaeval Indian - Chola Page 84 PL 104
  • Coins of the Cholas: C. H. Biddulph, NSI #13, 1966.
  • Oriental Coins: Michael Mitchiner,
    London, Hawkins Publications, 1978.

Seven interlocked tiger Indus Script inscriptions signify śālikā 'village of artisans, seafaring merchants', salāyisu 'metal-joiner' shops

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https://tinyurl.com/yb3s2pyl

I suggest that the three tigers with interlocked bodies connote cāli 'interlocked bodies'.

Rebus-metonymy layered cipher yields the plain text Meluhha message : kola'tiger'> kolom'three' PLUS cāli 'interlocked bodies': kammasālā 'workshop' (Prakritam) < kolimi 'forge' PLUS śālā, i.e. smithy workshop; 
salāyisu = joining of metal (Kannada).

m2015, m0295 The three interlocked tigers show their feline claws prominently. panja'feline paw' rebus: panja'kiln, furnace' PLUS kola'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron'; kolhe'smelter'.
m0295 Pict-61: Composite motif of three tigers (Mahadevan concodance)Location: Mohenjo Daro, Larkana Dt., Sind, Pakistan Site: Mohenjo Daro Monument/Object: carved sealCurrent Location: National Museum, New Delhi, India Subject: interlinked tigers Period: Harappa/Indus Civilization (Pakistan) (3300-1700 BCE) Date: ca. 2100 - 1750 BCE Material: stone Scan Number: 27412 Copyright: Huntington, John C. and Susan L. Image Source: Huntington Archive 

Here is a rendering of this Mohenjo-daro seal with three entwined tigers, in colour by a Historian, Walter Plitt Qintin:
kola ‘tiger’ rebus: kol ‘furnace, forge’ cāli 'Interlocking bodies' (IL 3872) Rebus: sal 'workshop' (Santali)Hieroglyph of joined, interlocked bodies: cāli (IL 3872); rebus: śālika (IL) village of artisans. cf. salāyisu = joining of metal (Ka.)

Orthography of Harappa Script Corpora presents two variants of 'interlocked' bodies of kola, 'tigers' (rebus: kol 'blacksmith'): e.g., (a) m0295 (PLUS Text message hieroglyphs), (b) m1395 with upto six bodies of tigers intertwined" (bhaa 'six' rebus: bhaa 'furnace').
cāli 'Interlocking bodies' (IL 3872) Rebus: sal 'workshop' (Santali) 

Allograph: sal ‘splinter’.
m0295 Text1386 Note how the hieroglyph components of the text are displayed in the space available on the seal after the pictorial motif hieroglyphs have been put together as part of the hypertext. The broken corner of the seal may have included other 'text hieroglyphs called signs'.
The text messageis: bronze workshop, scribe/account iron supercargo, helmsman, smithy/forge/temple. 
Details of Text: 
kōna corner (Nk.); tu. u angle, corner (Tu.); rebus: kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’ (Bengali) Alternative reading; kanac 'corner' rebus: kañcu 'bronze'

sal 'splinter' Rebus: sal 'workshop'

कर्णकः karṇakḥ कर्णकः Ved. 1 A prominence; handle' rebus: karṇī 'supercargo, scribe. 

kaṇḍ kanka ‘rim of jar’; Rebus: karnI 'supercargo', karṇika ‘scribe’; kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar’. Thus the ligatured Glyph is decoded: 

kaṇḍkarṇaka ‘furnace scribe'

कर्णक kárṇaka कर्णक kárṇaka, kannā m. du. the two legs spread out AV. xx , 133 'spread legs'; 

(semantic determinant) rebus: kárṇaka, kannā कर्णक 'helmsman'.PLUS 

me ‘body’ Rebus: me ‘iron’ (Mu.) 


kole.l smithy, temple in Kota village (Ko.) rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge'; kolimi 'smithy, forge' 

kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron'; kolle 'blacksmith'; kolimi 'smithy, forge'; kole.l 'smithy, temple' kol working in iron, blacksmith; kollaṉ blacksmith. 
Ma. kollan blacksmith, artificer. Ko. kole·l smithy, temple in Kota village. To. kwala·l Kota smithy. Ka. kolime, kolume, kulame, kulime, kulume, kulme fire-pit, furnace; (Bell.; U.P.U.) konimi blacksmith(Gowda) kolla id. Koḍ. kollë blacksmith. Te. kolimi furnace. Go. (SR.)kollusānā to mend implements; (Ph.) kolstānā, kulsānā to forge; (Tr.) kōlstānā to repair (of ploughshares); (SR.) kolmi smithy (Voc. 948). Kuwi (F.) kolhali to forge.(DEDR 2133)

Hieroglyph of ‘looking back’ is read rebus kamar 'artisan': క్రమ్మరు [krammaru] krammaru. [Tel.] v. n. To turn, return, go  back. మరలు.  క్రమ్మరించు or  క్రమ్మరుచు  krammarinsu. V. a. To turn, send back, recall. To revoke, annul,rescind.క్రమ్మరజేయుక్రమ్మర krammara Adv. Again. క్రమ్మరిల్లు or క్రమరబడు Same as క్రమ్మరు. krəm backʼ(Kho.)(CDIAL 3145) Kho. Krəm ʻ back ʼ NTS ii 262 with (?) (CDIAL 3145)[Cf. Ir. *kamaka  or *kamraka -- ʻ back ʼ in Shgh. Čůmčʻbackʼ,Sar. Čomǰ EVSh 26] (CDIAL 2776) cf. Sang. kamak ʻ back ʼ, Shgh. Čomǰ (< *kamak G.M.) ʻ back of an animal ʼ, Yghn. Kama ʻ neck ʼ (CDIAL 14356). Kár, kãr  ‘neck’ (Kashmiri) Kal. Gřä ʻ neck ʼ; Kho. Go ʻ front of neck, throat ʼ. Gala m. ʻ throat, neck ʼ MBh. (CDIAL 4070)  Rebus: karmāra ‘smith, artisan’ (Skt.) kamar ‘smith’ (Santali)

kolmo 'three' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'

Thus, the message on the seal reads: me ‘iron’; kāḍ  ‘stone’;  karṇaka karṇika ‘helmsman, supercargo, furnace scribe'; kolimi 'smithy, forge' kole.l 'smithy, temple'; sal ‘workshop’ PLUS kõdā sal 'turner workshop' (Alternative: kañcu sal 'bronze workshop')

The entire hypertexts of pictorial and text hieroglyph components can thus be read using rebus-metonymy-layered-meluhha cipher as: 'iron stone furnace scribe smithy-forge, temple, bronze turner's workshop'.

kul ‘tiger’ (Santali); kōlu id. (Telugu) kōlupuli = Bengal tiger (Te.) कोल्हा [ kōlhā ] कोल्हें [kōlhēṃ] A jackal (Marathi) Rebus: kol, kolhe, ‘the koles, iron smelters speaking a language akin to that of Santals’ (Santali) kol ‘working in iron’ (Tamil) kōla1 m. ʻ name of a degraded tribe ʼ Hariv. Pk. kōla -- m.; B. kol ʻ name of a Muṇḍā tribe ʼ.(CDIAL 3532) 


కరుకోల (p. 252) karukōla karu-kōla. [Tel.] n. A firing iron, for cautery. கொல்லுலை kol-l-ulai 
 , n. < id. +. Black-smith's forge; கொல்லனுலை. கொல்லுலைக் கூடத் தினால் (குமர. பிர. நீதிநெறி. 14).கொல்² kol Working in iron; கொற்றொழில். Blacksmith; கொல்லன். 5. Lock; பூட்டு. (பிங்.)  Brass or iron bar nailed across a door or gate; கதவு முதலியவற்றில் தைக்கும் இரும்பு முதலிய வற்றாலாகிய பட்டை. Loc.

Obverse of m1395 and m0441 had the following images of a multi-headed, six tigers.


m1395B, m0441B


Obverse of the tablets (e.g. m1395) signify functions of the manager of the guild 

of artisans/merchants: 


1. bica ‘scorpion’ rebus ‘haematite, ferrite ore  
2. krammara ‘look back’ rebus: kamar ‘smith’ PLUS kola 'tiger' rebus: kol, kolle 'blacksmith'
3. karabha ‘trunk of elephant’ ibha ‘elephant’  rebus: karba ‘iron’ ib ‘iron’ ibbo ‘merchant’ 
4. kaṇḍa ‘rhinoceros’ rebus; kaṇḍa ‘implements’ 
5. kuṭhAru ‘monkey’ rebus: kuṭhAru ‘armourer’ 
6. dula ‘two’ rebus: dul ‘metal casting’ dhangar ‘bull’ rebus; dhangar ‘blacksmith’. barada, balad 'ox' rebus: bharata,baran 'factitious alloy of copper, pewter, tin'. 

The message is: haematite (ferrite ore), blacksmith artisan, iron implements merchant, armourer, hard alloy metalcasting.

--Data mining of Harappa Script Corpora, karaa aquatic bird, kola, 'tiger',  poa, 'zebu' tied to a rope, stake -- signifiers of working in karaa, 'hard alloys', poa, 'magnetite (ferrite ore)', kol, 'working in iron'.

cāli 'interlocked' rebus śālikā 'village of artisans, shop' kola 'tiger' sāṅgaḍa 'joined' rebus, kol 'blacksmith, working in iron', saṁgaha, 'manager arranger'.

Thus, blacksmith manager of the artisans' village/shop.


m1395 [PLUS hieroglyphs on obverse of tablet: haematite (ferrite ore), blacksmith artisan, iron implements merchant, armourer, hard alloy metalcasting]. 




There are at least six multiples of (m1395) tablets with this frame of 'interlocked' bodies of tigers on one side and other hieroglyphs/hypertexts on the reverse side. 
The hypertexts on the reverse side are detailed metalwork catalogues.

सांगड (p. 495) sāgaa f A body formed of two or more (fruits, animals, men) linked or joined together. Rebus: sagaha 'catalogue' (Pkt.) सं-ग्रह [p=1129,2] a guardian , ruler , manager , arranger R. BhP. keeping , guarding , protection Mn. MBh.complete enumeration or collection , sum , amount , totality (एण , " completely " , " entirely ")Ya1jn5. MBh. &c (Monier-Williams) Pa. sagaha -- m. ʻ collection ʼ, Pk. sagaha -- m.; Bi. ̄gah ʻ building materials ʼ; Mth. ̄gah ʻ the plough and all its appurtenances ʼ, Bhoj. har -- sã̄ga; H. sãgahā ʻ collection of materials (e.g. for building) ʼ; <-> Si. san̆gaha ʻ compilation ʼ  Pa.(CDIAL 12852) Rebus: सांगड (p. 495) sāgaa m f (संघट्ट S) A float composed of two canoes or boats bound together: also a link of two pompions &c. to swim or float by.  That member of a turner's apparatus by which the piece to be turned is confined and steadied. सांगडीस धरणें To take into linkedness or close connection with, lit. fig.

Terracotta sealing from Mohenjo-daro depicting a collection of animals and some script. 

Hieroglyphs. Centrepiece is a scorpion, surrounded by a pair of oxen (bulls), rhinoceros, monkey, elephant, a tiger looking back, a standing person with spread legs. This hieroglyph cluster is duplicated on six tablets.

Hieroglyphs. Centrepiece is a scorpion, surrounded by a pair of oxen (bulls), rhinoceros, monkey, elephant, a tiger looking back, a standing person with spread legs. This hieroglyph cluster is duplicated on a six tablets.

m02015 A,B, m2016, m1393, m1394, m1395, m0295, m0439, m440, m0441 A,B On some tablets, such a glyphic composition (hypertext) is also accompanied (on obverse side, for example, cf. m2015A and m0295) with a glyphic of two or more joined tiger heads to a single body. In one inscription (m0295), the text inscriptions are also read. bica ‘scorpion’ rebus: bica ‘haematite, ferrite orekola ‘tiger’ rebus: kol ‘furnace, forge’ kol ‘metal’ PLUSkrammara ‘look back’ rebus: kamar ‘smith’ karabha ‘trunk of elephant’ ibha ‘elephant’ rebus: karba ‘ironib ‘iron’ ibbo ‘merchant’ kaṇḍa ‘rhinoceros’ rebus; kaṇḍa ‘implements’ kuhāru ‘monkey’ rebus: kuhāru‘armourer’ dula ‘two’ rebus: dul ‘metal casting’ dhangar ‘bull’ rebus; dhangar ‘blacksmith’. barada, balad 'ox' rebus: bharata,baran 'factitious alloy of copper, pewter, tin'.

Harappan settlement pattern on the desert margin with special reference to Hanumangarh district -- Vikas Pawar et al

Cipher war, after a century of failing to crack an ancient script, linguists turn to machines -- Mallory Locklear

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CIPHER WAR

After a century of failing to crack an ancient script, linguists turn to machines

By 



A collection of all known Indus symbols
 Courtesy of Bryan Wells. (Illustrated by James Bareham)

In 1872 a British general named Alexander Cunningham, excavating an area in what was then British-controlled northern India, came across something peculiar. Buried in some ruins, he uncovered a small, one inch by one inch square piece of what he described as smooth, black, unpolished stone engraved with strange symbols — lines, interlocking ovals, something resembling a fish — and what looked like a bull etched underneath. The general, not recognizing the symbols and finding the bull to be unlike other Indian animals, assumed the artifact wasn’t Indian at all but some misplaced foreign token. The stone, along with similar ones found over the next few years, ended up in the British Museum. In the 1920s many more of these artifacts, by then known as seals, were found and identified as evidence of a 4,000-year-old culture now known as the Indus Valley Civilization, the oldest known Indian civilization to date.
Since then, thousands more of these tiny seals have been uncovered. Most of them feature one line of symbols at the top with a picture, usually of an animal, carved below. The animals pictured include bulls, rhinoceros, elephants, and puzzlingly, unicorns. They’ve been found in a swath of territory that covers present-day India and Pakistan and along trade routes, with seals being found as far as present-day Iraq. And the symbols, which range from geometric designs to representations of fish or jars, have also been found on signs, tablets, copper plates, tools, and pottery.

Though we now have thousands of examples of these symbols, we have very little idea what they mean. Over a century after Cunningham’s discovery, the seals remain undeciphered, their messages lost to us. Are they the letters of an ancient language? Or are they just religious, familial, or political symbols? Those hotly contested questions have sparked infighting among scholars and exacerbated cultural rivalries over who can claim the script as their heritage. But new work from researchers using sophisticated algorithms, machine learning, and even cognitive science are finally helping push us to the edge of cracking the Indus script.


A collection of all known Indus symbols
 Courtesy of Bryan Wells. (Illustrated by James Bareham)

CIPHER WAR

After a century of failing to crack an ancient script, linguists turn to machines



In 1872 a British general named Alexander Cunningham, excavating an area in what was then British-controlled northern India, came across something peculiar. Buried in some ruins, he uncovered a small, one inch by one inch square piece of what he described as smooth, black, unpolished stone engraved with strange symbols — lines, interlocking ovals, something resembling a fish — and what looked like a bull etched underneath. The general, not recognizing the symbols and finding the bull to be unlike other Indian animals, assumed the artifact wasn’t Indian at all but some misplaced foreign token. The stone, along with similar ones found over the next few years, ended up in the British Museum. In the 1920s many more of these artifacts, by then known as seals, were found and identified as evidence of a 4,000-year-old culture now known as the Indus Valley Civilization, the oldest known Indian civilization to date.

Since then, thousands more of these tiny seals have been uncovered. Most of them feature one line of symbols at the top with a picture, usually of an animal, carved below. The animals pictured include bulls, rhinoceros, elephants, and puzzlingly, unicorns. They’ve been found in a swath of territory that covers present-day India and Pakistan and along trade routes, with seals being found as far as present-day Iraq. And the symbols, which range from geometric designs to representations of fish or jars, have also been found on signs, tablets, copper plates, tools, and pottery.
Though we now have thousands of examples of these symbols, we have very little idea what they mean. Over a century after Cunningham’s discovery, the seals remain undeciphered, their messages lost to us. Are they the letters of an ancient language? Or are they just religious, familial, or political symbols? Those hotly contested questions have sparked infighting among scholars and exacerbated cultural rivalries over who can claim the script as their heritage. But new work from researchers using sophisticated algorithms, machine learning, and even cognitive science are finally helping push us to the edge of cracking the Indus script.





Steatite seal with humped bull, Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro, 2500–2000 BC.
 Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images

Spanning from 2600 to 1900 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization was larger than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, encompassing over 1 million square kilometers that stretched over present-day India and Pakistan. It featured sophisticated infrastructure including advanced water management and drainage systems, well-organized cities with street planning, and some of the first known toilets. The Indus people also hosted a massive trade network, traveling as far as the Persian Gulf. In fact, the first traces of the Indus people were rediscovered in the mid-19th century, when construction workers tasked with connecting two cities in modern-day Pakistan came across a massive supply of bricks among some old ruins. The workers used them to construct nearly 100 miles of railroad tracks. It would be some time before archaeologists realized those bricks came from the Indus Valley Civilization.
Archeological digs revealed precious little: oddly and rather inconsistently with other Bronze Age civilizations, there is no evidence of powerful rulers or religious icons. We haven’t found any palaces or large statues, nothing like the ziggurats of Mesopotamia or the pyramids in Egypt. And we have very little indication of warfare, save for some excavated spearheads and arrowheads.

In fact, we know almost nothing. “If you were to ask an archaeologist, they would not be able to tell you where the Indus Civilization came from with certainty, or how it ended, or what they were doing when they were around,” says epigrapher Bryan Wells. To us, the Indus Civilization is as mysterious as its symbols.
This seal comes from the Indus Valley Civilization and is currently housed in the National Museum of New Delhi.
 Photo by Angelo Hornak / Corbis via Getty Images
The Indus symbols are part of a slowly shrinking list of undeciphered ancient scripts. Scholars are still working on a number of writing systems found all over the world including Linear A and Cretan hieroglyphs (two scripts from ancient Greece), Proto-Elamite (writing from the oldest known Iranian civilization), a handful of Mesoamerican scripts, and the Rongorongo script of Easter Island. Some Neolithic symbols, with no known linguistic descendents, may never be deciphered. Other ancient scripts, such as Linear B, an early precursor to Greek, were eventually deciphered by charting out the signs, figuring out which marked the start of a phrase and which marked the end, how different syllables changed the meaning of a word, and how consonants and vowels were structured within a sentence. It’s not unlike what’s depicted in the alien sci-fi film Arrival — searching for patterns, testing out theories, and lots and lots of trial and error. Though there’s slightly less pressure on Indus scholars than on Arrival’s linguist — people aren’t quite as worried about ancient civilizations as they are about invading aliens.
In the past, much of this work was done by hand. For Linear B, phonetic charts painstakingly eventually led to that language’s decipherment. Similar approaches have been tried with the Indus script as well. In the 1930s, the scholar G.R. Hunter worked out sign clusters that enabled him to figure out some of the structure embedded in the script. But Hunter failed to unlock the code.








“There are several reasons why it’s been too difficult to decipher this script,” says Nisha Yadav, a researcher in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, India. “The first one is that the texts are really short.” An average artifact only has five symbols. The longest example excavated so far has 17. Such short texts make uncovering the writing’s structure difficult. “Complicating the problem is the fact that we don’t know the underlying language,” says Rajesh Rao, director of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and a professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Washington. “We don’t even know the language family that was spoken by people in that region at that time.” And once the civilization ended, it appears that its culture and writing system did, too. “We do not have any continuing cultural tradition,” says Yadav. Archaeologists have yet to find a multilingual text like the Rosetta Stone, which was key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.
While our understanding of the Indus script remains minimal, it’s certainly not for lack of trying. “It’s often called the most deciphered script because there are around 100 decipherments,” says Wells, “but of course nobody likes any of them.” Many people have claimed to have cracked the script, often asserting it’s a precursor to a later language, but none of the decodings have held up. “I suppose the wackiest one is a tantric guru who meditated and got in touch with the great beyond, which told him what the script said,” says Wells.


Steatite seal with Elephant, Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro, 2500–2000 BC.
 Photo by CM Dixon / Print Collector / Getty Images

In order to decipher the Indus script, it’s important to ascertain what we’re looking at — whether the symbols stand for a language, or, like totem poles or coats of arms, just representations of things like family names or gods. “Given the amount of data we have, we cannot make any firm statement regarding the content of the script,” says Yadav. “I think what we’ve done is try to piece together whatever evidence we have to see if it leads us one way or the other,” says Rao. “And I think, at least from the work we’ve done, it seems like it’s more tailed towards the language hypothesis than not.” Most scholars tend to agree.
In 2009, Rao published a study that examined the sequential structure of the Indus script, or how likely it is that particular symbols follow or precede other symbols. In most linguistic systems, words or symbols follow each other in a semi-predictable manner. There are certain dictating sentence structures, but also a fair amount of flexibility. Researchers call this semi-predictability “conditional entropy.” Rao and his colleagues calculated how likely it was that one symbol followed another in an intentional order. “What we were interested in was if we could deduce some statistical regularities or structure,” says Rao, “basically ruling out that these symbols were just juxtapositions of symbols and that there were actually some rules or patterns.”
They compared the conditional entropy of the Indus script to known linguistic systems, like Vedic Sanskrit, and known nonlinguistic systems, like human DNA sequences, and found that the Indus script was much more similar to the linguistic systems. “So, it’s not proof that the symbols are encoding a language but it’s additional evidence hinting that these symbols are not just random juxtapositions of arbitrary symbols,” says Rao, “and they follow patterns that are consistent with the those you would you expect to find if the symbols are encoding language.”
In a subsequent paper, Rao and his colleagues took all of Indus’ known symbols and looked at where they fell within the inscriptions they were found in. This statistical technique, known as a Markov model, was able to pinpoint specifics like which symbols were most likely to begin a text, which were most likely to end it, which symbols were likely to repeat, which symbols often pair together, and which symbols tend to precede or follow a particular symbol. The Markov model is also useful when it comes to incomplete inscriptions. Many artifacts are found damaged, with parts of the inscription missing or unreadable, and a Markov model can help fill in those gaps. “You can try to complete missing symbols based on the statistics of other sequences that are complete,” explains Rao.
Yadav performed a similar analysis using a different type of Markov model known as an n-gram analysis. An example of an n-gram at work is the Google search bar. As you start typing a query the search bar fills in suggestions based on what you’ve typed, and as you type more words the suggestions change to fit the entered text. Yadav and her colleagues looked at both the probability of a particular symbol given the symbol preceding it — a bigram — and the probability of a particular symbol given the two symbols preceding it — a trigram. The resulting patterns suggested the script had a syntax, supporting the idea that it’s linguistic. And like the Markov model, it was also able to fill in probable symbols when inscriptions were missing portions of their text.
These two techniques also uncovered something unexpected: artifacts found in different regions depicted distinctly different symbol sequences. So seals found in what is now Iraq have symbol sequences that tend to be different from others found in India and Pakistan. “This suggests that maybe the same symbols were being used to encode the local language there,” says Rao. “It’s like they were experimenting with the script,” says Yadav. “They were using the same script to write some other language or some other content maybe.”
Providing anthropological and archaeological context to the artifacts we do have would also help further our understanding of the script. Gabriel Recchia, a research associate at the Cambridge Centre for Digital Knowledge at the University of Cambridge, published a method that aimed to do just that. In previous cognitive science studies, he and his colleagues showed that you can estimate the distances between cities by how often they’re mentioned together in writing. This was true for US cities based on their co-occurrences in national newspapers, Middle Eastern and Chinese cities based on Arabic and Chinese texts, and even cities in The Lord of the Rings. Recchia applied that idea to the Indus script, taking symbols from artifacts whose origins were known and using them to predict where artifacts of unknown origin with similar symbols came from. Recchia explains that a version of this method that takes into account much more detailed information could be very useful. “There are significant differences between artifacts that appear in different sublocations within a site and this is what is much more frequently unknown and in many cases, could provide more useful information,” says Recchia. “Was this found in a garbage heap along with a number of other seals or was this something that was imported from elsewhere?”
Meanwhile, Ronojoy Adhikari, a physics professor at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, India, and his research associate Satish Palaniappan are working on a program that can accurately extract symbols from a photo of an Indus artifact. “If an archaeologist goes to an Indus site and finds a new seal, it takes a lot of time for those seals to actually be mapped and added to a database if it’s done manually,” says Palaniappan. “In our case the ultimate aim is just with a photograph of a particular seal to be able to extract out the text regions automatically.” He and Adhikari are working on building an app that archaeologists can bring to a site on a mobile device that will extract new inscriptions instantly.
UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1988: Indus Art - 2500 BC - Stone (steatite) seal of the Indus Valley.
 Photo By DEA / G. NIMATALLAH / De Agostini / Getty Images
But not everyone agrees that the script is a language. In 2004, a paper written by cultural neurobiologist and comparative historian Steve Farmer, computational theorist Richard Sproat, and philologist Michael Witzel claimed that the Indus script was not a language. The authors even went so far as to offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who finds a lengthy Indus inscription. “To view the Indus symbols as part of an ‘undeciphered script’ isn’t a view anyone outside the highly politicized world of India believes,” Farmer said in an email. After their position on the script was published, Sproat wrote two papers that examined the conditional entropy techniques used by Rao and colleagues as well as similar techniques used by a different group examining Pictish symbols, another ancient writing system. In them, Sproat concludes that the conditional entropy measure isn’t a useful technique. “What does it tell you? It tells you that it’s not completely rigid. It tells you that it’s not completely random. We knew that already. It’s just not informative,” says Sproat. “It doesn’t tell you anything.”
“Just finding structure in a bunch of symbols certainly doesn’t mean you’ve found evidence that those symbols encode language. Even heraldic symbols or astrological signs or strings of Boy Scout medals have structure in them,” says Farmer. In response to Sproat’s papers, both Rao and colleagues and the authors of the Pictish symbols study challenged by Sproat wrote replies that addressed his concerns. Sproat, in turn, wrote a response to the response.
“You would be better off getting medical advice from your garbage man than you would getting ideas about the Indus script from listening to Steve Farmer,” says Wells. “None of the three authors have a degree in archaeology, epigraphy, or anything to do with ancient writing. Their underlying subtext is, ‘We’re all so brilliant and we can’t decipher it so it can’t be writing.’ It’s ludicrous.” Wells compares fact-checking Farmer to fact-checking Donald Trump. “You have to fact-check every single thing he says because it’s mostly wrong.”
And Wells’ beef with Witzel goes all the way back to his PhD dissertation on the Indus script, which Witzel tried to block, according to Wells. Later, while escorting Witzel through India, Wells would show him a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Ten reasons you don’t know what you’re talking about” while in the back of a cab.
One thing Rao and Sproat do agree on is that if the Indus script turns out not to encode a language, that might end up being even more interesting. “We know a lot about ancient civilizations that had writing but we know a lot less about civilizations that lacked writing,” says Sproat. “And if this was some kind of general nonlinguistic system, in a sense, that would be much more interesting than if it was just some kind of script.”
\Rao also thinks there were some nuances of his work that were lost in the debate. “It was an interesting intellectual debate with them and hopefully we’ve now reached a truce,” Rao says, laughing. “Hopefully it’s not going to be a continued lifelong debate, but I think we’ve done our best so far on either side. I’m definitely an optimist and I think we will have a much better understanding of the Indus script one way or the other, linguistic or not.”
Outside of this debate, decipherment progress is also threatened by modern-day politics. Within India, different factions are fighting over whose language and culture descended from the Indus Valley Civilization. There’s the Sanskrit region in the north, the Dravidian region in the south, and those speaking tribal languages in the middle. “They’re arguing that whoever is descended from the people who wrote the Indus script are the true inheritors of India,” says Wells. “So, they’re arguing about this from a modern political point of view. I know people who have received death threats for saying it’s not Sanskrit or saying it’s not Dravidian.” And because the Indus Valley Civilization spanned across present-day India and Pakistan, modern tensions between the two countries bleed into the Indus studies. The photographic collections of the Indus artifacts are published in two separate volumes — one for the artifacts found in India and another for those found in Pakistan.
Another challenge to the script’s decipherment is a classic one: money. Wells believes that until universities and funding agencies make a concerted effort to foster the study of the Indus script, little headway will be made. “It has to be a cooperative effort, it has to be funded, and it has to have a home,” says Wells. For his part in fostering a collaborative effort, Wells is hosting a second annual meeting on the Indus script to take place this March in British Columbia. And if nothing else, that $10,000 reward is on the table for as long as Farmer is alive.
We don’t have a decipherment yet but Rao believes that until we find longer samples or a multilingual text, these statistical strategies are our best bet. And Wells says progress will hinge on cooperation. “I think all of the pieces to decipher the script are there,” he says, “teamwork — interdisciplinary, multigenerational probably — the more we work on it the more progress we make.” Wells and his colleagues have made some progress and plan to present it at the meeting this March. Their findings and other work presented at the meeting should be available to the public in April published as the Proceedings of the Second International Meeting on Indus Epigraphy. In the meantime, anyone working on the script is welcome to contribute to Wells’ collaborative website, which features all of the known symbols and various analytical tools.
When asked about Arrival and whether being able to decipher scripts might one day save the world, Rao laughs. “Well,” he says, “[it] depends on the situation.”
There are 30 comments

This is an example of a situation in which it makes sense to "teach the controversy" :wink:
But really, it’s pretty interesting reading about competing theories. Scientists can get quite nasty with each other, but it’s (almost, har har) always about whose idea makes more sense, who has the relevant background, how should this problem be tackled, etc.
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 9:25 AM
I bet that only happened so he could break out the "10 reasons you don’t know what you’re talking about" powerpoint.
I’m stealing this idea for my workplace, off to create some powerpoints.
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 4:12 AM
I would like to see this original powerpoint.
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 1:12 PM
so cynical.
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 9:10 PM
You never know, maybe they got uberpooled together independent of their wishes.
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 5:12 AM
While I have absolutely no idea about the topic at hand and likely won’t bother to read further till it is solved, I would say these pieces are for a game. 
Ancient day MTG or chess.
Looks like that on a first glance.
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 10:28 AM
Hehe, I don’t think we will ever regress that bad. World is too connected for all the knowledge to be simply lost like that, unless something wipes us all out – except for some excluded tribes.
Take a look around at what writing-like thing is most likely to remain for a several thousand years. Texts? These are usually on paper. This is not going to last 4k years in the ground. Plastic cards might. And the future scientist will have to figure out that this pattern of crosses has no special/religious meaning, it is merely a game card :smile:
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 2:52 AM
I wonder what currency or method of exchange the far flung Indus civilisation used? I suppose that it is known that the small pieces are seals because they are 3d reversals.
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 10:30 AM
They were pretty extensive traders, so lots of currency I’m sure ; Unfortunately their Wiki Page didnt showup any coins or currency info.
However, the 4000 Year old Harappans had early dibs on Swastikas – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation#/media/File:IndusValleySeals_swastikas.JPG
It is quite clear by now that Swastika symbols are linked to human prosperity, and have been recorded in many old, ancient, separate civilizations – highlighting the likelihood that the Swastika symbol could be a pre-civilization symbol used by humans in Africa (40,000 years ago)
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 3:59 PM
Forgive my ignorance…but what would be the difference between "linguistic" and "non-linguistic" in this context?
If there are repeating symbols, on stamps/seals found across a large area, I would think that is a fairly good sign that like symbols may reference something similar…which is what I thought language was: a physical symbolic representation of things or ideas.
No?
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 7:26 PM
I’m no expert, but I assume it’s the difference between an explicit "no smoking" and the pictorial depiction of a crossed out cigarette within a circle.
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 5:15 AM
Perhaps, except that my semantic-self tells me that the no-smoking sign is language as well, symbolically representing the idea that smoking is not allowed.
Hmmm, maybe I’m up for a class on this stuff . :blush:
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 3:24 PM
In my opinion, the no smoking sign is closer to being a hieroglyph than "linguistic script".
Posted  on Jan 29, 2017 | 12:48 PM
I’ll bet $100 that when the machines supposedly crack this code, they are going to come out and say that it says there is no God and we are the gods, do as thou wilt, etc etc. You know the deal…
Posted  on Jan 25, 2017 | 10:23 PM
And the answer is 42.
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 1:13 PM
Since there is no complete sentence Grammar is missing completely. This is the first time I saw the script and was amazed. This is the international version of Sanskrut (Sanskrit) . The exact pronunciation as we pronounce in India is written here, the parenthesis version is European version of pronunciation. Looks like complete alphabet is there and there are 32 characters. There should be 4 additional special characters. The vowels are similar to Sanskrut. Let me say there are 10 vowels corresponding to Sanskrut vowels. I bet the grammar is similar to sanskrut as well. 
This script is first attempt to internationalize Sanskrut for trade purpose by our ancestors. The alphabet is phonetic and hence the symbols may represent the sounds associated with the words. Just like in sanskrut it may start with K, Kh, G (ga) , Gha.. and so on..
I would like to help further.
Bhagirath Joshi
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 1:06 PM
Here you have it folks the prime example of one of the camps of the highly politicized views. Bhagirath has already staked his claim on Indus Valley script being predecessor to Sanskrit through his striking divination. This is why we can’t have credible inquiry into the script. Why don’t we just let the actual scientists do their work and not jump to illusory conclusions and confirmation bias?
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 3:41 PM
Madhu?
what is your mother toung? Did you learn any of Indian origin languages? If not you will not understand my reasoning for stating the similarities. Here we are trying to help the cause not taunt and be spiteful. Remember, we are talking about Indus civilization.. who do you have the stake? and who could claim it? Think
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 11:03 PM
Bhagirath, yours is not an inspired revelatory idea, and the possibility of the script resembling Sanskrit would have been one of the first ideas already explored and discarded. You’re not helping the cause, you’re putting forth an extremely basic and discarded idea.
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 5:19 AM
How do you know? Are you linguistic? Sometime taking a fresh look at the same problem gets the solution. Revisiting the hypothesis is done in science. Are you assuming that sanskrut as a base for Indus civilization is explored or you know for a fact? I would like to know all the efforts made to decipher this script.
Do you agree with my assumption that grammar is missing from the so far recovered text?
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 9:35 AM
I am claiming that Sanskrit as a base for this script is explored on the basis that linguistic experts aren’t total idiots, and do not tend to miss as obvious a starting off point as that.
I neither agree nor disagree with your assumption since I do not have the facts at hand, and going by your description of it as an assumption, neither do you.
One must not deign to make simplistic suggestions without having all the data and facts at hand.
Posted  on Jan 29, 2017 | 12:42 PM
The alphabet is phonetic and hence the symbols may represent the sounds associated with the words of flowers , animals and day to day experiences of the era.
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 1:10 PM
This is correct. Working under this hypothesis, I have successfully deciphered a seal, the one with the man sat cross legged on his seat. It says "Do not pass go, do not collect 200 seashells".
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 5:21 AM
Can the author please clarify who Bryan Wells is? Where does he work or study? What are his qualifications? (Or is this in the article already and I missed it?)
Posted  on Jan 26, 2017 | 1:15 PM
In fact, we know almost nothing. "If you were to ask an archaeologist, they would not be able to tell you where the Indus Civilization came from with certainty, or how it ended, or what they were doing when they were around," says epigrapher Bryan Wells. To us, the Indus Civilization is as mysterious as its symbols.
Posted  on Jan 27, 2017 | 12:34 PM
I can see why it could be difficult to get funding to study this stuff. What’s the endgame? We decipher some symbols with marginal upside in terms of teaching us about an ancient civilization. At the same time, we ignite the next territorial, genocidal conflict between two groups that previously had fewer reasons to believe it was their sacred right to own a particular land.
Posted  on Feb 1, 2017 | 2:02 PM
One obvious observation: on the three seals shown with text above animals, all the animals are facing the same direction (left on the seal, which would be right on the imprint). If this true in general, it implies directionality, which implies a linguistic interpretation. If these were merely pictorial (non-linguistic) symbols, there would be an equal chance of the animals in profile facing either direction.
Posted  on Feb 13, 2017 | 2:28 PM
https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/25/14371450/indus-valley-civilization-ancient-seals-symbols-language-algorithms-ai

Mohenjo-daro -- Indus Epigraphy -- G.R. Hunter's Sign list and analysis (1932)

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GR Hunter observes that some seals could be dated to not later than 3500 BCE.


Mohenjo-daro: Indus Epigraphy

G. R. Hunter
The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
No. 2 (Apr., 1932), pp. 466-504 (39 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25194538














































Mohanna boatpeople's song, ēlō ! ēlēlō !! he'lava he'lavo !!!. Mohenjo-daro mohana dera 'boatpeople pilgrimage', granary, great-bath, Ziggurat (Stupa)

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I agree with Jayasree Saranathan that the 'granary area' of Mohenjo-daro had some special, perhaps, religious significance because the drain from the Great Bath passes around this 'granary complex'. She also suggests that the early name of Mohenjo-daro should be reconstructed as Mohanasa Dera,'resting place of mohana'. *ēra1 ʻ resting -- place ʼ. 2. *dēra -- .1. K. ḍera m. ʻ tent, temporary stopping place ʼ; P. ḍerā m. ʻ tent, encampment ʼ; WPah. bhal. ḍero m. ʻ lodging place, shelter ʼ; Ku. ḍero ʻ tent, shelter, house, esp. temporary lodging ʼ; N. ḍerā ʻ tent, booth ʼ; A. B. Or. Mth. H. ḍerā ʻ tent, shelter, temporary restingplace ʼ, Marw. ḍero m., G. ḍerɔ m., M. ḍerā m.2. B. derā ʻ a sort of tent ʼ; H. derā m. ʻ tent, house ʼ (→ S. dero m. ʻ tent ʼ).(CDIAL 5564). Ta. kūṭāram tent. Ma. kūṭāram tent, camp. Ka. guḍāra, guḍāre, guṇḍāra, gūḍāra tent. Tu. guḍāra id. Te. guḍāramu, guḍāru, gūḍāramuid. / Cf. Skt. (lex.) kuṭaru-, Pkt. guḍḍara- id., Mar. guḍhār id., howdah.(DEDR 1881) Thus, Mohanasa Dera means, a temporary stopping place, like a place of pilgrimage of Mohanna boatpeople. The hypothesis is that the pilgrims coming to visit the Ziggurat (stupa) had temporary stopping places or 'pilgrims' inns'  in the high-ground 'granary' area of Mohenjo-daro with the water facilities for a sacred bath, provided by the water drain from the Great Bath before climbing up the Ziggurat temple precincts.

Mohenjo-daro stupa is Sarasvati Civilization temple


Dominating the city is a massive structure long thought to be a Buddhist stupa. Some archaeologists now suspect it may, in fact, have been constructed during the Indus era, but excavations are needed to confirm this theory.

This small statue found at Mohenjo-Daro, dubbed the Priest-King, is one of the very few Indus-period sculptures depicting a human ever found.

"With a possible population of 100,000, Mohenjo-Daro would have been bigger than Egypt's Memphis, Mesopotamia's Ur or Elam's Susa in today's Iran, some of the ancint Near East's largest metropolises. The city boasted wide streets, more than 60 deep wells, strong foundations, and impressive walls, 25 miles of which have been excavated thus far. Overlooking the settlement, on the northwest end, was a high-walled platform that archaeologists dubbed a 'citadel.'..Covering some 625,000 square miles, the Indus surpassed Egypt and Mesopotamia in size, and may have included as many as a million peole, a staggering figure for an agricultural society that depended on the unreliable waters of the Indus River and its tributaries. Indus sites have been identified from the shores of Iran to the mountains of Afghanistan to the outskirts of today's Delhi. Recent work by University of Wisconsin researcher Randall Law demonstrated that stones nd metals from across this vast region circulated throughout ('Letter from Pakistan,' September/October 2008). Indus merchants, mastering monsoon winds, traded goods with Arabians and likely conducted business as far west as today's Iraq. One Mesopotamian text records a court case involving a 'Meluhhan,' thought to be the Sumerian word for someone from the Indus, while another mentions a Meluhhan interpreter at a Mesopotamian court...The citadel that forms the height of Mohenjo-Daro was clearly a planned effort, with enormous walls enclosing a raised platform that is 200 yards long and 400 wide. At its highest point sits a prominent structure that 1920s researchers identified as a Buddhist stupa. These scholars thought the stup, which was built with bricks and ringed by what they called monks' cells, had been constructed in the early centuries AD, when Buddhism was at its peak in the region. This assumption derived mainly from the discovery of coins dating to that era. But in 2007, Giovanni Verardi, a retired archaeologist from the University of Naples, examined the site and noted that the stups is not aligned in typical Buddhist fashion, along the cardinal points. The plinth is high and rectangular, not square as would be expected, and there is little pottery associated with the later period. He also concluded that the materials recovered from the 'monks'' rooms were made in the Indus period. Verardi now thinks there is 'little doubt' that, apart from the mudbrick dome, the 'stupa' is actually an Indus building. He believes that it was likely a stepped pyramid with two access ramps, and that terracotta seals found nearby depicting what appears to be a goddess standing on a tree while a man sacrifices an animal suggest that the building was used for religious activities. Jansen and other archaeologists agree that Verardi's interpretation may be correct, though they add that excavations are necessary to prove that his theory about an Indus-era temple is accurate. If it is, says Jansen, 'this will turn our interpretations upside dow.' No templess have been discovered at any Indus site, an absence unique among major ancient civilizations. But the presence of a stepped platform in the heart of its largest city would link the Indus with a tradition of religious buildings that by 2000 BCE had spread across the Middle East and Central Asia...Only 10 percent of the known site has been dug and no major excavations are in the offing. But Fazal Dad Kakkar, director general of Pakistan's museums and ancient sites, says he hopes to begin coring around the perimeter soon..." (Andrew Lawler, 2013, Mohenjo Daro's New story, in: Archaeology, January/February 2013 pp.32-37).

The insights provided by archaeologist Giovanni Verardi of the University of Naples indicate that the stupa which was a structure that co-existed with the town ca. 3000 BCE, was modeled after the ziggurats found in Ancient Near East (in sites such as Ur, Choga Zanbil which had trade contacts with Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization).

An example of the stepped rectangular structure of a ziggurat is provided by the Sit-Shamshi Bronze of Louvre Museum.

See: 

 

 



https://tinyurl.com/yb32kus9 Mirror: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2018/01/indus-script-hypertexts-validate.html


This is an addendum to: M https://tinyurl.com/y9dxavqe

 

The Mohenjo-daro stupa is directly in front of the Great Bath which is a puṣkariṇī, 'sacred water tank' in front of a temple. This indicates the possibility that water ablutions of the type shown on Sit Shamshi Bronze Temple model discovered at Susa (12th cent. BCE) is a continuum of similar veneration traditions followed in Mohenjo-daro from the sacred water tank, the so-called Great Bath, Which is a puṣkariṇī, 'sacred water tank' in front of a temple. 


Mohenjo-daro stupa a dagoba, dhatugarbha, venerating the Sun divinity, ancestors, ie like a mastaba, a bench of mud, a house for eternity.


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Image result for mohenjodaro stupa andrew lawler
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This monograph posits that the Mohenjo-daro stupa, Sialk ziggurat, Chogha Zanbil ziggurat of Ur are in the continuum of Sarasvati civilization which created sacred places to venerate the ancestors and bring the temple closer to the heavens. A comparable model of a ziggurt as a sacred place is provided by comparable Sit-Shamshi bronze. I have argued that the Sit Shamshi bronze is a veneration of the ziggurat as Sun divinity and the narrative is an offering of water ablutions to Sun divinity in a Veda culture continuum.


There is a distinct possibility that the Mohenjo-daro Stupa was a dagoba (dhatugarbha) mandiram dated to ca. 2500 BCE. This worship of earth as dhatugarbha 'womb of minerals' is consistent with the record of the R̥gveda which venerates Mother Earth and cosmic phenomena.



"BOAT HOUSE ,Pakistan


"Mohanas " are living in the boats from hundreds years in the indis river in Pakistan , culture of mohanas is very interesting."





"Mohana (Sindhi tribe) with great grey heron


Mohana historically involved in the Fishing industry. 

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"A houseboat of Mohanna, boatpeople, Pakistan"
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"Mohana (Sindhi tribe) 


The Mohana or sometimes pronounced Mohano are a Sindhi tribe found in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan. Mohana historically involved in the Fishing industry. The Mohana tribe are Muslims, following the Sunni Hanafi Fiqh, and speak Sindhi. Many Mohana prefer self-designation Mir-Bahar, which means Lord of the sea. They are found throughout Sindh, but are concentrated along the shore of Lake Manchar. In Balochistan, the Mohana are often referred to as Medes, and are found mainly in Makran. According to some traditions, the Mohana are descendents of the Scythian Medes, who lived on the banks of the Indus some thousand years ago. They are one of the Sindhi tribes mentioned in the Chachnama, and together with the Lohana, Soomra and Samma are considered to be the original inhabitants of Sindh.The Mohana are not only fishermen, but sailors and boatmen as well. Many are employed on fishing trawlers in Karachi. They have many sub-divisions, the main ones being the Karachia and Laria. Each sub-division inter marries, although there is a preference in marrying close kin. They also have a close relationship with the Mallaah community of coastal Sindh, and the two groups often intermarry."https://www.flickr.com/photos/sulemani/21957540145
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Image result for mohanna boat wikiMohannas, Manchar lake, Sindh http://www.thaap.pk/assets/anila-naeem_00.pdf


The word mohana refers to mohanna, a boatman. Mohenjo-daro was the principal port town on the River Sindhu with clear indications of maritime trade across the Indian Ocean (Persian Gulf) with the Ancient Mesopotamian region, as detailed in cuneiform trade texts.
See: Anila Naeem, 2015, Mohannas of Manchar Lake, Sindh:An indigenous cultural tradition pushed to the edge in: THAAP Journal, 2015, pp. 97 to 118.



























Narrating the maritime glory of Bhāratam Janam. Indus writing boat carrying oxhide (copper/tin) ingots. 

Published on Nov 3, 2017 Bay of Bengal Bengal coast boatpeople.

Reconstructing the Mohanna boatman's song, ēlō ! ēlēlō !! he'lava he'lavo !!!
Image result for mohanna boat wikiMohannas of Manchar lake, Sindh.


bagalo = an Arabian merchant vessel (Gujarati) bagala = an Arab boat of a particular description (Ka.); bagalā (M.); bagarige, bagarage = a kind of vessel (Ka.) bagalo = an Arabian merchant vessel (Gujarati) cf. m1429 seal. karaṇḍa ‘duck’ (Sanskrit) karaṛa ‘a very large aquatic bird’ (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi) tamar ‘palm’ (Hebrew) Rebus: tam(b)ra ‘copper’ (Santali) dula ‘pair’ Rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ (Santali) ḍhālako ‘large ingot’. खोट [khōṭa] ‘ingot, wedge’; A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down)(Marathi)  khoṭ f ʻalloy (Lahnda) Thus the pair of ligatured oval glyphs read: khoṭ ḍhālako ‘alloy ingots’ PLUS dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'. A pair of birds కారండవము [ kāraṇḍavamu ] n. A sort of duck. కారండవము [ kāraṇḍavamu ] kāraṇḍavamu. [Skt.] n. A sort of duck. कारंडव [kāraṇḍava ] m S A drake or sort of duck. कारंडवी f S The female. karandava [ kârandava ] m. kind of duck. कारण्ड a sort of duck R. vii , 31 , 21 கரண்டம் karaṇṭam, n. Rebus: karaḍa 'hard alloy (metal)'.

tamar ‘palm’ (Hebrew) Rebus: tamba ‘copper’ (Santali)

What is being transported as cargo on the Meluhha (Indus or Mohanna) boat is a boatload of hard alloy of copper. The ox-hide type ingots shown as cargo on the Mohenjo-daro boat on the tablet may be tin or copper ingotrs. It has been proven from analyses of Gelidonya and Uluburn shipwreck finds, that both tin and copper ox-hide type ingots were found.
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Oxhide ingots from cape Gelidonya (courtesy of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology)


Image result for ziggurat ur nammu
Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu. Ur, Iraq. 
Ziggurat and temple are main types of religious architecture in Ur. Nanna, the god of the moon,is the patron deity of Ur. Ziggurat as a substitute mountain connecting earth and heaven, also asa conjugal site for joining of Nanna with the mother goddess.

Oxhide-shaped copper ingot.
Oxhide copper ingot in the British Museum. (70.5cm x 41.5cm x 5.2cm; weight: 36.92kg) Image used with kind permission of the British Museum.

Uluburun Shipwreck Ingots
Some copper and one tin ingot

Uluburun Shipwreck
What the divers saw
Large picture
Source: Photographed May 2017 in the Bodrum museum
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Steps to Ziggurat of Mohenjo-daro, Ancient India. It is debatable if the structure is dated to 200 CE, a date mentioned in:
Image result for ziggurat ur nammuSteps to Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, Iraq.
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Woolley Photo of the Ziggurat of Ur with workers Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 BCE
Another view at sunset of the granary rooms and sleeper walls. https://www.harappa.com/slide/harappa-granary-area

"Mohenjo-daro Upper Part of Podium of Great Granary as seen from the loading platform showing late walls (on earthen supports built when the ground-level had risen to the top of the podium (excavated 1950) (Mortimer Wheeler, p. 127)."
Mohenjo:daro: brick staircase forming part of rebuilt super structure of Great Granary (excavated 1950).
Moen-jo-daro
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro
Shown within Sindh
LocationLarkanaSindhPakistan
Coordinates27°19′45″N 68°08′20″E
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Source: Jayasree Saranathan, Kartik Purnima celebrated in Mohenjo-Daro?   (2018)  



How did the carnelian beads arrive in Thailand, Ban Don Ta Phet port, ca. 3rd millennium BCE? Hypothesis: Meuhhans brought them and set up settlements. Did Meluhhans carry tin from here into Eurasia along the Tin Road?

Elelo elelo (Telugu)

Uploaded on Aug 10, 2010
The Timbaktu Collective is a voluntary organisation working for sustainable development in the drought prone Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Recently I visited "Prakruthi Badi" (Nature School) which is a part of Timbaktu's initiative. Here is a video of children from Prakruthi badi composing the song "Elelo elelo" for the upcoming environmental festival.

Listen to the full Elelo Elo Elo refrain of the song in Telugu (modern version video of June 3, 2014) to enjoy the beauty of the ancient boatsong refrain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56uuP8bNQas Elo, Elo, Elelo (Malayalam refrain, 2013 5:50)
That this is a classic boarman song is clear from the Malayalam lyrics: 
1. Elo, Elelo hailasaa (2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJIEYltBeW8 (2:26)

Ela Elo Elelelelo.mpg (4:42) 2012, Song From The Dubbed Malayalam Movie Thiruvilayadal

Elelo elelo (Malayalam, 2013, 6:39)


The Boatman Song ,Bhatiyali folk song Published on Feb 20, 2014
Artist :Ashok pal
Bhatiali or Bhatiyali is a traditional form of folk music in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Bhatiyali is a traditional boat song, sung by boatmen while boatmen going down streams of the river, as the word Bhatiyali comes from Bhata meaning ebb or downstream

hei lassa haisaa Boat song in Telugu (nursery rhyme)


Trade network 001Trans-Asiatic trade network


Bali yatra, 2013

Ganga river, Brahmaputra river. Inland waterways, Bharatam.
Boats at Dhaka.
Boar in Myanmar.
Transporting straw on Ganga.
Boats in northeast Bharatam.
Boat shown on a frieze in Parambanan. "merchants who crowd the great waters with ships".

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/05/philosophy-of-symbolic-forms-indian.html which presents an Indian Ocean Community


Ship on an Ajanta painting. 
Ajanta frescoe. Vijaya and elephants landing in Ceylong.
Ships Landing of Prince Vijaya in Sri Lanka - 543 BC from Ajanta Frescos.
Ajanta painting of a later date depict horses and elephants aboard the ship which carried Prince Vijaya to Sri Lanka. 
(source: India Through the ages - By K. M. Panikkar).

Ajanta painting.
"Square rigged sails had the advantage of providing stability on large ships and in heavy seas, and they remained the main type of sail on European vessels until the last days of sail. However, the lateen sail provided greater maneuverability and ability to tack on rivers and in narrow waters. The fore-and-aft sail had an advantage in that it can keep much closer to the wind." 
http://www.nabataea.net/sailing.html
http://www.nabataea.net/sailing.htmlTransporting bamboo on Ganga, West Bengal.
Old boat. Choa Praya river transport, Thailand
Life along the Mekong.
A boat for Teesta river.
Niha Trang, Vietnam
Mekong river, Vietnam
Mekong, Laos
Mekong, Luang Prabang, Laos
River transport, Vietnam.
On a tributry of Mekong, Vietnam

Boat hieroglyphs and fish on a Mesopotamia proto-cuneiform tablet. Tablet Sb04823: receipt of 5 workers(?) and their monthly(?) rations, with subscript and seal depicting animal in boat; excavated at Susa in the early 20th century; Louvre Museum, Paris (Image courtesy of Dr Jacob L. Dahl, University of Oxford) Cited in an article on Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) System. http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/indus-writing-in-ancient-near-east-on.html 
An ancient Near East proto-cuneiform tablet with Indus writing




Flat-bottomed Indus boat carrying oxhide ingots shown on an Indus writing tablet.
Indus river boat. Shown on a seal.

Island in the Indus river, as seen from Sukkur, 1838 (msb1606_2012)

Farmers transport cucumbers on a boat through the waters of river Ganges to sell at a market in Allahabad.

A traditional bullock cart and flat bottomed ferry boat are still used for local transport along the Indus River near the ancient site of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh, in Pakistan.
Visit Cai Be floating market on Mekong River cruises

Cai Be floating market on Mekong River

Transport at the confluence of Kabul and Indus rivers at Attock
Transport on the Ganga.
Transport on Ganga at Bhagalpur http://www.apagemedia.com/gallery/category/64

Mekong River transport

SANDHYA MUKHERJEE sings MAYABATI MEGHE ELO TANDRA at her 76 at sciencecity on 25th dec,2008


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_5h-3q7mY (5:17)

The Boatman Song -- Tagore

Uploaded on Oct 6, 2008
"The Boatman Song" is a simple but beautiful Bengali folk song composed by the great poet, Rabindranath Tagore.
The musicians are Sankar Chowdhury on tabla and James Barralet on cello.
James and Sankar first played together in Basel, Switzerland, on the encouragement of James's Indian music professor, the sarod maestro Ken Zuckerman. Sankar visits Basel regularly to teach and give masterclasses and concerts. Having very much enjoyed playing together, they decided to continue on a long term basis as a cello and tabla duo.
They played their first public concerts in the UK in 2008 including at the Newbury Spring Festival and at the Yorke Trust in Norfolk. Next year they will play at Music in the Round in Sheffield amongst others.
The footage is of the sacred river Ganges at Varanasi.
The performance as filmed at the abbey in Sutton Courtney, Oxforshire.


The semant. of hēla relate to: transport (of burdens), tossed on the waves (a reference to maritime transport):
हेल [ hēla ] m f The business of carrying burdens (from village to village or place to place), porterage (v वाह): also the burden carried: also the cost of carriage, the fare. 2 The supplying for a few days (with water, milk &c.) of a family in which a child is born. Usually performed by Shúdra females, and viewed as a sort of tribute or as an acknowledgment of respect. Also the water, milk &c. so supplied or brought. Also the throwing of water before the door for a few days, as an act of the same significance. 3 m A cartload (of kaṛbá, hay, straw, sticks, rafters &c.) हेल consists of materials or things which are bound, not of such as sand, lime, earth, ashes, stones &c. 4 A loud and prolonged utterance (in singing, wailing, calling &c.) v काढ & निघ f A term in the play of आट्यापाट्या.
हेलकरी [ hēlakarī ] m A carrier of burdens or loads, a porter. 2 One that furnishes हेल q. v. Sig. II.
हेलकावणें [ hēlakāvaṇēṃ ] v i (हेलकावा) To undulate or roll and toss;--as waves or water &c.: also to toss and roll through the impulse of waves or water; to suffer the buffeting of the waves;--as a ship or boat: also to oscillate;--as a branch, swing, pensile seat &c.; to sway about from side to side;--as a camel-rider, sitter upon a swinging seat &c.; to sustain jolting, shocking, or any shaking occasioning oscillation.
हेलकावा [ hēlakāvā ] m (हेला S Sport, play.) An undulation or a wave; an undulatory or oscillatory motion (of the water of the sea &c., of a branch of a tree, of a swinging seat &c.; also of the vessel, person, or thing exposed to it) : also a jolt, shock, or shake as received by the ship, person, or thing exposed to the fluctuation. vबस, खा. Also a pull or push (of or to a swing, a branch &c.) v दे. Also fig. an empty sending away and bidding to return (as of a claimant or other applicant). v दे.
हेलकाविणें [ hēlakāviṇēṃ ] v c To toss about;--as waves toss a vessel: also to make to sway about;--as a swing, a tree or branch, a camel &c. See illustrations under the noun हेलकावा. 2 To pull to and fro; to pull and haul violently or rudely: also to pull or move (a swing). 3 To drive or send about upon fruitless errands: also to make to go out of his way and to fetch circuits &c. 4 To flout or hoot; to drive off scornfully and vociferously.

Hieroglyph: हेला [ hēlā ] m (हल्य S) A male buffalo. See हल्या. Pr. हेल्याच्या कानीं किंगरी वाजविली तरीं तो आपली द्रोंय सोडीत नाहीं A fool wont mend his ways through good example or advice. (Marathi)

What then are the semantics of 'elo, elelo' and ‘helava, helavo’? They are a celebration of the splendour of the sun and sung in tune with the tossing of the boat in the waves of the river or ocean:


Ta. el lustre, splendour, light, sun, daytime; elli, ellai sun, daytime; ilaku (ilaki-), ilaṅku (ilaṅki-) to shine, glisten, glitter. Ma.ilakuka to shine, twinkle; ilaṅkuka to shine; el lustre, splendour,light; ella light. Te. (K.) elamu to be shiny, splendid. Cf. 861 Ta.eṟi and 869 Ta. eṉṟu. / ? Cf. Pkt. (DNM) alla- day. (DEDR 829)


Kol. (Kin.) elava a wave. Go. (A.) helva id., flood (DEDR 830) *ullōḍa ʻ commotion ʼ. [ullōla -- m. ʻ large wave ʼ Kād.: √luḍ] Pa. ullōla -- m. ʻ commotion, wave ʼ; Pk. ullōla -- m. ʻ uproar ʼ; Si. ulela ʻ wave, whirling in water, festival ʼ. (CDIAL 2381)


Mleccha speech was a spoken form of eastern Bharatam.


Patanjali explains (Pat. I: 2,3-9: mlecchA mA bhUma. Iti adhyeyam vyAkaraNam. His paraphrase of S’atapatha Brahmana (3.2.1.24) has: te asurA helayo yelaya it kurvantah parA bahuUvuh. tasmAt brAhmaNo na mlecchitavai na apAbhASitvai. Mleccho ha vA eSo yad apazabdah. mlecchA mA bhUma. iti adhyeyam vyAkaraNam. The original text as quoted by Patanjali has: tAm devAh asurebhyo ‘ntarAyams tAm svIkRtyAgnAv eva parigRhya, sarvahutam ajuhavur, Ahutir hi devAnAm say Am evAmUm anuSTubhAjuhavus, tas evainAm tad devAh svyakurvata, te ‘surA Attavacaso; he ‘lavo h ‘lava iti vadantah parAbabhUvuh tatraitAm api vAcam Ucuh upajijnAsyAm sa mlecchas, tasmAn na brAhmaNo mleched, asuryA haiSA vA, natevaiSa dviSatAm sapatnAnAm Adatte, vAcam te ‘syAt, tavacasah parAbhavanti, ya evam etad veda.


Sayana explains that he’lavo stands for he’rayo, that is, ho, the spiteful (enemies)’ which the Asura were unable to pronounce correctly. The Kanva text, however, reads: te hattavAko ‘surA hailo haila iti etAm vAcam vadantah parAbabhUvuh (that is, He ilA, ‘ho, speech’. Mahabhashya provides the third version.


*mrēcchati ~ mlḗcchati ʻ speaks indistinctly ʼ ŚBr. [MIA. mr -- < ml -- ? See Add. -- √mlēch]K. briċhun, pp. bryuċhu ʻ to weep and lament, cry as a child for something wanted or as motherless child ʼ.(CDIAL 10384) 


A. mleccha-; verbal mlecchati, mliṣṭa-, mlecchita-

1.1. Earliest reference is in the later Veda, śatapathabrāhmaṇa, 3.2.1.24: the noun mleccha-, used of Asura celestial beings who speak imprecise language whether ill-pronounced or foreign. The word helayo, variant hailo, is quoted. No vocalization is given for this mythic allusion. 

2. Epic usage. Mahābhārata contrasts mleccha- with the ārya- and has the mleccha-bhāṣā, 'Mleccha language', andmleccha-vāk 'using Mleccha speech'. The Dharmasūtra text Manu-smṛti, 2.23, has the mleccha-deśa- 'Mleccha country' as unfit for Brahmanical sacrifices.

2. 1. The Mahābhārata places Mleccha loosely in east, north, and west. The Rāmāyaṇa has Mleccha for the Matsya people of Rajputana (see S. Levi, Journal Asiatique, XIe Ser., XI, 1, 1918, 123). 

2. Varāhamihira, c. 550 CE, placed the Mleccha in the upara- region, the western. His upara- region refers to the peoples beyond the Sindhu, Indus, for whom Mahābhārata had the epithet pāre-sindhavah 'beyond the Sindhu'. Varāhamihira has peoples reaching from Vokkāṇa- 'Wakhān', through Pancanada- 'Panjab', to the Pārata-, Pārada-, which is the Greek.

 Linguistic evidence

1. (a) Later Veda, mleccha- and verbal mlecchati, with participle in the Scholiast to Pāṇini mliṣṭa-mlecchita- is also cited. Patanjali has the infinitive mlecchitavai.

(b) Pali, in the oldest texts, Dīgha-nikāya and Vinayamilakkhu-, milakkhuka-, milakkha-, milakkha-bhāsā, and latermilāca-.

(c) Jaina older Ardha-māgadhī, milakkha- (with Vokkāṇa- and yavana- (Wakhān' and 'Greek'), milakkhu-, milikkhu-, mileccha-, and Māhārāṣṭrī miliṭṭha- 'speaking indistinctly'.

(d) Buddhist Sanskrit mlecha-, whence Saka Khotan mīlaicha-.

(e) New Indo-Aryan in R.L. Turner, Comparative dictionary, no. 10398, Kāśmīrī mīch (with -ch from older -cch-, not -kṣ-); Bengali mech of a Tibeto-Burmese tribe, Sinhalese milidu, milindu 'savage', milis, maladu, Panjābī milech, malech.

The Pali -kkh- was explained as secondary to -cch- by J. Wackernage, Altindische Grammatik, 1, 154; but was unexplained according to Turner, loc. cit.

2. The starting-point of the interpretation should be a form *mlekṣa-, mlikṣ-. Within the Veda there is a variation between -cch- (-ch-) and -kṣ- as in Atharva-veda ṛccharā- besides śukla-yajur-veda, Vājasneyi-samhitā ṛkśalā-'fetter',and within the Atharva-veda in parikṣit- and variant paricchit- 'surrounding'. Hence śatapathabrāhmaṇamleccha- may be traced to older *mlekṣa-. The kṣ was replaced by -kkh- or by retroflex -ch- or by palatalized -cch- in different dialects. Within the Veda there was also variation kśā-, kṣā-, and khyā- from kaś-, corresponding to Avestanxsā- from kas- 'to look at'.

If the oldest form had then *mlekṣa-, this -kṣ- could be accepted as a substitute for a foreign velar fricative


(the sound expressed in Arabic script by خ kh).

If the word *mlekṣ- was a foreign name, it was adapted to the usual Vedic verbal system, giving participle mliṣṭa- in the grammarians, supported by the Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī miliṭṭha-.

The vowel -e- of mleccha- was thus adapted into the ablaut system -e-: -i-.

For recent comments on mleccha, see Wackernage, Altindische Grammatik. Introduction generale. Nouvelle edition...par Louis Renou, 1957, 73; M. Mayrhofer, Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Worterbuch des Altindischen, 699, mleccha. 





mlecchati - (grammar also perfect tense mimleccha - future mlecchitā - etc.; Ved. infinitive mood mlecchitavai - ), to speak indistinctly.
மிழலை¹ miḻalai, n. < மிழற்று-. cf. mlīṣṭa. Prattle, lisp;மழலைச்சொல். (சூடா.)மிழலை² miḻalai, n.See மிழலைக்கூற்றம். புனலம் புதவின் மிழலையொடு (புறநா. 24).மிழலைக்கூற்றம் miḻalai-k-kūṟṟam, n. < மிழலை² + கூற்றம். A division of Cōḻa-nāṭu; சோணாட்டின் ஒரு பகுதி. (புறநா. 24, உரை.)மிழலைச்சதகம் miḻalai-c-catakam, n. < id. + சதகம்¹. A catakammiḻalai, by Carkkarai-p-pulavar, 16 c.; 16-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் சர்க்கரைப்புலவர் மிழலைநாட்டின் பெருமையைப்பற்றிப் பாடிய சதகம்.மிழற்றல் miḻaṟṟal, n. < மிழற்று-. 1. Speaking; சொல்லுகை. (சூடா.) 2. See மிழலை¹. (யாழ். அக.) 3. Noise of speaking; பேசலானெழு மொலி. (யாழ். அக.)மிழற்று-தல் miḻaṟṟu-, 5 v. tr. 1. To prattle, as a child; மழலைச்சொற் பேசுதல். பண் கள் வாய் மிழற்றும் (கம்பரா. நாட்டு. 10). 2. To speak softly; மெல்லக் கூறுதல். யான்பலவும் பேசிற் றானொன்று மிழற்றும் (சீவக. 1626). Ta. miṇumiṇu (-pp-, -tt-) to mumble, speak with a low reiterated sound, murmur as a secret, utter incantations; muṇamuṇa (-pp-, -tt-), muṇumuṇu (-pp-, -tt-) to mutter, murmur; muṇaṅku (muṇaṅki-) to speak in a suppressed tone, mutter in a low tone, murmur; muṉaṅku (muṉaṅki-), muṉaku (muṉaki-) to mutter, murmur, grumble, moan; muṉakkam muttering, murmuring, grumbling, moan; mir̤aṟṟu (mir̤aṟṟi-) to prattle as a child, speak softly; mir̤alai prattle, lisp; mar̤aṟu (mar̤aṟi-) to be indistinct as speech; mar̤alai prattling, babbling. Ma. miṇumiṇukka to mumble, mutter; miṇṭuka to utter, speak low, attempt to speak;miṇṭāṭṭam opening the mouth to speak; miṇṭāte without utterance; muṇemuṇēna mumbling sound. Ka. minuku to speak in an indistinct, faint or low tone, murmur. Tu. muṇumuṇu muttering, mumbling; muṇkuni to say hūṃ expressive of disapproval or unwillingness, cry as a ghost; muṇkele grumbler. Te. minnaka (neg. gerund), (inscr.) miṇṇaka silently, quietly, coolly; (K.)minuku to murmur within oneself; (K.) mun(u)ku to mutter, grumble. / Cf. Skt. miṇmiṇa-, minmina- speaking indistinctly through the nose, Mar. miṇmiṇā speaking low, faintly, indistinctly, H. minminā id.; Pkt. muṇamuṇaï mutters, mumbles. MBE 1969, p. 295, no. 36, for areal etymology (no entry in Turner, CDIAL).  (DEDR 4856) मुरमुर (p. 659) [ muramura ] f (Imit.) Muttering, indistinct grumbling.मुरमुरणें (p. 659) [ muramuraṇēṃ ] v i (मुरमुर) To mutter or grumble. 2 unc To whimper. (Marathi)

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/02/chandas-and-meluhha-mleccha-are-prosody.html Chandas, 'prosody' and Meluhha (Mleccha, Milakkha Bhāsā), 'parole' in Indian sprachbund

Shamash (AkkadianŠamaš dUD 𒀭𒌓) was the solar deity in ancient Semitic religion, corresponding to the Sumeriangod Utu. Shamash was also the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria.
Akkadian šamaš "Sun" is cognate to Phoenician𐤔𐤌𐤔 šmšClassical Syriacܫܡܫܐ‎ šemšaHebrewשֶׁמֶשׁ‎ šemeš and Arabicشمس‎ šams.
Conate semantics in Veda culture are: षष् num. a. (used in pl., nom. षट्; gen. षण्णाम्) Six; तेषां त्ववयवान् सूक्ष्मान् षण्णामप्यमितौजसाम् Ms.1.16;8.43. अशीतिः f. (-ष़डशीतिः) 1 eighty-six. -2 N. of the four passages of the sun from one zodiacal sign to the other. शोषयित्नुः [शुष्-इत्नुच् Uṇ.3.29] The sun.शोषिणी Ether. Fire; शुचि a. [शुच्-कि] 1 Clean, pure, clear; the sun शुचीनां हृदयं शुचिः Mb.12.193.18. शाश्वत a. (-ती f.1 [शश्वद् भवः अण्] 1 Eternal, per- petual, everlasting; शाश्वतीः समाः Rām.1.2.15 (= U.2. 5) 'for eternal years', 'ever more', 'for all time to come'; श्रेयसे शाश्वतो देवो वराहः परिकल्पताम् U.5.27 (v. l.); R.14.14. -2 All. -तः 1 N. of Śiva. -2 Of Vyāsa. -3 The sun

https://tinyurl.com/yddpn69e Significance of linga and 4 spheres on Sit Shamshi bronze and Meluhha hieroglyphs on Candi Sukuh linga
sit shamshi musée du louvre parís tabla de bronce que parece resumir ...
  • Model of a temple, called the Sit-shamshi, made for the ceremony of the rising sun
    12th century BC
    Tell of the Acropolis, Susa
  • Bronze
  • J. de Morgan excavations, 1904-05
    Sb 2743
The Candi Sukuh temple fortification on Mt. Lawu in Central Java is comparable to one of the 16  pyramids in Greece dated to 2720 BCE called Pyramid in Hellenicon, Greece (Fig. 7).

 http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/01/meluhha-hieroglyphs-and-candi-sukuh.html

Photo 1: “True” pyramids on Gizeh plateau (Egypt): Cheops, Khefren and Mikeren pyramids are three out of 130 pyramids built in ancient Egypt; perfect orientation North-South, East-West
Photo 2: Mayan pyramid in Tikal (Northern Guatemala), the highest pyramidal structure in Central America
Photo 3: Candi Sukuh, Java, Indonesia, pyramidal temple
Photo 4: Step stone pyramid in Mel, Mauritius
Photo 5: Model of step Pyramid of Akapana in Bolivia, granite blocks were used in construction
Photo 6: Step circular pyramid in Andon, Korea (one of three stone pyramids in Korea)
Photo 7: Pyramid in Hellenicon, Greece, 2720 B.C.(one of the 16 pyramids in Greece)
Photo 8: Pyramid in Sicily (one of five locations among the ancient pyramids in Italy)
Photo 9: Guimar pyramid, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, one of six step stone pyramids in Guimar; dozens of pyramidal structures in Tenerife and La Palma have been destroyed by modern civilization
Photo 10: Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico, 1858, completely covered by soil and vegetation
Photo 11: Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico, 1985, after the excavation
Photo 12: Pyramid - Han Yang Ling Mausoleum, Xian, China, completely covered by soil and vegetation
Photo 13: Pyramid - Han Yang Ling Mausoleum, Xian, China, Model of the pyramid in Museum,
perfect orientation North-South, East-West
Photo 14: Step pyramid in Kavachi region, Southern Peru, orientation towards the cardinal points,
(total of 34 pyramids in this area, and 250
Tucume pyramids on the North)
Photo 15: Step pyramid in Saqqara, Egypt
Photo 16: Nubian pyramids in Northern Sudan (total of 224 stone pyramids were built)
Photo 17: Mahalatea step pyramid in Tahiti
Photo 18: Red Pyramid in Egypt
Photo 19: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina, with it’s height of 220 meters - tallest pyramidal structure of the ancient World; preliminary report on the rectangular base: 440x660 meters
http://www.cerchinelgrano.info/piramidi_bosnia.htm

"A ziggurat (/ˈzɪɡəræt/ ZIG-ər-atAkkadianziqquratD-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area") is a type of massive stone structure built in ancient Mesopotamia. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the now destroyed Etemenanki in BabylonChogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk...An example of a simple ziggurat is the White Temple of Uruk, in ancient Sumer. The ziggurat itself is the base on which the White Temple is set. Its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, and provide access from the ground to it via steps. The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth. In fact, the ziggurat at Babylon was known as Etemenankia or "House of the Platform between Heaven and Earth"...An example of an extensive and massive ziggurat is the Marduk ziggurat, of Etemenanki, of ancient Babylon. Unfortunately, not much of even the base is left of this massive 91 meter tall structure, yet archeological findings and historical accounts put this tower at seven multicolored tiers, topped with a temple of exquisite proportions. The temple is thought to have been painted and maintained an indigo color, matching the tops of the tiers. It is known that there were three staircases leading to the temple, two of which (side flanked) were thought to have only ascended half the ziggurat's height.
Etemenanki, the name for the structure, is Sumerian and means "temple of the foundation of heaven and earth". The date of its original construction is unknown, with suggested dates ranging from the fourteenth to the ninth century BCE, with textual evidence suggesting it existed in the second millennium....According to Herodotus, at the top of each ziggurat was a shrine, although none of these shrines have survived.[1] One practical function of the ziggurats was a high place on which the priests could escape rising water that annually inundated lowlands and occasionally flooded for hundreds of kilometres, for example the 1967 flood.[6] Another practical function of the ziggurat was for security. Since the shrine was accessible only by way of three stairways,[7] a small number of guards could prevent non-priests from spying on the rituals at the shrine on top of the ziggurat, such as initiation rituals such as the Eleusinian mysteries, cooking of sacrificial food and burning of carcasses of sacrificial animals. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included a courtyard, storage rooms, bathrooms, and living quarters, around which a city was built.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat ( George , Andrew (2007) "The Tower of Babel: Archaeology, history and cuneiform texts" Archiv für Orientforschung, 51 (2005/2006). pp. 75-95. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/3858/2/TowerOfBabel.AfO.pdf A. Leo OppenheimAncient Mesopotamia, University of Chicago Press, (Chicago 1977), pages 112, 326-328.)


The reconstructed facade of the Neo-Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, near NasiriyahIraq

Ziggurat at Chogha Zanbil

Choghazanbil2.jpgZiggurat at Chogha Zanbil

[quote]
Outstanding Universal Value

Brief Synthesis
 Located in ancient Elam (today Khuzestan province in southwest Iran), Tchogha Zanbil (Dur-Untash, or City of Untash, in Elamite) was founded by the Elamite king Untash-Napirisha (1275-1240 BCE) as the religious centre of Elam. The principal element of this complex is an enormous ziggurat dedicated to the Elamite divinities Inshushinak and Napirisha. It is the largest ziggurat outside of Mesopotamia and the best preserved of this type of stepped pyramidal monument. The archaeological site of Tchogha Zanbil is an exceptional expression of the culture, beliefs, and ritual traditions of one of the oldest indigenous peoples of Iran. Our knowledge of the architectural development of the middle Elamite period (1400-1100 BCE) comes from the ruins of Tchogha Zanbil and of the capital city of Susa 38 km to the north-west of the temple).
 The archaeological site of Tchogha Zanbil covers a vast, arid plateau overlooking the rich valley of the river Ab-e Diz and its forests. A “sacred city” for the king’s residence, it was never completed and only a few priests lived there until it was destroyed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal about 640 BCE. The complex was protected by three concentric enclosure walls: an outer wall about 4 km in circumference enclosing a vast complex of residences and the royal quarter, where three monumental palaces have been unearthed (one is considered a tomb-palace that covers the remains of underground baked-brick structures containing the burials of the royal family); a second wall protecting the temples (Temenus); and the innermost wall enclosing the focal point of the ensemble, the ziggurat.
 The ziggurat originally measured 105.2 m on each side and about 53 m in height, in five levels, and was crowned with a temple. Mud brick was the basic material of the whole ensemble. The ziggurat was given a facing of baked bricks, a number of which have cuneiform characters giving the names of deities in the Elamite and Akkadian languages. Though the ziggurat now stands only 24.75 m high, less than half its estimated original height, its state of preservation is unsurpassed. Studies of the ziggurat and the rest of the archaeological site of Tchogha Zanbil containing other temples, residences, tomb-palaces, and water reservoirs have made an important contribution to our knowledge about the architecture of this period of the Elamites, whose ancient culture persisted into the emerging Achaemenid (First Persian) Empire, which changed the face of the civilised world at that time.

Criterion (iii)The ruins of Susa and of Tchogha Zanbil are the sole testimonies to the architectural development of the middle Elamite period (1400-1100 BCE). Criterion (iv)The ziggurat at Tchogha Zanbil remains to this day the best preserved monument of this type and the largest outside of Mesopotamia.
[unquote]]

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/113

Stupa, Dagoba, Chorten (Tibet) are synonyms. "A related architectural term is a chaitya, which is a prayer hall or temple containing a stupa.In Buddhism, circumambulation or pradakhshina has been an important ritual and devotional practice since the earliest times, and stupas always have a pradakhshina path around them...Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian and Assyro-Babylonian society."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa

Mastaba

The word 'mastaba' comes from the Arabic word for a bench of mud.

The earliest ziggurats began as a platform (usually oval, rectangular or square), the ziggurat was a mastaba-like structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. Each step was slightly smaller than the step below it. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of floors ranged from two to seven. "mastaba (/ˈmæstəbə/,[1] /ˈmɑːstɑːbɑː/ or /
mɑːˈstɑːbɑː/) or pr-djt (meaning "house for eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mud-bricks (from the Nile River). These edifices marked the burial sites of many eminent Egyptians during Egypt's Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. In the Old Kingdom epoch, local kings began to be buried in pyramids instead of in mastabas, although non-royal use of mastabas continued for over a thousand years. Egyptologists call these tombs mastaba, which is the Arabic word for "stone bench""https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastaba


Example of a mastaba

Metaphors of Rāṣṭrī sūktam (RV 10.125) signify navigable Sarasvatī river (75+ RV citations) moving & creating wealth of a nation replicated as metalwork catalogues on 8000+ Indus Script inscriptions

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 https://tinyurl.com/yadqjo2d

Listen to 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E5xPEsP1A4 (3:29) A rendering of RV 10.125, "Devī Suktam", also called Rāṣṭrī sūktam (RV 10.125).

Metaphors of Rāṣṭrī sūktam (RV 10.125) signify navigable Sarasvatī river.

The river moves & creates wealth of a nation.

These metaphors are replicated as Meluhha hypertexts, recording metalwork catalogues on 8000+ Indus Script inscriptions.

The Indus Script inscriptions are wealth-accounting ledgers.

Rāṣṭrī if feminine form of Rāṣṭram, 'nation'.

The sūktam (RV 10.125) is rendered as a soliloquy, an oration or proclamation by R̥ṣikā vāgāmbhr̥ṇī. 

The word vāgāmbhr̥ṇī is a metaphor which signifies:  

vāc, vāk 'speech, knowledge'  वाच् f. (fr. √ वच्) speech , voice , talk , language (also of animals) , sound (also of inanimate objects as of the stones used for pressing , of a drum &c RV. &c(वाचम्- √ , ईर् , or इष् , to raise the voice , utter a sound , cry , call); a word , saying , phrase , sentence , statement , asseveration Mn. MBh. &c (वाचं- √वद् , to speak words ; वाचं व्या- √हृ , to utter words ; वाचं- √दा with dat. , to address words to ; वाचा सत्यं- √कृ , to promise verbally in marriage , plight troth); Speech personified (in various manners or forms e.g. as वाच् आम्भृणी in RV. x , 125 ; as the voice of the middle sphere in Naigh. and Nir. ; in the वेद she is also represented as created by प्रजा-पति and married to him ; in other places she is called the mother of the वेदs and wife of इन्द्र ; in VP. she is the daughter of दक्ष and wife of कश्यप ; but most frequently she is identified with भारती or सरस्वती , the goddess of speech ; वाचः साम and वाचो व्रतम् N. of सामन्A1rshBr. वाचः स्तोमः, a partic. एका* S3rS. )

ambhas 'water' अम्भस् n. (cf. अभ्र्/अ , /अम्बु) , water RV. &c , the celestial waters AitUp.; power , fruit fulness VS. and AV.; pl. (आंसि) collective N. for gods , men , Manes , and असुरTBr. and VP. ;N. of a metre (consisting of 82 syllables) RPra1t. , (अस) , instr. in comp. for अम्भस् (e.g. अम्भसाकृत " done by water ") Pa1n2. 6-3 , 3;
du. (असी) heaven and earth Naigh. 


r̥ṇī personification and feminine form of ऋण 'debt owed, fort'n. anything due , obligation , duty , debt (a Brahman owes three debts or obligations , viz. 1 . ब्रह्मचर्य or " study of the वेदs " , to the ऋषिs ; 2. sacrifice and worship , to the gods ; 3. procreation of a son , to the Manes TS. vi , 3 , 10 , 5 Mn. vi , 35 , &c ; in later times also , 4. benevolence to mankind and 5. hospitality to guests are added MBh. &c RV. AV. &c 
Mn. MBh. &c; n. a debt of money , money owed MBh. Mn. Ya1jn5.; n. (ऋणं  √कृ , to get into debt Ya1jn5. ii , 45 ; °म्- √प्रा७प् , to become indebted Mn. viii , 107 ; °ं- √दा or √नी or प्र- √यम् , to pay a debt MBh. Mn.&c;
°ं- √याच् , to ask for a loan Katha1s. °म् परी*प्स् , to call in a debt Mn. viii , 161); n. water; n. a fort , stronghold L. ; ([cf. Zd. arena.])

Thus, the expression vāgāmbhr̥ṇī signifies and is a metaphor for a knowledge/speech divinity who is a fortress of water and to whom debt is owed.

The proclamation of R̥ṣikā vāgāmbhr̥ṇī in Rāṣṭrī sūktam (RV 10.125) is that debt is owed by all citizens of a nation, because the wealth of a nation is created by the fortress of water, a knowledge system, moving wealth cargo on the navigable waterway.

The intimations of a navigable waterway are apparent from these expressions:

अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्र्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्र्वदेवैः । 
अहं मित्रावरुणोभा बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्र्विनोभा ॥ १ ॥
Griffith translation: RV 10.125.1. I TRAVEL with the Rudras and the Vasus, with the Adityas and AllGods- I wander. I hold aloft both Varuna and Mitra, Indra and Agni, and the Pair of Asvins.

The metaphor of gathering and moving of wealth is seen in:

अहं सोममाहनसं बिभर्म्यहं त्वष्टारमुत पूषणं भगम् ।
अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये यजमानाय सुन्वते ॥ २ ॥
Griffith: RV 10.125.2 I cherish and sustain highswelling- Soma, and Tvastar I support, Pusan, and Bhaga. I load with wealth the zealous sdcrificer who pours the juice and offers his oblation

The metaphor of a navigable waterway is seen in the proclamation अहं वसूनां संगमनी:राष्ट्री 'I am the gatherer and mover of wealth of a nation'; the verb is गम् Ved. cl.1 P. ग्/अमति ( Naigh. Subj. गमम् , ग्/अमत् [गमातस् , गमाथ AV. ] , गमाम , गमन् RV. ;  with prepositions -गम्य or -गत्य Pa1n2. 6-4 , 38) to go , move , go away , set out , come RV. &c ; the semantic expansion of the metaphor is that cargo of metalwork wealth moves on the navigable waterway; that wealth is signified is indicated by the plural वसूनां संगमनी 'gatherer and mover of wealths'; वसु N. of the gods (as the " good or bright ones " , esp. of the आदित्यs , मरुत्s , अश्विन्s , इन्द्र , उषस् , रुद्र , वायु , विष्णु , शिव , and कुबेर) RV. AV. MBh. R.; n. (in वेद gen. व्/असोस् , व्/अस्वस् and व्/असुनस् ; also pl. , exceptionally m.) wealth , goods , riches , property RV. &c ( °सोष्-पति m. prob. " the god of wealth or property " AV. i , 12 [ Paipp. ?? असोष्-प्° , " the god of life "] ; °सोर्-ध्/आरा f. " stream of wealth " , N. of a partic. libation of घृत at the अग्नि-चयन AV. TS.Br. &c ; of the wife of अग्नि BhP. ; of the heavenly गङ्गा MBh. ; of sacred bathing-place ib. ; of a kind of vessel ib. ; °सोर्-ध्/आरा-प्रयोग m. N. of wk.); n. gold (» -वर्म-धर); n. a jewel , gem , pearl (» -मेखल); n. any valuable or precious object; a form of the sun MBh. iii , 146 Hariv. 13143 BhP. iii , 6 , 15. Thus,  वसूनां संगमनी signifies, 'mover of wealthy cargo' (on the navigable waterway):

अहं राष्ट्री संगमनी वसूनां चिकितुषी प्रथमा यज्ञियानाम् ।
तां मा देवा व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा भूरिस्थात्रां भूर्यावेशयन्तीम् ॥ ३ ॥
Griffith: RV 10.125.3 I am the Queen, the gathererup- of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship. Thus Gods have stablished me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in.

See 8000+ Indus Script Inscriptions deciphered:
 


The expression सोममाहनसं combines two words: Soma and हनस, which I submit is a pun on the words which means हनस 'destroyer of the enemy' and also āhangar‘blacksmith’ linked with and derived from aśani ‘thunderbolt’ cognate śyena ‘falcon’, sena ‘thunderbolt’. The semantics of aśani ‘thunderbolt’ leads to the expression āhangar ‘blacksmith’. (Pashto. Kashmiri)aśani ‘thunderbolt’ cognate śyena ‘falcon’, sena ‘thunderbolt’. The semantics of aśani ‘thunderbolt’ leads to the expression āhangar ‘blacksmith’. (Pashto. Kashmiri)    P آهن āhan, s.m. (9th) Iron. Sing. and Pl. آهن ګر āhan gar, s.m. (5th) A smith, a blacksmith. Pl. آهن ګران āhan-garānآهن ربا āhan-rubā, s.f. (6th) The magnet or loadstone. (E.) Sing. and Pl.); (W.) Pl. آهن رباوي āhan-rubāwī. (Pashto)

In addition to रुद्रेभिर्वसुभि:सोम त्वष्टा पूषण भग are invoked; such an invocation is an adoration of the creators and promoters of artisans who create wealth: e.g., त्वष्टृ who is a metals/weapons-maker: m. a carpenter , maker of carriages (= त्/अष्टृ) AV. xii , 3 , 33; " creator of living beings " , the heavenly builder , N. of a god (called सु-क्/ऋत् , -पाण्/इ , -ग्/अभस्ति , -ज्/अनिमन् , स्व्-/अपस् , अप्/असाम् अप्/अस्तम , विश्व्/अ-रूप&c RV. ; maker of divine implements , esp. of इन्द्र's thunderbolt and teacher of the ऋभुs i , iv-vi , x Hariv. 12146 f. R. ii , 91 , 12 ; former of the bodies of men and animals , hence called " firstborn " and invoked for the sake of offspring , esp. in the आप्री hymns RV. AV. &c MBh. iv , 1178 Hariv. 587 ff. Ragh. vi , 32 ; associated with the similar deities धातृ , सवितृ , प्रजा-पति , पूषन् , and surrounded by divine females [ग्न्/आस् , जन्/अयस् , देव्/आनाम् प्/अत्नीस् ; cf. त्व्/अष्टा-व्/अरूत्री] recipients of his generative energy RV. S3Br. Ka1tyS3r. iii ; supposed author of RV. x , 184 with the epithet गर्भ-पति RAnukr. ; father of सरण्यू [सु-रेणु Hariv. ; स्व-रेणु L. ] whose double twin-children by विवस्वत् [or वायु ? RV. viii , 26 , 21 f.] are यमयमी and the अश्विन्s x , 17 , 1 f. Nir. xii , 10 Br2ih. Hariv. 545 ff. VP. ; also father of त्रि-शिरस् or विश्वरूप ib. ; overpowered by इन्द्र who recovers the सोम [ RV. iii f. ] concealed by him because इन्द्र had killed his son विश्व-रूप TS. ii S3Br. i , v , xii ; regent of the नक्षत्र चित्रा TBr. S3a1n3khGr2. S3a1ntik.VarBr2S. iic , 4 ; of the 5th cycle of Jupiter viii , 23 ; of an eclipse iii , 6 ; त्वष्टुर् आतिथ्य N. of a सामन् A1rshBr. )


Manu-smti states, defines a Rāṣṭram, 'nation'. 

Manu VII,155, 156, 157

155. On the conduct of the middlemost (prince), on the doings of him who seeks conquest, on the behaviour of the neutral (king), and (on that) of the foe (let him) sedulously (meditate).

156. These (four) constituents (prakriti, form), briefly (speaking), the foundation of the circle (of neighbours); besides, eight others are enumerated (in the Institutes of Polity) and (thus) the (total) is declared to be twelve.

157. The minister, the kingdom, the fortress, the treasury, and the army are five other (constituent elements of the circle); for, these are mentioned in connexion with each (of the first twelve; thus the whole circle consists), briefly (speaking, of) seventy-two (constituent parts).https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu07.htm 

Manu ix.294 

The king and his minister, his capital, his realm, his treasury, his army, and his ally are the seven constituent parts (of a kingdom); (hence) a kingdom is said to have seven limbs (anga).https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu09.htm


Sāyaṇa/Wilson translation RV 10.125 

10.125.01 I proceed with the Rudras, with the Vasus, with the ādityas, and with the Viśvedevā; I support both Mitra and Varua, Agni and Indra, and the two Aśvins.[Deity Pramātmā: the word, or first of creatures].
10.125.02 I support the foe-destroying Soma, Tvaṣṭā, Pūṣan and Bhaga; I bestow wealth upon the institutor of the rite offering the oblation, deserving of careful protection, pouring forth the libation.
10.125.03 I am the sovereign queen, the collectress of treasures, cognizant (of the Supreme Being), the chief of objects of worship; as such the gods have put me in many places, abiding in manifold conditions, entering into numerous (forms. 
10.125.04 He who eats food (eats) through me; he who sees, who breathes, who hears what is spoken, does so through me; those who are ignorant of me perish; hear you who have hearing, I tell that which is deserving of belief. 
10.125.05 I verily of myself declare this which is approved of by both gods and men; whomsoever I will, I render formidable, I make him a Brahmā, a r̥ṣi, or a sage. [A Brahman: Brahmā, the creator].
10.125.06 I bend the bow of Rudra, to slay the destructive enemy of the Brāhmaa-s, I wage war with (hostile) men. I pervade heaven and earth.
10.125.07 I bring forth the paternal (heaven) upon the brow of this (Supreme Being), my birthplace is in the midst of the waters; from thence I spread through all beings, and touch this heaven with my body. 
10.125.08 I breathe forth like the wind giving form to all created worlds; beyond the heaven, beyond this earth (am I), so vast am I in greatness.


Sarasvati Rigveda references

There are over 75 references to  Sarasvatī signified by a kaleidoscope of metaphors, as a river, as a light (knowledge system), as a divinity. All these references are presented hereunder before someone rushes to define the course of the Himalayan glacier river and the tributary streams which join the navigable waterway. हरि-यूपीया and यव्या-वती are two vivid expressions used in R̥gveda which details a dāśarājñá war fought on two fronts on Himalayan glacial rivers Yamunā and Paruṣṇī (Ravi). हरि in हरि-यूपीया signifies a dvinity in Veda tradition (इन्द्र (रामायण)विष्णु-कृष्ण (Mahābhārata), ब्रह्मा (तैत्तिरीय-आरण्यक), शिव. शुक्र, सु-पर्ण, pl. men , people (= मनुष्याः)(नैघण्टुक , commented on by यास्क ii , 3), partic. class of gods under मनु तामस (पुराण) यूप in हरि-यूपीया signifies m. (prob. fr. √ युप् ; but according to Un2. iii , 27 , fr. √2. यु) a post , beam , pillar , (esp.) a smooth post or stake to which the sacrificial victim is fastened , any sacrificial post or stake (usually made of bamboos or खदिर wood ; in R. i , 13 , 24 ; 25, where the horse sacrifice is described , 21 of these posts are set up , 6 made of बिल्व , 6 of खदिर , 6 of पलाश , one of उडुम्बर , one of श्लेष्मातक , and one of देव-दारुRV. &c; a column erected in honour of victory , a trophy (= जय-स्तम्भ).

Considering that Harappa, a pre-eminent archaeological settlement of Sarasvati Civilization is situated on the left-bank of River Paruṣṇī (Ravi), the combatants arrayed in the dāśarājñá are communities of people settled in the civilizational area, people such as Paपणि merchants watching over treasures RV. (esp. x , 108) (AV. शतपथ-ब्राह्मण).पणिः   paṇiḥ पणिः f. A market; A bargainer; धरां रजःस्वभावेन पणयो ये च ताननु Bhāg.3.6.28.;  paṇitṛ पणितृ m. A trader, dealer. (Apte)

RV 6.61.12 refers to five peoples' groups or communities as pañcajātā on the Sarasvati River system (with seven tributaries or streams):   "Sevensistered-, sprung from threefold source, the Five Tribes' prosperer, she must be Invoked in every deed of might.".

The reference to five tribes or peoples signifies the presence of human settlements on the banks of River Sarasvatī. 

Archaeology attests over 2000 archaeological sites of dates between 7th millennium BCE to 1900 BCE along the SarasvatīRiver Basin (This number constitutes about over 80% of all 2600+ sites of the  .Sarasvatī civilization.

हरि-यूपीया  is f. name of a locality (RV); यव्या-वती is f. name of a river or a district (RV. ताण्ड्य-ब्राह्मण) 

Since the scene of two battle fronts of dāśarājñá are the Yamunā and Paruṣṇī (Ravi) rivers, यव्या-वती may refer to either be a descriptive synonym of दृषद्--वती river which had a large number of human settlementsA remarkably well-furrowed, ploughed field has been discovered at Kalibangan archaeological site on दृषद्--वती river.

Fig. 6. Map showing a correlation between the Rigvedic area
and the spread of the Harappan Civilization, before 2000 BCE.Image result for kalibangan field
Fig. 7. Kalibangan : An agricultural field, showing criss-cross pattern of furrows. Circa 2000 BCE.
Fig. 8. and Fig. 9. Around Kalibangan village. Left: The present system of ploughing the field,

which also has the criss-cross pattern of furrows. Right: A present field with mustard plants
in the widely-distanced furrows and those of chickpea in the others.

"The excavation at Kalibangan has brought to light an agricultural field dating back to circa 2800 BCE. It is characterised by a criss-cross pattern of the furrows (Fig. 7). Exactly the same pattern of ploughing the fields is followed even today in northern Rajasthan (Fig. 8), Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Today mustard is grown in the widely‑distanced furrows and chickpea in the narrower ones (Fig. 9) and it is most likely that these very crops were grown in a similar manner during the Harappan times; we do have evidence of both these items from the Harappan levels." (BB Lal, Why perpetuate myths? A fresh look at Ancient Indian History, Lecture given at the NCERT, New Delhi)

Five peoples may also be a reference to Purus, Anus, Druhyus, Yadus and Tursvasas who lived in the Sarasvati Valley before moving onto different places in various directions. 


RV 1.3.10, 11, 12 10 Wealthy in spoil, enriched with hymns, may bright Sarasvati; desire,
With eager love, our sacrifice.
11 Inciter of all pleasant songs, inspirer of all gracious thought,
Sarasvati accept our rite
12 Sarasvati, the mighty flood, she with her light illuminates,
She brightens every pious thought.


RV 1.13.9-10 IlaSarasvatiMahi, three Goddesses who bring delight,
Be seated, peaceful, on the grass.
10 Tvastar I call, the earliest born, the wearer of all forms at will:
May he be ours and ours alone.

RV 1.89.3 3 We call them hither with a hymn of olden time, Bhaga, the friendly DaksaMitraAditi,
AryamanVarunaSoma, the Asvins. May Sarasvati, auspicious, grant felicity.
RV 1.142.9-10 9 Let Hotra pure, set among Gods, amid the Maruts BharatiIlaSarasvatiMahi, rest on the grass, adorable.
10 May Tvastar send us genial dew abundant, wondrous, rich in gifts,
For increase and for growth of wealth, Tvastar our kinsman and our Friend.


RV 1.164.49 49 That breast of thine exhaustless, spring of pleasure, wherewith thou feedest all things that
are choicest,
Wealthgiver-, treasure. finder, free bestower, bring that, Sarasvati, that we may drain it.

RV 1.188.8 8 You I address, Sarasvati, and Bharati, and Ila, all:Urge ye us on to glorious fame.

RV 2.1.11 11 The Mighty One increased in space unbounded; full many a glorious flood gave strength to Agni.
Friend of the house, within the lap of Order lay Agni, in the Sister Rivers' service.
RV 2.3.8 8 The Mighty One, Lord of the people and their guest, the leader of their thoughts, devoted Friend
of priests,
Our solemn rites' announcer, Jatavedas, men with worship ever praise, with urgings for their weal.

RV 2.30.8 Sarasvati, protect us: with the Maruts allied thou boldly conquerest our foemen,
While Indra does to death the daring chieftain of Sandikas exulting in his prowess.

RV2.32.8 8 Her, Sinivali, her, Gungu, her, Raka, her, SarasvatiIndrani to mine aid I call, and Varunani for my weal.


 RV 2.41.16, 17, 18
(Griffith translation): RV 2.41.16 Best Mother, best of Rivers, best of GoddessesSarasvati, We are, as it were, of no repute and
dear Mother, give thou us renown.
17 In thee, Sarasvati, divine, all generations have their stay.
Be, glad with Sunahotras' sons: O Goddess grant us progeny.
18 Enriched with sacrifice, accept Sarasvati, these prayers of ours,
Thoughts which Grtsamadas beloved of Gods bring, Holy One, to thee.


RV 3.4.8 8 May Bharati with all her SistersIla accordant with the Gods, with mortalls Agni,
Sarasvati with all her kindred Rivers, come to this grass, Three Goddesses, and seat them.
RV 3.23.4 4 He set thee in the earths' most lovely station, in Ilas' place, in days of fair bright weather.
On man, on ApayaAgni! on the rivers DrsadvatiSarasvati, shine richly.
RV 3.54.13 13 Borne on their flashing car, the speararmed- Maruts, the nimble Youths of Heaven, the Sons of
Order,
The Holy, and Sarasvati, shall hear us: ye Mighty, give us wealth with noble offspring.

RV 5.5.8 IlaSarasvatiMahi, three Goddesses who bring us weal,
Be seated harmless on the grass.
9 Rich in all plenty, Tvastar, come auspicious of thine own accord
Help us in every sacrifice.
10 Vanaspati, wherever thou knowest the Gods mysterious names,
Send our oblations thitherward.


RV 5.42.12 12 May the Housefriends-, the cunninghanded- Artists, may the Steers' Wives, the streams carved
out by Vibhvan,
And may the fair Ones honour and befriend us, SarasvatiBrhaddiva, and Raka.

RV 5.43.11 11 From high heaven may Sarasvati the Holy visit our sacrifice, and from the mountain.
Eager, propitious, may the balmy Goddess hear our effectual speech, our invocation.
RV 5.46.2 2 O AgniIndraVaruna, and Mitra, give, O ye Gods, and Marut host, and Visnu.
May both NasatyasRudra, heavenly MatronsPusanSarasvatiBhaga, accept us.

RV.6.49.7 So may Sarasvati, the Heros' Consort, brisk with rare life, the lightnings' Child, inspire us,
And, with the Dames accordant, give the singer a refuge unassailable and flawless.

RV6.50.12 May Rudra and Sarasvati, accordant, Visnu and Vayu, pour down gifts and bless us;
RbhuksanVaja, and divine VidhatarParjanyaVata make our food abundant.


RV 6.52.6 6 Most near, most oft comes Indra with protection, and she Sarasvati, who swells with rivers -
Parjanya, bringing health with herbs, and Agni, well lauded swift to listen, like a father.

RV 6.61.1. To Vadhryasva when. be worshipped her with gifts she gave fierce Divodasa, canceller of debts.
Consumer of the churlish niggard, one and all, thine, O Sarasvati, are these effectual boons.
2 She with her might, like one who digs for lotusstems-, hath burst with her strong waves the
ridges of the hills.
Let us invite with songs and holy hymns for help Sarasvati who slayeth the Paravatas.
3 Thou castest down, Sarasvati, those who scorned the Gods, the brood of every Brsaya skilled in
magic arts.
Thou hast discovered rivers for the tribes of men, and, rich in wealth! made poison flow away from
them.
4 May the divine Sarasvati, rich in her wealth, protect us well,
Furthering all our thoughts with might
5 Whoso, divine Sarasvati, invokes thee where the prize is set,
Like Indra when he smites the foe.
6 Aid us, divine Sarasvad, thou who art strong in wealth and power
Like Pusan, give us opulence.
7 Yea, this divine Sarasvati, terrible with her golden path,
Foeslayer-, claims our eulogy.
8 Whose limitless unbroken flood, swiftmoving- with a rapid rush,
Comes onward with tempestuous roar.
9 She hath spread us beyond all foes, beyond her Sisters, Holy One,
As Surya spreadeth out the days.
10 Yea, she most dear amid dear stream, Sevensistered-, graciously inclined,
Sarasvati hath earned our praise.
11 Guard us from hate Sarasvati, she who hath filled the realms of earth,
And that wide tract, the firmament!
12 Sevensistered-, sprung from threefold source, the Five Tribes' prosperer, she must be
Invoked in every deed of might.
13 Marked out by majesty among the Mighty Ones, in glory swifter than the other rapid Streams,
Created vast for victory like a chariot, Sarasvati must be extolled by every sage.
14 Guide us, Sarasvati, to glorious treasure: refuse us not thy milk, nor spurn us from thee.
Gladly accept our friendship and obedience: let us not go from thee to distant countries.

RV 6.61.1 to 14
RV 7.2.8 May Bharati with all her SistersIla accordant with the Gods, with mortals Agni,

Sarasvati with all her kindred Rivers, come to this grass, Three Goddesses, and seat them.


 RV 7.9.5 5 Go on thy message to the Gods, and fail not, O Agni, with their band who pray and worship.
Bring all the Gods that they may give us riches, Sarasvati, the MarutsAsvinsWaters.
RV 7.35.11 11 May all the fellowship of Gods befriend us, Sarasvati, with Holy Thoughts, be gracious.
Friendly be they, the Liberal Ones who seek us, yea, those who dwell in heaven, on earth, in
waters.

RV 7.36.6 6 Coming together, glorious, loudly roaring - SarasvatiMother of Floods, the seventh-
With copious milk, with fair streams, strongly flowing, full swelling with the volume of their
water;

RV 7.39.5 Agni, to these mens' hymns, from earth, from heaven, bring MitraVarunaIndra, and Agni,
And Aryaman, and Aditi, and VisnuSarasvati be joyful, and the Maruts.
RV 7.40.3 3 Strong be the man and full of power, O Maruts, whom ye, borne on by spotted coursers, favour.
Him, too, Sarasvati and Agni further, and there is none to rob him of his riches.
RV 7.95. 1. THIS stream Sarasvati with fostering current comes forth, our sure defence, our fort of iron.
As on a car, the flood flows on, surpassing in majesty and might all other waters.
2 Pure in her course from mountains to the ocean, alone of streams Sarasvati hath listened.
Thinking of wealth and the great world of creatures, she poured for Nahusa her milk and fatness.
3 Friendly to man he grew among the women, a strong young Steer amid the Holy Ladies.
He gives the fleet steed to our wealthy princes, and decks their bodies for success in battle.
4 May this Sarasvati be pleased and listen at this our sacrifice, auspicious Lady,
When we with reverence, on our knees, implore her closeknit- to wealth, most kind to those she
loveth.
5 These offerings have ye made with adoration: say this, Sarasvati, and accept our praises;
And, placing us under thy dear protection, may we approach thee, as a tree, for shelter.
6 For thee, O Blest SarasvatiVasistha hath here unbarred the doors d sacred Order.
Wax, Bright One, and give strength to him who lauds thee. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with
blessings.

 RV 7.96.1 to 6

RV 7.96.1. I SING a lofty song, for she is mightiest, most divine of Streams.
Sarasvati will I exalt with hymns and lauds, and, O Vasistha, Heaven and Earth.
2 When in the fulness of their strength the Purus dwell, Beauteous One, on thy two grassy banks,
Favour us thou who hast the Maruts for thy friends: stir up the bounty of our chiefs.
3 So may Sarasvati auspicious send good luck; she, rich in spoil, is never niggardly in thought,
When praised in jamadagnis' way and lauded as Vasistha lauds.
4 We call upon Sarasvan, as unmarried men who long for wives,
As liberal men who yearn for sons.
5 Be thou our kind protector, O Sarasvan, with those waves of thine
Laden with sweets and dropping oil.
6 May we enjoy Sarasvans' breast, allbeautiful-, that swells with streams,
May we gain food and progeny.
RV 7.95.1 to 6


RV 8.21.17,18 17 Indra or blest Sarasvati alone bestows such wealth, treasure so great, or thou,
Citra, on the worshipper.
18 Citra is King, and only kinglings are the rest who dwell beside Sarasvati.
He, like Parjanya with his rain, hath spread himself with thousand, yea, with myriad gifts.

RV 8.38.10 10 Indras' and Agnis' grace I claim, Sarasvatis' associates
To whom this psalm of praise is sung.

RV 8.54.4 (Valakhily) May Pūṣan, Viṣṇu, Sarsvatī, and the seven rivers, favour my call; may the waters, the wind, the mountains, the trees, the earth, hear my call.

Griffith translation: (Valakhilya) May PusanVisnu, and Sarasvati befriend, and the Seven Streams, this call of mine:
May WatersWind, the Mountains, and the Forest Lord-, and Earth give ear unto my cry.

RV 9.5.8 8 This, Pavamanas' sacrifice, shall the three beauteous GoddessesSarasvati and 
Bharati and Ila, Mighty One, attend.
RV 9.67.32 32 Whoever reads the essence stored by saints, the Pavamani hymns,
Sarasvati draws forth for him water and butter, milk and meath.
RV 9.81.4 4 Hither let Pusan Pavamana come to us, VarunaMitra, bountiful, of one accord,
The MarutsAsvinsVayu, and BrhaspatiSavitarTvastar, tractable Sarasvati.
RV 10.17, 7, 8, 9 7 The pious call Sarasvati, they worship Sarasvati while sacrifice proceedeth.
The pious called Sarasvati aforetime. Sarasvati send bliss to him who giveth.
Sarasvati, who camest with the Fathers, with them rejoicing thee in our oblations,
Seated upon this sacred grass be joyful, and give us strengthening food that brings no sickness.
9 Thou, called on as Sarasvati by Fathers who come right forward to our solemn service,
Give food and wealth to present sacrificers, a portion, worth a thousand, of refreshment.

RV 10.30.12 12 For, wealthy Waters, ye control all treasures: ye bring auspicious intellect and Amrta.
Ye are the Queen of independent riches Sarasvati give full life to the singer!
RV 10.64.9 9 Let the great Streams come hither with their mighty help, SindhuSarasvati, and Sarayu with waves.
Ye Goddess Floods, ye Mothers, animating all, promise us water rich in fatness and in balm.

RV 10.65.1 1. MAY AgniIndraMitraVaruna consent, AryamanVayuPusan, and Sarasvati,
AdityasMarutsVisnuSoma, lofty SkyRudra and Aditi, and Brahmanaspati.
RV 10.65.13 13 Thunder, the lightnings' daughter, AjaEkapad-, heavens' bearer, Sindhu, and the waters of the
sea:
Hear all the Gods my words, Sarasvati give ear together with Purandhi and with Holy Thoughts.

RV 10.75.5 5 Favour ye this my laud, O GangaYamuna, O SutudriParusni and Sarasvati:
With AsikniVitasta, O Marudvrdha, O Arjikiya with Susoma hear my call.
RV 10.110.8 8 Let Bharati come quickly to our worship, and Ila showing like a human being. So let Sarasvati and both her fellows, deft Goddesses, on this fair grass be seated.

RV 10.131.5 5 As parents aid a son, both AsvinsIndra, aided thee with their wondrous Powers and wisdom.
When thou, with might. hadst drunk the draught that gladdens, Sarasvati, O Maghavan, refreshed
thee
.
RV 10.141.5 5 Urge Aryaman to send us gifts, and Indra, and Brhaspati,VataVisnuSarasvati and the Strong Courser Savitar.
RV 10.184.2 1. MAY Visnu form and mould the womb, may Tvastar duly shape the forms,
Prajapati infuse the stream, and Dhatar lay the germ for thee.
2 O Sinivali, set the germ, set thou the germ, Sarasvati:
May the Twain Gods bestow the germ, the Asvins crowned with lotuses.
3 That which the Asvins Twain rub forth with the attritionsticks- of gold,
That germ of thine we invocate, that in the tenth month thou mayst bear.

RV 1.164.52 52 The Bird Celestial, vast with noble pinion, the lovely germ of plants, the germ of waters,
Him who delighteth us with rain in season, Sarasvan I invoke that he may help us.
RV 7.95.3 4 May this Sarasvati be pleased and listen at this our sacrifice, auspicious Lady,
When we with reverence, on our knees, implore her closeknit- to wealth, most kind to those she
loveth.

RV 7.96.4 4 We call upon Sarasvan, as unmarried men who long for wives,
As liberal men who yearn for sons.

RV 7.95.5 5 These offerings have ye made with adoration: say this, Sarasvati, and accept our praises;
And, placing us under thy dear protection, may we approach thee, as a tree, for shelter.
RV 7.96.4   4 We call upon Sarasvan, as unmarried men who long for wives, As liberal men who yearn for sons.

RV 7.96.5 5 Be thou our kind protector, O Sarasvan, with those waves of thine Laden with sweets and dropping oil.

RV 7.96.6 6 May we enjoy Sarasvans' breast, allbeautiful-, that swells with streams,

May we gain food and progeny.

RV 10.66.5 5 With Holy Thoughts Sarasvan, firmlawed- Varuna, great VayuPusanVisnu, and the Asvins Twain,
Lords of all wealth, Immortal, furtherers of prayer, grant us a triplyguarding- refuge from
distress.

RV 3.4.8 8 May Bharati with all her SistersIla accordant with the Gods, with mortalls Agni,
Sarasvati with all her kindred Rivers, come to this grass, Three Goddesses, and seat them.


Sukta 10.75 and 6.61 are addressed to Sindhu (general noun)/Sarasvatī (proper name)

RV 10.75 1. THE singer, O ye Waters in Vivasvans' place, shall tell your grandeur forth that is beyond
compare.
The Rivers have come forward triply, seven and seven. Sindhu in might surpasses all the streams
that flow.
Varuna cut the channels for thy forward course, O Sindhu, when thou rannest on to win the race.
Thou speedest over precipitous ridges of the earth, when thou art Lord and Leader of these moving
floods.
3 His roar is lifted up to heaven above the earth: he puts forth endless vigour with a flash of
light.
Like floods of rain that fall in thunder from the cloud, so Sindhu rushes on bellowing like a bull.
4 Like mothers to their calves, like milch kine with their milk, so, Sindhu, unto thee the roaring
rivers run.
Thou leadest as a warrior king thine armys' wings what time thou comest in the van of these swift
streams.
5 Favour ye this my laud, O GangaYamuna, O SutudriParusni and Sarasvati:
With AsikniVitasta, O Marudvrdha, O Arjikiya with Susoma hear my call.
6 First with Trstama thou art eager to flow forth, with Rasa, and Susartu, and with Svetya here,
With Kubha; and with these, Sindhu and Mehatnu, thou seekest in thy course Krumu and Gomati.
7 Flashing and whitelygleaming- in her mightiness, she moves along her ample volumes through the
realms,
Most active of the active, Sindhu unrestrained, like to a dappled mare, beautiful, fair to see.
8 Rich in good steeds is Sindhu, rich in cars and robes, rich in gold, noblyfashioned-, rich in
ample wealth.
Blest Silamavati and young Urnavati invest themselves with raiment rich in store of sweets.
Sindhu hath yoked her car, lightrolling-, drawn by steeds, and with that car shall she win booty
in this fight.
So have I praised its power, mighty and unrestrained, of independent glory, roaring as it runs.

There, O king, before thee is that lofty peak. And, O foremost of kings, yonder is Vitasta, the sacred stream that absolveth men from all sins. The water of this stream is extremely cool and limpid, and it is largely used by the great sages. O prince, behold the holy rivers Jala and Upajala, on either side of the YamunaBy performing a sacrifice here, king Usinara surpassed in greatness Indra himself. And, O descendant of Bharata, desirous of testing Usinara's merit and also of bestowing boons on him, Indra and Agni presented themselves at his sacrificial ground. And Indra assuming the shape of a hawk, and Agni that of a pigeon, came up to that king. And the pigeon in fear of the hawk, fell upon the king's thigh, seeking his protection [unquote](MBh.3.130)


Sarasvatī is described as the bestower of wealth and prosperity including cultural/material benefits by the use of and descriptions of specific attributes: 

vāja 'strength, vigor, 1.3.10, 2.41.18, 6.61.3, 6.61.4, 6.61.6; 7.95.6; 
sani 'gain, acquisition, 6.61.6; 
rādha/rādhas 'gift, wealth,7.96.2; 
prajā 'progeny, 2.41.17; 
rai/rayi 'riches, goods, property, 3.54.13, 10.17.9; 
śaraṇa 'refuge, house, 6.49.7; 
dhana 'booty, treasure, property,6.61.5; 
kṣīra sarpis madhūdaka 'milk, butter, sweet water or honey and water, 9.67.32; 
anamīvā iṣa 'diseaseless food, 10.17.8.
śī 'wealth, glory, beauty, 1.188.8; 
vasu 2.1.11, 8.21.17; 
mayas 'weal, congenial or productive well-being,1.13.9, 1.89.3, 1.164.49, 5.5.8; 
vārya 'to be chosen, precious, 1.164.49, 10.17.7.  
hiraṇya 'gold' RV 6.61.7
ratha 'cart/car' 

Many attributes signifying ethical behavior and fulfilment of one's responsibility are related to the river Sarasvatī

dhī 'intelligence, devotion, 2.3.8, 
svasti 'state of well -being, 2.32.8; 
śunahotra (if not intended as a proper name for a family) 'auspicious offering,
vīra 'hero, brave persons in society, 3.54.13, 6.49.7; 
mīḷhuṣmanto ... pipyatāmiṣam 'rich in kindness or grace,6.50.12; 
bhadram ... bhadrā kr̥ṇavat, "blessed, fortunate, 7.96.3.

Divinity is attributed with expressions such as:

dhiyāvasu˙RV 1.3.10, 
cetantī sumatīnām RV 1.3.11, 
dhiyo viśvā virājati RV 1.3.12, 
sādhayantī dhiyam RV 2.3.8,
dhiyan dhāt RV 6.49.7, 
dhīnām avitrī RV 6.61.4 and 
saha dh ībhir RV 7.35.11.


Festivals are celebrated venerating the river Sarasvatī:
matināra˙ khalu sarasvatyām dvādaśa-vārṣikaµ satram ājahāra "Matināra –– a source says (khalu) –– brought about a twelve-year yajña on (the bank of the river) Sarasvatī.(MBh. 1.90.25)

paråvat occurs in the sense of 'associated with (the) outward, away or beyond (idea) Ú distance in the RV (RV 1.34.7, 1.35.3, 1.36.18, 1.39.1, 1.47.7, 1.48.7, 1.53.7, 1.73.6, 1.92.3, 1.112.13, 1.119.8, 1.128.2, 1.130.1, 1.130.9, 1.134.4, 3.9.5, 3.37.11, 3.40.8, 3.40.9, 4.21.3, 4.26.6, 4.30.11, 4.50.3, 5.30.5, 5.53.8, 5.61.1, 5.73.1, 6.8.4, 6.44.15, 6.45.1, 7.97.2, 8.3.17, 8.5.8, 8.5.30, 8.6.36, 8.7.26, 8.8.14, 8.12.6, 8.12.17, 8.13.15, 8.30.3, 8.32.22, 8.33.10, 8.45.25, 8.50.7, 8.53.3, 8.82.1, 8.93.6, 8.97.4, 9.39.5, 9.44.2, 9.65.22, 9.68.6, 9.111.2, 10.58.11, 10.63.1, 10.78.7, 10.95.14, 10.137.2, 10.144.4, 10.145.4, 10.180.2, 10.187.2. parāvat occurs also in Atharva -veda 3.4.5, 3.18.3, 4.13.2, 5.30.1, 6.34.3.) "As a secondary adjectival derivation (taddhita) from it, pārāvata occurs, besides RV U6.61.2, in RV 5.52.11, 8.100.6 and Atharvaveda 20.135.1131 in the sense 'one situated at a distance, one from afar, one on the other/opoosite side.' This sense suffices also for Pañcavimśa-Brāhmaṇa 9.4.11 that Macdonell-&-Keith and some scholars before them have cited as definite evidence of the word as a reference to a distinctive people. Further, the presence of the river Yamunā in the context of the passage is favorable to a meaning like 'those on the other shore.' Understandably, therefore, Venkaa-mādhava explains the word pārāvataghnī as pārāvāraghnī 'destroyer of both banks, one who cuts through this and the yonder shore.' Såyaṇa, similarly, says: parāvati dūra-deśe vidyamānasyāpi vr̥kṣāder hantrī, 'one which destroys even distant trees etc." (Aklujkar, Section 4.3)  

Yāska (Nirukta 2.24), gives pārāvāraghātinīm as the gloss of pārāvaraghnīm. In this expression, 
avāra means that bank which is avara (i.e., lower/closer). That which is avara is avata (Skand-&-Maheśvara). This simply shows that sarasvatī could overcome distant obstacles, an elucidation of long-distance trade on sarasvatī as a navigable waterway linking with the Ancient Maritime Route through Rann of Kutch, Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean. The link with people of Yamuna river is significant. Clearly, Sarasvati linked up with other navigable Himalay river waterways, the waterways of Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra as navigable waterways bringing in tin from the Ancient Far East. In my view, the significance of the expression पारावत--घ्नी signifies long distance trade along the Ancient Maritime Tin Route which stretched through the navigable waterways and the Indian Ocean from Hanoi (Vietman) to Haifa (Israel) to manage the Ancient Maritime Tin Route. The reference to 'tin' as a cargo of trade along navigable waterways is reinforced in the context of metalwork products traded from Sarasvati Civilization. This trade finds expression in another remarkable expression: āyasi pūh which occurs in RV 7.95.1. "This sarasvatī, (virtually) a metal protection or enclosure that holds, flowed/flows forth with turbulent nourishing/refreshing water.' Aklujkar underscores the commentator's view: "Venkaṭa-mādhava: dhārayantī lokasya lohamayī ca nagarī iti aupamikam. "She is the one who bears the world. (The word āyasī meaning) lohamayīh ('made of iron/steel') and (the word pūh meaning nagarī ('town, city') are (a phrase of) comparison." 

I submit that the expression  āyasi pūh describes the river as endowed with metal-producing towns/cities on the settlements on her banks. The metaphor is emphatic.  This sarasvatī is endowed with metal cities/towns.  'the sarasvatī  glowed as a copper/iron fortification would' is one amplification of the metaphor rendered in RV 7.95.1.

pūh =पुर n. (for  1. » [p= 634,2]) (ifc. f(आ).) a fortress , castle , city , town (a place containing large buildings surrounded by a ditch and extending not less than one Kos in length ; if it extends for half that distance it is called a खेट , if less than that , a कर्वट or small market town ; any smaller cluster of houses is called a ग्राम or village W. Mn. MBh. &c


RV 7.95.1 Griffith translation:  "This stream sarasvatī with fostering current comes forth, our sure defence, our fort of iron, As on a car, the flood flows on, surpassing in majesty and might all other waters."

"As on a car, the flood flows on" is another metaphor comparing the navigable waterway to a chariot on a highway, carrying weapons and armour. The metalwork wealth, cargo on the waterway is on long-distance trade between Hanoi (Vietnam) and Haifa (Israel) Maritime Tin Route. This is a poetic rendering of the significance of River Sarasvatī in creating the wealth of a nation through metalwork production and trade. Corroboration for the role of Sarasvatī is provided by the decipherment of over 8000 Indus Script Inscriptions as metalwork catalogues, wealth-accounting ledgers.



पू with हिरण्यम् , " to wash gold ") RV. &c  
अयस् n. iron , metal RV. &c; an iron weapon (as an axe , &c ) RV. vi , 3 ,5 and 47 , 10;
gold Naigh. ; steel L. ; ([cf. Lat. aes , aer-is for as-is ; Goth. ais , Thema aisa ;
Old Germ. e7r , iron ; Goth. eisarn ; Mod. Germ. Eisen.])
आयस mf(ई)n. (fr. अयस्) , of iron , made of iron or metal ,
metallic RV. S3Br. Ka1tyS3r. MBh. Ya1jn5. &c; iron-coloured MBh. v , 1709; armed with an iron weapon;
आयसी f. armour for the body , a breastplate , coat of mail; an iron vessel;
आयसीय mfn. (fr. अयस्) , belonging to or made of iron , (g. कृशा*श्वा*दि Pa1n2. 4-2 , 80.) (Monier-Williams)
आयस   āyasa आयस a. (सी f.) [अयसो विकारः अण्] 1 Made of iron, iron, metallic; शतं मा पुर आयसीररक्षन् Ait. Up.4.5.
आयसं दण्डमेव वा Ms.8.315; सखि मा जल्प तवायसी रसज्ञा Bv.2.59. -2 Armed with an iron weapon.
 -सी A coat of mail, an armour for the body. -सम् 1 Iron; मूढं वुद्धमिवात्मानं हैमीभूतमिवायसम् Ku.6.55;
स चकर्ष परस्मात्त- दयस्कान्त इवायसम् R.17.63. -3 Anything made of iron. -3 A weapon.(Apte)

nadyo vibhva-taṣṭā˙ (RV 5.42.12) and vibhvane kr̥tā (RV 6.61.13)

Vibhvan, one of three among Rbhu-s is an artificer for fashioning, carving and/or chiseling
(RV 3.49.1, 4.36.5 and 5.58.4). I suggest that the reference to Vibhvan in the context of  sarasvatī is
a reference to metal artificers of Sarasvati civilizaiton who created and documented the wealth of the nation.

Sāyaṇa on 5.42.12: apāsah camasava-ratha-gavādi-śobhana-karmavanta˙ 'who have to their credit such praiseworthy
acts as (creation or fashioning of) ladles (or cups, flat dishes), horses, chariots and bovines.

वि-भ्वन् mfn. far-reaching , penetrating , pervading. RV.;m. N. of one of the ऋभुs ib.;skilful;an artificer ऋभु   ṛbhu ऋभु a. Ved.
1 Skilful, clever, prudent (as an epithet of Indra, Agni, Ādityas, property and wealth)
 ऋभुमृभुक्षणो रयिम् Rv.4.37.5. -2 Handly (as a weapon). -3 Shining far. -भुः 1 A deity, divinity;
a god (dwelling in heaven). -2 The god who is worshipped by the gods; ऋभवो नाम तत्रान्ये देवानामपि देवताः
Mb.3.261.19. -3 A class of the attendants of gods. -4 An artist, smith, especially a coach-builder
(रथकार). -5 N. of three semi-divine beings called Ṛibhu, Vibhvan and Vāja, sons of Sudhanvan,
a descendant of Aṅgiras, who were so called from the name of the eldest son.
[Through their performance of good works they obtained divinity, exercised superhuman powers,
and became entitled to worship. They are supposed to dwell in the Solar sphere, and are the
artists who formed the horses of Indra, the carriage of the Aśvins, and the miraculous cow of
Bṛihaspati. They made their aged parents young, and constructed four cups at a sacrifice
 from the one cup of Tvaṣṭṛi, who as the proper artificer of the gods, was in this respect their rival.
They appear generally as accompanying Indra at the evening sacrifices. M. W.].(Apte)

   

RV 5.42.12 (Griffith translation): "May the House-friends, the cunninghanded Artists, may the Steer's Wives, the streams carved out by Vibhvan, And may the fair Ones honour and befriend us, sarasvatī, Br̥haddivā, and Rākā.

Skanda explains the phrase apasām apastamā with anyāsam karmavatīnām sakāśt apastamā vr̥ṣṭy-ādi-karmabhir atiśayena karmavatī 'More efficacious (i.e., more beneficial) through rain etc. compared to other efficacious (i.e., beneficial) (rivers).' This is some kind of water-harvesting through desilting of channels of a river. The comment is based on an interpretation of apās as 'one associated with action, one prone to action, efficacious' as applied to water streams.  Udgītha explains the expression apasām apastamā in RV 10.75.7:  "In both (the words) the meaning of (the suffix) matu[P] (that is, the meaning element 'possession') is included. (The river Sindhu) is one which performs the actions in its domain better than how the (other) rivers perform actions in their domains.'  Archaeology provides a good example of the management of Sindhu river by the structure of gabar-bands.
Related imageGabarbands on Indus River are a means of storing and diverting waters through channels into the fields for cultivation of crops.


RV 6.61.13 (Griffith translation): "Marked out by majesty among the Mighty Ones, in glory swifter than the other rapid streams, Created vast for victory like a chariot, sarasvatī must be extolled by every sage.

The metaphor of the chariot signifies the function of the river as a waterway linking with the Ancient Maritime Tin Route linking Hanoi (Vietnam) and Haifa (Israel) for movements of cargo of metals/ore/ingots: Sarasvati is compared with a highway with a comparison such as: 'like a cart road, like a road used for swift movement.' I submit that the repeated metaphor of ratha is a signifier of the importance of River Sarasvatī  as a navigable waterway for trade transactions and creation of wealth.
RV7.95.1 (Griffith translation): "THIS stream Sarasvati with fostering current comes forth, our sure defence, our fort of iron, As on a car, the flood flows on, surpassing in majesty and might all other waters.


RV 6.61.12 (Griffith translation): Seven-sistered, sprung from threefold source, the Five Tribes prosperer, she must be invoked in every deed of might.

Excerpts from SK Ganji's summary at https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1319435

To start with, let us first very briefly present the description of the river Sarasvati as found in the Rig Veda. In the RigVedic times, it was a mighty river flowing from the mountains to the sea ( giribhyah asamudrat, RV, 7.95.2). The abundance and tremendous force of its water had an enchanting impact on the minds of the poets who repeatedly described it as :
* 'abounding in waters' ( maho-arnah महो अर्णः सरस्वती पर चेतयति केतुना | , RV, 1.3.12)
* 'flowing rapidly' ( pra-sasre, सस्र एषा सरस्वती, RV, 7.95.1; according to Sayana, pradhvati sighram gachchhati),
* 'moving fautlessly' ( akuvari' , सरस्वत्यकवारी, RV, 7.96.3; Sayana's rendering : akutsitagamana),
* 'possessing unlimited strength' ( yasyah amah ananto , RV 6.61.8; in the words of Sayana, yasyah balam aparyanto-aparaimitah),
यस्या अनन्तो अह्रुतस्त्वेषश्चरिष्णुरर्णवः | 
* 'roaring' ( charati roruvat, RV, 6.61.8; अमश्चरति रोरुवत ||; bhrisam sabdam kurvan vartate, according to Sayana) and even as 
* 'fierce' ( ghora, सरस्वती घोरा, 6.61.7; Sayana's interpretation : Satrunam bhayakarini).
* 'the most impetuous of all other streams' ( apasam-apastama, RV 6.61.13; अपसामपस्तमा; Sayana renders this epithet as vegavatinam nadinam madhye vegavattama).

The material and spiritual benefits the river Sarasvati brought to the people is reflected in several epithets attributed to her as, for example :

* 'rich in grains' ( Vajinivati, सरस्वत्यकवारी चेतति वाजिनीवती | , RV, 7.96.3; Sayana renders the term as annavati),
* 'strong in wealth and power' ( Vajeshu Vajini, सरस्वत्यवा वाजेषु वाजिनि , RV, 6.61.6)
* 'having golden path' ( hiranyavartanih, सरस्वती घोरा हिरण्यवर्तनिः | , RV, 6.61.7)
* 'promoter of the welfare of the five peoples' ( panchajata vardhayanti, RV, 6.61.12, पञ्च जाता वर्धयन्ती | )
* 'the purest of all rivers' ( nadinam suchiryati, नदीनां शुचिर्यती, RV, 7.95.2)
* 'auspicious' ( भद्रा ,RV, 7.96.3)
* 'inspirer of those who delight in truth' (चोदयित्री सून्र्तानां, sunritanam chodayitri, RV, 1.3.11)
* 'the instructor of the right minded' ( चेतन्ती सुमतीनाम ,sumatinam chetanti, RV, 1.3.11), etc.

The Rigveda provides us also an idea of the kind of people ( good as well as bad in the eyes of the Rishis) settled in the Sarasvati Valley and the neighbouring regions as , for instance:
* Purus, who, according to the text, dwelt 'in fullness of their strength', on the both the grassy banks of Sarasvati ( RV, 7.96.2)
* Bharatas, whose king Vadhryasva is said to have begotten Divodasa by Sarasvati's grace ( RV, 6.61.1) and whose princes are found performing yajnas on the banks of Sarasvati, Drishadvati and Apaya ( RV, 3.23.4).
* Pancha-Janah ( the five peoples), that is, Anus, Druhyus, Yadus, Turvasas and Purus, whose welfare the Sarasvati had increased ( RV, 6.61.12)
* Nahushas, descendents of Nahusha, on whom the Sarasvati had poured her benefits( भूरेर्घ्र्तं पयो दुदुहे नाहुषाय || ; RV, 7.95.2),
* Panis , the 'churlish *****rd ( misers), thinkin only of themselves' whom the Sarasvati consumed( RV, 6.61.1),
* Paravatas, who were destroyed by the Sarasvati ( RV, 6.61.2) and
* Brisyas, whom the Sarasvati rooted out ( RV, 6.61.3)

Thus, we have a realistic picture in the RigVeda of a mighty and highly glorified river named Sarasvati descending from the Himalayas, flowing majestically and emptying into the sea, which names of the people living on its banks andd in its valley. The fact that river was later lost in the sands of the desert at a place called Vinasana ( literally 'disappearance') is also attested to by the literature( Panchvimsa Brahmana, 25.10.6; Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, 4.26 etc) . There is absolutely no ambiguity in descriptions, no room for any controversy, yet an effort was made to hijack the river out of India.

China's dam-building rage is threatening the whole of Asia, and India has the most to lose -- Brahma Chellaney

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Brahma ChellaneyBRAHMA CHELLANEY @chellaney
The writer is strategic thinker, author, commentator.
China is the world’s biggest dam builder, with the country boasting more dams than the rest of the world combined. China is also the world’s largest exporter of dams.
In Nepal, where China-backed communists are in power, Beijing has just succeeded in reviving a lucrative dam project, which was scrapped by the previous Nepalese government as China had won the contract without competitive bidding. The reversal of the previous government’s cancellation of the $2.5-billion Budhi-Gandaki Dam project has come after Nepal’s communist rulers implemented a transit transport agreement with China, to cut dependence on India.
China is building dams in two other countries neighbouring India — Myanmar and Pakistan — including in areas torn by ethnic separatism (northern Myanmar), and in a United Nations-designated disputed territory like the Pakistan-occupied portion of Jammu and Kashmir.
China-Nepal bhai bhai: Beijing has now succeeded in reviving the lucrative Budhi-Gandaki Dam project. (Photo: Reuters)China-Nepal bhai bhai: Beijing has now succeeded in reviving the lucrative Budhi-Gandaki Dam project. (Photo: Reuters/file)
Yet, it loudly protests when the Dalai Lama merely visits Arunachal Pradesh, claiming it to be a “disputed territory”, although only Beijing disputes India’s control over Arunachal. The UN does not recognise Arunachal as “disputed”.
China has also held out threats against India jointly exploring with Vietnam for offshore hydrocarbons in Vietnam’s own exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Yet it has no compunctions about unveiling projects — under the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Domestically, most of China’s mega-water projects are now concentrated on the Tibetan Plateau, a sprawling region it forcibly absorbed in the early 1950s.
By building an array of new dams on rivers flowing to other countries, Beijing seems set to roil inter-riparian relations in Asia, and make it more difficult to establish rules-based water cooperation and sharing.
China has emerged as the key impediment to building institutionalised collaboration in Asia on shared water resources. In contrast to the bilateral water treaties between many of its neighbours, China rejects the concept of a water-sharing arrangement or joint, rules-based management of common resources.
The long-term implications of China’s dam programme for India are particularly stark, because several major rivers flow south from the Tibetan plateau. 
India has water-sharing treaties with both the countries located downstream from it: the Indus pact with Pakistan guarantees the world’s largest cross-border flows under any treaty regime, while the Ganges accord has set a new principle in international water law by granting Bangladesh an equal share of downriver flows in the dry season. 
China, by contrast, does not have a single water-sharing treaty with any neighbour.
China is the world’s biggest dam builder, with the country boasting more dams than the rest of the world combined. (Photo: Youtube)China is the world’s biggest dam builder, with the country boasting more dams than the rest of the world combined. (Photo: YouTube)
Yet most of Asia’s international rivers originate in territories that China annexed after its 1949 communist “revolution”. The Tibetan Plateau is the world’s largest freshwater repository and the source of Asia’s greatest rivers, including those that are the lifeblood of mainland China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Other Chinese-held homelands of ethnic minorities contain the headwaters of rivers such as the Irtysh, Illy and Amur, which flow to Russia and Central Asia.
China’s dam programme on international rivers is following a well-established pattern: build modest-size dams on a river’s uppermost difficult reaches, construct larger dams in the upper-middle sections as the river picks up greater water volume and momentum, before embarking on mega-dams in the border area facing the neighbouring country. The cascade of mega-dams on the Mekong River, for example, is located in the area just before the river enters continental Southeast Asia.
Many of China’s new dam projects at home are concentrated in the seismically active southwest, covering parts of the Tibetan Plateau. The restart of dam building on the Salween River after a decade-long moratorium is in keeping with a precedent set on other river systems: Beijing temporarily suspends a controversial plan after major protests flare so as to buy time — before resurrecting the same plan.
The Salween — Asia’s last largely free-flowing river — runs through deep, spectacular gorges, glaciated peaks and karst on its way into Myanmar and along the Thai border before emptying into the Andaman Sea. Its upstream basin is inhabited by 16 ethnic groups, including some, like the Derung tribe, with tiny populations numbering in the thousands. As one of the world’s most biologically diverse regions, the upper basin boasts more than 5,000 plant species and nearly half of China’s animal species.
China’s action in lifting the moratorium and starting work on dams on the Tibet-originating Salween threatens the region’s biodiversity, and could uproot endangered aboriginal tribes. There is also the risk that the weight of huge, new dam reservoirs could accentuate seismic instability in a region prone to recurrent earthquakes.
 India is heavily dependent on China for its fresh water reserves as it alone receives nearly half the river waters that leave Chinese-held territory. (Photo: Reuters)India is heavily dependent on China for its fresh water reserves as it alone receives nearly half the river waters that leave Chinese-held territory. (Photo: Reuters/file)
No country is more vulnerable to China’s re-engineering of trans-boundary flows than India. The reason is that India alone receives nearly half of the river waters that leave Chinese-held territory. According to United Nations figures, a total of 718 billion cubic meters of surface water flows out of Chinese territory yearly, of which 347 billion cubic meters (or 48.3 per cent of the total) runs directly into India.
China already has a dozen dams in the Brahmaputra River basin, and one each on the Indus and the Sutlej rivers. On the Brahmaputra, it is currently constructing several more. Its dam-building is likely to gradually move to Tibet’s water-rich border with Arunachal as the Brahmaputra makes a U-turn to enter India.
If Asia is to prevent water wars, it must build institutionalised cooperation in trans-boundary basins in a way that co-opts all riparian neighbours. If a dominant riparian country refuses to join, such institutional arrangements — as in the Mekong basin — will be ineffective.
The arrangements must be centred on transparency, unhindered information flow, equitable sharing, dispute settlement, pollution control, and a commitment to refrain from any projects that could materially diminish trans-boundary flows.
China, undeterred by the environmental degradation it is wreaking, has made the control and manipulation of river flows a pivot of its power. It is past time for New Delhi to speak up on China’s dam-building threat to India’s security and well-being.

Itihāsa. Greatest mathematical discovery, cipher & place value notation -- Bailey & Borwein

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http://crd-legacy.lbl.gov/~dhbailey/dhbpapers/decimal.pdf


One of the Bakhshali manuscripts.
TypeMathematical text
DateAD 224–383/ 885–993 (depending which fragments were carbon-dated)
Place of originBakhshali
MaterialBirch bark
FormatSeventy leaves
ConditionToo fragile for examination[1]
ScriptŚāradā script
Contentsmaths text
Discovered1881
The Bakhshali manuscript is a mathematical text written on birch bark that was found in 1881 in the village ofBakhshaliMardan (near Peshawar in present-day Pakistan). It is notable for being "the oldest extant manuscript in Indian mathematics",with portions having been carbon-dated to AD 224–383 while other portions have been carbon-dated to as late as AD 885–993. It contains the earliest known Indian use of a zerosymbol.[It is written in Sanskrit with significant influence of local dialects.


The numerals used in the Bakhshali manuscript, dated to sometime between the 3rd and 7th century AD.
...
colophon to one of the sections states that it was written by a brahmin identified as "the son of Chajaka", a "king of calculators," for the use of Vasiṣṭha's son Hasika. The brahmin might have been the author of the commentary as well as the scribe of the manuscript.Near the colophon appears a broken word rtikāvati, which has been interpreted as the place Mārtikāvata mentioned by Varāhamihira as being in northwestern India (along with TakṣaśilāGandhāra etc.), the supposed place where the manuscript might have been written.
..
Scholar Takao Hayashi has compared the text of the manuscript with several Sanskrit texts. He mentions that a passage is a verbatim quote from Mahabharata. He discusses similar passages in RamayanaVayupuranaLokaprakasha of Kshemendra etc. Some of the mathematical rules also appear in Aryabhatiya of AryabhattaAryabhatiyabhashya of Bhaskara IPatiganita and Trairashika of SridharaGanitasarasamgrahaof Mahavira, and Lilavati and Bijaganita of Bhaskara II. An unnamed manuscript, later than Thakkar Pheru, in the Patan Jain library, a compilation of mathematical rules from various sources resembles the Bakhshali manuscript, contains data in an example which are strikingly similar.
...


Bakhshali manuscript, detail of the numeral "zero".
The Bakshali manuscript uses numerals with a place-value system, using a dot as a place holder for zero.The dot symbol came to be called the shunya-bindu(literally, the dot of the empty place). References to the concept are found in Subandhu's Vasavadatta, which has been dated between 385 and 465 by the scholar Maan Singh.
Prior to the 2017 carbon dating, a 9th-century inscription of zero on the wall of a temple in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, was thought to be the oldest Indian use of a zero symbol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakhshali_manuscript

Variously described either as an "irregular Sanskrit" (Kaye 2004, p. 11), or as the so-called Gāthā dialect, the literary form of the Northwestern Prakrit, which combined elements of Sanskrit and Prakrit and whose use as a literary language predated the adoption of Classical Sanskrit for this purpose.(Hoernle, Augustus (1887), On the Bakshali manuscript, Vienna: Alfred Hölder (Editor of the Court and of the University), p.10)

A Big Zero: Research uncovers the date of the Bakhshali manuscript



Published on Sep 14, 2017

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The Bakhshali manuscript is an ancient Indian mathematical manuscript written on more than 70 leaves of birch bark, found in 1881. It is notable for having a dot representing zero in it. The date of the manuscript has intrigued scholars for years, with many believing it dated from the 9th century, as does the oldest known example of a zero in India, in Gwailor temple. Now a team of researchers at the University of Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries have carbon dated the manuscript and found that it dates from between the second and fourth centuries! The Bakhshali manuscript therefore contains the oldest recorded example of the symbol that we use for zero today.  This symbol would then grow into something that exists in its own right to capture the concept of nothing.

Hypertexts, person with bovine ligatures on Dholavira tablet, Mohenjo-daro seal are Indus Script signifiers of wealth accounting metalwork ledgers

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The Mohenjo-daro seal shows the combined text of dhokra woman PLUS zebu; same imagery as on Dholavira tablet. Zebu signifies rebus: poḷa 'ferrite, magnetite ore'. 


Immagine in linea con il testoThe person with upraised arm and bovine legs and tail is a blacksmith: eraka 'upraised arm' rebus: 'moltencast' + dhangar 'bull' rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'. Some details at  http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2018/04/orthographic-hypertext-devices-eg-tiger.html

The tree behind the Fig. 103, composite image (zebu+decrepit woman+horns) is the wealth accounting ledger classifier. I think it signifies a smelter.
FS Fig. 103 Tiger with horns, leaps and looks back kolhe kō̃da कोँद kamar ko 'smelter kiln blacksmith, artisan’s workshop'.The hieroglyph of dhokaṛa 'an old female with breasts hanging down' and ligatured to the ḍhōṅgā 'buttock' of a bovine is also deployed on this Mohenjo-daro seal (FS Fig. 103); rebus: dhokra.dokra 'cire-perdue lost-wax metal casting artifice' PLUS dhangar'bull' rebus: dhangar 'blacksmith'; thus, the hypertext signifies: cire-perdue metalcaster smith. On a Mohenjo0daro seal this is reinforced by two hieroglyphs: kola 'tiger' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter (worker)'. kuhi 'tree' rebus: kuhi 'smelter'. Tiger's paws: panja 'feline paws' rebus: panja 'kiln, furnace' kũdā 'jumping' rebus: kō̃da कोँद 'furnace' (Kashmiri) koḍ 'horn' rebus: koḍ 'workshop'. 

Hieroglyph: Tiger looking back: krammara 'look back' (Telugu) kamar 'smith, artisan' (Santali) 

Reading of Text 1357 on Mohenjo-daro seal: gō̃ṭu an ornamental appendage to the border of a cloth, fringe' rebus: goṭa 'laterite, ferrite ore' khoṭa 'ingot, wedge'. ḍato 'claws or pincers (chelae) of crabs'; ḍaṭom, ḍiṭom to seize with the claws or pincers, as crabs, scorpions; rebus: dhatu 'mineral (ore)' xoli 'fish-tail' rebus: kolhe 'smelter', kol 'working in iron' dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'.

Mohenodaro seal. Pict-103 Horned (female with breasts hanging down?) person with a tail and bovine legs standing near a tree fisting a horned tiger rearing on its hindlegs.

 See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2015/04/excavations-at-dholavifra-1989-2005-rs.html Please scroll down to Fig. 8.31, 8.32: Details on the flat & curved surfaces of the terracotta tablet. Acc. No. 8099 of

Excavations at Dholavira 1989-2005 (RS Bisht, 2015) Full text including scores of Indus inscriptions announced for the first time 



Fig. 8.31, 8.32: Details on the flat & curved surfaces of the terracotta tablet. Acc. No. 8099

Dholavira terracotta tablet with Indus Script deciphered, countering Parpola's wrong 'reading' of child sacrifice 

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/jhm6mt4

 

This is an addendum to http://tinyurl.com/hkaa8qs 

. The objective of this addendum to counter a wrong 'reading' provided by Asko Parpola on the hieroglyphs on a Dholavira terracotta molded tablet which signifies a dhokra 'cire perdue artificer'.
Dholavira molded terracotta tablet with Meluhha hieroglyphs written on two sides. 

I read the image on Side A as follows: a seated person raises up two 'children' on his two arms.

Some Meluhha rebus readings of the hieroglyphs on the tablet: 

Hieroglyphs to children held aloft on a seated person's hands: dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' kuī 'girl, child' Rebus: kuhi ‘smelter furnace’ (Santali) kuī f. ‘fireplace’ (H.); krvi f. ‘granary (WPah.); kuī, kuohouse, building’(Ku.)(CDIAL 3232) kui ‘hut made of boughs’ (Skt.) gui temple (Telugu)

Text on Side A: The entire text message reads: Supercargo (merchant) with smithy/forge, bronze workshop, cast metal implements

kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge'
 kuṭilika 'bent, curved' rebus: कुटिल kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin); sal 'splinter' rebus: sal'workshop'. Thus, together, 'bronze workshop'

kaṇḍa 'arrow' rebus: khaṇḍa 'implements' PLUS dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metalcasting'. Thus the pair of 'arrows' signify, cast metal implements.

karika 'rim of jar' rebus: karī 'supercargo, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale'; कर्णिक having a helm; a steersman (Monier-Williams)

Side B of the tablet: 

Hieroglyph: dhokra ‘decrepit woman with breasts hanging down’. Rebus: dhokra kamar 'artisan metalcaster using lost-wax technique'. Ku. ḍokro, ḍokhro ʻ old man ʼ; B. ḍokrā ʻ old, decrepit ʼ, Or. ḍokarā; H. ḍokrā ʻ decrepit ʼ; G. ḍokɔ m. ʻ penis ʼ, ḍokrɔ m. ʻ old man ʼ, M. ḍokrā m. -- Kho. (Lor.) duk ʻ hunched up, hump of camel ʼ; K. ḍọ̆ku ʻ humpbacked ʼ perh. < *ḍōkka -- 2. Or. dhokaṛa ʻ decrepit, hanging down (of breasts) ʼ.(CDIAL 5567). M. ḍhẽg n. ʻ groin ʼ, ḍhẽgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. M. dhõgā m. ʻ buttock ʼ. (CDIAL 5585). (The decrepit woman is ligatured to the hindpart of a bovine).

kāruvu ‘crocodile’ Rebus: khār ‘blacksmith’ (Kashmiri)  PLUS dula 'pair' rebus; dul 'metal casting'. Thus, the pair of crocodiles signify metalcaster smith.

Heroglyph: Person with upraised arms: eraka 'upraised arm' rebus: eraka 'moltencast, copper'. Ka. eṟe to pour any liquids, cast (as metal); n. pouring; eṟacu, ercu to scoop, sprinkle, scatter, strew, sow; eṟaka, eraka any metal infusion; molten state, fusion. Tu. eraka molten, cast (as metal); eraguni to melt. Kur. ecchnā to dash a liquid out or over (by scooping, splashing, besprinkling). (DEDR 866).

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