Bengaluru: 3D animation launched Oct. 2016, steel flyover project scrapped March 2017

March 2, 2017, 2:00 am

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDt1zs-TQU Published on Oct 23, 2016

3D animation of steel flyover released by BDA - October 20, 2016

Karnataka government scraps controversial Bengaluru steel flyover project

TNN | Mar 2, 2017, 01.56 PM IST

The move comes in the backdrop of allegations that kickbacks from this project have been paid to the Congress high command and chief minister Siddaramaiah's family. 

Briefing reporters, KJ George said, "We have cancelled the project as we have been forced to prove our sincerity. There are 

corruption charges being levelled against us when not a single rupee has been taken as kickback by us."

"We do not want to take the blame for something that we have not done, so we are dropping the project. The steel bridge project had become a pain point for us as the media has been speaking on a daily-basis about corruption in it," he said.

Several Congress legislators including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao had mounted pressure on Bengaluru in charge minister to drop the controversial steel bridge project as it was tarnishing the image of the government.

"The proposed steel bridge is being portrayed as a monument of Congress corruption by the opposition parties. Why should we take the blame when our intention is to improve Bengaluru?" Dinesh Gundu Rao said.

Joining him, Shantinagar MLA NA Haris said, "We are tired of explaining to the people about the project. A decision should be taken on the project before more damage is caused to the party."

MLAs C Muniratna and Somashekar had also asked the government to put an end to the steel project by cancelling it.

The 6.9-km steel flyover was to connect Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal with an extension on Sankey Road up to LRDE complex.

The Rs 2100 crore project was going to be implemented by BDA to decongest Ballari road leading to Kempegowda International Airport. The detailed project report showed the flyover starts from near Maharani's college on Palace road till the expressway near Kempapura junction beyond Hebbal interchange.

The project drew flak from citizens and green activists as it required axing of trees and was also termed as an unsustainable solution to reduce city's traffic woes.

The bridge to be built through the greenest parts of the city would have required cutting of 812 trees.

The proposed steel bridge has been mired in controversy from the time it was mentioned in the 2013 budget, which was Siddaramaiah's first budget as the chief minister.

The latest controversy surrounding the bridge was the DonationGate scandal, in which a diary entry said Rs 65 crore was received for awarding the contract for the steel bridge.

The project cost of the steel flyover was pegged initially at Rs 1,130 crore. A couple of months later, BDA floated a tender and the project cost had become Rs 1,350 crore. Finally , when the tender was awarded to L&T and Nagarjuna Construction Company, the project cost had touched Rs 1,791 crore.

Citizens formed massive human chain along the proposed route in October 2016, but the Congress government, especially Bengaluru development minister KJ George, dug in its heels and said it would persist with the project.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/karnataka-government-scraps-controversial-bengaluru-steel-flyover-project/articleshowprint/57427078.cms?null

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Rajiv Gandh Trust land grab ghotala -- Shalini Singh wonders why NDA pussyfoots

March 2, 2017, 2:19 am

≫ Next: Swadesh Indology Conf. 17 to 19 Feb. 2017 -- Prof. KS Kannan. A superb initiative to counter Drain Inspectors.

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Rajiv Gandhi Trust's Land Grab is an open-and-shut case, but Govt. seems reluctant to use the Ammo

March 2, 2017

Shalini Singh is a senior award-winning investigative journalist.

If Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is guilty of crying wolf over instances of alleged "personal corruption" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dilly-dallying over producing "concrete evidence", the latter is perhaps guilty of the reverse: sitting on substantial ammunition already available against the Gandhi family.

A case in point is the allotment of prime panchayat land to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) in Haryana during the chief ministership of Congressman Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The five-acre prime property on the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway – a real estate gold mine – was allotted to the trust for constructing an eye hospital for the poor.

The RGCT is headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Manoj Muttu is the trustee/administrator, while the other trustees include Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Capt Satish Sharma, Murli Deora (deceased) and Kishori Lal Sharma.

Strikingly, the plot was part of panchayat land notified by the government for acquisition. It was transferred to the trust by stretching, bending and openly violating rules leading to adverse comments from the High Court, the Principal Accountant General (Audit) and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The RGCT case mirrors the land grab history associated with the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) – now better known as the National Herald case – against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others, as also the alleged irregularities in the land deals of Robert Vadra which were investigated by the Justice Dhingra Commission.

In July last year, on the eve of the submission of the inquiry report by Justice Dhingra, Congressmen had wagged their fingers over alleged out-of-turn benevolence in the grant of panchayat land for a Gurgaon-based charitable trust headed by the retired judge. That turned out to be a fairly frivolous charge deliberately made to undermine the credibility of the judge. But that exact charge – gifting away panchayat land – is now staring right back at the Congress party with clear evidence that the Hooda government unlawfully tweaked policies to make an allotment of five acres of prime panchayat land to RGCT.

The Dhingra Commission was set up to examine Hooda’s role in the illegal grant of licences to hundreds of private companies and trusts, including to companies promoted by Robert Vadra (Skylight Hospitality) and real estate major DLF. The report, which was submitted in August last year, has not been made public by the Haryana government so far due to a court stay obtained by a resourceful Hooda.

An unrepentant Hooda had mocked the ruling state government in the Vidhan Sabha at the very beginning of its tenure, challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party to prove charges against him.

Now, let’s examine the RGCT file history. An examination of the various twists and turns recorded in government files reveals a pattern of wilful violation of laws aimed at delivering undue pecuniary advantage to an individual/organisation entirely reminiscent of the National Herald case, where the Congress party helped finance the takeover of properties worth several thousand crores, owned by Associated Journals, by a private trust in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were the main shareholders. Among other things, Associated Journals owns Herald House in Delhi’s Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, a prime location.

As in the AJL case, the bait for getting allotment of prime land was noble: setting up a 300-bed, state-of-the-art eye hospital for the poor. The result, after a thorough mauling of rules, was the allotment of land on the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway, one of the costliest real estate belts in the country. The eye hospital is yet to see the light of day and the serial violations of rules mean any government can revoke the allocation.

Here is a quick sketch of the six-and-a-half-year journey of the RGCT file that tells us that rules are only for those who want to follow them. For the others, there are other ways and means to profit unlawfully:

9 May 2008: Manoj Muttu, trustee/administrator, RGCT, writes to the then sarpanch of Ullahawas village in Gurgaon district, requesting the gram panchayat to transfer/allocate six acres of land for a 300-bed, "state-of-the-art” eye hospital to cater to the needs of Haryana.

27 May 2008: The Ullahawas Gram Panchayat meets, passes a resolution to allow the sale of the land at market rates to the RGCT and forwards the resolution to the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Gurgaon, for approval.

However, the DC does not recommend its approval to the Haryana government, for two reasons:

(1) Panchayat land cannot be alienated by way of gift or sale. This is as per the Haryana government's instructions issued on 3 March 2008, and an earlier amendment of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964, on 3 January 2008, done precisely to prevent such alienation of panchayat land.

(2) The land was already under lease to a private person. The gram panchayat had leased the land on 11 June 2004, for five years, for a lumpsum amount of Rs 15,200. Sale of the land before the expiry of the lease period on 10 June 2009 could have led to litigation.

2 June 2009: A week before the expiry of the lease, the government notifies roughly 1,417 acres, including the five-acre Ullahawas Panchayat land, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, signalling its intention to acquire the land for a number of HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) sectors.

10 July 2009: The RGCT approaches the panchayat again, but this time, instead of offering to purchase the land, requested that it be leased for the maximum permissible period of 33 years.

20 July 2009: The Ullahawas Gram Panchayat passes a resolution with three-fourths majority to lease the land – according to the terms cleared by the government – to RGCT for 33 years or more. The terms specify that below poverty line (BPL) families of the village would get free treatment, residents would get concessional treatment as well as priority in recruitment to Class IV jobs in the hospital. The resolution was forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, for approval.

31 July 2009: Just 11 days after the panchayat resolution, the Deputy Commissioner, Rajendra Kataria, clears the proposal on the ground that the land was uneven and not being used and, therefore, fell under Category III of government instructions dated 3 March, 2008, issued under Rule 6 (5) of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules 1964, which permits such land to be leased. The land is described in the revenue record as banjar-qadim (barren land). He further recommends a lease amount of 5 per cent of the collector rates, which was Rs 60 lakh per acre at that time, or a total of Rs 3 lakh per annum.

13 August 2009: Chief Minister Hooda, who also holds charge of the Development and Panchayat Ministry, approves the DC’s proposal to lease the land to RGCT after adding that, "the Urban Estates Department be advised to exclude the land from acquisition."

21 August 2009: This proposal is cleared by the Haryana Cabinet, but after adding two additional sweeteners: A lower lease value of just Rs 5,000 annually and only 5 per cent of hospital beds to be reserved for the nominees of the state government at a concessional rate.

The order is signed by Urvashi Gulati, the then financial commissioner and principal secretary, Development and Panchayat Department, and issued the very same day.

However, RGCT, after getting everything served up on a platter, now refuses to accept the concessional rate of lease and insists on doing everything as per the existing policy of the government.

11 November 2009: RGCT tells Ullahawas Gram Panchayat that it does not want land at concessional rates but is willing to pay the lease money at par with the existing rates prescribed by the government.

23 November 2009: The panchayat passes a resolution to this effect and approaches the DC the next day for approval to increase the lease amount equal to 5 per cent of the collector rate of the land – the prescribed annual rate of Rs 3 lakh per acre.

4 December 2009: The Haryana Cabinet dutifully approves the changed lease rates and states that the gram panchayat would get Rs 15 lakh annually for its five acres of land, to be increased by 5 per cent every five years.

8 January 2010: The lease deed is executed between the panchayat and RGCT, with a rider that the land would be put to the permitted use by RGCT within two years from the date of commencement of the lease period, and that in case of breach of any of the conditions by the lessee, the lease shall automatically be deemed to be cancelled/revoked.

20 October 2010: The trust applies for change of land use (CLU) permission with the District Town Planner (E) Gurgaon.

The very same day, the policy of the government is changed to make a 33-year lease a valid title document for the purpose of CLU permission.

24 November 2010: After the requisite policy change, the file is sent to the District Town Planner (E), Gurgaon, approved and forwarded again on the same day by the State Town Planner to Director, Town and Country Planning, Haryana.

25 November 2010: The file is received in the office of Director, Town and Country Planning, Haryana.

On the same day, Assistant Town Planner, Satish Kumar Arora (ATP, SKA), notes: “There is no policy to grant CLU permission for land notified for acquisition. Hence, before submitted case for approval, the applicant/society may be requested to submit the revenue documents in the name of applicant/society having clear title of land”.

His boss, Devendra Nimokar, District Town Planner (DTP), Headquarters, endorses this stand: “....as per Release Policy dated 26/10/2007, the land cannot be released while granting the CLU permission, therefore, before considering the case for CLU permission, the applicant/trust may be advised to get the land released from competent authority/department and then apply to this office for seeking CLU permission".

However, T C Gupta, director, Town and Country Planning (TCP), the overall chief, overrules both of them and orders that “case fulfils parameters for grant of CLU… However, since the land had been notified for acquisition under Section 6 CLU cannot be granted till the time land is released by the government. Since the land belongs to gram panchayat and has been given on lease to the applicant, which is a charitable trust, it will be in public interest to release this land. Hence, case is submitted for ‘in principle’ approval of the government to grant CLU subject to the condition that the land shall be released by the government. Case for release of land shall be submitted on the file of Urban Estates Department separately”.

1 December 2010: The file is approved by Chief Minister B S Hooda.

6 December 2010: PS, TCP, endorses a copy of the release order to RGCT. On the same day, a letter of intent (LoI) is issued to RGCT on the ground that “the government has already given an ‘in principle’ approval for grant of CLU permission”.

5 January 2011: LoI lapses since RGCT fails to complete mandated formalities within one month of its issuance.

11 March 2011: RGCT submits a letter stating its compliance to the terms of the LoI. Compliance is rejected, since it is three months late, and RGCT is directed to apply afresh for the CLU-I application along with scrutiny fee.

25 March 2011: Once again, deviating from the rule book, T C Gupta orders that “applicant may be advised to deposit scrutiny fee again and then permission shall be issued”. CLU permission along with zoning plan is issued to RGCT.

As per law, after the expiry of the LoI, it is mandatory to submit a fresh CLU application along with the scrutiny fee.

5 November 2011: RGCT fails to submit its building plans within the stipulated period of six months.

24 April 2012: The office of the Principal Accountant General (PAG), Haryana, writes a letter alleging irregular release of land.

9 May 2012: The PAG’s letter is forwarded to director, Urban Estates.

12 May 2012: RGCT submits an application for condonation of delay of six months, and seeks an extension of the time for the construction of the proposed hospital. After grant of CLU, the applicant is required to submit its building plans and begin construction within six months.

14 May 2012: RGCT’s application is approved “subject to the condition that the trust shall complete the building within validity period of CLU permission and will apply for occupation certificate within said period”.

16 May 2012: This condition is modified vide memo no. G-2444-JE (S)-2012/3412 which reads: “However, if the building is not completed upto 05.05.2013, then extension for one year may be considered as per rules subject to payment of 10 per cent of conversion charges”.

25 March 2013: RGCT applies for renewal of CLU permission. An extension of one year of CLU permission is granted, subject to the condition that “the applicant be directed to submit the building plan within three months on 26/04/2013”.

25 October 2013: RGCT’s building plans are approved but construction work at site is yet to start.

27 January 2014: RGCT seeks another extension of one year. It said that because of the “involvement of lot a of specialised services, project could not be completed”.

30 June 2014: Assistant Town Planner, HQ, recommends that “extension of a further one year up to 5/5/2015 may be considered with the condition that applicant will obtain occupation certificate within the validity period of CLU permission.”

17 July 2014: A further extension of one year is granted “subject to the condition that the trust shall complete the building and will apply for occupation certificate within validity period of Change of Land Use permission”.

11 August 2014: RGCT, once again, nine months prematurely, submits a request for extension of time period for CLU permission (which was going to expire on 5 May 2015 just before the notification of elections to Haryana assembly).

3 September 2014: Just before the enforcement of the election code of conduct, S S Dhillon, private secretary to the chief minister, issues orders that "CM has seen. He has observed that the applicant has already got building plan approved for starting the construction. He has ordered the applicant will be given one year extension after 5.5.2015, in case the applicant is not able to complete the construction within stipulated period as stated….”

(The last two orders are significant. They are like an insurance policy a government fearful of defeat in the upcoming elections was taking out on behalf of RGCT. Both the permissions – for CLU and building plans – had life in them till 5 May, 2015. But if they had run their course, there was no guarantee that in May 2015 a friendly government would be in the saddle to help RGCT with another extension. So, a full eight months before the deadline, the incumbent government assumed that the trust would not be able to complete the formalities and granted a further one-year extension).

5 May 2016: True to style, before the expiry of its new deadline for CLU permission, RGCT applies for an occupation certificate.

30 December 2016: DTP, Enforcement, Gurgaon, submits its report to Senior Town Planner (STP), Gurgaon, submitting that the building is not ready for occupation so certificate cannot be issued.

3 January 2017: RGCT's application for occupation certificate is rejected by STP Gurgaon and submitted to Director, Town and Country Planning, Chandigarh with two significant recommendations:

That construction is no longer permissible on account of rejection of occupation certificate, and since the lease deed carried a clause that in case of failure to put the land to permitted use within two years the lease should be automatically cancelled/revoked.

At present, the file is with the chief minister’s office awaiting his orders.

The Congress will probably claim vendetta, but these charges are untenable and even courts have taken note of violations.

The High Court – in its judgment of 17 August 2016 – in a matter relating to 1,400 acres of land, which includes the RGCT land – has directed “the Advocate General, Haryana, to have instructions whether the state government is ready and willing to refer these cases for deeper probe to CBI”.

This direction comes after this observation: “What it appears prima facie from the record is that meanwhile a group of private builders entered the field and allured the desperate owners to enter into agreements to sell/collaboration agreements and procured general power of attorneys from such land owners. Thereafter, these builders-cum-developers in prima facie collusion and connivance with the state machinery, got the land released from the acquisition process. It is for this reason that the proposal to acquire 1,400 acres land stood reduced the requirement of so called “Public Purpose” to 87 acres only.”

Additionally, some recent Supreme Court judgments in the Uddar Gaggan and other land-related matters, have also ruled that release of land after notification of Section 4 (whereby the government declares its intent to acquire land for 'public purpose’) and giving licence on such land, is unlawful and violative of the policies of the state government itself. The state policy mandates that no change of land use (CLU) application can be entertained in case of transfer of such rights after a notification of Section 4.

This was also adequately highlighted through a series of media exposes from October 2012 onwards

RGCT is yet another case of blatant violations of all such stipulations during the Hooda regime.

PAG, CAG highlight violations

The Principal Accountant General (Audit), Haryana, in its report on the Social Sector dated 24 April 2012, has expressly alleged “Undue favour in (the) release of land to a trust”, stating that “As per policy of state government… there was no provision to release the land and grant change of land use permission for the land notified under Section 4 for acquisition on which the applicant had no clear title of land.”

“The government changed the relevant rules on 8 November 2010, for treating trusts having panchayat land on lease basis as owners for the purpose of grant of CLU after the receipt of application of the trust on 20 October 2010. The application of the trust as on 20 October 2010 was not valid”.

The report goes on to observe that: “The acceptance of change of land use (by the CM on 1 December 2010) was not in order as the land had already been notified for acquisition and the trust was not having clear title before the issue of notification under Section 4.”

The PAG Audit report further highlights this: “The release of land was also not in order as it was done by deviating from the policy framed by the state government since the trust was not in existence at the time of issuance of notification on 2 June 2009 under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.”

It also asks whether the trust has paid HUDA External Development Charges.

The March 2012-13 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Social, General and Economic Sectors endorsed the findings of the PAG, pointing out that “Release of land (is) in violation of provisions of the Act”.

“The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Rules, 1965, relating to CLU was modified by issuing a notification (8 November 2010) making the lessee of panchayat land eligible for applying for CLU. The proposal for the grant of CLU to the trust was accepted on 1 December 2010, subject to the condition that the land would be released by the government. The proposal about release of land was submitted on 3 December 2010 and was granted on the same day.

"Instructions issued (March 2008) by the state government inter alia laid down that the lessee shall put the leased land to the permitted use within two years from the date of commencement of lease period. Audit observed (December 2012) that even after two years, work regarding construction of the eye hospital had not been started by the trust thereby defeating the very purpose for which CLU was granted and land leased.

“The PS, TCPD stated during exit conference that the land was released in favour of the gram panchayat (GP) which was the owner of the land, but CLU had been granted in favour of the trust as per policy of the department. He further stated that the grant of CLU had been processed as per policy of 8 November 2010 which permitted CLU to the lease holders of GP’s land. He further stated that the government had powers to consider release of land under Section 48 of the Act where award of the same had not been announced and, therefore, the release of land had been done in accordance with the policy dated 26 October 2007.

"The contention of the PS was not in order as the GP (gram panchayat) had leased the land after issue of notification under Section 4 which was against the provisions of the Act as the owners cannot create any encumbrance on the land after the issue of notification under Section 4. Further, GP which was the owner of the land, had not approached the government for the release of land at any stage; the government changed the relevant rules on 8 November 2010 whereas the application of the trust was made on 20 October 2010; the department granted CLU for establishing an eye hospital by the trust in violation of its development plan as the area had been demarcated as a residential area; the government released land in contravention to the land release policy as no objection was filed by the GP under section 5-A and before leasing its land, the GP had not given proper publicity/advertisement for calling applications from interested parties, as required under Rule 10 of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Rules, 1964, to participate in the competition for ensuring transparency in the bidding process.”

And guess what Rahul Gandhi was up to just then?

Interestingly, even in August, 2011, while the Congress government in Haryana was unfolding this elaborate plan to hand over prime panchayat land to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust, the party's general secretary (now vice-president) Rahul Gandhi was making high-voltage forays into Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh to express solidarity with farmers protesting against land acquisition there.

It seems the NDA government, despite having solid ammo against Rahul Gandhi, is pussy-footing around the issue. One wonders why.

https://swarajyamag.com/politics/rajiv-gandhi-trusts-land-grab-is-an-open-and-shut-case-but-government-seems-reluctant-to-use-the-ammo

Swadesh Indology Conf. 17 to 19 Feb. 2017 -- Prof. KS Kannan. A superb initiative to counter Drain Inspectors.

March 2, 2017, 2:53 am

≫ Next: Clearing the sewers of G-street -- R. Vaidyanathan reviews the travails of 'globalisation'

≪ Previous: Rajiv Gandh Trust land grab ghotala -- Shalini Singh wonders why NDA pussyfoots

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Note: 'Drain Inspectors' is an expression popularized by Mahatma Gandhi in his commentary on Mayo's Mother India (1927), a distorted, polemical narrative of a civilization. 

Kalyan.

The second Swadeshi Indology Conference (SI-2) was held on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of February  2017 – at IGNCA , New Delhi on the theme –  Global Perceptions of Indian Heritage.

Summary

 

The conference had six components: an inaugural function,  a few plenary sessions, paper presentations, Vakyārtha Sadas sessions, release of monographs, and a valediction. Everything went on as planned, except that the sessions extended up to almost 7.30 pm in the evenings, owing to extended discussions.

IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts) played a key role providing the venue (3 halls) as well as local hospitality and other benefactions.

In all, 35 papers were presented on ten themes – in three simultaneous tracks in 3 halls; the topics pertained to the extraordinary claims of Prof. Sheldon Pollock, purporting consciously (or at best ostensibly unconsciously) to misinterpret our heritage.

The focus on Pollock (as with SI-1) was on grounds of his being the most influential scholar – in academic circles (also through his students who are well placed in celebrated academia), firstly, and secondly, in his reach on the general public, especially Indian (by virtue of his editorship in leading publishing houses); but even more importantly on grounds of the complex and complicated intellectual maze he has conjured, aimed at confounding and bamboozling the reading public by an ostentation of scholarship: in width, depth, or impact, or even the novelty of ideas or interpretations – in short, in terms of the Neo-orientalism he has sought to bring about in a copiously camouflaged and convoluted language – he has added new negative dimensions to Indology (and hence totally incomparable to some of the earlier Orientalist Indologists, the damage caused by whom pales into the background in quality and quantity). So much for the raison d’être of the themes of the conference.

Inaugural Session: The conference was inaugurated by Sri Ravishankar Prasad, the Hon’ble Minister for Law and Information.  Dr Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP, gave the key-note address.  Prof R Vaidyanathan (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore) and General GD Bakshi gave the Special Invitee addresses. Sri Rajiv Malhotra (Founder, Infinity Foundation) gave the Welcome Address, and Dr Sachchidananda Joshi, Member Secretary of IGNCA tendered a vote of thanks. Earlier, Dr Sudhir Lall of IGNCA, welcomed the guests onto the stage.

There were four Plenary Sessions – addressed by Prof R. Nagaswamy (renowned archaeologist), Ms Meenakshi Jain (Former Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library), Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao, D Litt (reputed musicologist , dance theoretician, and aṣṭāvadhānin ), and Dr Lokesh Chandra (President, Indian Council of Cultural Research, and Director, International Academy of Indian Culture).

There were 10 Academic Sessions, presided over by 10 Chairpersons. Among them figure Padma Vibhushan Dr Sonal Mansingh (Trustee, IGNCA), Prof Korada Subrahmanyam (Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies), and Dr Amarjiv Lochan (Member, International Association for the History of Religions, and International Association of Sanskrit Studies)

Of the 35 papers presented, 4 were presented on skype, and one was a recorded video. Among some important participants were Dr Shrinivas Tilak from Canada, Dr. Koenraad Elst from Belgium, Dr. Naresh Cuntoor from USA, Dr. Charu Uppal from Sweden, Śatāvadhānin Dr. R Ganesh (independent scholar of repute) and Prof K Gopinath (of Indian Institute of Science) from Bangalore. Among the papers presented were 9 on the Rasa Theory, 6 on Mīmāṁsā , and  5 on Buddhism; others were on other topics such as Śāstra, Philology and Desacralisation. 6 lady scholars also contributed papers. About 15 of the scholars were below 40 years of age. Over 15 were from the fields of Science/Technology, but backed by a sound knowledge of Sanskrit.  There were participants from half a dozen States of our country. A few papers were in Sanskrit.

A novel feature of the conference was 3 sessions of Vākyārtha Sadas. 3 young students trained by Mahamahopādhyāya Brahmaśrī Mani Dravida Sastrigal debated in Sanskrit in the traditional style of śāstrārtha, key themes gleaned from the theories of Sheldon Pollock. The purport of the discussions was presented in English at the end of each session.

We will be continuing to engage with these scholars and will strive to make their voice heard in the larger mainstream discourse. Vākyārtha Sadas, the traditional form of Purvapaksha and Uttarapaksha debate will slowly be revived and restored to its rightful position as a scientific and rigorous form of debate that has been the cornerstone of our intellectual tradition.

2 monographs written by two young scholars were also released on the last day. While one was on Pollockian Philology, the other was on the politics of Sanskrit Studies. The two monograph writers have been supported by Vellayan Chettiar Foundation based in Chennai and the awards for the monographs were given away by FICS (Foundation for Indian Civilisation Studies) instituted by Sri. Mohandas Pai.

The details of the monograph writers and their work are as follows:

1. Manjushree Hegde is the author of the monograph titled “Politics of Sanskrit Studies: A Critical Appraisal of Sheldon Pollock’s Ramayana”.
2. T M Narendran is the author of the monograph titled “A Pariksa of Sheldon Pollock’s Three Dimensional Philology” .

The Valedictory function had an address by Dr Sachchidananda Joshi, Sri Rajiv Malhotra, Dr K Aravinda Rao (Trustee, IGNCA, and Member, Indian Council of Philosophical Research), Dr Sudhir Lall, and Prof K S Kannan (Academic Director).

Best Paper Awards of Rs.70,000/= each, instituted by Sri T V Mohandas Pai (academician and philanthropist of repute) of the Foundation for Indian Civilization Studies, were presented to 7 best papers.

The awards were conferred on –

1. Prof. K Gopinath for his paper on Rasa titled “A computational Theory for Rasa”.
2. Megh Kalyanasundaram and Manogna Sastry for their paper on Chronology titled “Purvapaksha of Sheldon Pollock’s use of Chronology”.
3.  Nilesh Oak for his paper on Chronology titled “A cririque of Pollock’s “self-evident claims” for the chronology of Mahabharata and Ramayana AND Assertion for the dating of Mahabharata and Ramayana events based on the internal astronomy evidence”.
4.  Dr. Shrinivas Tilak for his paper on Mimamsa titled “Professor Sheldon Pollock on History in India: A critique from the perspective of Mimamsa”.
5.  Sowmya Krishnapur for her paper in Sanskrit titled “Sheldon Pollock Pratipaditasya Vyakarana Sastra – Prabhutvayoha Sambandhasya Yuktiyuktatva Pariksha“.
6.  Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay for his paper on Sastra titled “Practice versus Theory: Ganita Sastra and Western Mathematics”.
7.  Sudarshan Therani for his paper on Philology titled “The Science of Meaning”.

In addition, Lifetime achievement Award was conferred upon Dr. Nagaswamy by Foundation for Indian Civilisation Studies for his contribution to the field of swadeshi perspectives in Indology.

Publication : A total of 5 volumes (including the 2 monographs released, and selected papers presented at the two conferences) would be published in a few months time. They are being edited by me.

Prospect : A conference on the Aryan-Dravidian Theory with focus on Tamil Nadu is being planned next, in the latter half of 2017. A Call for Papers will also be announced in the coming months.

Prof. K S Kannan,
Academic Director,
Swadeshi Indology.

The handouts for attendees at the conference is made available here – pdf .

Some photographs (courtesy IGNCA) are made available here

Links to presentations , videos shall be made available here in the coming weeks.
http://linkis.com/swadeshiindology.com/NXZFL

Clearing the sewers of G-street -- R. Vaidyanathan reviews the travails of 'globalisation'

March 2, 2017, 3:47 am

≫ Next: Sarasvati Script hypertexts and Devatā Rati, Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā of Ṛgveda sūktam RV1.179 are metalwork signifiers

≪ Previous: Swadesh Indology Conf. 17 to 19 Feb. 2017 -- Prof. KS Kannan. A superb initiative to counter Drain Inspectors.

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February 20, 2017                                                         

The Rise and Fall of Globalisation

Throughout the seventies and eighties it was globalization [The G word] of manufacturing facilities that is Product Markets. The anecdotal evidence often told in many a business school classrooms used to be like this. The doors of the Ford car are made in Barcelona and the seat cushions near Budapest and gearbox in the suburbs of Paris and music system in Osaka and the assembly is done at Shanghai and the car is sold in Thailand. So, what is American about it? It is transnational and the geographical boundaries are crumbling and think global and act local we were told, and the term “glocal” came into existence. This was the ultimate in the process of global integration of economic activities through integration of manufacturing facilities to reduce cost, take advantage of pool of skilled resources available in the emerging markets. It also argued about “standardization “of live styles –mostly the American standards— in terms of Jeans, processed food and cola drinks.

Then the nineties saw the globalization of Financial Markets. You want to set up a facility in Chennai then you can think of raising funds from New York stock exchange or European Banks if the project is found to be attractive. Funds were looking for markets and “geographical diversification” became the buzzword. The pension funds were one of the largest investors running into nearly 18 trillion USD and at least 15 to 20 % of this was in non-domestic markets. The Funds started searching for markets instead of markets trying to attract funds. The life expectancy in the Europe and US increased significantly and the pension funds were to earn for longer period since old people have to be provided for. Then came the idea of consumption led growth and greed as the norm. On May 18, 1986 Ivan Boesky gave the commencement address at the University of California at Berkeley’s business school. “I think greed is healthy,” he told his wildly enthusiastic audience. “You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.” A few months later Boesky was indicted on the charges that would land him in Southern California’s Lompoc Federal Prison, also known as Club Fed West.

The melt down of 2008 has impacted the idea of globalization. Suddenly countries which are supposed to be de-coupled from the global markets are considered smart. Not only that –The US congress included a “ buy American” clause in the USD 787 billion stimulus package—2009– particularly mandating the use of U.S funded projects , it was clear that protectionism has trumped globalization. As a response China has a “buy Chinese” clause in its stimulus package. So the whole game is unravelling on the G front.

Interestingly, some US experts are suggesting a new grouping of G-2 to guide the world—This G-2 will have US and China as members. China has sold billions of Toxic Toys [chemical laced] to the USA and USA in turn has sold billions of its Toxic Treasury Bills to China. Hence there is a Mexican standoff between the two in Globalization sphere. Interestingly except India nobody is talking About the G-word in the Financial or Product sphere. Now Post-Trump victory Davos “Experts” wanting China to lead Globalization. Irony died multiple times!!

But the third and most important dimension of globalization is in the context of the Labour Markets to allow free flow of human beings to carry out brown collar work in the west.

There is aspectrehaunting the West. It is the spectre of uncleared garbage, clogged drains and overflowing sewerages. It cannot be outsourced so easily as that of white collar work since the later has significant content of software portion while as brown collar work still has requirements for human beings at locations. In the fifties and the sixties, millions of the Turks and Kurds and Iraqis went to Germany when that economy was booming and they were/ are called guest workers. The Algerians and Moroccans went to France and continue to be a significant minority in France and also active in their Soccer teams. More than a million Mexicans in USA are called “undocumented”– euphemism for “illegal”. These workers in France / Germany / USA etc. were mainly in the blue and brown collar jobs more so in the lower skill categories like cleaning restrooms and restaurants / meat cutting / grape picking/domestic help/ road laying/ garbage processing/plumbing/ handyman jobs; babysitting etc. The Demographic decline of Europe needed outside labour. Then came the economic slump in the early 2000 and these European countries have erected fences and reject visas etc. for third world labour.

The mass migration due to civil war in Yemen and Syria has added to the issue. If financial markets want a borderless world so be it for the labour markets but it is not acceptable by the West since they treat G as a one way street. Hence the presence of the “minutemen” in Arizona who will shoot illegals and rhetoric by Obama about Bangalore taking away the jobs from Buffalo and Trump talking about a wall and Brexit to split EU.

No truly global “world order’ has ever existed. What passes for order in our time was devised in Western Europe nearly four centuries ago, at a peace conference in the German region of Westphalia, conducted in 1648 after the thirty years war. Nearly a quarter of the population of Central Europe died from combat, disease, or starvation. The exhausted participants met to define a set of arrangements for the world. The principle of the sovereignty of states and the principle of non-intervention of one state in the internal affairs of another state.

Interesting all these are questioned by contemporary leaders of West and radical Islam.

Tony Blair the then Prime Minister of UK in his famous Chicago Address -1999-suggests

“The most pressing foreign policy problem we face is to identify the circumstances in which we should get actively involved in other people’s conflicts. Non -interference has long been considered an important principle of international order…. “But the principle of non-interference must be qualified in important respects”. The NATO intervention in Kosovo and Afghanistan as well as US intervention in Iraq provide recent examples of breakdown of idea of Westphalia.

Interestingly Radical Islam also consider that the world order based on Westphalian consensus will collapse. “In the aftermath of the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks, Lewis ‘Atiyyatullah, who claims to represent the terrorist network Al-Qaeda, declared that “the international system built up by the West since the Treaty of Westphalia will collapse; and a new international system will rise under the leadership of a mighty Islamic state.”

The spread of ISIS across countries and activities of Boko Haram based in Nigeria in Kenya and Chad re-emphasis this point. Radical Islam do not accept territorial boundaries since it works for a global regime for global Ummah. The talk about Caliphate indicates that they are trans-border organizations.

On the other side we find global corporations transcending sovereignty in search of global profits. For this they use tax havens as a tool. Tax havens–numbering more than 70 jurisdictions–facilitate bank facilities with zero taxes and no-disclosure of the names and in many cases anonymous trusts holding accounts on behalf of beneficiary. In the case of Bahamas one building seems to have had tens of thousands of companies registered there.

USA is literally waging war with major Giants like Amazon/Google/Microsoft etc. for not paying adequate taxes in USA in spite of being US based companies. Most of these companies have moved their profits to other Tax Havens.

A simple method of trade mis-invoicing by global companies using tax-havens have impacted developing countries nearly 730Billion USD in 2012 says Global Financial integrity. There is an increasing clamour in USA and EU about closing down these tax havens.

So Globalisation is stuck between Labour markets /Tax havens and Terrorists.

The middle class in UK revolted against EU –seamless borders and trade and in US the victory of Trump is a big blow to Globalisers. He is unenthusiastic about Davos. The rise of Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders in Holland represent back to national sovereignty. Le Pen recently said in Koblenz “nation state” is back.

In this, the traditional division of Left and right have lost its meaning. In BREXIT we saw left supporting EU and part of right opposing it. Now, the new divisions are Globalisers versus Nation states both from left and right

Views Personal

    ______________________         

               Prof. R.VAIDYANATHAN                                               

                Bangalore

https://rvaidya2000.com/2017/02/20/the-rise-and-fall-of-globalisation/

Sarasvati Script hypertexts and Devatā Rati, Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā of Ṛgveda sūktam RV1.179 are metalwork signifiers

March 2, 2017, 8:04 pm

≫ Next: People of Ṛgveda, enquiries by Ṛṣi-s on ātmā, essence, principle of life & sensation

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Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/h5l2lab

Ṛcas 1.179.1-2, 3-4, 5-6 are attributed respectively to a. Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā, b&c. Ṛṣis Agastya Maitrāvaruni, Agastya-antevāsī (brahmacārī).

Ṛcas 1.179.3-4 are so gross that Griffith translates them in Latin. 

Ṛgveda Sūktam 1.179 is purely a gross information, a metaphor for getting desired wealth, Soma.

Rati, 'sexual desire' is a metaphor for Soma, wealth'; mudrā 'metalwork signifier' seals,

Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā is a matronymic surname.

रतिः ratiḥ,'sexual desire' is the devatā of Ṛgveda Sūktam 1.179 which is a gross description of mithunau, 'couple'. 

A metalwork metaphor is used to describe the sex act: khanitraih (by the digging implements)(khanamānah, 'digging'). At an Ādhibhautika level of meaning, the Sūktam compares the process of obtaining Soma (wealth) to the process of mining. 

A narrative describes Agastya putting together Lopāmudrā with the most graceful parts of animals such as eyes of the deer etc. This metaphoric narrative evokes the Sarasvati Script evidence of putting together hypertexts consisting of hieroglyphs signifying parts of many animals, e.g. one-horned young bull, ox and antelope heads combined into a bovine body. See:  http://tinyurl.com/hwrz24p

Dwaraka. Turbinella pyrum seal.

.Amri Seal 06.Banawali

Mohenjo-daro 1171Dholavira seal

I suggest that the hieroglyphs are signifiers of ṭhaṭherā 'brassworker' and artisans working in iron and wood, who are sculptors, engravers inserting gems in ornaments and sculptures. 

In the hieroglyph-multiplex of such three-headed animals, one-horned young bull signifies such an engraving, enchasing artisan: 

सांगड sāṅgaḍa 'joined animal', rebus saṅgaha संग्रह 'catalogue' . Hieroglyph components combined are: barad, balad 'ox' rebus: bharata 'alloy of pewter, copper, tin' PLUS  खोंड (p. 216) [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf.rebus: kũdār 'turner, sculptor, engraver' PLUS mlekh 'goat' rebus: milakkhu 'copper'. Hieroglyph: खोंड (p. 216) [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. Rebus: खोदणी (p. 216) [ khōdaṇī ] f (Verbal of खोदणें) Digging, engraving &c. 2 fig. An exacting of money by importunity. v लाव, मांड. 3 An instrument to scoop out and cut flowers and figures from paper. 4 A goldsmith's die.खोदणें (p. 216) [ khōdaṇēṃ ] v c & i ( H) To dig. 2 To engrave.खोदींव (p. 216) [ khōdīṃva ] p of खोदणें Dug. 2 Engraved, carved, sculptured. खोदणावळ (p. 216) [ khōdaṇāvaḷa ] f (खोदणें) The price or cost of sculpture or carving. Three heads signify professional competence to work with  tvāṣṭra त्वाष्ट्र 'copper', milakkhu 'copper', mẽṛhẽt meḍ 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) meD 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic) and bharatभरत (p. 603) [ bharata ] n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &cभरती (p. 603) [ bharatī ] a Composed of the metal भरत, baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin)’. ranku 'antelope' rebus: ranku 'tin'(mineral).

The matronym Lopāmudrā (Agastya's wife) signifies the production of मुद्रा mudrā 'a seal ring, signet-ring' attested by over 8000 inscriptions of Sarasvati Script Corpora cataloguing metalwork. (There are evidences of sex act on some inscriptions -- discussed elsewhere.) For example, see: http://tinyurl.com/j5up92t 

Itihāsa of makara in Veda & Indus Script artisanal traditions of Bhāratam Janam

m0489a,b,c Mohenjo-daro prism tablet. r-an:ku, ran:ku = fornication, adultery (Telugu); rebus: ranku ‘tin’ (Santali) PLUS other hieroglyphs also read rebus in Meluhha (mleccha) as mlecchita vikalpa. म्लेच्छ [p= 837,3] mleccha = a person who lives by agriculture or by making weapons L.

I suggest that the suffix - मुद्रा mudrā indicates evidence of a writing system using tokens or seals in Ṛgvedic times.

The translations by Prasanna Chandra Gautam (Ṛgveda, 2014, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai) are:

1.179.1 I, Lopamudra, have been labouring at dawn, making many years, night and days frail. The senility surely destroys the beauty of the bodies also. Therefore, let the sprinklers (vṛṣaṇah) go now toward their wives.

1.179.2 O Agastya ! They, who were the ancient proponents of truth, they spoke the truth with the gods. They, too, threw down (ava asuh = ejaulated) the (semen); surely, did not get the end of the sexual desires. Similarly, may the wives go promptly to the husbands, capable of ejaculation (vṛṣabhih).

1.179.3 O Lopamudra ! The austerity of both of us has not been done in vain. Hence, the gods save us. Therefore, may we be able to control all the adversaries. may we win here hundreds of types of battles, and let us couple (mithunau) enjoy together.

1.179.4 O wife (patni) ! The sexual desire (kāmah), born here, there and everywhere, (adhīrā, 'passionate') came towards me, the controller (of desires), the hymn singer; Lopamudra, receives the one able to ejaculate (me, the husband vṛṣaṇam 'one able to ejaculate'); and impatient, enjoys (dhayati) the panting (śvasantam), strong wise husband.

1.179.5 I pray from close to this Soma, drunk (and) remaining in heart. May that Soma, try removing all that sin which we did, make (us) happy. Surely, man becomes desirous of much (pulukāmah).

1.179.6 Agastya, digging (khanamānah) by the digging implements (khanitraih), wishing for offspring, lineage (apatyam), and power nourished both groups (ubhau varṇau, 'both groups, sons and daughters'. The brave (ugrah) Rishi received true blessings from the gods.

1.179.01 (Lopa_mudra_): Many years have I been serving you diligently, both day and night, and through mornings, bringing on old age; decay now impairs the beauty of my limbs; what, therefore, is now (to be done); let husbands approach their wives.
1.179.02 The ancient sages, disseminators of truth, who, verily, conversed of truths with the gods, begot (progeny), nor thereby violated (their vow of continence), therefore should wives be approached by their husbands.
1.179.03 (Agastya): Penance has not been practised in vain; since the gods protect us, we may indulge all our desires; in this world we may triumph in many conflicts, if we exert ourselves mutually together.
1.179.04 Desire, either from this cause or from that, has come upon me whilst engaged in prayer and suppressing (passion); let Lopa_mudra_ approach her husband; the unsteady female beguiles the firm and resolute man. [Either from this cause or that: ito amutah kutas'cit, from some cause, from this, or from that; from your society or from the influence of the season, as spring and the like; or from the suggestions of this world or of the next].
1.179.05 (Pupil): I beseech the Soma, which has been drunk in my heart, that it may fully expiate the sin we have committed; man is subject to many desires. [What has been drunk in my heart: antito hr.tsu pi_tam, drunk mentally, not actually; the sin we have committed: the sin of listening ot the conversation of their guru with his wife].
1.179.06 Agastya, a venerable sage, working with (fit) implements, desiring progeny, offspring, and strength, practised both classes (of obligations), and received true benedictions from the gods. [Working with fit implements: khanama_nah khanitraih = lit., digging with diggin gtools; i.e. effecting his objects by appropriate means, earning his reward by sacrifice and hymns; desring progeny: praja_m apatyam balam icchama_nah: praja_ implies repeated successions, descendants, and apatya signifies more immediate descent, sons, grandsons; both classes of obligations: ka_ma and tapas, desire and devotion; the duties of domestic as well as ascetic life].

Griffith: !.179 

HYMN CLXXIX. Rati. 179
1 Through' many autumns have I toiled and laboured, at night and morn, through ageinducing-
dawnings. Old age impairs the beauty of our bodies. Let husbands still come near unto their spouses.
2 For even the men aforetime, lawfulfillers-, who with the Gods declared eternal statutes,
They have decided, but have not accomplished: so now let Wives come near unto their husbands.
3 Non inutilis est labor cui Dii favent: nos omnes aemulos et aemulas vincamus.
Superemus in hac centum artium pugna in qua duas partes convenientes utrinque commovemus. It( is not unprofitable to whom the gods favored by the labor of: we all have a rival and gives us the verdict to rival. This be conquered in a hundred and the art of war in which the two parts of the motion, to be coming together on both sides.)
4 Non inutilis est labor cui Dii favent: nos omnes aemulos et aemulas vincamus.
Superemus in hac centum artium pugna in qua duas partes convenientes utrinque commovemus. (Took me to the bulls the [men], who looks down upon me, whether on this side on the other whether from any part of is bound to be. Lopamudra, a bull to her [husband] to him speaketh evil of: but the foolish wise man, that absorbs and breathes.)
5 This Soma I address that is most near us, that which hath been imbibed within the spirit,
To pardon any sins we have committed. Verily mortal man is full of longings.
6 Agastya thus, toiling with strong endeavour, wishing for children, progeny and power,
Cherished, a sage of mighty strength, both classes, and with the Gods obtained his prayers'
fulfilment.

Names of Ṛsi-s in Mandala 1 of Ṛgveda

मधु--च्छन्दस् [p= 779,3] m. N. of the 51st of विश्वा-मित्र's 101 sons AitBr. S3a1n3khS3r. 

&c; pl. N. of all the sons of विश्वा BhP.

विश्वा-मित्र b [p= 995,1] m. (prob.) " friend of all " , N. of a celebrated ऋषि or Sage (having the patr. गाथिन , गाधेय , and जाह्नव ; he was at first a functionary , together with वसिष्ठ , of सु-दास् , king of the तृत्सुs ; seeing वसिष्ठ preferred by the king , he went over to the भरतs , but could not prevent their being defeated by सु-दास् , although he caused the waters of the rivers विपाश् and शुतुद्री to retire and so give the भरतs free passage RV. iii , 33 ; he was born as a क्षत्रिय , deriving his lineage from an ancestor of कुशिक , named पुरू-रवस् , of the lunar race of kings , and himself sovereign of कन्या-कुब्ज or Kanoj ; his fame rests chiefly on his contests with the great Brahman वसिष्ठ , and his success in elevating himself. though a क्षत्रिय , to the rank of a Brahman »Manu vii , 42 : the रामायण , which makes him a companion and counsellor of the young राम-चन्द्र , records [i , 51-65] how विश्वामित्र , on his accession to the throne , visited वसिष्ठ's hermitage , and seeing there the cow of plenty [probably typical of गो , " the earth "] , offered him untold treasures in exchange for it , but being refused , prepared to take it by force ; a long contest ensued between the king and the saint [symbolical of the struggles between the क्षत्रिय and Brahmanical classes] , which ended in the defeat of विश्वामित्र , whose vexation was such that , in order to become a Brahman and thus conquer his rival , he devoted himself to intense austerities [during which he was seduced by the nymph मेनका and had by her a daughter , शकुन्तला] , gradually increasing the rigour of his mortification through thousands of years , till he successively earned the titles of राजर्षि , ऋषि , महर्षि , and finally ब्रह्मर्षि ; he is supposed to be the author of nearly the whole of RV. iii , and of ix , 67 , 1315 ; x , 137 , 5 ; 167 ; moreover , a law-book , a धनुर्वेद , and a medical wk. are attributed to him) RV. &c; a partic. चतुर्-ह (= विश्वामित्रस्य संजयः) Pan5cavBr. Ka1tyS3r.; a partic.
अनुवाक (= विश्वामित्रस्या*नुवाकः) Pat.

जेतृ [p= 424,3] mfn. victorious , triumphant , gaining , (m.) conqueror RV. AV. &c; m. N. of a son of मधुच्छन्दस् (author of RV. i , 11 ) RAnukr.; m. of a prince who had a grove near श्रावस्ती (cf. °त-वन) Buddh.

मेध [p= 832,3] 
मेधा* तिथि a [p= 833,1]m. N. of a काण्व (author of RV. 1 , 12-23 , viii , 1 &c ) RV. viii , 8 , 20; of the father of कण्व MBh. R.; of a son of मनु स्वायम्भुव Hariv.; of one of the 7 sages under मनु सावर्ण ib.; of a son of प्रिय-व्रत Pur.; (also with भट्ट) of a lawyer and commentator on the मानव-धर्म-शास्त्र Kull. on Mn. ix , 525 ( IW. 303)

अ-जीगर्त [p= 10,2] m. " that has nothing to swallow " , N. of a ऋषि , शुनः-शेप's father.

शुनः-शेप [p= 1083,1] m. " dog-tailed " , N. of a Vedic ऋषि (having the patr. 

आजीगर्ति , as son of अजीगर्त or अजीगर्त , and regarded as the author of the hymns i , 24-30 , ix , 3 ; accord. to AitBr. vii , 13-18, king हरिश्चन्द्र , whose priest was विश्वा-मित्र , being childless , made a vow that on obtaining a son he would sacrifice him to the god वरुण ; a son was then born to him named रोहित , but हरिश्चन्द्र put off on various pretexts the fulfilment of his vow , and when he at length consented to perform it , his son refused to be sacrificed , and retiring to the forest passed six years there until he met a poor Brahman ऋषि named अजीगर्त , who had three sons , the second of whom , शुनः-शेप , was purchased by रोहित for a hundred cows to serve as a substitute for himself ; वरुण having accepted him as a ransom , he was about to be sacrificed , विश्वा-मित्र being होतृ priest , when he saved himself by reciting verses in praise of various deities , and was received into the family of विश्वा-मित्र as one of his sons under the name of देव-रात q.v.: the legend is different in the रामायण , which makes अम्बरीष , king of अयोध्या , perform a sacrifice , the victim of which is stolen by इन्द्र ; this king is described as wandering over the earth in search of either the real victim or a substitute until he meets with a Brahman named ऋचीक , from whom he purchases his middle son , शुनः-शेप , who is about to be sacrificed , when विश्वा-मित्र saves him by teaching him a prayer to अग्नि and two hymns to इन्द्र and विष्णु ; » R. i , 61 , 62) RV. &c ( IW. 25-27)

हिरण्य--स्तूप [p= 1300,2] m. (ह्/इरण्य-) N. of an आङ्गिरस (author of RV. i , 31-35 ; ix , 4 ; 69) RV. S3Br.; pl. N. of a family MW. इरिण्य [p= 168,2] mfn. belonging or relating to a desert VS.

हिरण्य [p= 1299,3] n. (ifc. f(आ). ; prob. connected with हरि , हरित् , हिरि) gold (orig. " uncoined gold or other precious metal " ; in later language " coined gold " -or " money ") RV. &c;any vessel or ornament made of gold (as " a golden spoon " Mn. ii , 29) RV. AV. VS. Kaus3.;a gold piece or coin (generally with सुव्/अर्ण as opp. to base metal) Br.

हिरण्यम् hiraṇyam हिरण्यम् [हिरणमेव स्वार्थे यत्] 1 Gold; Ms.2.246. -2 Any vessel of gold; मन्त्रवत् प्राशनं चास्य हिरण्यमधुसर्पिषाम् Ms.2.29 (some take in the first sense). -3 Silver; (ददौ) हिरण्यस्य सुवर्णस्य मुक्तानां विद्रुमस्य च Rām.1.74.5; Mb. 13.57.34. -4 Any precious metal. -5 Wealth, property; अपदेश्यैश्च संन्यस्य हिरण्यं तस्य तत्त्वतः Ms.8.182. -6 Semen virile. -7 A cowrie.-8 particular measure. -9 A substance. -1 The thorn-apple (धत्तूर). -ण्या One of the seven tongues of fire. -Comp. -अक्षः N. of  a celebrated demon, twin brother of Hiraṇyakaśipu; अंशे हिरण्याक्षरिपोः स जाते हिरण्यनाभे तनवे नयज्ञः R.18.25. [On the strength of a boon from Brahman, he became insolent and oppressive, seized upon the earth, and carried it with him into the depths of the ocean. Viṣṇu therefore became incarnate as a boar, killed the demon and lifted up the earth.] -कक्षa. wearing a golden girdle. -कर्तृ m. goldsmith; यथा हिरण्यकर्ता वै रूप्यमग्नौ विशोधयेत् Mb.12.28.11. -कवच a. having golden armour (said of Śiva). -कशिपुः N. of a cele- brated king of demons. [He was a son of Kaśyapa and Diti, and by virtue of a boon from Brahman, he became so powerful that he usurped the sovereignty of Indra and oppressed the three worlds. He freely blasphemed the great god and subjected his son Pra- hrāda to untold cruelties for acknowledging Viṣṇu as the Supreme deity. But he was eventually torn to pieces by Viṣṇu in the form of Narasimha; see प्रह्लाद]. -कारः a goldsmith. -केशी a branch (शाखा) of Yajur- veda. -कोशः gold and silver (whether wrought or unwrought). -गर्भः 1 N. of Brahman (as born from a golden-egg). -2 N. of Viṣṇu. -3 the soul invested by the subtile body or सूक्ष्मशरीर q. v. -द a. giving or granting gold; भूमिदो भूमिमाप्नोति दीर्घमायुर्हिरण्यदः Ms.4.23. (-दः) the ocean. (-दा) the earth. -नाभः 1 the mountain Maināka. -2 N. of Viṣṇu. (-भम्) a building having three halls (towards east, west and south). -बाहुः 1 an epithet of Śiva. -2 the river Śoṇa. -बिन्दुः fire. -रेतस् m. 1 fire; द्विषामसह्यः सुतरां तरूणां हिरण्यरेता इव सानिलो$भूत् R.18.25. -2 the sun. -3 N. of Śiva. -4 the Chitraka or Arka plant. -वर्चस् a. shining with golden lustre. -वर्णा a river. -वाहः 1 the river Śoṇa. -2 N. of Śiva.

कण्व [p= 246,2] m. ( √कण् Un2. i , 151), N. of a renowned ऋषि (author of several hymns of the ऋग्-वेद ; he is called a son of घोर and is said to belong to the family of अङ्गिरस्) RV. AV. VS. Ka1tyS3r. &c; m. pl. the family or descendants of कण्व ib. (besides the celebrated ऋषि there occur a कण्व नार्षद AV. iv , 19 , 2 कण्वश्रायसस् TS. v , 4 , 7 , 5 Kan2vaKa1s3yapa MBh. S3ak. &c ; the founder of a Vedic school ; several princes and founders of dynasties ; several authors); m. a peculiar class of evil spirits (against whom the hymn AV. ii , 25 is used as a charm) AV. ii , 25 , 3 ; 4 ; 5; mfn. deaf Ka1tyS3r. x , 2 , 35; mfn. praising , a praiser L.; mfn. one who is to be praised T.

सव्य [p= 1191,2] mf(आ)n. (accord. to Un2. iv , 109 fr. √ सू ; perhaps for स्कव्य cf. Gk. , col.3) left , left hand (अम् , /एन , /आ ए , and ibc. , " on the left ") RV. &c; opposite to left , right , right hand (अम् , एन , and ibc. , " on the right "); m. a fire lighted at a person's death L.m. N. of an अङ्गिरस and author of RV. i , 51-57 Anukr.; n. (scil. यज्ञो*पवीत) the sacred thread worn over the left shoulder (acc. with √ कृ , " to put the sacred thread over the left shoulder ") Ka1tyS3r. Sch. ([accord. to some for स्कव्य , cf.  Lat. scaevus ; accord. to others for स्यव्य cf. Slav. s8uji7]).

नोधा nōdhā नोधा ind. Ninefold, in nine parts; नोधा विधाय रूपं स्वं सर्वसंकल्पविद्विभुः Bhāg.3.23.47.

परा-शर a [p= 591,1] » परा-शॄ m. a crusher , destroyer RV. AV..; a partic. wild animal Bhagavati1g. (w.r. °सर); N. of a son of वसिष्ठ or of a son of शक्ति and grandson of वसिष्ठ (according to MBh. the father of व्यास ; said to be the author of RV. i , 65-73 and part of ix , 97); of a son of कुठुमि VP.;  कुठुमि [p= 289,1] m. N. of a teacher (author of a law-book) 

गो--तम a [p= 364,2]m. (ग्/ओ-) (superl.) N. of a ऋषि belonging to the family of अङ्गिरस् with the patr. राहू-गण (author of RV. i , 74-93) RV. AV. S3Br. i , xi , xiv Shad2vBr. &c; " the largest ox " and " N. of the founder of न्याय phil. " Naish. xvii , 75; n. a kind of poison Gal.; गौतम [p= 369,2]mf(ई)n. relating to गोतम (with पद-स्तोभ m. pl. N. of a सामन्); m. patr. fr. गोतम (N. of कुश्रि , उद्दालक , अरुण S3Br. ; of शरद्वत् Hariv. Mr2icch. v , 30 VP. ; of शता*नन्द L. ; of शाक्य-मुनि ; of नोधस् and वाम-देव RAnukr. ; of a teacher of ritual La1t2y. A1s3vS3r. A1s3vGr2. ; of a grammarian TPra1t. La1t2y. [with the epithet स्थविर] ; of a legislator Ya1jn5. i , 5 ; the father of एकत , द्वित , and त्रित MBh. ix , 2073)

कुत्स [p= 290,3] m. N. of a ऋषि (called आर्जुनेय , author of several hymns of the RV. ; when attacked by the demon शुष्ण , इन्द्र defended him and killed the demon ; but in other hymns [ RV. i , 53 , 10 ; ii , 14 , 7 ; iv , 26 , 1 ; viii , 53 , 2] कुत्स is represented as persecuted by इन्द्र) RV. AV. iv , 29 , 5 Ta1n2d2yaBr.; N. of a descendant of अङ्गिरस् (author of the hymns RV. i , 94-98 ; 100-115 ; ix , 97 , 45 seqq.) A1s3vS3r.; lightning , thunderbolt Naigh. Nir.; m. pl. ( Pa1n2. 2-4 , 65) the descendants or the family of कुत्स RV. vii , 25 , 5 La1t2y.

 कश्यप [p= 265,2] mfn. (fr. कश्य + 2. प) having black teeth Comm. on Ka1tyS3r. x , 2 , 35;m. a tortoise (कच्छप) VS. xxiv , 37 AitBr. S3Br.; m. a class of divine beings associated with प्रजापति AV. TS. VS.; m. pl. a class of semidivine genii connected with or regulating the course of the sun AV. xiii , 1 , 23 TA1r. i , 8 Pa1rGr2. ii , 9 , 13; m. of an ancient sage VS. AV. &c , (a descendant of मरीचि and author of several hymns of the ऋग्-वेद RV. AV. S3Br. ; he was husband of अदिति and twelve other daughters of दक्ष MBh. i , 2598 Mn. ix , 129 ; by अदिति he was father of the आदित्यs [cf.काश्यपेय] TS. S3Br. ; and of विवस्वत् R. ; and of विष्णु in his वामन अवतार R. BhP. VP. ; by his other twelve wives he was father of demons , नागs , reptiles , birds , and all kinds of living things ; from the prominent part ascribed to him in creation he is sometimes called प्रजा-पति ; he is one of the seven great ऋषिs and priest of परशु-राम and राम-चन्द्र ; he is supposed by some to be a personification of races inhabiting the Caucasus , the Caspian , Kasmir , &c ); कश्यपा f. a female ऋषि (authoress of a verse in the White यजुर्-वेद).

.ऋज्रा* श्व [p= 225,3] m. " having quick horses " , N. of a man RV. अम्बरीष [p= 83,2] mn. a frying pan TS. v, Ka1tyS3r.; m. a young animal , colt L.;m. the sun R. v , 3 , 5, sky , atmosphere Comm. on Un2.; m. N. of a राजर्षि (son of the king Vrishagir , and composer of the hymns RV. i , 100 and ix , 98) RV. i , 100 , 17, of a descendant of मनु वैवस्वत and son of नाभाग (celebrated for his devotion to विष्णु) MBh. &c N. of a राजर्षि (descendant of सगर and ancestor of दशरथ) R.m. N. of शिव L.m. of विष्णु L.m. of गणेश Katha1s.सह--देव [p= 1194,1] mfn. (सह्/अ-) with the gods MBh. BhP.l m. N. of a ऋषि (with the patr. वार्षागिर) RV. i , 107भयमान [p= 747,2] m. N. of a man RV. i , 100 ; 17 ( Sa1y. ; accord , to Anukr. the author of RV. i , 100)सु--राधस् [p= 1232,2] mfn. granting good gifts , liberal , bountiful RV.; receiving rich gifts , wealthy ib.;m. N. of a ऋषि (having the patr. वार्षागिर and author of RV. i , 100) Anukr. वार्षागिर [p= 946,1]m. pl. (fr. वृषा-गिर्) patr. of अम्बरीष , ऋज्राश्व , भजमान , सह-देव , and सुराधस् (authors of RV. i , 100) Anukr. (cf. i , 100 , 17) .वृषा--गिर् [p= 1013,1] m. " strong-voiced " , N. of a man (cf. वर्षागिर) कक्षीवत् [p= 242,1] m. (for कक्ष्या-वत् Ka1s3. on Pa1n2. 8-2 , 12), N. of a renowned ऋषि (sometimes called पज्रिय ; he is the author of several hymns of the ऋग्-वेद , and is fabled as a son of उशिज् and दीर्घ-तमस्) RV. AV. S3a1n3khS3r. &c; m. pl. (अन्तस्) the descendants of कक्षीवत् RV. i , 126 , 4; कक्षी [p= 242,1] (in comp. for कक्ष). कक्ष्या-वत् [p= 242,1] mfn. furnished with a girth; m. (आन्) = कक्षीवत् Ka1s3. on Pa1n2. 8-2 , 12.उशिज् [p= 219,3] mfn. ( Un2. ii , 71) wishing , desiring , striving earnestly , zealous RV.; desirable , amiable , lovely , charming VS. TS. S3a1n3khS3r. BhP.; m. (क्) fire Un2.; m. boiled butter , ghee ib.; f. (क्) N. of the mother of कक्षीवत्.दीर्घ--तमस् [p= 482,1] m. (°घ्/अ-) N. of a ऋषि with the patron. औचथ्य and the metron. मामतेय RV. i , 158 , 1 ; 6 (author of the hymns RV. i,140-164 ; father of कक्षीवत् Sa1y. on RV. i , 125 , 1 ; through बृहस्-पति's curse born blind MBh. i , 4192 &c ; xii , 13182 ; father of धन्वन्-तरि Pur. ; has by सु-देष्णा , बलि's wife , five sons , अङ्ग , भङ्ग , कलिङ्ग , पुण्ड्र , and सुह्म MBh. Pur. ) ; pl. his descendantsपरुच्-छेप [p= 605,3] m. (prob. fr. परुत् = °रुस् + शेप) N. of a ऋषि (son of दिवो-दास and author of RV. i , 127) Nir. TS. S3a1n3khBr. परुत् [p= 606,1] ind. ( Pa1n2. 5-3 , 22) last year L. [cf. परारि ; Lith. pe4rnay ; Goth. fai4rneis ; Angl.Sax.fyrn ; HGerm. vert , verne.]परारि [p= 589,1]ind. (पर +?) in the year before last Pa1n2. 5-3 , 22 + शेप [p= 1088,2]  m. (said to be fr. √1. शी , and connected with शिव and √ श्वि) the male organ , penis RV. AV. VS. TS.;  tail (cf. परु-च्छेप , शु-नः-शेप) RV. [cf. Lat. cippus.]अगस्त्य [p= 4,3]m. (3 , 4) = अग्/अस्ति; N. of शिव L. अस्ति 1 [p= 122,2]ind. (3. sg. pr. √1. अस् ; g. चा*दि and स्वर्-ादि q.v.) sometimes used as a mere particle at the beginning of fables Pan5cat. Katha1s.; existent , present L.; f. (अस्-ति = स्-ति q.v.) , N. of a sister of प्राप्ति (daughter of जरासन्धस् and wife of कंस) MBh. ii , 595 Hariv. 4955 BhP. अग् [p= 4,2] cl.1 P. अगति , to move tortuously , wind L. : Caus. अगयति L. ; cf. √अङ्ग्अन्ते-वासिन् a [p= 43,1]mfn. dwelling near the boundaries , dwelling close by L.; m. a pupil who dwells near or in the house of his teacher S3Br. &c;अन्ते-ऽवसायिन् [p= 43,1] m. a man living at the end of a town or village , a man belonging to the lowest caste MBh. &c लोपः lōpḥ  Want, failure, absence; सो$हमिज्याविशुद्धात्मा प्रजालोपनिमीलितः R.1.68; Omission, dropping; तद्वद् धर्मस्य लोपे स्यात् K. P.1; Elision, dropping (in  gram.); अदर्शनं लोपः P.I.1.6 लोप a [p= 904,3] m. breaking , hurting , injury , destruction , interruption MBh. Ka1v. &c; neglect , violation , transgression (of a vow or duty) Mn. Ya1jn5. &c; want , deficiency , absence , disappearance S3rS. Ragh.; robbing , plundering MBh.; (in gram.) dropping , elision (generally as distinguished from the terms लुप् , श्लु , लुक् , which are only applicable to affixes ; when लोप of an affix takes place , a blank is substituted , which exerts the same influence on the base as the affix itself , but when either लुक् or लुप् or श्लु of an affix is enjoined , then the affix is not only dropped but it is also inoperative on the base ; thus in the Ist pl. of कति , where जस् is said to be elided by लुक् , the change of the final of the base to गुण does not take place i.e. both the affix and its effect on the base are abolished ; moreover , लोप refers only to the last letter of an affix , whereas by लुक् &c the dropping of the whole affix is implied) Nir. Pra1t. Pa1n2. &c लोपा-मुद्रा [p= 904,3] f. N. of the reputed wife of the sage अगस्त्य (she is said to have been formed by the sage himself and then secretly introduced into the palace of the king of विदर्भ , where she grew up as his daughter ; she asked her husband to acquire immense riches ; so he went to the rich demon इल्वल , and having conquered him , satisfied his wife with his wealth ; she is considered as the authoress of RV. i , 179 , 4) RV. MBh. Hariv. &c; any stamp or print or mark or impression MBh. Ka1v. &c; a stamped coin , piece of money , rupee , cash , medal L.; an image , sign , badge , token (esp. a token or mark of divine attributes impressed upon the body) Ka1v. Pur. Ra1jat.; a partic. branch of education (" reckoning by the fingers ") DivyA7v. लोपा lōpā लोपामुद्रा lōpāmudrā लोपा लोपामुद्रा N. of a daughter of the king of Vidarbha and wife of the sage Agastya. [She is said to have been formed by the sage himself from the most beautiful parts of different animals so as to have a wife after his own heart, and then secretly intro- duced into the palace of the king of Vidarbha where she grew up as his daughter. She was afterwards married by Agastya. He was asked by her to acquire immense riches before he thought of having any con- nection with her. The sage accordingly first went to king Śrutarvan, and from him to several other persons till he went to the rich demon Ilvala and, having conquered him, got immense wealth from him and satisfisfied his wife.] मुद्रा f. (fr. मुद्र » above ) a seal or any instrument used for sealing or stamping , a seal-ring , signet-ring (cf. अङ्गुलि-म्°) , any ring MBh. Ka1v. &c; type for printing or instrument for lithographing L.; the stamp or impression made by a seal &c मुद्र mudra मुद्र a. (मुदं राति इति) Giver of joy; बभौ मरुत्वान् विकृतः स मुद्रः Bk.1.19.मुद्रा mudrā मुद्रा [मुद्-रक्] 1 A seal, an instrument for sealing or stamping; especially a seal-ring, signet-ring; अनया मुद्रया मुद्रयैनम् Mu.1; नाममुद्राक्षराण्यनुवाच्य परस्परमवलोकयतः Ś.1; बभौ मरुत्वान् विकृतः स-मुद्रः Bk.1.19 (fig. also); इति प्रायो भावाः स्फुरदवधिमुद्रामुकुलिताः Bh.2.114. -2 A stamp, print, mark, impression; चतुःसमुद्रमुद्रः K. 191; सिन्दूरमुद्राङ्कितः (बाहुः) Gīt.4. -3 A pass, pass- port (as given by a seal-ring); अगृहीतमुद्रः कटकान्निष्कामसि Mu.5; गृहीतमुद्रः सलेखः पुरुषो गृहीतः Mu.5; शाहसूनोः शिवस्यैषा मुद्रा भद्राय राजते (wording on Śivājee's seal). -4 A stamped coin, coin, piece of money. -5 A medal. -6 An image, a sign, badge, token. -7 Shutting, closing, sealing; सैवौष्ठमुद्रा स च कर्णपाशः U.6.27; क्षिपन्निद्रा- मुद्रां मदनकलहच्छेदसुलभाम् Māl.2.12 'removing the seal of sleep'&c. -8 A mystery. -9 (In Rhet.) The expres- sion of things by their right names. -1 N. of certain positions of the fingers practised in devotion or reli- gious worship; योजनात् सर्वदेवानां द्रावणात् पापसंहतेः । तस्मान्मुद्रेति सा ख्याता सर्वकामार्थसाधनी Tantrasāra; Dk.2.2. -11 A particular branch of education (reckoning by the fingers). -12 A dance accordant with tradition. -13 A lock, stopper. -14 A nymph; बभौ मरुत्वान् विकृतः स- मुद्रः Bk.1.19. -15 "Parched grain" in the form of rice, paddy etc. (Yoginī Tantra, Ch.VI quoted in Woodroffe, Śakti and Śākta, 571). -16 Particular lines, marks; माता पुत्रः पिता भ्राता भार्या मित्रजनस्तथा । अष्टापदपदस्थाने दक्ष मुद्रेव लक्ष्यते ॥ Mb.12.298.4. -17 Type or block for printing. -Comp. -अक्षरम् 1 a letter of the seal. -2 a type (a modern use). -अङ्क, -अङ्कित a. stamped with a seal, sealed, stamped. -अधिपः the keeper of the seal; the officer in charge of the fort; ततो मुद्राधिपो मुख्यः कौक्षेयकसहायवान् Parṇāl.3.37. -अध्यक्षः superintendent of pass-ports; Kau. A.1.1.1. -कारः a maker of seals. -मार्गः an opening believed to exist in the crown of the head through which the soul is said to escape at death; cf. ब्रह्मरन्ध्र. -यन्त्रम् a press, a printing-press (a modern formation). -रक्षकः the keeper of the seals. -राक्षसम् N. of a drama by Viśākha-datta. -लिपिः an alphabet of written charac- ters; मुद्रालिपिः शिल्पलिपिर्लिपिर्लेखनिसंभवा । गुण्डिका घुणसंभूता लिपयः पञ्चधा मताः ॥ -स्थानम् the place (on the finger) for a seal-ring; Ś.मुद्रणम् mudraṇamमुद्रणम् 1 Sealing, stamping, printing, marking. -2 Closing, shutting.मुद्रणीपत्रम् mudraṇīpatramमुद्रणीपत्रम् A proof-sheet.मुद्रयति mudrayatiमुद्रयति Den. P. 1 To seal; वादिनश्चिह्नितं साक्ष्यं कृत्वा राजादि मुद्रयेत् Śukra.4.68; अनया मुद्रया मुद्रयैनम् Mu.1. -2 To stamp, mark, impress. -3 To cover, close up (fig.); विवराणि मुद्रयन् द्रागूर्णायुरिव सज्जनो जयति Bv.1.9. -4 To print (as a book).मुद्रिका mudrikāमुद्रिका 1 A little seal. -2 A seal-ring. -3 A stamp or impression. -4 A stamped coin, coin. -5 A signed or sealed paper. -6 A particular surgical instrument. -7 = मुद्रा (1).मुद्रित mudritaमुद्रित a. 1 Sealed, marked, impressed, stamped; त्यागः सप्तसमुद्रमुद्रितमहीनिर्व्याजदानावधिः Mv.2.36; काश्मीरमुद्रित- मुरो मधुसूदनस्य Gīt.1; स्वयं सिन्दूरेण द्विपरणमुदा मुद्रित इव 11. -2 Closed, sealed up. -3 Unblown. -4 Printed.रतिः ratiḥ रतिः f. [रम्-क्तिन्] 1 Pleasure, delight, satisfaction, joy; अकृतार्थे$पि मनसिजे रतिमुभयप्रार्थना कुरुते Ś.2.1. -2 Fondness for, devotion or attachment to, pleasure in (with loc.) प्रीतिः परा तात रतिश्च जाता Mb.3.112.11; पापे रतिं मा कृथाः Bh.2.77; स्वयोषिति रतिः 2.62; R.1.23; Ku.5.65. -3 Love, affection; S. D. thus defines it; रतिर्मनोनुकूले$र्थे मनसः प्रवणायितम् 27; cf. 26 also; (it is the Sthāyibhāva of the rasa called शृङ्गार q. v.) ससत्त्व- रतिदे नित्यं सदरामर्षनाशिनि Ki.15.27. -4 Sexual pleasure; दाक्षिण्योदकवाहिनी विगलिता याता स्वदेशं रतिः Mk.8.38; so रति- सर्वस्वम् q. v. below. -5 Sexual union, coition, copulation. -6 The goddess of love, the wife of Kāma or Cupid; साक्षात् कामं नवमिव रतिर्मालती माधवं यत् Māl.1.15; Ku.3. 23;4.45; R.6.2. -7 The pudenda. -8 N. of the sixth digit (कला) of the moon. -9 Ved. Rest, cessation. -1 N. of magical incantation recited over weapons; Rām. -Comp. -अङ्गम्, -कुहरम् pudendum muliebre. -कर a. 1 giving pleasure; रामो रतिकरः पितुः Rām.1.18.24. -2 enamoured. -रः a particular Samādhi. -कर्मन्, -क्रिया sexual union. -खेदः the languor of sexual enjoy- ment. -गृहम्, -भवनम्, -मन्दिरम् 1 a pleasure house. -2 a brothel. -3 pudendum muliebre -तस्करः a seducer, ravisher. -दूतिः, -ती f. a love messenger; रतिदूतिपदेषु कोकिलाम् (आदिश) Ku.4.16. -नागः a mode of coitus. -पतिः, -प्रियः, -रमणः the god of love; अपि नाम मनागवतीर्णो$सि रतिरमणबाणगोचरम् Māl.1; दधति स्फुटं रतिपतेरिषवः शिततां यदुत्पलपलाशदृशः Śi.9.66; पूर्वं यत्र समं त्वया रतिपतेरासादिताः सिद्धयः Gīt. -पाश (-कः) a mode of coitus. -बन्धः a mode of coitus. -मदा f. an Apsaras. -मित्रः a mode of coitus. -रसः sexual pleasure. -रहस्यम् N. of an erotic work by Kokkoka. -लक्षम् sexual union. -लम्पट a. lustful, libidinous. -शक्तिः f. manly or virile power. -शूरः a man of great procreative power. -सर्वस्वम् the all-in-all or highest essence of sexual pleasure; करं व्याधुन्वत्या पिबसि रतिसर्वस्वमधरम् Ś.1.23. -सुन्दरः a mode of coitus. रति [p= 867,3]f. rest , repose VS. S3a1n3khGr2.; pleasure , enjoyment , delight in , fondness for (loc. or comp. ; रतिम् with √ आप् , लभ् , उप-लभ् , अधि-गम् , विद्कृ or बन्ध् and loc. , " to find pleasure in ") Up. Mn. MBh. &c; the pleasure of love , sexual passion or union , amorous enjoyment (often personified as one of the two wives of काम-देव , together with प्रीति q.v.) Mn. MBh. &c; the pudenda L.; = रति-गृह , pleasure-house VarBr2S.; N. of a magical incantation recited over weapons R. मैत्रावरु° णि [p= 834,1] m. a patr. of मान्य or अगस्त्य RAnukr. MBh.; of वसिष्ठ ib.; of वाल्मीकि Uttarar.

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Rati on a composite horse.

रति Rati

Rati (Sanskrit: रति, Rati) is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion and sexual pleasure.^[1][2][3][4] Usually described as the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama (Kamadeva), the god of love. A constant companion of Kama, she is often depicted with him in legend and temple sculpture. She also enjoys worship along with Kama. Rati is often associated with the arousal and delight of sexual activity, and many sex techniques and positions derive their Sanskrit names from hers.

The Hindu scriptures stress Rati's beauty and sensuality. They depict her as a maiden who has the power to enchant the god of love. When the god Shiva burnt her husband to ashes, it was Rati, whose beseeching or penance, leads to the promise of Kama's resurrection. Often, this resurrection occurs when Kama is reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna. Rati – under the name of Mayavati – plays a critical role in the upbringing of Pradyumna, who is separated from his parents at birth. She acts as his nanny, as well as his lover, and tells him the way to return to his parents by slaying the demon-king, who is destined to die at his hands. Later, Kama-Pradyumna accepts Rati-Mayavati as his wife.

The name of the goddess Rati comes from the Sanskrit root ram, meaning "enjoy" or "delight in." Although the verb root generally refers to any sort of enjoyment, it usually carries connotations of physical and sensual enjoyment. Etymologically, the word rati refers to anything that can be enjoyed; but, it is almost always used to refer to sexual love.

The Kalika Purana narrates the following tale about Rati's birth. After the creation of the 10 Prajapatis, Brahma – the creator-god – creates Kama (Kamadeva), the god of love, from his mind. Kama is ordered to spread love in the world by shooting his flower-arrows and Prajapati Daksha is requested to present a wife to Kama. Kama first uses his arrows against Brahma and the Prajapatis, who are all incestuously attracted to Brahma's daughter Sandhya ("Twilight-dawn/dusk"). Shiva, who was passing by, watches them and laughs. Embarrassed, Brahma and the Prajapatis tremble and perspire. From the sweat of Daksha rises a beautiful woman named Rati, who Daksha presents to Kama as his wife. At the same time, the agitated Brahma curses Kama to be burnt to ashes by Shiva in the future. However, on Kama's pleading, Brahma assures him that he would be reborn.The Brahma Vaivarta Purana narrates that Sandhya committed suicide, after Brahma lusts for her. God Vishnu resurrects her and names her Rati, and marries her to Kama. The Shiva Purana mentions that after her suicide Sandhya is reborn from the sweat of Daksha as Rati.In some texts, the god Shiva is described as the father of Rati.

The Harivamsa, an appendix to the epic Mahabharata, mentions that Kama and Rati have two children, Harsha ("Joy") and Yashas ("Grace"). However, the Vishnu Purana mentions that Rati, as Nandi, only has one son – Harsha.^[8] The epics Mahabharata as well as the Ramayana, also attest to Rati being the consort of Kama.

Rebirth as Mayavati: Kama's death and resurrection

The demon Tarakasura had created havoc in the universe, and only the son of god Shiva could slay him, but Shiva had turned to ascetic ways after the death of his first wife, Sati. Kama was thus instructed by the gods to make Shiva fall in love again. Kama went to Mount Kailash with Rati and Madhu or Vasanta ("Spring"), and shot his love-arrows at Shiva (in another version of the legend, Kama entered Shiva's mind) and invoked desire. Wounded by Kama's arrows, Shiva becomes attracted to Parvati, the reincarnation of Sati, but agitated, burns Kama by a glance of his third eye.

The Bhagavata Purana narrates further that the grief-stricken Rati goes mad by Kama's deathand in the Matsya Purana and the Padma Purana versions, she smears herself with her husband's ashes. Further in Bhagavata Purana, Rati undergoes severe penance and pleads with Parvati to intercede with Shiva to restore her husband. Parvati reassures her that Kama would be reborn as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna, the Avatar of the god Vishnu on earth, and Rati should wait for him in the demon (asura) Sambara's house.In other versions of the narrative like the Matsya Purana, the Padma Purana, the Shiva Purana, the Linga Purana and the Kathasaritsagara, it is Shiva who blesses Rati with the boon of Kama's. In other variants, she curses the gods who sent Kama for this doomed mission and the gods, as a group or Brahma, seeks relief for the grieving Rati from Shiva or the Supreme Goddess, Parvati being one of her many manifestations. In some legends, like the one in the Brahmanda Purana, the Goddess revives Kama immediately, hearing the pleading of the wailing Rati and the The renowned Sanskrit poet Kalidasa dedicates canto IV discussing the plight of Rati in his Kumarasambhava, which focuses on the story of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and the birth of their son Skanda, who kills Tarakasura. Canto IV narrates that Rati witnesses the death of her husband and laments his death, and then tries to immolate herself on a funeral pyre. A heavenly voice stops her on time, stating that after the marriage of Shiva, he will revive her husband.

The Kedara Khanda chapter of the Skanda Purana presents a very different version. In this version, after the burning of Kama, Parvati is worried that she could not achieve Shiva in absence of Kama. Parvati is consoled by Rati, who asserts that she will revive Kama and starts severe austerities to achieve her goal. Once, the divine sage Narada asks her "whose she was". Agitated, Rati insults Narada. The spiteful Narada provokes the demon Sambara to kidnap Rati. Sambara takes her to his house, but is unable to touch her as the goddess decreed that he would be reduced to ashes if he touches her. There, Rati becomes the "kitchen in-charge" and is known as Mayavati ("mistress of illusion – Maya").

The Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsa also have a similar account, though the reincarnation of Rati is called Mayadevi and described as Sambara's wife, rather than his maid. Both these scriptures safeguard her chastity saying that Rati donned an illusionary form to enchant Sambara. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana explicitly states that Rati does not sleep with Sambara, but gave him the illusionary form of Mayavati.Rati-Mayavati takes a critical role in all narratives of this story where she seduces – by her Maya – both Sambara and Kama-Pradyumna, her "son" who she convinces to be her lover. All texts at the end stress on her purity, untouched by another man.The Bhagavata Purana and the Kathasaritsagara continue, that on advice of Shiva, Rati assumes the form of Sambara's kitchen-maid Mayavati and awaits her husband's arrival in Sambara's house. Sambara is foretold that the reborn Kama would be his destroyer. Sambara finds out that Kama was born as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and his wife Rukmini. He steals the child and throws him in the ocean, where the child is swallowed by a fish. This fish is caught by fishermen and sent to Sambara's kitchen. When the fish is cut, the child is found by Mayavati, who decides to nurture him. The divine sage Narada reveals to Mayavati that she was Rati and the child was Kama and she was to rear him. As the child grew up, the motherly love of Mayavati changes to the passionate love of a wife. The reborn Kama resents her advances, as he considers her his mother. Mayavati tells him the secret of their previous births as narrated by Narada and that he was not her son, but that of Krishna and Rukmini. Mayavati trains Pradyumna in magic and war and advises him to kill Sambara. Pradyumna defeats Sambara and slays him. He returns to Dvārakā, Krishna's capital with Mayavati as his wife, where they are welcomed.

The Harivamsa describes Aniruddha, the son of Pradyumna, "the son of Rati".

Associations and iconography

A stone Rati sculpture on a temple pillar, opposite the pillar with Kama. Seated on a parrot, Rati is holding a sugarcane bow.

Kama (left) with Rati on a temple wall of Chennakesava Temple, Belur.

The name Rati in Sanskrit means "the pleasure of love, sexual passion or union, amorous enjoyment", all of which Rati personifies.^[19] Rati also indicates the female-seed.^[20] The word Rati also gives rise to other love-related Sanskrit words like Kama-rati ("a man stupefied by desire"), rati-karman ("sexual intercourse"), rati-laksha ("sexual intercourse"), rati-bhoga ("sexual enjoyment"), rati-shakti ("virile power"), rati-jna ("skilled in the art of love"), and rati-yuddha ("a sex-battle").^[8][19][20] The word Rati also appears in title of the Sanskrit erotic work Rati-Rahasya ("secrets of Rati") – which is said to contain the sexual secrets of the goddess – as well as in the Sanskrit names of many sex techniques and positions like Rati-pasha ("the noose of Rati"), a sex position in which the woman locks her legs behind her lover's back.^[1][19]

Rati stands for sexual pleasure, carnal desire and sexuality.^[21] Rati represents only the pleasure aspect of sexual activity and does not relate to child-birth or motherhood.^[22] Professor Catherine Benton of the Lake Forest College (Department of Religion) relates her birth from the "desire-ridden" sweat to bodily fluids produced during sexual intercourse, which are considered impure in Hinduism. Benton thus, relates her to pollution too, but her association with Kama – the auspicious god of love – grants her the status of an auspicious goddess. Rati and Kama are often pictured on temple walls as "welcome sculptures", symbols of good fortune and prosperity.^[21] Not only is Rati Kama's consort, but she is also his assistant and constant companion, who arouses sexual feelings. Kama is usually depicted with Rati along his side.^[23] Rati is also included as a minor character in any drama involving Kama.^[22] Rati also enjoys worship with Kama in some festival rites dedicated to him.^[24]

The Shiva Purana mentions that Kama himself was pierced by his love-arrows when he saw his "auspicious wife", Rati. A detailed description of her body, filled with similes praising her fair complexion, her eyes, her face, her "plump" breasts, her hair, her arms, her legs, her thighs and her glowing skin. The textual descriptions of Rati present her as an enchantress; voluptuous and seductive.^[23] Rati, as well as her husband Kama, ride a parrot as their vahana (vehicle).^[2] Rati is often depicted with a sword.^[7]

In Tantra, the Mahavidya goddess Chhinnamasta is depicted severing her own head and standing on the copulating couple of Kama and Rati, with the latter on top, (viparita-rati sex position). The woman-on-top position suggests female dominance over male. Chhinnamasta standing on a copulating couple of Kama and Rati is interpreted by some as a symbol of self-control of sexual desire, while others interpret it as the goddess, being an embodiment of sexual energy. Images of Chhinnamasta depicted sitting on Kamadeva-Rati in a non-suppressive fashion are associated with the latter interpretation. The love-deity couple also symbolize maithuna, ritual sexual union.

Chhinnamasta standing on Kama and Rati

[unquote]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rati Agastya and Lopāmudrā One interpretation is:  "The name Lopāmudrā signifies the loss (lopa) that the animals and plants suffered by  giving their distinctive beauties (mudra's) when Agastya created her...  The couple had a son named Dridhasyu, who became a poet...She is also mentioned in  Yajurveda (17:11:36:20) Brihaddevtakara (4:57–59) and in Agama granthas  (Prasoon, Prof. Shrikant,2009. Rishis & Rishikas. Pustak Mahal.. p.70),  and hailed as "Mantradrika" (well versed in mantras) in Rigveda. (Jain, Lakshmi (1 January 2008). Dropout of Girl-child in Schools. Northern Book Centre, p.11)...M. Bergaigne has commented that the hymn (RV 1.179)  has mystical meaning, with Agastya identified as the heavenly Soma while  Lopamudra represents her feminine attraction which fructifies in getting  Agastya out of his 'secret dwelling place'...Laurie L. Patton notes: 'the final line of the  hymn celebrates Agstya as having attained immortality both through children  and through ascetic practice, while Lopamudra remains marked by sexual desire'  (loc.cit., Leslie, Julia,2014,.  Myth and Mythmaking: Continuous Evolution in Indian Tradition. Routledge.p.28) "  I suggest that Lopāmudrā is a signifier of extracting  Agastya (as a metaphor for Soma, metalwork) out of the ore block in process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LopamudraLopāmudrā narratives in Mahābhārata: Mbh.1.2.386 Here also is recited the sacrificial magnificence of Gaya; then the story of Agastya in which the Rishi ate up the Asura Vatapi, and his connubial connection with Lopamudra from the desire of offspring. Mbh.3.96.5086 And the Brahmanas thereupon, O lord of earth, blessed the girl and they bestowed upon her the name Lopamudra. Mbh.3.96.5091 And Lopamudra, devoted to truth, surpassing the Apsaras even in beauty, gratified her father and relatives by means of her conduct. Mbh.3.97.5093 SECTION XCVII Lomasa continued, When Agastya thought that girl to be competent for the duties of domesticity, he approached that lord of earth-the ruler of Vidharbhas-and addressing him, said, I solicit thee, O king, to bestow thy daughter Lopamudra on me' Mbh.3.97.5100 beholding the king along with the queen afflicted with sorrow, Lopamudra approached them in due time and said, O monarch, it behoveth thee not to grieve on my account. Mbh.3.97.5102 And at these words of his daughter, O monarch, the king gave away Lopamudra unto the illustrious Agastya with due rites. Mbh.3.97.5103 And obtaining her as wife, Agastya addressed Lopamudra, saying, Cast thou away these costly robes and ornaments' Mbh.3.97.5107 And Lopamudra herself, well pleased, began to serve her lord from the deep respect that she bore him. Mbh.3.97.5109 After a considerable time, O king, the illustrious Rishi one day beheld Lopamudra, blazing in ascetic splendour come up after the bath in her season. Mbh.3.97.5117 Hearing these words of his wife, Agastya replied, O blessed girl, O thou of slender waist, I have not wealth like what thy father hath, O Lopamudra' Mbh.3.97.5122 Lopamudra then said, O thou endued with wealth of asceticism, my season will not last long, I do not desire, however, to approach thee otherwise. Mbh.3.99.5176 And Agastya also with that wealth did all that his wife Lopamudra had desired. http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/mbh:lopamudra Epilogue A remarkable validation of the interpretation of Sarasvati Script hypertexts in the context of metalwork comes from the exploits of Odin in Norse mythology.In Norse mythology, Rati is the name of a drill or auger that was used by Odin during his quest to obtain the mead of poetry from the giant Suttung with the help of Suttung's brother Baugi. According to the Skáldskaparmál section of the Prose Edda, Odin instructed Baugi to bore a hole with the auger through the mountain Hnitbjorg where the mead was kept. When Baugi told him that the hole had been drilled, Odin blew into the hole and the stone bits blew back at him. In this way he realized that Baugi had not drilled all the way through and was trying to trick him. Odin told him to drill a second time, and this time when he blew into the hole the bits flew inward. Odin then transformed himself into a snake, and when he slithered into the hole Baugi tried to stab him with the auger but missed him. In this manner Odin gained access to the mead. "Odin wins for men the magic mead" by Willy Pogany. The jötunn Baugi holding the auger while Odin is on his way into the hole .Faulkes, Anthony (transl.) (1987). Edda (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rati_(Norse_mythology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin

People of Ṛgveda, enquiries by Ṛṣi-s on ātmā, essence, principle of life & sensation

March 4, 2017, 9:34 pm

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Agastya sees the last 25 Sūktams of Maṇḍala 1 of  Ṛgveda.RV 1.165 to RV 1.191. Agastya belongs to Maitrāvaruṇi gotra. Hence, he calls himself Agastya Maitrāvaruṇi  He is the husband of Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā (RV 1.179) Sūktam 1.165 is on Marutvān-Indra. The Sūktam is a conversation between Agastya, his Jīvātmā and Prāṇas. Agastya is 'mountain-thrower, thrower of cloud or ignorance'.

Ṛṣi Agastya Maitrāvaruṇi and Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā in Maravakkadu near Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu.

See: http://tinyurl.com/h5l2lab 

Sarasvati Script hypertexts and Devatā Rati, Ṛṣikā Lopāmudrā of Ṛgveda sūktam RV1.179 are metalwork signifiers 

1.179.01 (Lopa_mudra_): Many years have I been serving you diligently, both day and night, and through mornings, bringing on old age; decay now impairs the beauty of my limbs; what, therefore, is now (to be done); let husbands approach their wives.

1.179.02 The ancient sages, disseminators of truth, who, verily, conversed of tuths with the gods, begot (progeny), nor thereby violated (their vow of continence), therefore should wives be approached by their husbands.

1.179.03 (Agastya): Penance has not been practised in vain; since the gods protect us, we may indulge all our desires; in this world we may triumph in many conflicts, if we exert ourselves mutually together.

1.179.04 Desire, either from this cause or from that, has come upon me whilst engaged in prayer and suppressing (passion); let Lopa_mudra_ approach her husband; the unsteady female beguiles the firm and resolute man. [Either from this cause or that: itoamutah kutas'cit, from some cause, from this, or from that; from your society or from the influence of the season, as spring and the like; or from the suggestions of this world or of the next].

1.179.05 (Pupil): I beseech the Soma, which has been drunk in my heart, that it may fully expiate the sin we have committed; man is subject to many desires. [What has been drunk in my heart: antito hr.tsu pi_tam, drunk mentally, not actually; the sin we have committed: the sin of listening ot the conversation of their guru with his wife].

1.179.06 Agastya, a venerable sage, working with (fit) implements, desiring progeny, offspring, and strength, practised both classes (of obligations), and received true benedictions from the gods. [Working with fit implements: khanama_nah khanitraih = lit., digging with diggin gtools; i.e. effecting his objects by appropriate means, earning his reward by sacrifice and hymns; desring progeny: praja_m apatyam balam icchama_nah: praja_ implies repeated successions, descendants, and apatya signifies more immediate descent, sons, grandsons; both classes of obligations: ka_ma and tapas, desire and devotion; the duties of domestic as well as ascetic life].

RV1.165.01 (Indra speaks): With what auspicious fortune have the Maruts, who are of one age, one residence, one dignity, watered (the earth) together; with what intention; whence have they come; showerers of rain, they venerate through desire of wealth, the energy (that is generated in the world by rain).
1.165.02 Of whose oblations do the youthful (Maruts) approve; who attracts them to his (own) sacrifice (from the rites of others); with what powerful praise may we propitiate (them), wandering like kites in the mid-air?
1.165.03 (The Maruts): Indra, lord of the good, whither do you, who are entitled to honour, proceed alone; what means this (absence of attendance); when followed (by us), you require (what is right); lord of fleet horses say to us, with pleasant words, that which you (have to say) to us. [You require what is right: sampr.cchase = sami_ci_nam pr.ccase].
1.165.04  (Indra): Sacred rites are mine; (holy) praises give me pleasure; libations are for me; my vigorous thunderbolt, hurled (against my foes), goes (to its mark); me, do (pious worshippers) proptiate; hymns are addressed tome; these horses bear us to the presence (ofwhose worshippers, and worship).
1.165.05  (The Maruts): Therefore we also, decorating our persons, are ready, with our docile and night-standing steeds, (to attend) you, with all our splendour, to those rites; verily, Indra, you appropriate our (sacrificial) food. [You appropriate: svadha_m anu hi no babhu_tha, you have been upon or after our food; or, balam, strength; or, udakam, water; i.e. you seek after the oblations generated either by our strenght, or the water we have created].
1.165.06 (Indra): Where, Maruts, has that (sacrificial) food been assigned to you, which, for the destruction of Ahi was appropriated to me alone; for I indeed am fierce and strong, and mighty, and have bowed down all mine enemies with death-dealing shafts.
1.165.07 (The Maruts): Showerer (of benefits), you have done much; but it has been without united equal energies; for we, too, most powerful Indra, have done many things, and by our deeds (we are, as) we desire to be, Maruts.
1.165.08 (Indra): By my own prowess, Maruts, I , mighty in my wrath, slew Vr.tra; armed with my thunderbolt, I created all these pellucid gently-flowing waters for (the good of) man.
1.165.09 (The Maruts): Verily, Maghvan, nothing (done) by you is unavailing; there is no divinity as wise as you; no one being born, or that has been born, ever surpasses the glorious deeds which you, mighty (Indra), have achieved. [Verily, Maghavan: anuttama_ te maghavan nakir nu na = whatever is said by you, Indra, is true; anuttama_ = an exclamation or assent that which is not sent or driven away].
1.165.10 (Indra): May the prowes of me alone be irresistible; may I quickly accomplish whatever I contemplate in my mind; for verily, Maruts, I am fierce and sagacious and to whatever (objects) I direct (my thoughts), of them I am the lord, and rule (over them).
1.165.11 Maruts, on this occasion praise delights me; that prise which is to be heard (by all), which men have offered me. To Indra, the showerer (of benefits), the object of pious sacrifice; to me, (endowed) with many forms (do you) my friends (offer sacrifices) for (the nourishment of my) person.
1.165.12 Maruts, verily, glorifying me, and enjoying boundless fame and food (through my favour), edo you, of golden colour, and invested with glory, cover me in requital verily, (with renown).
1.165.13 (Agastya): What mortal, Maruts, worships you in this world; hasten, friends, to the presence of your friends; wonderful (divinities), be to them the means of acquiring riches, and be not uncognizant of my merits. [Be not uncognizant: es.a_m bhu_ta naveda_ me r.ta_na_m = be cognizant of these my truths, madi_ya_na_m avitatha_na_m jn~a_ta_ro bhavata].
1.165.14 Since the experienced intellect of a venerable (sage), competent to bestow praise upon (you), who deserve praise, has been exerted for us; do you, Maruts, come to the presence of the devout (worshipper), who, glorifying (you), worships you with these holy rites.
1.165.15 This praise, Maruts, is for you; this hymn is for you, (the work) of a venerable author, capable of conferring delight (by his laudations). May the praise reach you, for (the good of your) persons, so that we may (thence) obtain food, strength, and long life. [Capable of conferring: ma_nda_yasya ka_roh: the epithet is stutivis'es.air mandayituh; or, stutibhir madasya prerayituh, causer of pleasure by praises; food, strength and long life: is.am vr.janam ji_rada_num: ji_rada_num = jayas'i_lam da_nam, donation connected with victory; the hymn is repeated at the end of the next su_kta; where it is explained as: ciraka_la ji_vanam, long life].

ईः īḥईः (m.)  perception or consciousness; calling; आत्म-प्रबोधः cognition of the soul; self-consciousness.  इन्द्रिय-ज्ञानम् consciousness, the faculty of perception

.चित्-आत्मकम् consciousness . चेतना  Sense, consciousness चुलुकयति मदीयां चेतनां चञ्चरीकः R. G.; U.3.31; Māl.9.12; R.12.74; चेतनां प्रतिपद्यते regains one's consciousness. -2 Understanding, intelligence; पश्चिमाद्यामिनीयामात्प्रसादमिव चेतना R.17.1; ... शास्ताखानो$ल्प- चेतनः Śiva. B.29.9. -3 Life, vitality, animation; Bg.13.6. -4 Wisdom, reflection. -नम् Appearance. -2 The thinking principle, the mind; अच्युतचेतनः Bhāg.9.15.41.चेतस् cētas चेतस् n. [चित् करणे असुन्] 1 Consciousness, sense. -2 Thinking soul; वरं वरय राजर्षे क्व ते चेतो निरूप्यताम् Rām.7.57.13; reasoning faculty; संप्रमथ्येन्द्रियग्रामं प्रनष्टा सह चेतसा Mb.1.125.11; चेतोभिराकूतिभिरातनोति Bhāg.5.11.4. -3 The mind, heart, soul; चेतः प्रसादयति Bh.2.23; गच्छति पुरः शरीरं धावति पश्चादसंस्तुतं चेतः Ś.1.34. -4 Will. -Comp. -जन्मन्, -भवः, -भूः m. 1 love, passion. -2 the god of love. चेतोजन्मशरप्रसृनमधुभिर्व्यामिश्रतामाश्रयत् N. -विकारः disturbance of the mind, emotion, agita- tion.

ज्ञानम् jñānam
ज्ञानम् [ज्ञा-भावे ल्युट्] 1 Knowing, understanding, becoming acquainted with, proficiency; सांख्यस्य योगस्य च ज्ञानम् Māl.1.7. -2 Knowledge, learning; तथेन्द्रियाकुलीभावे ज्ञेयं ज्ञानेन शुध्यति Mb.12.24.2; बुद्धिर्ज्ञानेन शुध्यति Ms.5.19; ज्ञाने मौनं क्षमा शत्रौ R.1.22. -3 Consciousness, cognizance, knowledge; ज्ञानतो$ज्ञानतो वापि Ms.8.288 knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously. -4 Sacred knowledge; especially, knowledge derived from medi- tation on the higher truths of religion and philosophy which teaches man how to understand his own nature and how he may be reunited to the Supreme Spirit (opp. कर्मन्); cf. ज्ञानयोग and कर्मयोग in Bg.3.3. -5 The organ of intelligence, sense, intellect; कच्चिज्ज्ञानानि सर्वाणि प्रसन्नानि तवाच्युत Mb.12.54.18. -6 Conscience. -7 The Supreme spirit. -8 An epithet of Viṣṇu. -9 The Vedas taken collectively. -1 Means of knowing; औत्पक्तिकस्तु शब्दस्यार्थेन सम्बन्धस्तस्य ज्ञानम्˚ । MS.1.1.5. -11 An opinion, a view; बलदेवस्य वाक्यं तु मम ज्ञाने न युज्यते Mb.5.4.3. -Comp. -अग्निः knowledge-fire; ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते$र्जन Bg.4.37. -अनुत्पादः ignorance, folly. -अपोहः forgetfulness. -अभ्यासः 1 study. -2 thinking, reflection. -आत्मन् a. all wise. -इन्द्रियम् an organ of perception; (these are five त्वच्, रसना, चक्षुस्, कर्ण and घ्राण- the skin, tongue, eye, ear and nose; see बुद्धीन्द्रिय under इन्द्रिय). -काण्डम् that inner or esoteric portion of Veda which refers to true spiritual knowledge, or know- ledge of the Supreme spirit, as distinguished from the knowledge of ceremonial rites (opp. कर्मकाण्ड). -कृतa. done knowingly or intentionally. -गम्य a. attainable by the understanding. -घन m. pure or mere know- ledge; निर्विशेषाय साम्याय नमो ज्ञानघनाय च Bhāg.8.3.12; तं त्वामहं ज्ञानघनं...कथं...परिभावयामि ibid 9.8.24. -चक्षुस् n. the eye of intelligence, the mind's eye, intellectual vision (opp. चर्मचक्षुस्); सर्वं तु समवेक्ष्येदं निखिलं ज्ञानचक्षुषा Ms.2.8;4.24. (-m.) a wise and learned man. -तत्त्वम् true knowledge, knowledge of God. -तपस् n. penance consisting in the acquisition of true knowledge. -दः a preceptor. -दा an epithet of Sarasvatī. -दुर्बल a. wanting in knowledge. -निश्चयः certainty, ascertain- ment. -निष्ठ a. intent on acquiring true (spiritual) knowledge; ज्ञानिनिष्ठा द्विजाः केचित् Ms.3.134. -पतिः 1 the Supreme spirit. -2 a teacher, preceptor. -पूर्व a. prece- ded by knowledge, well-considered; निष्कामं ज्ञानपूर्वं तु निवृत्तमुपदिश्यते Ms.12.89. -बोधिनी f. N. of a Vedāntic treatise. -मुद्र a. 'having the impress of wisdom', wise. -मूल a. founded on spiritual knowledge. -यज्ञः a man possessed of true or spiritual knowledge, philosopher. -योगः contemplation as the principal means of, attaining the Supreme spirit or acquiring true or spiritual knowledge; ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेण योगिनाम् Bg.3.3. -लक्षणम्, -णा 1 indication, sign, a means of knowing or inferring. -2 (in logic) sign or proof of knowledge; subsequent derived from antecedent knowledge. -विज्ञानम् 1 sacred and miscellaneous knowledge; तत्प्राज्ञेन विनीतेन ज्ञानविज्ञानवेदिनाMs.18.41. -2 the Vedas with the supplementary branches of knowledge, such as medicine, arms &c. -वृद्ध advanced in knowledge; ज्ञानवृद्धो वयोबालो मृदुर्वीर्यगुणान्वितः Rām.2.45.8. -शास्त्रम् the science of fortune-telling. -साधनम् 1 a means of acquiring true or spiritual knowledge. -2 an organ of perception.
ज्ञानतः jñānatḥ
ज्ञानतः ind. Consciously, knowingly, intentionally.
ज्ञानमय jñānamaya
ज्ञानमय a. 1 Consisting of knowledge, spiritual; इतरो दहने स्वकर्मणां ववृते ज्ञानमयेन वह्निना R.8.2. -2 Containing knowledge. -यः 1 The Supreme spirit. -2 An epithet of Śiva.
ज्ञानिन् jñānin
ज्ञानिन् a. (-नी f.) [ज्ञानमस्त्यस्य इनि] Intelligent, wise. -m. 1 An astrologer, fortune-teller; यदुवाचाग्निदाहादि स ज्ञानी भावि पृच्छताम् Ks.19.77. -2 A sage, one possessed of spiritual knowledge; आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भसतर्षभ Bg.7.16. -3 Planet mercury; ज्ञानी सर्वज्ञसौम्ययोः । Nm.

सत्त्वम् sattvam Consciousness, mind, sense; वाक्च सत्वं च गोविन्द बुद्धौ संवेशितानि ते Mb.12.46.4; Bg.16.1; Bhāg.7.15.41. An embryo.- Substance, thing, wealth.- An elementary substance such as earth, air, fire &c.

संज्ञा sañjñā
संज्ञा 1 Consciousness, अकरुण पुनः संज्ञाव्याधिं विधाय किमीहसे Māl.9.42; रतिखेदसमुत्पन्ना निद्रा संज्ञाविपर्ययः Ku.6.44. संज्ञा लभ्, आपद् or प्रतिपद् 'to regain or recover one's con- sciousness, come to one's senses'. -2 Knowledge, under- standing; नायका मम सैन्यस्य संज्ञार्थं तान् व्रवीमि ते Bg.1.7; Mb.12.153.63. -3 Intellect, mind; लोकतन्त्रं हि संज्ञाश्च सर्वमन्ने प्रतिष्ठितम् Mb.13.63.5. -4 A hint, sign, token, gesture; मुखापिंतैकाङ्गुलिसंज्ञयैव मा चापलायेति गणान् व्यनैषीत् Ku.3.41; उपलभ्य ततश्च धर्मसंज्ञाम् Bu. Ch.5.21; Bhāg. 6.7.17. -5 A name, designation, an appellation; oft. at the end of comp. in this sense; द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैः Bg.15.5. -6 (In gram.) Any name or noun having a special meaning, a proper name. -7 The technical name for an affix. -8 The Gāyatrī Mantra; see गायत्री. -9 A track, footstep. -1 Direction. -11 A technical term. -12 N. of the daughter of Viśvakarman and wife of the sun, and mother of Yama, Yamī, and the two Aśvins. [A legend relates that संज्ञा on one occa- sion wished to go to her father's house and asked her husband's permission, which was not granted. Resol- ved to carry out her purpose, she created, by means of her superhuman power, a woman exactly like herself --who was, as it were, her own shadow (and was therefore called Chhāyā), --and putting her in her own place, went away without the knowledge of the sun. Chhāya bore to the sun three children (see छाया), and lived quite happily with him, so that when Saṁjñā returned, he would not admit her. Thus re- pudiated and disappointed, she assumed the form of a mare and roamed over the earth. The sun, how- ever, in course of time, came to know the real state of things, and discovered that his wife had assumed the form of a mare. He accordingly assumed the form of a horse, and was united with his wife, who bore to him, two sons--the Aśvinīkumāras or Aśvins q. v.] -Comp. -अधिकारः a leading rule which gives a parti- cular name to the rules falling under it, and which exercises influence over them. -विपर्ययः loss of conscious- ness; रतिखेदसमुत्पन्ना निद्रा संज्ञाविपर्ययः Ku.6.44. -विषयः an epithet, an attribute. -सुतः an epithet of Saturn. -सूत्रम् any Sūtra which teaches the meaning of a technical term.
संज्ञानम् sañjñānam
संज्ञानम् Knowledge, understanding.

वैश्वानर vaiśvānara

वैश्वानर a. (-री f.) 1 Relating or common to all mankind, fit for all men; तान् होवाचैते वै खलु यूयं पृथगिवेम- मात्मानं वैश्वानरं विद्वांसो$न्नमत्थ Ch. Up.5.18; स एष वैश्वानरो विश्वरूपः प्राणो$ग्निरुदयते Praśṇa Up.1.7; हिरण्यगर्भः स्थूले$स्मिन् देहे वैश्वानरो भवेत् Pañchadaśī 1.28; -2 Universal, general, common. -2 Zodiacal; गगने तान्यनेकानि वैश्वानरपथाद्वहिः Rām.1.6.31. -रः 1 An epithet of fire; त्वत्तः खाण्डव- रङ्गताण्डवनटो दूरे$स्तु वैश्वानरः Bv.1.57. -2 The fire of digestion (in the stomach); अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देह- माश्रितः । प्राणापानसमायुक्तः प्रचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ Bg.15.14. -3 General consciousness (in Vedānta phil.). -4 The Supreme Being. -5 The Chitraka tree. -री 1 N. of a particular division of the moon's path; also वैश्वानरपथ; Rām.1.6.31. -2 N. of a particular sacrifice per- formed at the beginning of every year; इष्टिं वैश्वानरीं नित्यं निर्वपेदब्दपर्यये Mb.12.165.15.

प्रमा pramā

प्रमा 1 Consciousness, perception. -2 (In logic) Correct notion or apprehension, true and certain knowledge, accurate conception; तद्वति तत्प्रकारको$नुभवः प्रमा यथा रजते इदं रजतमिति ज्ञानम् T. S; दोषो$प्रमाया जनकः प्रमायास्तु गुणो भवेत् । प्रत्यक्षे तु विशेष्येण विशेषेणवता समम् ॥ Bhāṣā P. -3 Ved. Basis, foundation. -4 A measure.

जीव jīva जीव a. [जीव्-कर्तरि क] Living, existing; जीवपुत्रे निवर्तस्व Rām.4.19.11; असच्च सज्जीवमजीवमन्यत् Bhāg.5.1.12. -वः 1 The principle of life, the vital breath, life, soul; गतजीव, जीवत्याग, जीवाशा &c. -2 The individual or personal soul enshrined in the human body and im- parting to it life, motion and sensation (called जीवात्मन् as opposed to परमात्मन् the Supreme Soul); Y.3.131; Ms.12.22-23; सम्पद्यते गुणैर्मुक्तो जीवो जीवं विहाय माम् । जीवो जीवविनिर्मुक्तो गुणैश्चाशयसंभवैः ॥ Bhāg.11.25.36. (here जीव = लिङ्गशरीर). -3 Life, existence

अदाह्य adāhya Not capable of being burnt, epithet of परमात्मन्. अशरीर aśarīraThe Supreme Being (परमात्मन्), Brahman.

परमा* त्मन् [p= 588,2] m. all the heart (only instr. = परमेण चेतसा , col.1) MBh.; the Supreme Spirit Up. Mn. MBh. &c (cf. RTL. 37) .

आत्मन् ātman epi- thet of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Śiva.; the Supreme Being (परमात्मन्).

आत्मन् [p= 135,1] m. (variously derived fr. अन् , to breathe ; अत् , to move ; वा , to blow ; cf. त्म्/अन्) the breath RV.; the soul , principle of life and sensation RV. AV. &c; the individual soul , self , abstract individual [e.g. आत्म्/अन् (Ved. loc.) धत्ते , or करोति , " he places in himself " , makes his own TS. v S3Br. ; आत्मना अकरोत् , " he did it himself " Ka1d. ; आत्मना वि- √युज् , " to lose one's life " Mn. vii , 46 ; आत्मन् in the sg. is used as reflexive pronoun for all three persons and all three genders e.g. आत्मानं सा हन्ति , " she strikes herself " ; पुत्रम् आत्मनः स्पृष्ट्वा निपेततुः , " they two having touched their son fell down " R. ii , 64 , 28 ; see also below s.v.आत्मना ]; essence , nature , character , peculiarity (often ifc. e.g. कर्मा*त्मन् , &c ) RV. x , 97 , 11 , &c; the person or whole body considered as one and opposed to the separate members of the body VS. S3Br.; (ifc.) " the understanding , intellect , mind " » नष्टा*त्मन् , मन्दा*°; the highest personal principle of life , ब्रह्म (cf. परमा*त्मन्) AV. x , 8 , 44 VS. xxxii , 11 S3Br. xiv , &c; आत्म [p= 135,1] (in comp. for आत्म्/अन् ; also rarely ifc. e.g. अध्य्-ात्म , अध्य्-ात्म्/अम्).आत्मीय [p= 136,1]mf(आ)n. one's own Ya1jn5. ii , 85 R. &c आत्म--वत् [p= 135,3]mfn. having a soul Nr2isUp.; self-possessed , composed , prudent Mn. Ya1jn5. MBh. &c; ind. like one's self Hit.आत्म--भूत [p= 135,3]mfn. " become another's self " , attached to , faithful Mn. vii , 217 R. vii , 83 , 5.

आत्मन् ātman आत्मन् m. [अत्-मनिण् Uṇ 4.152 said to be from अन् to breathe also] 'आत्मा यत्नो धृतिर्बुद्धिः स्वभावो ब्रह्मवर्ष्म च'इत्यमरः 1 The soul, the individual soul, the breath, the principle of life and sensation; किमात्मना यो न जितेन्द्रियो भवेत् H.1; आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु Kaṭh.3.3. (In आत्मा नदी संयमपुण्यतीर्था H.4.87 आत्मन् is compared to a river). -2 Self, oneself; in this sense mostly used reflexively for all three persons and in the singular number, masculine gender, whatever be the gender or number of the noun to which it refers; अनया चिन्तयात्मापि मे न प्रतिभाति Ratn.1; आश्रमदर्श- नेन आत्मानं पुनीमहे Ś.1; गुप्तं ददृशुरात्मानं सर्वाः स्वप्नेषु वामनैः R.1.6,4.35,14.57; Ku.6.2; देवी... प्राप्तप्रसवमात्मानं गङ्गादेव्यां विमुञ्चति U.7.2; गोपायन्ति कुलस्त्रिय आत्मानमात्मना Mb.; K.17; sometimes used in pl. also; आत्मनः स्तुवन्ति Śi.17.19; Māl.8. -3 Supreme deity and soul of the universe, Supreme Soul, Brahman; तस्माद्वा एतस्मादात्मन आकाशः संभूतः T. Up.2.1.1; Ms.1.15,12.24. -4 Essence, nature; काव्यस्यात्मा ध्वनिः S. D., see आत्मक below. -5 Character, peculiarity; आत्मा यक्ष्मस्य नश्यति Rv.1. 97.11. -6 The natural temperament or disposition; Bhāg.11.22.2. -7 The person or whole body (con- sidered as one and opposed to the separate members of it); स्थितः सर्वोन्नतेनोर्वीं क्रान्त्वा मेरुरिवात्मना R.1.14; योस्या- त्मनः कारयिता Ms.12.12; Ki.9.66. -8 Mind, intellect; मन्दात्मन्, नष्टात्मन्, महात्मन् &c. अथ रामः प्रसन्नात्मा श्रुत्वा वायु- सुतस्य ह Rām.6.18.1. -9 The understanding; cf. आत्म- संपन्न, आत्मवत् &c. -1 Thinking faculty, the faculty of thought and reason. -11 Spirit, vitality, courage; त्यक्त्वा$$त्मानमथाब्रवीत् Mb.12.18.6. -12 Form, image; आत्मानमाधाय Ku.3.24 assuming his own form; 2.61; संरोपिते$प्यात्मनि Ś.6.24 myself being implanted in her. -13 A son; 'आत्मा वै पुत्रनामासि'इति श्रुतेः । तस्यात्मा शितिकण्ठस्य Śi.2.61. -14 Care, efforts, pain. -15 The sun. -16 Fire. -17 Wind, air. -18 Mental quality; बाहुश्रुत्यं तपस्त्यागः श्रद्धा यज्ञक्रिया क्षमा । भावशुद्धिर्दया सत्यं संयमश्चात्मसंपदः ॥ Mb.12.167.5. आत्मन् is used as the last member of comp. in the sense of 'made or consisting of'; see आत्मक. The form त्मन् is also found to be used; कृतार्थं मन्यते त्मानं Mb. [cf. Gr. atmos, aitmen] -Comp. -अधीन a. 1 dependent on oneself, independent. -2 sentient, existing. (-नः) 1 a son. -2 a wife's brother. -3 the jester or विदूषक (in dramatic literature). -अनुरूप a. worthy of oneself; तस्यामात्मानुरूपायामात्मजन्मसमुत्सुकः Ku. 1.18; R.1.33. -अनुगमनम् peronal attendance; शश्वदा- त्मानुगमनेन गाम् R.1.88. -अपहारःconcealing oneself;  कथं वा आत्मापहारं करोमि Ś.1. -अपहारकः one who pre- tends to belong to a higher class than his own, an impostor, a pretender; यो$न्यथा सन्तमात्मानमन्यथा सत्सु भाषते । स पापकृत्तमो लोके स्तेन आत्मापहारकः ॥ Ms.4.255. -आदिष्ट a. self-counselled. (-ष्टः) a treaty dictated by the party wishing it himself; स्वसैन्येन तु संघानमात्मादिष्ट उदाहृतः H.4.121. -आनन्द a. Rejoicing in the soul or Supreme Spirit; आत्ममिथुनः आत्मानन्दः Ch. Up.7.25.2. -आराम a. 1 striving to get knowledge; (as an ascetic or योगिन्), seeking spiritual knowledge; आत्मारामा विहितरतयो निर्विकल्पे समाधौ Ve.1.23. -2 selfpleased, delighted in self; आत्मारामः फलाशी. see आत्मानन्द Bh.3.93; cf. Bg.5.24. -आशिन् m. a fish supposed to feed on its young, or on the weakest of its species; cf. मत्स्या इव जना नित्यं भक्षयन्ति परस्परम् Rām. -आश्रय a. 1 dependent on oneself or on his own mind. -2 About or relating to oneself; कौलीनमात्माश्रयमाचचक्षे R.14.36. (-यः) 1 self dependence. -2 innate idea, abstract knowledge independent of the thing to be known. -ईश्वर a. Self-possessed, master of self; आत्मेश्वराणां न हि जातु विघ्नाः समाधिभेदप्रभवो भवन्ति Ku.3.4. -उदयः self-exaltation or elevation; आत्मोदयः परज्यानिर्द्वयं नीतिरितीयति Śi.2.3 -उद्भव a. born or produced from oneself. (-वः) 1 a son; आत्मोद्भवे वर्णचतुष्टयस्य R.18.12. -2 Cupid. -3 sorrow, pain. (-वा) 1 daughter. -2 intellect. -3 N. of a plant (माषपर्णी; Mar. रानउडीद). -उपजीविन् m. 1 one who lives by his own labour; Ms.7.138. -2 a day-labourer. -3 one who lives by his wife (Kull. on Ms.8.362). -4 an actor, public performer. -उपनिषद् f. N. of an उपनिषद् which treats of the Supreme Spirit. -उपम a. like oneself. (-मः) a son.-औपम्यम् Likeness to self. आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र Bg.6.32. -कर्मन् One's own duty; आत्मौपकर्मक्षमं देहं क्षात्रो धर्म इवाश्रितः R. -काम a. 1 loving oneself, possessed of self-conceit, proud; आत्मकामा सदा चण्डी Rām.2.7.1. -2 loving Brahman or the Supreme Spirit only; भगवन् वयमात्मकामाः Maitr. Up.7.1. -कार्यम् one's own business, private affair. -कृत a. 1 self-executed, done by oneself; पौरा ह्यात्मकृताद्दुःखाद्विप्रमोच्या नृपात्मजैः Rām.2.46.23. -2 done against one's own self; Vāj.8.13. -गत a. produced in one's mind; ˚तो मनोरथः Ś.1. (-तम्) ind. aside (to oneself) being considered to be spoken privately (opp. प्रकाशम् aloud); frequently used as a stage-direction in dramas; it is the same as स्वगतम् which is thus defined; अश्राव्यं खलु यद्वस्तु तदिह स्वगतं मतम् S. D.6. -गतिः f. 1 course of the soul's existence. -2 one's own course; Bhāg.5.17.3. ˚गत्या by one's own act. -गुप्ता The plant Mucuna Pruritus Hook (Mar. कुयली). -गुप्तिः f. a cave, the hiding place of an animal, lair. -ग्राहिन् a. selfish, greedy. -घातः 1 suicide. -2 heresy. -घातकः, -घातिन् 1 a suicide, a self-destroyer; K.174; व्यापादयेद् वृथात्मानं स्वयं यो$गन्युदका- दिभिः । अवैधेनैव मार्गेण आत्मघाती स उच्यते ॥ -2 a heretic. -घोषः 1 a cock (calling out to himself). -2 a crow. -3 One who flatters himself. cf. आत्मघोषो वायसे स्यादात्म- स्तुतिपरे$पि च Nm. -जः, -जन्मन् m. -जातः, -प्रभवः, -संभवः, -समुद्भवः 1 a son; यः स वासवनिर्जेता रावणस्यात्म- संभवः Rām.6.86.33; हतान्निहन्मेह नरर्षभेण वयं सुरेशात्मसमु- द्भवेन Mb.7.118.2; तमात्मजन्मानमजं चकार R.5.36; तस्यामात्मानुरूपायामात्मजन्मसमुत्सुकः R.1.33; Māl.1; Ku.6.28. -2 Cupid; ममायमात्मप्रभवो भूयस्त्वमुपयास्यति Rām.4.1.34. -3 a descendant; मृगयां विरन्काश्चिद्विजने जनकात्मजः Mb.12.39.1. -जा 1 a daughter; वन्द्यं युगं चरणयोर्जनकात्मजायाः R.13.78; cf. नगात्मजा &c. -2 the reasoning faculty, understanding. -जयः 1 one's own victory. -2 victory over oneself, self-denial or abnega- tion. -ज्योतिस् n. The light of the soul or Supreme Spirit (चैतन्य); कौस्तुभव्यपदेशेन स्वात्मज्योतिर्बिभर्त्यजः Bhāg. 12.11.1. -ज्ञः, -विद् m. a sage, one who knows himself; तस्मादात्मज्ञं ह्यर्चयेद्भूतिकामः Muṇḍ.3.1.1. -ज्ञानम् 1 self-knowledge. -2 spiritual knowledge, knowledge of the soul or the Supreme Spirit; सर्वेषामपि चैतेषामात्मज्ञानं परं स्मृतम् Ms.12.85,92. -3 true wisdom. -तत्त्वम् 1 the true nature of the soul or the supreme spirit; यदात्म- तत्त्वेन तु ब्रह्मतत्त्वं प्रपश्येत Śvet.2.15. -2 the highest thing. ˚ज्ञः a sage versed in the Vedānta doctrines. -तृप्त a. Self-satisfied; आत्मतृप्तश्च मानवः Bg.3.17. -तुष्टि a. self-satisfied. (-ष्टिः f.) self-satisfaction. -त्यागः 1 self-sacrifice. -2 suicide. -त्यागिन् m. a. 1 suicide; आत्मत्यागिन्यो नाशौचोदकभाजनाः Y.3.6. -2 a heretic, an unbeliever. -त्राणम् 1 self-preservation. -2 a body-guard; Rām.5. -दर्शः a mirror; प्रसादमात्मीयमिवात्म- दर्शः R.7.68. -दर्शनम् 1 seeing oneself. -2 spiritual knowledge, true wisdom; सर्वभूतात्मदर्शनम् Y.3.157; cf. Ms.12.91. see आत्मयाजिन. -दा a. Ved. granting one's existence or life; य आत्मदा बलदा यस्य विश्व Rv.1.121.2. -दानम् self-sacrifice, resigning oneself. -दूषि a. Ved. corrupting the soul; self-destroying; Av.16.1.3. -देवता a tutelary deity. -द्रोहिन् a. 1 self-tormenting, fretful. -2 suicide. -नित्य a. being constantly in the heart, greatly endeared to oneself. -निन्दा self-reproach. -निवेदनम् offering oneself (as a living sacrifice to the deity). -निष्ठ a. one who constantly seeks for spiritual knowledge. -पराजित a. one who has lost himself (Ved.) Av.5.18.2. -पुराणम् N. of a work elucidating the Upaniṣads (consisting of 18 chapters). -प्रत्ययिक a. knowing from one's experience; आत्मप्रत्ययिकं शास्त्रमिदम् Mb.12.246.13. -प्रबोधः 1 cognition of the soul; self-consciousness. -2 title of an उपनिषद्. -प्रभ a. self-illuminated. -प्रवादः 1 conversation about the Supreme Spirit. -2 N. of the seventh of the fourteen Pūrvas of the Jainas. -प्रशंसा self-praise. -बन्धुः, -बान्धवः 1 one's own kinsman; आत्ममातुः स्वसुः पुत्रा आत्मपितुः स्वसुः सुताः । आत्ममातुलपुत्राश्च विज्ञेया ह्यात्मबान्धवाः Śabdak. i. e.mother's sister's son, father's sister's son, and mother's brother's son. -2 the soul, the self. -बोधः 1 spiritual knowledge. -2 knowledge of self. -3 N. of a work of Śaṅkarāchārya. -भावः 1 existence of the soul; संयोग एषां न तु आत्मभावात् Śvet.1.2. -2 the self proper, peculiar nature. -3 the body. -भू a. self-born, self-existent. (-भूः) वचस्यवसिते तस्मिन् ससर्ज गिरमात्मभूः Ku.2.53,3.16,5.81. -योनिः 1 N. of Brahmā; -2 N. of Viṣṇu. -3 N. of Śiva; Ś.7.35. -4 Cupid, god of love. -5 a son. (-भूः f.) 1 a daughter. -2 talent, understanding. -भूत a. 1 self-produced; peculiar, belonging to. -2 attached, devoted, faithful; तत्रात्मभूतैः कालज्ञैरहार्यैः परिचारकैः Ms.7.217 (Kull. = आत्मतुल्य). (-तः) 1 a son. -2 Cupid. (-ता) 1 a daughter. -2 talent. -भूयम् 1 peculiarity, own nature. -2 Brahman. -मात्रा a portion of the Supreme Spirit. -मानिन् a. self-respecting, respectable. -2 arro- gant, proud; विवेकशून्यः प्रभुरात्ममानी, महाननर्थः सुहृदां बतायम् Bk.12.83. -मूर्तिः 1 a brother; भ्राता स्वमूर्तिरात्मनः -2 soul, Supreme Spirit. -मूल a. self-luminous, shining (God); स आत्ममूलो$वतु मां परात्परः Bhāg.8.3.4. -मूलि n. the universe. -मूली N. of a plant (दूरालभा; Mar. धमासा). -याजिन् 1 sacrificing for oneself or himself. m. a learned man who studies his own nature and that of the soul (of others) to secure eternal felicity, one who looks upon all beings as self; सर्व- भूतेषु चात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि । समं पश्यन्नात्मयाजी स्वाराज्यम- धिगच्छति ॥ Ms.12.91. -योनिः = ˚भू m. a. v. ददर्श चक्रीकृतचारुचापं प्रहर्तुमभ्युद्यतमात्मयोनिम् Ku.3.7. -रक्षा 1 N. of a plant (इन्द्रवारुणीवृक्ष). -2 self protection. -लाभः birth, production, origin; यैरात्मलाभस्त्वया लब्धः Mu.3.1, 5.23; Ki.3.32,17.19,18.34; K.239. -लोमन् 1 the hair of the body. -2 the beard. -वञ्चक a. self-deceiver. -वञ्चना self-delusion; self-deception. -वधः, -वध्या, -हत्या suicide. -वर्ग्य a. of one's party or class; उद्बाहुना जुहुविरे मुहुरात्मवर्ग्याः Śi.5.15. -वश a. depending on one's own will; यद्यत्परवशं कर्म तत्तद्यत्नेन वर्जयेत् । यद्यदात्मवशं तु स्यात्तत्तत्सेवेत यत्नतः ॥ Ms.4.159, सर्वमात्मवशं सुखम् 16. (-शः) 1 self-control, self-government. -2 one's control, subjection; ˚शं नी, ˚वशीकृ to reduce to subjection, win over. -वश्य a. having control over self, self-possessed, self-restrained; आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा Bg.2.64. -विक्रयः sale of oneself or one's own liberty; Ms.11.59. -विद् m. 1 a wise man, sage; as in तरति शोकमात्मवित्; सो$हं भगवो मन्त्रविदेवास्मि नात्मविच्छ्रुतह्येव Ch. Up.7.1.3. -2 knowing one's own self (family &c.); य इहात्मविदो विपक्षमध्ये Śi.2.116. -3 N. of Śiva. -विद्या knowledge of the soul, spiritual knowledge; आन्वीक्षिकीं चात्मविद्याम् Ms.7.43. -विवृद्धिः, -वृद्धिः f. self-exaltation. -वीर a. 1 mighty, powerful, strong. -2 appropriate, suitable, good for oneself (as diet &c.). -3 existent, sentient. (-रः) 1 a son. -2wife's brother. -3 a jester (in dramas); आत्मवीरः प्राणवति श्यालके च विदूषके. -वृत्तम्, -वृत्तान्तः account of one's own self, autobiography. -वृत्ति a. dwelling in Atman or soul. (-त्तिः f.) 1 state of the heart; किमेभिराशोपहतात्मवृत्तिभिः Ku.5.76. -2 action as regards oneself, one's own state or circum- stance; विस्माययन् विस्मितमात्मवृत्तौ R.2.33. -3 practising one's own duties or occupation. -शक्तिः f. one's own power or ability, inherent power or effort; दैवं निहत्य कुरु पौरुषमात्मशक्त्या Pt.1.361 to the best of one's power. -2 illusion. -शल्या N. of a plant (शतावरी). -शुद्धिः f. self-purification; Ms.11.164; योगिनः कर्म कुर्वन्ति संगं त्यक्त्वा$त्मशुद्धये Bg.5.11. -श्लाघा, -स्तुतिः f. self-praise, boasting, bragging. -संयमः self-restraint; आत्मसंयमयो- गाग्नौ जुह्वति ज्ञानदीपिते Bg.4.27. -संस्थ a. Based upon or connected with the person; आत्मसंस्थं मनःकृत्वा Bg.6.25. -सतत्त्वम् See आत्मतत्त्वम्; आत्मसतत्त्वं विगणयतः Bhāg.5.13.24. -सद् a. Ved. dwelling in oneself; आत्मसदौ स्तं मा मा हिंसिष्टम् Av.5.9.8. -संतुष्ट a. self-sufficient. -सनि a. Ved. granting the breath of life. -सम a. worthy of oneself, equal to oneself; कार्ये गुरुण्यात्मसमं नियोक्ष्ये Ku.3.13. -संदेहः 1 internal or personal doubt. -2 risk of life, personal risk. -संभवः, -समुद्भवः 1 a son; चकार नाम्ना रघुमात्मसंभवम् R.3.21,11.57,17.8. -2 Cupid, god of love. -3 epi- thet of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Śiva. -4 the Supreme Being (परमात्मन्). (-वा) 1 a daughter. -2 understanding, intellect. -संपन्न a. 1 self-possessed; Pt.1.49. -2 talented, intelligent; तमात्मसंपन्नमनिन्दितात्मा कृत्वा युवानं युवराजमेव R.18.18. -संभावना self-conceit; K. -सिद्धिः f. self-aggrandizement, attainment of object or purpose; आगच्छदात्मसिद्ध्यर्थं गोकर्णस्याश्रमं शुभम् Rām.7.9.47. -सुख a. self-delighted. (-खम्) the highest bliss. -स्थ a. At one's own disposal (स्वाधीन); तावदेव मया सार्धमात्मस्थं कुरु शासनम् Rām.2.21.8. -हन् a. 1 one who kills his own soul (neglects its welfare &c.); ये के चात्महनो जनाः Śvet.3. -2 a suicide, self-destroyer. -3 a heretic, unbeliever. -4 a priest in a temple, a servant or attendant upon an idol. -हननम्, -हत्या suicide. -हित a. beneficial to oneself. (-तम्) one's own good or welfare.
आत्मक ātmakaआत्मक a. (At the end of comp.) Made up or com- posed of, of the nature or character of &c.; पञ्च five- fold, made up of five; संशय˚ of a doubtful nature; so दुःख˚ sorry, grieved; दहन˚ hot; विष˚ poisonous &c. &c.>आत्मकीय ātmakīya आत्मीय ātmīyaआत्मकीय आत्मीय a. Belonging to oneself, one's own; सर्वः कान्तमात्मीयं पश्यति Ś.2; स्वामिनमात्मीयं करिष्यामि H.2. win over; अहमात्मीयो न भविष्यामि Mk.8 I shall lose my life; आत्मीयं कुर्वन्ति subject K.135,167; अय- मात्मीयः क्रियताम् 12; let him be taken under your protec- tion; प्रसादमात्मीयमिवात्मदर्शः R.7.68; Ku.2.19; kindred, related, of kin, न कश्चिच्चण्डकोपानामात्मीयो नाम भूभुजाम् Bh.2.57.आत्मता ātmatā त्वम् tvamआत्मता त्वम् Identity with self, spirituality.आत्मना ātmanāआत्मना ind. (instr. of आत्मन्) Used reflexively; अथ चास्तमिता त्वमात्मना R.8.51 thou thyself; आत्मना शुकनासमादाय K.293. It is oft. compounded with ordinal numerals; e. g. ˚द्वितीयः second including himself, i. e. himself and one more; so ˚तृतीयः himself with two others; ˚सप्तमः Being oneself the seventh; आत्मना सप्तमो राजा निर्ययौ गजसाह्वयात् Mb.17.1.25.आत्मनीन ātmanīnaआत्मनीन a. [आत्मने हितः ख] 1 Belonging to oneself, one's own; कस्यैष आत्मनीनः M.4 on whose side is he? -2 Beneficial to oneself; आत्मनीनमुपतिष्ठते Ki.13.69, 3.16; तमात्मनीनामुदवोढ रामः Bh.3.77; good, fit, suitable, appropriate (as diet &c.); आत्मनीनतया श्रीमान् शिवः श्रीभिः समार्धयत् Śiva. B.23.57. -3 Existent, sentient. -नः 1 A son. -2 A wife's brother. -3 A jester (in dramas).आत्मनेपदम् ātmanēpadamआत्मनेपदम् [आत्मने आत्मार्थफलबोधनाय पदं अलुक् स˚] 1 A voice for oneself, one of the two voices in which roots are conjugated in Sanskrit. -2 The terminations of this voice.आत्मंभरि ātmambhariआत्मंभरि a. [आत्मानं बिभर्ति, मृ खि मुम् च P.III.2. 26] Selfish, greedy (one who feeds his ownself); आत्मंभरिस्त्वं पिशितैर्नराणाम् Bk.2.33; H.3.121. -˚त्वम् Selfishness. ... अहो ते आत्मंभरित्वम् । नागानन्द 2.16.आत्मन्वत् ātmanvat आत्मन्विन् ātmanvinआत्मन्वत् आत्मन्विन् Ved. Having a soul, anima- ted, alive; मृत्युस्तन्मनो$कुरुतात्मन्वी स्यामिति Bṛi. Up.1.2.1; 1.2.7.आत्मवत् ātmavatआत्मवत् a. [अस्त्यर्थे मतुप् मस्य वः] 1 Self-possessed, possessd of self-restraint; शास्त्रदृष्टेन विधिना संयोज्यात्मानमात्म- वान् Mb.3.126.8. Mu.3. -2 Composed, prudent, wise; किमिवावसादकरमात्मवताम् Ki.6.19; Bg.2.45;4.41. Ms.1.18,5.43,7.52. ind. Like oneself; आत्मवत् सर्वभूतेषु यः पश्यति स पण्डितः.आत्मवत्ता ātmavattāआत्मवत्ता Self-possession, self-control, prudence, wis- dom; प्रकृतिष्वात्मजमात्मवत्तया R.8.1,84; Ms.11.86.आत्मसात् ātmasātआत्मसात् ind. In one's own possession, one's own; mostly in combination with कृ or भू; ˚कृ to appropriate to oneself, take for oneself; दुरितैरपि कर्तुमात्मसात् R.8.2 to bring under subjection or power; so ˚भू come under one's subjection.आत्मीकृ ātmīkṛआत्मीकृ 8 U. To conquer, subdue; K.117,119.आत्मीभावः ātmībhāvḥआत्मीभावः Identification with the Supreme Spirit.आत्म्य ātmyaआत्म्य a. 1 Belonging to oneself, one's own, personal. -2 (At the end of comp.) Having the nature of.

10.124.01 Come, Agni, to this our sacrifice, which has five oblations, three-fold, spread out by seven (priests); be the bearer of our oblations, be our preceder, you have long been sleeping in profound darkness. [Five oblations: or, regulated by five, i.e., by the yajama_na and the four chief priests, the Hota_, the Udga_ta_, the Adhvaryu, and the Brahma_].
10.124.02 (Agni speaks). From being no divinity I issue a divninty from the cave at the solicitation (of the gods), and being manifest I attain immortality; when being inauspicious I abandon the sacrifice as it becomes auspicious, through my (old) friendship I come to the binding touch-wood. [Being inauspicious: i.e., not being beautiful, not being radiant; binding touchwood: na_bhim: from n.ah, nahana s'i_la_m bandhana s'i_la_m; or, a family of strangers].
10.124.03 Beholding the guest of another family, I have created the manifold abodes of sacrifice; I repeat praises, (wishing) good luck to the paternal foe-destroying (race of deities), I pass from a place unfit for sacrifice to a place where sacrifice can be offered. [Beholding the guest: vaya_ya_h = gantavya_ya_h: beholding, i.e., following the course of, the guest, i.e., the sun, who is connected with a different region to be traversed (the sky) than that which is my abode, viz., the earth].
10.124.04 I spent many years within this (altar), preferring Indra I abandon the progenitor; Agni, Soma, Varun.a, fall (from their power); returning, I protect that kingdom which awaits me. [Progenitor: i.e., the touchwood].
10.124.05 These asuras were deprived of their magical power; if you, Varun.a, desire me, (then), O king, separating truth from falsehood, come and enjoy sovereignty over my realm.
10.124.06 (Agni or Varun.a speak). This, O Soma, is heaven; this verily was beautiful this (was) the light, the broad firmament; let us together slay Vr.tra; come forth; we worship with an oblation you who are yourself oblation. [Soma means the moon, as well as Soma, the product; this is a play on the word, Soma].
10.124.07 The sage (Mitra) by his wisdom fixed his body in the sky; Varun.a with but a wslight effort let loose the waters, conferring happiness, like wives, the pure rivers assume his (white) tint.
10.124.08 They sustain his most excellent energy, he approaches them delighting him with (sacrificial) food; like subject choosing a king, they, smitten with fear fled from Vr.tra.
10.124.09 The sage called the sun the ally of those who are frightened, abiding in the friendship of the waters of heaven; the wise have honoured with their praise Indra, who ceaselessly moves after the Anus.t.up. [Anus.t.up: or, the ceaselessly moving Indra, who is worthy to be praised with an Anus.t.up; or, anus.t.ubham = one who is deserving of praise (anus.t.obhani_yam)].

Griffith: HYMN CXXIV. Agni, Etc. 124

1. COME to this sacrifice of ours, O Agni, threefold, with seven threads and five divisions.
Be our oblationbearer- and preceder: thou hast lain long enough in during darkness.
2 I come a God foreseeing from the godless to immortality by secret pathways,
While I, ungracious one, desert the gracious, leave mine own friends and seek the kin of strangers.
3 1, looking to the guest of other lineage, have founded many a rule of Law and Order.
I bid farewell to the Great God, the Father, and, for neglect, obtain my share of worship.
4 I tarried many a year within this altar: I leave the Father, for my choice is Indra.
Away pass Agni, Varuna and Soma. Rule ever changes: this I come to favour.
5 These Asuras have lost their powers of magic. But thou, O Varuna, if thou dost love me,
O King, discerning truth and right from falsehood, come and be Lord and Ruler of my kingdom.
6 Here is the light of heaven, here allis lovely; here there is radiance, here is airs' wide
region.
Let us two slaughter Vrtra. Forth, O Soma! Thou art oblation: we therewith will serve thee.
7 The Sage hath fixed his form by wisdom in the heavens: Varuna with no violence let the waters
flow.
Like womenfolk-, the floods that bring prosperity have eau lit his hue and colour as they gleamed
and shone.
8 These wait upon his loftiest power and vigour: he dwells in these who triumph in their Godhead;
And they, like people who elect their ruler, have in abhorrence turned away from Vrtra.
9 They call him Swan, the abhorrent floods' Companion, moving in friendship with celestial Waters.
The poets in their thought have looked on Indra swiftly approaching when Anustup calls him.

ऋषिः ṛṣiḥ

ऋषिः [cf. Uṇ.4.119] 1 An inspired poet or sage, a singer of sacred hymns, (e. g कुत्स, वसिष्ठ, अत्रि, अगस्त्य &c.). (These Ṛiṣis form a class of beings distinct from gods, men, Asuras &c. (Av.1.1.26). They are the authors or seers of the Vedic hymns; ऋषयो मन्त्रद्रष्टारो वसिष्ठादयः; or, according to Yāska, यस्य वाक्यं स ऋषिः, i. e. they are the persons to whom the Vedic hymns were revealed. In every Sūkta the ऋषि is mentioned along with the देवता, छन्दस् and विनियोग. The later works mention seven Ṛiṣis or saptarṣis whose names, according to Śat. Br., are गौतम, भरद्वाज, विश्वामित्र, जमदग्नि, वसिष्ठ, कश्यप and अत्रि; according to Mahābhārata, मरीचि, अत्रि, अङ्गिरस्, पुलह, क्रतु, पुलस्त्य and वसिष्ठ; Manu calls these sages Prajāpatis or pro- genitors of mankind, and gives ten names, three more being added to the latter list, i. e. दक्ष or प्रचेतस्, भृगु and नारद. In astronomy the seven Ṛiṣis form the constellation of "the Great Bear"); यत्रा सप्त ऋषीन् पर एकमाहुः Rv.1.82.2. -2 A sanctified sage, saint, an ascetic, anchorite; (there are usually three classes of these saints; देवर्षि, ब्रह्मर्षि and राजर्षि; sometimes four more are added; महर्षि, परमर्षि, श्रुतर्षि and काण्डर्षि. -3 A ray of light. -4 An imaginary circle. -5 A hymn (मन्त्र) composed by a Ṛiṣi; एतद्वो$स्तु तपोयुक्तं ददामीत्यृषि- चोदितम् Mb.12.11.18; -6 The Veda; P.III.2.186. -7 A symbolical expression for number seven. -8 Life; Bhāg.1.87.5. -9 The moon. -Comp. -ऋणम् A debt due to Ṛiṣis. -कुल्या 1 a sacred river. -2 N. of महानदी, N. of सरस्वती; अथ तस्योशतीं देवीमृषिकुल्यां सरस्वतीम् Bhāg. 3.16.13. -कृत् a. making one's appearance; Rv.1.31. 16. -गिरिः N. of a mountain in Magadha. -चान्द्रायणम् N. of a particular observance. -च्छन्दस् n. the metre of a Ṛiṣi, -जाङ्गलः, -जाङ्गलिका the plant ऋक्षगन्धा, (Mar. म्हैसवेल). -तर्पणम् libation offered to the Ṛiṣis. -धान्यम् The grain Coix barbata (Mar. वरी). -पञ्चमी N. of a festival or ceremony on the fifth day in the first half of Bhādrapada (observed by women). -पुत्रकःSouthern wood, Artemisia abrotanum (Mar. दवणा). -प्रोक्ता the plant माषपर्णी (Mar. रानउडीद). -बन्धु a. connected or related to the Ṛiṣi; Rv.8.1.6. -मनस् a. inspired; far-seeing, enlightened; Rv.9.96.18. -मुखम् the beginning of a Maṇḍala composed by a Ṛiṣi. -यज्ञः a sacrifice offered to a Ṛiṣi (consisting of a prayer in low voice). Ms.4.21. -लोकः the world of the Ṛiṣis. -श्राद्धम् Funeral oblations for the Ṛiṣis. a figurative expression for insignificant acts which are preceded by great preparation. -श्रेष्ठः (ष्ठम्) The pod of Helicteres isora : also the shrub of tree (Mar. मुरुड- शेंग). -स्तोमः 1 praise of the Ṛiṣis. -2 a particular sacrifice completed in one day.

ऋषि [p= 226,3]m. ( √2. ऋष् Comm. on Un2. iv , 119 ; ऋषति ज्ञानेन संसार-पारम् T. ; perhaps fr. an obsolete √ऋष् for √दृश् , " to » ? " cf. ऋषि-कृत्) , a singer of sacred hymns , an inspired poet or sage , any person who alone or with others invokes the deities in rhythmical speech or song of a sacred character (e.g. the ancient hymn-singers कुत्स , अत्रि , रेभ , अगस्त्य , कुशिक , वसिष्ठ , व्य्-श्व) RV. AV. VS. &c; the ऋषिs were regarded by later generations as patriarchal sages or saints , occupying the same position in India history as the heroes and patriarchs of other countries , and constitute a peculiar class of beings in the early mythical system , as distinct from gods , men , असुरs , &c AV. x , 10 , 26 S3Br. AitBr. Ka1tyS3r. Mn. &c; 

they are the authors or rather seers of the Vedic hymns i.e. according to orthodox Hindu ideas they are the inspired personages to whom these hymns were revealed , and such an expression as " the ऋषि says " is equivalent to " so it stands in the sacred text "; seven ऋषिs , सप्त ऋषयः , or सप्तऋषयः or सप्तर्षयः , are often mentioned in the ब्राह्मणs and later works as typical representatives of the character and spirit of the pre-historic or mythical period; in S3Br. xiv , 5 , 2 , 6 their names are given as follows , गोतम , भरद्वाज , विश्वा-मित्र , जमदग्नि , वसिष्ठ , कश्यप , and अत्रि; in MBh. xii , मरीचि , अत्रि , अङ्गिरस् , पुलह , क्रतु , पुलस्त्य , वसिष्ठ are given as the names of the ऋषिs of the first मन्वन्तर , and they are also called प्रजापतिs or patriarchs; the names of the ऋषिs of the subsequent मन्व्-न्तरs are enumerated in Hariv. 417 ff.; afterwards three other names are added , viz. प्रचेतस् or दक्ष , भृगु , and नारद , these ten being created by मनु स्वायम्भुव for the production of all other beings including gods and men A1s3vS3r. MBh. VP. &c; in astron. the seven ऋषिs form the constellation of " the Great Bear " RV. x , 82 , 2 AV. vi , 40 , 1 S3Br. A1s3vGr2. MBh. &c;(metaphorically the seven ऋषिs may stand for the seven senses or the seven vital airs of the body VS. xxxiv S3Br. xiv Ka1tyS3r. ); a saint or sanctified sage in general , an ascetic , anchorite (this is a later sense ; sometimes three orders of these are enumerated , viz. देवर्षिs , ब्रह्मर्षिs , and राजर्षिs ; sometimes seven , four others being added , viz. महर्षिs , परमर्षिs , श्रुतर्षिs , and काण्डर्षिs) Mn. iv , 94; a hymn or मन्त्र composed by a ऋषि; the वेद Comm. 

on MBh. and Pat.; a ray of light L.

ऋषीवत् ṛṣīvat

ऋषीवत् a. Praising Ṛiṣi; associated with Ṛiṣis; शिप्रिन्नृषीवः शचीवो Rv.8.2.28.

ऋषि ṛṣi (षी ṣī) कः kḥ

ऋषि (षी) कः 1 A Ṛiṣi of a lower degree. -2 N. of a country or its inhabitants (pl.).

ऋषिका ṛṣikā

ऋषिका f. A female author composing the Ṛiks e. g. Viśvavārā, Romaśā &c.

सोमा* हुति [p= 1251,2] f. a सोम sacrifice Br. A1pS3r. BhP.; m. N. of the author of the hymns RV. ii , 4-7 (having the patr. भार्गव) RAnukr.

गृत्स--मद [p= 361,2] m. N. of a son of शौनक of भृगु's family (formerly a son of शुन-होत्र [Su-hotra VP. BhP. ] of the family of अङ्गिरस् , but by इन्द्र's will transferred to the भृगु family ; author of most of the hymns of RV. ii) RAnukr. A1s3vS3r. xii , 10 , 13 A1s3vGr2. iii , 4 , 2  S3a1n3khGr2. MBh. xiii Hariv. &c; m. pl. गृत्समद's family RV. ii , 4 , 9 ; 19 , 8 ; 39 , 8 ; 41 , 18.

कूर्म [p= 300,2] m. a tortoise , turtle VS. TS. &c (ifc. f(आ). MBh. iv , 2016); one of the outer winds of the body (causing the closing of the eyes) Veda7ntas; N. of a ऋषि (son of गृत्स-मद , author of RV. ii , 27-29) RAnukr.

विश्वा--मित्र a [p= 994,3] m. (prob.) " friend of all " , N. of a celebrated ऋषि or Sage (having the patr. गाथिन , गाधेय , and जाह्नव ; he was at first a functionary , together with वसिष्ठ , of सु-दास् , king of the तृत्सुs ; seeing वसिष्ठ preferred by the king , he went over to the भरतs , but could not prevent their being defeated by सु-दास् , although he caused the waters of the rivers विपाश् and शुतुद्री to retire and so give the भरतs free passage RV. iii , 33 ; he was born as a क्षत्रिय , deriving his lineage from an ancestor of कुशिक , named पुरू-रवस् , of the lunar race of kings , and himself sovereign of कन्या-कुब्ज or Kanoj ; his fame rests chiefly on his contests with the great Brahman वसिष्ठ , and his success in elevating himself. though a क्षत्रिय , to the rank of a Brahman » Manu vii , 42 : the रामायण , which makes him a companion and counsellor of the young राम-चन्द्र , records [i , 51-65] how विश्वामित्र , on his accession to the throne , visited वसिष्ठ's hermitage , and seeing there the cow of plenty [probably typical of गो , " the earth "] , offered him untold treasures in exchange for it , but being refused , prepared to take it by force ; a long contest ensued between the king and the saint [symbolical of the struggles between the क्षत्रिय and Brahmanical classes] , which ended in the defeat of विश्वामित्र , whose vexation was such that , in order to become a Brahman and thus conquer his rival , he devoted himself to intense austerities [during which he was seduced by the nymph मेनका and had by her a daughter , शकुन्तला] , gradually increasing the rigour of his mortification through thousands of years , till he successively earned the titles of राजर्षि , ऋषि , महर्षि , and finally ब्रह्मर्षि ; he is supposed to be the author of nearly the whole of RV. iii , and of ix , 67 , 1315 ; x , 137 , 5 ; 167 ; moreover , a law-book , a धनुर्वेद , and a medical wk. are attributed to him) RV. &c

ऋषभ [p= 226,3] m. (fr. √2. ऋष् Un2. ii , 123), a bull (as impregnating the flock ; cf. वृषभ and उक्षन्) RV. AV. VS. ChUp. BhP. &c;m. pl. the inhabitants of क्रौञ्च-द्वीप BhP. v , 20 , 22

उत्कील [p= 176,1] m. N. of a ऋषि Comm. on VS. and RV. (v.l. अत्कील q.v.)

कट [p= 243,2] m. (perhaps for कर्त fr. √3. कृत्) a twist of straw of grass , straw mat , a screen of straw TS. S3Br. Ka1tyS3r. Mn. &c

देव--वात [p= 494,2]  mfn. (°व्/अ-) agreeable to the gods RV.; m. N. of a man ib. iii , 23 , 2.

प्रजा--पति [p= 658,2](°जा-) m. " lord of creatures " , N. of सवितृ , सोम , अग्नि , इन्द्र &c RV. AV.; (°जा-) lord of creatures , creator RV. &c &c (N. of a supreme god above or among the Vedic deities [ RV. (only x , 21 , 10) AV. VS. Br. ] but in later times also applied to विष्णु , शिव , Time personified , the sun , fire , &c , and to various progenitors , esp. to the 10 lords of created beings first created by ब्रह्मा , viz. मरीचि , अत्रि , अङ्गिरस् , पुलस्त्य , पुलक, क्रतु,
वसिष्ठ , प्रचेतस् or दक्ष , भृगु , नारद [ Mn. i , 34 ; cf. IW. 206 n. 1] , of whom some authorities count only the first 7 , others the last 3)

वाम--देव [p= 941,2] m. (वाम्/अ-) N. of an ancient ऋषि (having the patr. गौतम , author of the hymns RV. iv , 1-41 ; 45-48, comprising nearly the whole fourth मण्डल ; pl. his family) RV. &c; of a form of शिव Hariv. BhP.

अ-दिति 1 [p= 18,2] f. having nothing to give , destitution RV.; mfn. ( √4. दा or दो , द्यति ; for 1. /अ-दिति » above ) , not tied , free RV. vii , 52 , 1, boundless , unbroken , entire , unimpaired , happy RV. VS.; f. freedom , security , safety; f. boundlessness , immensity , inexhaustible abundance , unimpaired condition , perfection , creative power , N. of one of the most ancient of the Indian goddesses (" Infinity " or the " Eternal and Infinite Expanse " , often mentioned in RV. , daughter of दक्ष and wife of कश्यप , mother of the आदित्यs and of the gods); f. speech Naigh. (cf. RV. viii , 101 , 15); f. du. heaven and earth Naigh.

त्रस--दस्यु [p= 457,3]  " before whom the दस्युs tremble " , N. of a prince (son of पुरु-कुत्स ; celebrated for his liberality and favoured by the gods ; author of RV. iv , 42), i , iv f. , vii f. ,x TS. Ta1n2d2yaBr. MBh. Hariv. VP. iv , 3 , 13.

purumīḷa N. of a man with patronym Angirasa or Sauhotra; author of RV 4.43, 44

सु--होत्र [p= 1239,3] m. N. of the author of RV. vi , 31 , 32 (having the patr. भारद्वाज) Anukr.; pl. N. of a seat of fire-worshippers Cat.

कुत्स [p= 290,3] m. N. of a ऋषि (called आर्जुनेय , author of several hymns of the RV. ; when attacked by the demon शुष्ण , इन्द्र defended him and killed the demon ; but in other hymns [ RV. i , 53 , 10 ; ii , 14 , 7 ; iv , 26 , 1 ; viii , 53 , 2] कुत्स is represented as persecuted by इन्द्र) RV. AV. iv , 29 , 5 Ta1n2d2yaBr.; N. of a descendant of अङ्गिरस् (author of the hymns RV. i , 94-98 ; 100-115 ; ix , 97 , 45 seqq.) A1s3vS3r.; lightning, thunderbolt; (also) a distance of about 30 inches, L.; m. pl. ( Pa1n2. 2-4 , 65) the descendants or the family of कुत्स RV. vii , 25 , 5 La1t2y.

अत्रि [p= 17,2] m. (for अत्-त्रि , fr. √ अद्) , a devourer RV. ii , 8 , 5; N. of a great ऋषि , author of a number of Vedic hymns; pl. (अत्रयस्) the descendants of अत्रि

भरद्--वाज [p= 747,3]m. (भर्/अद्-) " bearing speed or strength (of flight) " , a skylark R.; N. of a ऋषि (with the patr. बार्हस्पत्य , supposed author of RV. vi , 1-30 ; 37-43 ; 53-74 ; ix , 67. 1-3 ; x , 137 , 1 , and पुरोहित of दिव-दास , with whom he is perhaps identical ; भरद् is also considered as one of the 7 sages and the author of a law-book) RV. &c (°जस्य अ-दार-सृत् and अ-दार-सृतौ , अर्कौ , उपहवौ , गाधम् , नकानि , प्रिश्निनी ,

प्रासाहम् , बृहत् , मौक्षे , यज्ञा*यज्ञीयम् , लोमनी , वाज-कर्मीयम् , वाज भृत् , विषमाणि , व्रतम् , सुन्ध्युः

and सैन्धुक्षितानि N. of सामन्s A1rshBr. ); of a district Pa1n2. 4-2 , 145

नर [p= 528,3] N. of भारद्वाज (author of RV. vi , 35 and 36) Anukr

सं- √ यु 2 [p= 1112,1] P. A1. -यौति , -युते  ; -युनाति , °नीते (Ved. also -युवति , °ते) , to join or unite with one's self , take into one's self , devour RV.  ; to join to another , bestow on , impart RV. v , 32 , 10  ; to join together , connect with (instr.) , unite , mix , mingle VS. TBr. Ka1tyS3r. Bhat2t2.

गर्ग [p= 349,1]m. N. of an old sage (descendant of भरद्-वाज and अङ्गिरस् , author of the hymn RV. vi , 47)

पायु 1 [p= 619,1]( S3Br. xiv , प्/आयु) , m. the anus VS. &c &c; m. ( √3. पा ; for 1. पायु » col.s) a guard , protector RV. (esp. instr. pl. " with protecting powers or actions , helpfully ") AV.; N. of a man RV. vi , 47 , 24 (with भारद्वाज , author of vi , 75 ; x , 87).

वसिष्ठ a [p= 930,2] mfn. (superl. fr. 1. व्/असु ; cf. व्/असीयस् and under √3. वस्) most excellent , best , richest RV. AV. Br. ChUp. MBh.; m. (wrongly written वशिष्ठ) , " the most wealthy " , N. of a celebrated Vedic ऋषि or sage (owner of the " cow of plenty " , called नन्दिनी , offspring of सुरभि , which by granting all desires made him , as his name implies , master of every वसु or desirable object ; he was the typical representative of Brahmanical rank , and the legends of his conflict with विश्वा-मित्र , who raised himself from the kingly or क्षत्रिय to the Brahmanical class , were probably founded on the actual struggles which took place between the Brahmans and क्षत्रियs ; a great many hymns of the RV. are ascribed to these two great rivals ; those of the seventh मण्डल , besides some others , being attributed to वसिष्ठ , while those of the third मण्डल are assigned to विश्वा-मित्र ; in one of वसिष्ठ's hymns he is represented as king सु-दास्'s family priest , an office to which विश्वा-मित्र also aspired ; in another hymn वसिष्ठ claims to have been inspired by वरुण , and in another [ RV. vii , 33 , 11] he is called the son of the अप्सरस् उर्वशी by मित्र and वरुण , whence his patronymic मैत्रावरुणि ; in मनु i , 35 , he is enumerated among the ten प्रजा-पतिs or Patriarchs produced by मनु स्वायम्भुव for the peopling of the universe ; in the MBh. he is mentioned as the family priest of the solar race or family of इक्ष्वाकु and राम-चन्द्र , and in the पुराणs as one of the arrangers of the वेदs in the द्वापर age ; he is , moreover , called the father of और्व [ Hariv. ],of the सुकालिन्s [ Mn. ],of seven sons [ Hariv. Pur. ] , and the husband of अक्ष-माला or अरुन्धती [ MBh. ] and of ऊर्जा [ Pur. ] ; other legends make him one of the 7 patriarchal sages regarded as forming the Great Bear in which he represents the star Î¶ » ऋषि) RV. &c (cf. IW. 361 ; 402 n.1 &c ); वसीयस् [p= 930,3] mfn. (compar. of 1. व्/असु ; cf. वसिष्ठ and वस्यस्) more wealthy or opulent , more excellent , better than , (abl.) TS. Br. Gobh.

प्र-गाथ a [p= 656,1]m. a kind of stanza (the combination of a बृहती or ककुभ् with a सतो-बृहती so as to form a triplet) VS. RPra1t. &c; N. of a ऋषि with the patr. काण्व and घौर , the author of RV. viii , 1 , 2 ; 10 ; 48 ; 51-54; (pl.) N. of RV. viii (which contains a great many प्रगाथ stanzas)

देवा* तिथि [p= 495,1] m. " guest of the gods " , N. of a काण्व and author of RV. viii , 4 Ta1n2d2yaBr. ix , 2; of a prince who was son of अ-क्रोधन (or क्रोधन BhP. ix , 22 , 11) and करम्भा MBh. i , 3775.; Author of RV viii.4

 ब्रह्मा* तिथि [p= 740,3] m. " Brahma1's guest " , N. of a काण्व (author of RV. viii , 5).

वत्स [p= 915,3]m. (prob. originally , " yearling " , fr. a lost word वतस्) a calf , the young of any animal , offspring , child (voc. वत्स often used as a term of endearment = my dear child , my darling) RV. &c;N. of a descendant of कण्व RV. Pan5cavBr. S3a1n3khS3r.; N. of an आग्नेय (author of RV. x , 187) Anukr.; mn. the breast , chest L. [cf. vatsara ; Lat. vetus , vetus-tus , vitulus ; Germ. widar , Widder ; Eng. wether.]

पुनर्--वत्स [p= 634,1] m. a weaned calf that begins to suck again La1t2y.; (with काण्व) N. of the author of RV. viii , 7 Anukr.

स--ध्वंस [p= 1140,3] m. N. of a ऋषि (having the patr. काण्व , the supposed author of RV. viii , 8) Anukr.

शश--कर्ण [p= 1060,1]m. the ear of a hare L.; du. N. of a सामन् La1t2y.; " hare-eared " , N. of the author of RV. viii , 9 (having the patr. काण्व) Anukr.

प्र-° गाथ b [p= 656,2] m. a kind of stanza (the combination of a बृहती or ककुभ् with a सतो-बृहती so as to form a triplet) VS. RPra1t. &c; N. of a ऋषि with the patr. काण्व and घौर , the author of RV. viii , 1 , 2 ; 10 ; 48 ; 51-54; (pl.) N. of RV. viii (which contains a great many प्रगाथ stanzas)

पर्वत [p= 609,1]m. of a ऋषि (associated with नारद and messenger of the gods , supposed author of RV. viii , 12 ; ix , 104 , 105, where he has the patr.काण्व and काश्यप) MBh. Katha1s.

नारद [p= 537,2] m. or नारद्/अ N. of a ऋषि (a काण्व or काश्यप , author of RV. viii , 13 ; ix , 104 ; 105 Anukr. ; as a देवर्षि often associated with पर्वत and supposed to be a messenger between gods and men MBh. Hariv. Ka1v. &c ; among the 10 प्रजा-पतिs as a son of ब्रह्मा Mn. i , 35 ; in later mythology he is a friend of कृष्ण and is regarded as inventor of the विना or lute ; in ep. poetry he is called a देव-गन्धर्व or a गन्धर्व-राज or simply गन्धर्व)

गौषू* क्ति [p= 370,3]m. patr. fr. गो-षू*क्तिन् Ta1n2d2yaBr. गो--° षू* क्तिन् [p= 367,2]m. (सू*क्त्°) , N. of the author of RV. viii , 14 f.

सो* भरि [p= 1249,3] (or °री) m. N. of the author of the hymns RV. viii , 19-22 &c (having the patr. काण्व , or आङ्गिरस) RV. AV.

नीपा* तिथि [p= 565,3] m. N. of a descendant of कण्व and author of RV. viii , 34

श्यावा* श्व [p= 1095,1] mfn. having brown horses AV. S3a1n3khS3r. TA1r.; m. N. of a Vedic ऋषि (having the patr. आत्रेय ; he was the supposed author of various hymns in the 5th , 8th , and 9th मण्डलs ; °वा*श्वस्य प्रहितौ N. of two सामन्s) RV. AV. &c; n. N. of various सामन्s SV. Br. La1t2y..

नाभाक [p= 536,1] mf(ई)n. belonging to or composed by नभाक AitBr.; m. ( = नभाक) N. of a ऋषि of the कण्व family RV. viii , 41 , 2; m. patron. fr. नभ्° g. शिवा*दि.; नभाक [p= 528,1] m. N. of the author of RV. viii , 39-41 (-व्/अत् , नभाक's hymn AitBr. vi , 24 ; -व्/अत् ind. like नभाक RV. viii , 40 , 4 ; 5); n. = नभस् , or तमस् Un2. L.; नभस् [p= 527,3] n. (cf. नभ) mist , clouds , vapour (esp. of the सोम) RV. AV. S3Br.; the sky or atmosphere (du. heaven and earth AV. ) MBh. Ka1v. &c;  ether as an element

वि-रूप b [p= 984,2] mf(आ)n. many-coloured , variegated , multiform , manifold , various RV. TS. Br. Kaus3.;N. m. of an आङ्गिरस (author of RV. viii , 43 ; 44 ; 75 ; father of पृषद्-श्व and son of अम्बरीष ; pl. the family of the विरूपs) RV. MBh. Pur.

त्रि--शोक [p= 461,1]mfn. = -श्/उच् RV. x , 29 , 2; m. N. of a ऋषि (author of viii , 45) i , 112 , 12 ; viii , 45 , 30 AV. iv , 29 , 6.

वस [p= 932,3] m. or n. dwelling , residence (» दुर्-वस); f. (accord. to some) id. (?) RV. v.2 , 6.

त्रित [p= 461,3] m. " third " N. of a Vedic deity (associated with the मरुत्s , वायु , and इन्द्र ; fighting like the latter with त्रित , वृत्र , and other demons ; called आप्त्य [q.v.] , " water-deity " , and supposed to reside in the remotest regions of the world , whence [ RV. viii , 47 , 13-15 AV. ] the idea of wishing to remove calamity to त्रित , and the view of the त्रितs being the keepers of nectar [ RV. vi , 44 , 23] , similarly L. [ RV. ii , 34 , 10 TS. i TBr. i] the notion of त्रित's bestowing long life ; also conceived as an inferior deity conquering the demons by order and with the help of इन्द्र [ RV. ii ; viii , 52 , 1 ; x] ; fallen into a well he begged aid from the gods [i , 105 , 17 ; x , 8 , 7] ; as to this last myth Sa1y. on i , 105 relates that 3 ऋषिs , एकत , द्वित , and त्रित , parched with thirst , looked about and found a well , and when त्रित began to draw water , the other two , desirous of his property , pushed him down and closed up the well with a wheel ; shut up there , त्रित composed a hymn to the gods , and managed miraculously to prepare the sacrificial सोम , that he might drink it himself , or offer it to the deities and so be extricated: this is alluded to in RV. ix , 34 , 4 [cf. 32 , 2 ; 38 , 2 ; 102 , 2] and described in MBh. ix , 2095 ; also Nir. iv , 6 makes him a ऋषि , and he is the supposed author of RV. i , 105 ; viii , 36 ; ix , 33 f. and 102 ; x , 1-7 ; in epic legends [ MBh. ix , xii f.]एकत , द्वित , and त्रित are described as 3 brothers , sons of गौतम or of प्रजा-पति or ब्रह्मा ; elsewhere त्रित is one of the 12 sons of मनु चाक्षुष by नड्वला BhP. iv , 13 , 16 ; cf. त्रैतन्/अ ; Zd. Thrita; n. triplet of young (three-twin) TS. Sch. 

प्रा--गाथ [p= 702,1]mf(ई)n. belonging to the प्रगाथs (i.e. to RV. viii) A1s3vS3r.; m. patr. of कलि and भर्ग and हर्यत RAnukr.

भर्ग [p= 748,2]m. ( √ भृज्) radiance , splendour , effulgence S3Br. S3a1n3khS3r.; N. of a man with the patr. प्रागाथ (author of RV. viii , 49 ; 50) Anukr.

कलि [p= 261,3]m. ( √1. कल् Comm. on Un2. iv , 117), N. of the die or side of a die marked with one dot , the losing die AV. vii , 109 , 1 S3Br. &c (personified as an evil genius in the episode of नल); N. of a man RV.

प्रिय--मेध [p= 710,2]m. (प्रिय्/अ-) N. of a ऋषि (a descendant of अङ्गिरस् and author of the hymns RV. viii , 1-40 , 57 , 58 , 76 ; ix , 28) and (pl.) of his descendants RV. Nir.; N. of a descendant of अज-मीढ BhP.

सु--दीति [p= 1224,3] f. bright flame RV.;mfn. flaming , shining. brilliant RV. TS.; m. N. of a man (having the patr. आङ्गिरस and author of RV. viii , 71) Anukr. 

हर्यत [p= 1292,2] mfn. desired , wished for , pleasant , dear , precious RV.; m. a horse (accord. to some , " a steed fit for the अश्व-मेध sacrifice ") L.; m. N. of the author of RV. viii , 72 (having the patr. प्रागाथ) Anukr.

गो--पवन [p= 365,2] m. N. of a ऋषि of अत्रि's family RV. viii , 74 , 11 Ka1tyS3r. x , 2 , 21

कुरु--सुति [p= 294,1] m. N. of a Vedic poet (author of RV. viii , 76-78)

कृत्नु a [p= 303,3] mfn. working well , able to work , skilful , clever , an artificer or mechanic , artist RV.;accord. to some also, "winning the prize, victorious".;m. N. of a ऋषि (author of RV. viii , 79) RAnukr.;कृत्य » √1. कृ.

एक--द्यू [p= 228,2] m. N. of a ऋषि RV. viii , 80 , 10.

कुसीदिन् [p= 298,1] m. id. Nir. S3Br. xiii A1s3vS3r. S3a1n3khS3r. Gaut.; (» कुशीति) N. of a descendant of कण्व (author of RV. viii , 81-83) RAnukr.; N. of a teacher.

उशनस् [p= 219,3]m. आ ( Pa1n2. 7-1 , 94 ; Ved. acc. आम् ; Ved. loc. and dat. ए ; voc. अस् , अ , and अन् Ka1s3. on Pa1n2. ) N. of an ancient sage with the patronymic काव्यRV. AV. iv , 29 , 6 Kaus3. (in later times identified with शुक्र , the teacher of the असुरs , who presides over the planet Venus); (उशनसः स्तोम m. N. of a verse ( RV. v , 29 , 9) to be muttered by one who thinks himself poisoned A1s3vS3r. v , 9 , 1.)

 कृष्ण 1 [p= 306,2]mf(/आ)n. black , dark , dark-blue (opposed to श्वेत्/अ , शुक्ल्/अ , र्/ओहित , and अरुण्/अ) RV. AV. &c; m. the antelope RV. x , 94 , 5 VS. TS. S3Br. BhP.; m. N. of one of the poets of the RV. (descended from अङ्गिरस्) RV. viii , 85 , 3 and 4 S3a1n3khBr. xxx , 9; m. N. of a celebrated Avatar of the god विष्णु , or sometimes identified with विष्णु himself ([ MBh. v , 2563 ; xiv , 1589 ff. Hariv. 2359 &c ]) as distinct from his ten Avatars or incarnations (in the earlier legends he appears as a great hero and teacher [ MBh. Bhag. ] ; in the more recent he is deified , and is often represented as a young and amorous shepherd with flowing hair and a flute in his hand ; the following are a few particulars of his birth and history as related in Hariv. 3304 ff. and in the पुराणs &c : वसु-देव , who was a descendant of यदु and ययाति , had two wives , रोहिणी and देवकी ; the latter had eight sons of whom the eighth was कृष्ण ; कंस , king of मथुरा and cousin of देवकी , was informed by a prediction that one of these sons would kill him ; he therefore kept वसु-देव and his wife in confinement , and slew their first six children ; the seventh was बलराम who was saved by being abstracted from the womb of देवकी and transferred to that of रोहिणी ; the eighth was कृष्ण who was born with black skin and a peculiar mark on his breast ; his father वसु-देव managed to escape from मथुरा with the child , and favoured by the gods found a herdsman named नन्द whose wife यशो-दा had just been delivered of a son which वसु-देव conveyed to देवकी after substituting his own in its place. नन्द with his wife यशो-दा took the infant कृष्ण and settled first in गोकुल or व्रज , and afterwards in वृन्दावन , where कृष्ण and बल-राम grew up together , roaming in the woods and joining in the sports of the herdsmen's sons ; कृष्ण as a youth contested the sovereignty of इन्द्र , and was victorious over that god , who descended from heaven to praise कृष्ण , and made him lord over the cattle [ Hariv. 3787 ff. ; 7456 ff. VP. ] ; कृष्ण is described as sporting constantly with the गोपीs or shepherdesses [ Hariv. 4078 ff. ; 8301 ff. VP. Gi1t. ] of whom a thousand became his wives , though only eight are specified , राधा being the favourite [ Hariv. 6694 ff. ; 9177 ff. VP. ] ; कृष्ण built and fortified a city called द्वारका in Gujarat , and thither transported the inhabitants of मथुरा after killing कंस ; कृष्ण had various wives besides the गोपीs , and by रुक्मिणी had a son प्रद्युम्न who is usually identified with काम-देव ; with Jains , कृष्ण is one of the nine black वसु-देवs ; with Buddhists he is the chief of the black demons , who are the enemies of बुद्ध and the white demons)

नृ--मेध [p= 568,1]m. man-sacrifice (cf. -यज्ञ); m. (or -मेधस्) N. of a man (author of RV. viii , 87 ; 88) RV. SV.Anukr. ??नोधा [p= 571,2] ind. (fr. नव-धा) ninefold , in 9 parts BhP.

अ-पाल [p= 54,3] mf(आ)n. unguarded , unprotected , undefended; f. N. of a daughter of अत्रि RV. viii , 91 , 7 , &c

गायत्रिन् a [p= 352,3] m. one who sings hymns RV. i , 10 , 1 ( MBh. xii , 10352)

सु--कक्ष [p= 1220,1] m. N. of the author of RV. viii , 81 ; 82 (having the patr. आङ्गिरस) RAnukr.

बिन्दु [p= 731,2] m. (once n. MBh. ; in later language mostly written विन्दु) a detached particle , drop , globule , dot , spot AV. &c; (with हिरण्यय) a pearl AV. xix , 30 , 5 (cf. -फल); N. m. of an आङ्गिरस (author of RV. viii , 83 ; ix , 30) Anukr.

तिरश्ची [p= 447,2] m. N. of a ऋषि (descendant of अङ्गिरस् , author of a सामन्) RV. viii , 95 , 4 (gen. °श्च्य्/आस्) Ta1n2d2yaBr. xii , 6 , 12 and A1rshBr. (nom. °स्ची).

रेभ [p= 880,3]mfn. creaking , crackling , murmuring , resounding RV.; m. a praiser , panegyrist , celebrator ib. AV.; m. N. of a ऋषि (who was cast into a well by the असुरs and lay there for ten nights and nine days until rescued by the अश्विन्s ; he is the supposed author of RV. viii , 97 , having the patr. काश्यप) RV.; f. 

= शोभा A1past. Sch. (cf. रेभाय).

 ने* म [p= 569,2] mfn. (fr. न इम [?] ; loc. ने*मस्मिन् nom. pl. न्/एमे and °मास् cf. Pa1n2. 1-1 , 33) one , several; न्/एम-न्/एम , the one-the other RV. unaccented , vi , 16 , 18; (ibc.) half (cf. Nir. iii , 20); m. N. of a ऋषि with the patr. भार्गव (author of RV. viii , 89); m. the foundation of a wall (cf. नेम्/इ); m. acting , dancing

जमद्-ग्नि [p= 412,2] m. (cf. √2. जम्) N. of a ऋषि (descendant of भृगु RAnukr. ; son of भार्गव ऋचीक and father of परशु-राम MBh. &c ; often named together with विश्वा-मित्र as an adversary of वसिष्ठ) RV. VS. AV. &c

प्रयो-ग 1 [p= 688,1]mfn. ( Padap. प्र-य्/ओग) (for 2. » under. प्र- √युज्) coming to a meal RV. x , 7 , 5 ( Sa1y. =प्र-योक्तव्य); m. N. of a ऋषि TS.; m. (with भार्गव) author of RV. viii , 91 Anukr.; m. (for 1. » under 2. प्र्/अयस् , col.1) joining together , connection Var.; hurling , casting (of missiles) MBh. R. &c; lending at interest or on usury , investment Mn. MBh.; principal , loan bearing interest Gaut.; a horse (cf. प्र-याग) L.

सो* भरि [p= 1249,3] (or °री) m. N. of the author of the hymns RV. viii , 19-22 &c (having the patr. काण्व , or आङ्गिरस) RV. AV.

पवमान [p= 610,3] mfn. being purified or strained , flowing clear (as सोम) RV.; m. wind or the god of wind VS. TS. Ka1v. Ra1jat.; m. N. of a partic. अग्नि (associated with पावक and शुचि and also regarded as a son of अग्नि by स्वाहा or of अन्तर्-धान and by शिखण्डिनी) TS. Br. Pur.; m. N. of partic. स्तोत्रs sung by the साम-ग at the ज्योतिष्टोम sacrifice (they are called successively at the 3 सवनs बहिष्पवमा*न , माध्यंदिन and तृतीय or आर्भव) TS. Br. S3rS. (cf. RTL. 368)

त्रि--शिरस् [p= 460,3]mfn. three-headed (त्वाष्ट्र , author of RV. x , 8.) Ta1n2d2yaBr. xvii Br2ih. KaushUp. MBh. Ka1m.; (ज्वर) BhP. x , 63 , 22; three-pointed MBh. xiii R. iv; m. N. of an असुर killed by विष्णु MBh. ix , 1755; n. कुबेर L.

सिन्धु--द्वीप [p= 1217,2]m. N. of a king MBh.; of the author of the hymn RV. x , 9 (having the patr. अम्बरीष.) Hariv. VP.

यम [p= 846,1] m. a rein , curb , bridle RV. v , 61 , 2; a driver , charioteer ib. viii , 103 , 10; the act of checking or curbing , suppression , restraint (with वाचाम् , restraint of words , silence) BhP.; self-control forbearance , any great moral rule or duty (as opp. to नियम , a minor observance ; in Ya1jn5. iii , 313 ten यमs are mentioned , sometimes only five) Mn. MBh. &c; (in योग) self-restraint (as the first of the eight अङ्गs or means of attaining mental concentration) IW. 93; mf(/आ or /ई)n. twin-born , twin , forming a pair RV. &c; m. a twin , one of a pair or couple , a fellow (du. " the twins " N. of the अश्विन्s and of their twin children by माद्री , called नकुल and सह-देव ; यमौ मिथुनौ , twins of different sex) ib.; m. N. of the god who presides over the पितृs (q.v.) and rules the spirits of the dead RV. &c IW. 18 ; 197 , 198 &c RTL. 10 ; 16 ; 289 &c (he is regarded as the first of men and born from विवस्वत् , " the Sun " , and his wife सरण्यू ; while his brother , the seventh मनु , another form of the first man , is the son of विवस्वत् and संज्ञा , the image of सरण्यू ; his twin-sister is यमी , with whom he resists sexual alliance , but by whom he is mourned after his death , so that the gods , to make her forget her sorrow , create night ; in the वेद he is called a king or संगमनो जनानाम् , " the gatherer of men " , and rules over the departed fathers in heaven , the road to which is guarded by two broad-nosed , four-eyed , spotted dogs , the children of शरमा q.v. ; in Post-vedic mythology he is the appointed Judge and " Restrainer " or " Punisher " of the dead , in which capacity he is also called धर्मराज or धर्म and corresponds to the Greek Pluto and to Minos ; his abode is in some region of the lower world called यम-पुर ; thither a soul when it leaves the body , is said to repair , and there , after the recorder , चित्र-गुप्त , has read an account of its actions kept in a book called अग्र-संधाना , it receives a just sentence ; in MBh. यम is described as dressed in blood-red garments , with a glittering form , a crown on his head , glowing eyes and like वरुण , holding a noose , with which he binds the spirit after drawing it from the body , in size about the measure of a man's thumb ; he is otherwise represented as grim in aspect , green in colour , clothed in red , riding on a buffalo , and holding a club in one hind and noose in the other ; in the later mythology he is always represented as a terrible deity inflicting tortures , called यातना , on departed spirits ; he is also one of the 8 guardians of the world as regent of the South quarter ; he is the regent of the नक्षत्र अप-भरणी or भरणी , the supposed author of RV. x , 10 ; 14 , of a hymn to विष्णु and of a law-book ; यमस्या*र्कः N. of a सामन् A1rshBr. ); n. (in gram.) a twin-letter (the consonant interposed and generally understood , but not written in practice , between a nasal immediately preceded by one of the four other consonants in each class) Pra1t. Pat. on Pa1n2. 1-1 , 8; n. pitch of the voice , tone of utterance , key Pra1t.

यमी f. N. of यम's twin-sister (who is identified in Postvedic mythology with the river-goddess यमुना) RV. &c

हविर्--धान [p= 1293,3] m. N. of the author of RV. x , 11-15 Anukr.; of a son of अन्तर्-धान (cf. हविर्-धामन्) BhP.; n. " oblation-receptacle " , the vehicle in which the सोम plants are conveyed to be pressed (generally in du.) AV. VS. S3Br.; n. a shed for the सोम vehicles ib. Ka1tyS3r.; n. a place of sacrifice MBh. Hariv.; n. the earth (as the depository of oblation) AV.; n. (ए) , du , (with प्रजापतेः) N. of two सामन्s A1rshBr.

वि-वस्वत् [p= 987,1] व्/इ-वस्वत् or वि-व्/अस्वत् mfn. shining forth , diffusing light , matutinal (applied to उषस् अग्नि &c ; सदने विवस्वतः , " at the seat of Fire ") RV. VS. Ka1t2h.; m. " the Brilliant one " , N. of the Sun (sometimes regarded as one of the eight आदित्यs or sons of अदिति , his father being कश्यप ; elsewhere he is said to be a son of दाक्षायणी and कश्यप ; in epic poetry he is held to be the father of मनु वैवस्वत or , according to another legend , of मनु सावर्णि by स-वर्णा ; in RV. x , 17 , 1 he is described as the father of यम वैवस्वत , and in RV. x , 17 , 2 as father of the अश्विन्s by सरण्यू , and elsewhere as father of both यम and यमी , and therefore a kind of parent of the human race) RV. &c; m. the सोम priest RV. ix , 14 , 5 &c; m. N. of अरुण (charioteer of the Sun) W.; m. of the seventh or present मनु (more properly called वैवस्वत , as son of विवस्वत्) RV. viii , 52 , 1; m. N. of the author of the hymn RV. x , 13 (having the patronymic आदित्य) Anukr.; वि-वस्वती f. N. of the city of the Sun L.

शङ्ख [p= 1047,2] mn. (ifc. f(आ).) a shell , (esp.) the conch-shell (used for making libations of water or as an ornament for the arms or for the temples of an elephant ; a conch-shell perforated at one end is also used as a wind instrument or horn ; in the battles of epic poetry , each hero being represented as provided with a conch-shell which serves as his horn or trumpet and often has a name) AV. &c IW. 403; m. a kind of metre , Ked. N. of one of कुबेर's treasures and of the being presiding over it MBh.Ka1v. &c; m. of the author of RV. x , 15 (having the patr. यामायन.) Anukr.

संकुसुक [p= 1126,1] » स्/अं-कसुक.

मथित [p= 777,1] mfn. stirred round , churned or produced by churning RV.; shaken , agitated , afflicted , hurt , destroyed MBh. R. Hariv.;m. N. of a descendant of यम (and supposed author of RV. x , 19) RAnukr.; n. buttermilk churned without water Kaus3. MBh. &cवि--मद a [p= 951,3] mfn. free from intoxication , grown sober R. Pan5cat.; m. (with ऐन्द्र or प्राजापत्य) of the author of RV. x , 20-26 Anukr.वसु--क्र [p= 931,1] m. N. of a ऋषि with the patr. ऐन्द्र (author of RV. x , 27 , 29 and part of 28); of another ऋषि with the patr. वासिष्ठ (author of RV. ix , 97 , 28-30)कवष [p= 264,2]mf(/ई)n. opened (as the legs) AitBr.; m. a shield L.; m. (or कवष ऐलूष) N. of a ऋषि (son of इलूष by a slave girl , and author of several hymns in the tenth मण्डल of the ऋग्-वेद ; when the ऋषिs were performing a sacrifice on the banks of the सरस्वती he was expelled as an impostor and as unworthy to drink of the water , being the son of a slave ; it was only when the gods had shown him special favour that he was readmitted to their society) RV. vii , 18 , 12 AitBr. ii , 19; m. N. of a मुनि BhP.लुश [p= 905,2] m. N. of a ऋषि with the patr. धानाक (author of RV. x , 35 ; 36) Pan5cavBअभितप् abhitap अभितप् 1 P. 1 To irradiate with heat, heat, inflame, अभितप्तमयो$पि मार्दवं भजते कैव कथा शरीरिषु R.8.43;19.56. -2 To pain, distress, wound, afflict. -pass. To suffer intensely, be afflicted. -Caus. To pain, distress, afflict.मुष्क--वत् [p= 824,2] m. " testicles " , N. of इन्द्र (as author of RV. x , 38) RAnukr.घोषा f. N. of a daughter of कक्षीवत् RV. i , 117 , 7 ; 122 , 5 (? Impv. √घुष्) ; x , 40 , 5 (cf. आत्म- , इन्द्र- , उच्चैर्- , &c );  घोषmn. brass , bell-metal L. सु--हस्त्य [p= 1239,2]mfn. skilful-handed , clever RV.; m. N. of a ऋषि (having the metron. गौषेय and author of RV. x , 41), Anukr.वत्स--प्रि [p= 915,3] ( Sa1y. ) m. N. of the author of RV. ix , 68 ; x , 43 ; 46 (his patr. is भालन्दन).सप्त--गु [p= 1149,2]mfn. (°त्/अ-) possessing 7 oxen or cows , driving 7 oxen; m. N. of an आङ्गिरस (author of the hymn RV. x , 47) Anukr.वैकुण्ठ [p= 1020,2]m. (fr. वि-कुण्ठ) N. of इन्द्र S3Br. KaushUp.; (with इन्द्र) N. of the supposed author of RV. x , 48-50 Anukr.; n. talc W.; mn. विष्णु's heaven (variously described as situated in the northern ocean or on the eastern peak of mount मेरु) Pan5cat. BhP. &cसौचीक [p= 1252,1] m. N. of a partic. अग्नि Sa1y. in RV. , Introd.बृहद्--ुक्थ [p= 736,2] mfn. (बृह्/अद्-) having loud hymns of praise , loudly praised RV. VS.;m. (with वामदेव्य) N. of a man (author of RV. x , 54-56) Anukr.श्रुत--बन्धु [p= 1101,2]m. N. of a ऋषि (having the patr. गौपायन or लौपायन and author of RV. v , 24 , 3 ; x , 57-60) Anukr.नाभा--नेदिष्ठ [p= 535,3] m. (ना°) N. of a son of मनु वैवस्वत and author of RV. x , 61 ; 62 TS. Br.; mfn. (also °ष्ठीय) relating to or composed by नाभा Br.

गय [p= 348,2] m. (g. वृषा*दि ; √जि cf. शंगय्/अ) " what has been conquered or acquired " , a house , household , family , goods and chattels , contents of a house , property , wealth RV. AV.; a species of ox (the Gayal or Bos gavaeus) L.; N. of a ऋषि (son of प्लति) RV. x , 63 , 17 and 64 , 16 AitBr. v , 2 , 12; (said to know charms) AV. i , 14 , 4;(descendant of अत्रि and author of RV. v , 9 and 10) RAnukr.; N. of a राजर्षि (performer of a celebrated sacrifice MBh. i , iii , iv , ix , xiii R. ii ; he was conquered by मान्धातृ MBh. vii , 2281)

वासुक्र [p= 948,3]mfn. composed by वसुक्र S3a1n3khS3r.; वसु--क्र [p= 931,1]m. N. of a ऋषि with the patr. ऐन्द्र (author of RV. x , 27 , 29 and part of 28); of another ऋषि with the patr. वासिष्ठ (author of RV. ix , 97 , 28-30)

अयास्य [p= 85,3]mfn. (4)  cf. अय्/आस् and ऐ०/आस् before) , agile , dexterous , valiant RV.; m. N. of an अङ्गिरस् (composer of the hymns RV. ix , 44-66 and x , 67 and 68) RV. x , 67 , 1 and 108 , 8 S3Br. xiv.

सु--मित्र a [p= 1231,2]mf(/आ)n. having good friends RV. TS. BhP.; N. m. of the author of RV. x , 69 , 70 (with patr. वाध्र्यश्व.) Anukr.; m. of the author of RV. x , 105 (with patr. कौत्स) ib.

बृहस्-पति [p= 737,1]m. (also written वृह्°-प्° ; fr.  3. बृह् पति ; cf. ब्रह्मणस्-पति) " lord of prayer or devotion " N. of a deity (in whom Piety and Religion are personified ; he is the chief offerer of prayers and sacrifices , and therefore represented as the type of the priestly order , and the पुरोहित of the gods with whom he intercedes for men ; in later times he is the god of wisdom and eloquence , to whom various works are ascribed ; he is also regarded as son of अङ्गिरस् , husband of तारा and father of कच , and sometimes identified with व्यास ; in astronomy he is the regent of Jupiter and often identified with that planet) RV. &c , &c (cf. RTL. 215); (with आङ्गिरस cf. above ) N. of the author of RV. x , 71 ; 72 Anukr.

गौरवित gauravita गौरवित a. Highly esteemed or honoured.

सिन्धु--क्षित् [p= 1217,2]m. N. of a राजर्षि (author of the hymn RV. x , 75 and having the patr. प्रैयमेध) Pan5cavBr.

जरत्--कर्ण [p= 413,3] m. " old-ear " , N. of सर्प ऐरावत (author of RV. x , 76)

स्यूम--रश्मि [p= 1273,3](स्य्/ऊम-) m. " having thongs for a bridle " , N. of a man ib.

विश्व-कर्म 1 [p= 994,2] mfn. accomplishing everything , all-working RV. x , 166 , 4.;  विश्व-कर्मन्mfn. accomplishing or creating everything RV. AV. Br. MBh. Hariv.; m. " all-doer , all-creator , all-maker " , N. of the divine creative architect or artist (said to be son of ब्रह्मा , and in the later mythology sometimes identified with त्वष्टृ q.v. , he is said to have revealed the स्थापत्यवेद q.v. , or fourth उप-वेद , and to preside over all manual labours as well as the sixty-four mechanical arts [whence he is worshipped by कारुs or artisans] ; in the Vedic mythology , however , the office of Indian Vulcan is assigned to त्वष्टृ as a distinct deity , विश्व-कर्मन् being rather identified with प्रजा-पति [ब्रह्मा] himself as the creator of all things and architect of the universe ; in the hymns RV. x , 81 ; 82 he is represented as the universal Father and Generator , the one all-seeing God , who has on every side eyes , faces , arms , and feet ; in Nir. x , 26 and elsewhere in the ब्राह्मणs he is called a son of भुवन , and विश्व-कर्मन् भौवन is described as the author of the two hymns mentioned above ; in the MBh. and Hariv. he is a son of the वसु प्रभास and योग-सिद्धा ; in the पुराणs a son of वास्तु , and the father of बर्हिष्मती and संज्ञा ; accord. to other authorities he is the husband of घृताची ; moreover , a doubtful legend is told of his having offered up all beings , including himself , in sacrifice ; the रामा*यण represents him as having built the city of लङ्का for the राक्षसs , and as having generated the ape नल , who made राम's bridge from the continent to the island ; the name विश्व-कर्मन् , meaning " doing all acts " , appears to be sometimes applicable as an epithet to any great divinity) RV. &c; m. N. of सूर्य or the Sun Va1s. Ma1rkP.; m. of one of the seven principal rays of the sun (supposed to supply heat to the planet Mercury) VP.

मन्यु a [p= 786,3]m. ( L. also f.) spirit , mind , mood , mettle (as of horses) RV. TS. Br.; high spirit or temper , ardour , zeal , passion RV. &c; rage , fury , wrath , anger , indignation ib. (also personified , esp. as अग्नि or काम or as a रुद्र ; मन्युं √ कृ , with loc. or acc. with प्रति , " to vent one's anger on , be angry with "); (with तापस) , N. of the author of RV. x , 83 ; 84; (with वासिष्ठ) , N. of the author of RV. ix , 97 , 10-12

सूर्य a [p= 1243,2]m. the sun or its deity (in the वेद the name सूर्य is generally distinguished from सवितृ [q.v.] , and denotes the most concrete of the solar gods , whose connection with the luminary is always present to the poet's mind ; in Nir. vii , 5 he is regarded as one of the original Vedic triad , his place being in the sky , while that of अग्नि is on the earth , and that of इन्द्र is in the atmosphere ; ten hymns in the RV. are entirely in praise of सूर्य e.g. i , 50 , i , 115 &c , also AV. xiii , 2 ; he moves through the sky in a chariot drawn by seven ruddy horses or mares [see सप्ता*श्व , हरित् , हरिद्-श्व] ; in the later mythology सूर्य is identified with सवितृ as one of the 12 आदित्यs or emblems of the Sun in the 12 months of the year , and his seven-horsed chariot is said to be driven by अरुण or the Dawn as its charioteer , who is represented without legs ; the Sun , whether named सूर्य or विवस्वत् , has several wives » सूर्या below) RV. &c (cf. IW. 11 ; 16 &c RTL. 341)सूर्या f. the daughter of सूर्य or the Sun (» RV. i , 116 , 17 ; also described as daughter of प्रजापति or of सवितृ and wife of the अश्विन्s , and in other places as married to सोम ; in RV. i , 119 , 2 she is called ऊर्जानी , and in vi , 55 , 4 , vi , 58 , 4 the sister of पूषन् [q.v.] , who is described as loving her , and receiving her as a gift from the gods ; accord. to some she represents a weak manifestation of the Sun ; सूर्या सावित्री is regarded as the authoress of the सूर्या-सूक्त RV. x , 85) RV. AV. AitBr. Kaus3. ; f. = वाच् Naigh. i , 11

वृषा--कपि [p= 1013,1]m. (वृष्/आ-) " man-ape " , N. of a semi-divine being standing in a partic. relation to इन्द्र and इन्द्राणी RV. x , 86 (by the Comm. identified with the Sun ; also supposed to be the son of इन्द्र and the author of the above hymn ; cf. RTL. 222 n. 1); of the hymn attributed to वृषा-कपि AitBr.

मूर्धन्--वत् [p= 826,1]mfn. containing the word मूर्धन् TS. S3Br.; m. N. of a गन्धर्व TA1r.; m. of an आङ्गिरस or वामदेव्य (author of RV. x , 88) RVAnukr. ??

नारायण a [p= 536,3]m. (patr. fr. न्/अर q.v.) the son of the original Man (with whom he is generally associated e.g.Mn. i , 10 ; he is identified with ब्रह्मा ib. 11 with विष्णु or कृष्ण TA1r. MBh. &c ; the अप्सरस् उर्वशी is said to have sprung from his thigh Hariv. 4601 ; elsewhere he is regarded as a कश्यप or अङ्गिरस , also as chief of the साध्यs , and with जैनs as the 8th of the 9 black वासुदेवs); the पुरुष-hymn ( Rv. x , 90 , said to have been composed by नारायण) S3Br. S3a1n3khS3r.

अरुण [p= 88,2]mf(/आ [ RV. v , 63 , 6 , &c ] or /ई [ RV. x , 61 , 4 , & , (nom. pl. अरुण्/अयस्) 95 , 6])n. ( √ ऋ Un2. ) , reddish-brown , tawny , red , ruddy (the colour of the morning opposed to the darkness of night) RV. &c; m. the dawn (personified as the charioteer of the sun) Mn. x , 33 , &c; m. of the composer of the hymn RV. x , 91 (with the patron. वैतहव्य) RAnukr.

शार्यात [p= 1067,1]m. patr. fr. शर्याति (also pl. and f(ई).) RV. Br. Hariv.; (with मानव) N. of the author of RV. x , 92 AitBr. Anukr.; शर्याति [p= 1058,3]m. N. of a son of मनु वैवस्वत MaitrUp. MBh. &c; of a son of नहुष VP.

तान्व 1 [p= 442,2]mf(आ)n. woven , spun RV. ix , 14 , 4 and 78 , 1; m. patr. fr. तन्व (author of RV. x , 93) , 93 , 15; तन्व [p= 436,3] m. N. of the author of a सामन् (cf. 2. त्/आन्व)

अर्बुद [p= 93,1] m. Ved. a serpent-like demon (conquered by इन्द्र , a descendant of कद्रू therefore called काद्रवेय S3Br. AitBr. ; said to be the author of RV. x , 94 RAnukr. ) RV. &c; m. id. RV. i , 51 , 6 and x , 67 , 12; n. N. of the above-named hymn RV. x , 94 A1s3vS3r.; the cartilage of a rib, Vishn2.; m. N. of a mountain in the west of India (commonly called Abu , a place of pilgrimage of the जैनs , and celebrated for its जैन temples); m. pl. N. of a people VarBr2S. BhP. &c

पुरू--रवस् a [p= 637,1] mfn. crying much or loudly RV. i , 31 , 4; m. N. of an ancient king of the lunar race (the lover of उर्वशी [cf. RV. x , 95 S3Br. xi , 5 , 1 and कालिदास's drama विक्रमोर्वशी] , son of बुध and इळा , father of आयुस् and ancestor of पुरु दुष्यन्त , भरत , कुरु , धृत-राष्ट्र and पाण्डु , supposed to have instituted the 3 sacrificial fires [ VS. v , 2] ;according to Nir. x , 46 he is one of the beings belonging to the middle region of the universe , and is possibly to be connected with the Sun as उर्वशी is with the Dawn ; according to others a विश्व-देव or a पार्वण-श्राद्ध-देव) RV. &c &c

ऊर्वशी [p= 223,1]f. v.l. for उर्वशी q.v.; उर्वशी [p= 218,2]f. (fr. उरु and √1. अश् , " to pervade " » M.M. ?? , Chips , vol. ii , p.99) , " widely extending " , N. of the dawn (personified as an अप्सरस् or heavenly nymph who became the wife of पुरू-रवस्) RV. AV. xviii , 3 , 23 VS. S3Br. Vikr. &c

बरु [p= 722,1]m. N. of a descendant of अङ्गिरस् (author of RV. x , 96) Br. S3rS.

भिषज् 1 [p= 757,3](prob. = अभि √सज् , " to attach , plaster ") , only 3. sg. pr. भिष्/अक्ति , to heal , cure RV. viii , 68 , 2.; m. N. of a man with the patr. आथर्वण L.; mfn. curing , healing , sanative RV. &c

देवा* पि [p= 495,2]m. " friend of the gods " , N. of a ऋषि who was son of ऋष्टि-षेण RV. x (according to a later legend he is a son of king प्रतिप , resigns his kingdom , retires to the woods and is supposed to be still alive MBh. Pur. &c )

वम्र [p= 920,2]m. (and f(ई). accord. to some also f(आ). ; derivation fr. √ वम् very doubtful cf. वामी) an ant RV. Br.; m. N. of a man RV. (with वैखानस , the supposed author of x , 99)

दुव° स्यु [p= 488,3]mfn. worshipping , reverential , viii , 91 , 2.

 बुध [p= 734,1]mfn. awaking (cf. उषर्-बुध); m. N. of a descendant of सोम (and hence also called सौम्य , सौमायन , author of RV. x , 1 , and father of पुरू-रवस् ; identified with the planet Mercury)l m. N. of a descendant of सोम (and hence also called सौम्य , सौमायन , author of RV. x , 1 , and father of पुरू-रवस् ; identified with the planet Mercury)

अ-प्रतिरथ [p= 58,1] m. N. of a ऋषि (son of इन्द्र and composer of the hymn RV. x , 103); अप्रतिरथ apratiratha अप्रतिरथ a. or -थः (A hero) who has no प्रतिरथ or rival warrior, a matchless or unrivalled warrior; दौष्यंतिमप्रतिरथं तनयं निवेश्य Ś.4.2, Ś.7,7.33. -2Match-  less; अप्रतिहतैस्तेजोभिः एकैकस्य योग्यता Mv.1.46. -थः N. of a Ṛiṣi (Composer of the hymn Rv.1.13); N. of a son of Rantināra. -थः, -थम् N. of a hymn composed by अ˚; यद्यात्रामङ्गलं साम तदप्रतिरथं विदुः.

 अष्टक [p= 117,1]mf(आ or इका)n. ( S3ulb. ; cf. Pa1n2. 7-3 , 45 Comm.) consisting of eight parts S3Br. RPra1t. &c;one who is acquainted with the eight books of पाणिनि's grammar Pa1n2. 4-2 , 65 Sch.; m. N. of a son of विश्वामित्र (author of the hymn RV. x , 104) AitBr. A1s3vS3r. MBh. &c

दक्षिणा f. Donation to the priest (personified along with ब्रह्मणस्-पति , इन्द्र , and सोम , i , 18 , 5 ; x , 103 , 8 ; authoress of x , 107 RAnukr. ; wife of Sacrifice [ Ragh. i , 31 BhP. ii , 7 , 21] , both being children of रुचि and आकूति , iv , l , 4 f. VP. i , 7 , 18 f.)

f. " the fleet one " , N. of a female dog belonging to इन्द्र and the gods (represented in RV. x , 14 , 10 as the mother of the four-eyed brindled dogs of यम [cf. IW. 470] , and called in MBh. i , 671 देव-शुनी ; in the RV. said to have gone in search of and recovered the cows stolen by the पणिs ; elsewhere regarded as the mother of beasts of prey सरमा देव-शुनी is also said to be the authoress of part of RV. x , 108) RV. Pa1rGr2. MBh. &cसरमा a [p= 1182,1]

जुहू [p= 424,1]f. (= जिह्व्/आ , √हुच्) a tongue (esp. of अग्नि ; 7 are named RV. i , 58 , 7), flame RV.personified as wife of ब्रह्मा and goddess of speech (author of RV. x , 109) RAnukr.(fr. √ हु Pa1n2. 3-2 , 178 Va1rtt. 3 Un2. &c ) a curved wooden ladle (for pouring sacrificial butter into fire) RV. AV. &c; hat part of the frame enshrining the universal spirit which faces the east ChUp. iii , 15 , 2.

 जमद्-ग्नि [p= 412,2 m. (cf. √2. जम्) N. of a ऋषि (descendant of भृगु RAnukr. ; son of भार्गव ऋचीक and father of परशु-राम MBh. &c ; often named together with विश्वा-मित्र as an adversary of वसिष्ठ) RV. VS. AV. &c

अष्टा--दंष्ट्र [p= 116,3] mfn. having eight tusks , APra1t.; N. of a son of विरूप , author of the hymn RV. x , 111 RAnukr. A1s3vS3r.

शत--प्रभेदन [p= 1049,3]m. N. of the author of the hymn ऋग्-वेद x , 113 (having the patr. वैरूप).

सध्रि 1 [p= 1140,3] m. N. of a ऋषि (having the patr. वैरूप and author of RV. x , 114) Sa1y.; N. of अग्नि L.; (= 2. सह) , with , along with , together with Pa1n2. 6-3 , 95; ind. (/ई) to the same goal or centre RV. ii , 13 , 2.

वार्ष्टिहव्य [p= 946,1]m. (fr. वृष्टि-हव्य) patr. of उपस्तुत (author of RV. x , 115) Anukr.; वृष्टि--हव्य [p= 1013,2] N.of a man.

अग्नि--युत [p= 5,3]m. N. of the author of the hymn x , 116 in the ऋग्-वेद

यूप [p= 856,1]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-दारु) RV. &c;a column erected in honour of victory , a trophy (= जय-स्तम्भ) L.;N. of a partic. conjunction of the class आकृति-योग (i.e. when all the planets are situated in the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th houses) VarBr2S.

 भिक्षु [p= 756,3]m. a beggar , mendicant , religious mendicant (esp. a Brahman in the fourth आश्रम or period of his life , when he subsists entirely on alms) Mn. MBh. &c (cf. RTL. 55 n. 1);N. of an आङ्गिरस (author of RV. x , 117) RAnukr.; n. N. of an उपनिषद् (cf. भिक्षुको*पनिषद्) 

उरु--क्षय [p= 217,3] mfn. (उर्/उ-क्षय AV. ) occupying spacious dwellings RV. i , 2 , 9 (said of वरुण) AV. vii , 77 , 3 (said of the मरुत्s); m. a spacious dwelling , wide habitation RV. x , 118 , 8

labarūpāpanna लब [p= 896,2] m. a quail VS.; (with ऐन्द्र) N. of the supposed author of RV. x , 119 Anukr.; आ-पन्न [p= 143,1]mfn. entered , got in S3Br. Ka1tyS3r. &c;fflicted , unfortunate S3ak. Katha1s. &c; having gained or obtained or acquired.

बृहद्--दिव [p= 736,2]mfn. " belonging to the lofty sky " , heavenly , celestial RV. (also -दिव्/आ); m. (with अथर्वण) N. of the author of RV. x , 12c Anukr.; m. N. of that hymn AitBr.; ind. in heavenly heights ib.; f. N. of a goddess (associated with इळा , सरस्वती and others) ib.

हिरण्य--गर्भ [p= 1299,3]m. a golden fetus Cat.;N. of ब्रह्मा (so called as born from a golden egg formed out of the seed deposited in the waters when they were produced as the first creation of the Self-existent ; according to Mn. i , 9, this seed became a golden egg , resplendent as the sun , in which the Self-existent ब्रह्म was born as ब्रह्मा the Creator , who is therefore regarded as a manifestation of the Self-existent RV. x , 121) RV. AV. S3Br. &c (cf. RTL. 14 &c ); N. of the author of the hymn ऋग्वेद x , 121 (having the patr. प्राजापत्य) Anukr.; (in phil.) the soul invested with the सूक्ष्म-शरीर or subtle body (= सूत्रा*त्मन् , प्रा*णा*त्मन्) Veda7ntas.; n. (prob.) N. of a लिङ्ग ib.

citra-mahā vasiṣṭhah: N. of author of RV 10.122 मह 1 [p= 794,1]mfn. great , mighty , strong , abundant RV.; m. (cf. मख , मघ) a feast , festival MBh.; m. the festival of spring S3is3. Hariv. Var.; m. a partic. एका*ह S3a1n3khS3r.; m. a buffalo L.; m. light , lustre , brilliance L. चित्र a [p= 396,1]mf(/आ)n. conspicuous , excellent , distinguished RV.; bright , clear , bright-coloured RV.; variegated , spotted , speckled (with instr. or in comp.) Nal. iv , 8 R. Mr2icch. VarBr2S.; agitated (as the sea , opposed to सम) R. iii , 39 , 12; m. N. of a king RV. viii , 21 , 18 (च्/इत्र);n. anything bright or coloured which strikes the eyes RV. VS. TS. S3Br. Ta1n2d2yaBr. xviii , 9;n. a brilliant ornament , ornament RV. i , 92 , 13 S3Br. ii , xiii;n. (with यदि [ S3ak. iii , 9÷10] or यद् [ Hariv. 9062 S3ak. Katha1s. xviii , 359] or fut. [ Pa1n2. 3-3 , 150 f. ]) strange , curious (e.g. चित्रं बधिरो व्याकरणम् अध्येष्यते " it would be strange if a deaf man should learn grammar " Ka1s3. );n. various modes of writing or arranging verses in the shape of mathematical or other fanciful figures (syllables which occur repeatedly being left out or words being represented in a shortened form) Sarasv. ii , 16 Kpr. ix , 8 Sa1h.;n. punning in the form of question and answer , facetious conversation , riddle , iv , 14÷v Prata1par. Kuval.; चित्रम्ind. so as to be bright RV. i , 71 , 1 ; vi , 65 , 2; in different ways R. i , 9 , 14; चित्राf. Spica virginis , the 12th (in later reckoning the 14th) lunar mansion AV. xix , 7 , 3 TS. ii , iv , viiTBr. i S3Br. ii , &c; f. " born under the asterism चित्रा ( Pa1n2. 4-3 , 34 Va1rtt. 1) " , N. of अर्जुन's wife (sister of कृष्ण =सुभद्रा L. ) Hariv. 1952

वेन [p= 1018,2]mf(ई)n. yearning , longing , eager , anxious , loving RV.; m. N. of the hymn RV. x , 123 (beginning with अयं वेनः) S3a1n3khBr.; m. = यज्ञ Naigh. iii , 17; m. N. of a divine being of the middle region Naigh. v , 4 Nir. x , 38 (also applied to इन्द्र , the Sun , प्रजा-पति , and a गन्धर्व ; in AitBr. i , 20 connected with the navel); m. of a राजर्षि or royal ऋषि (father of पृथु , and said to have perished through irreligious conduct and want of submissiveness to the Brahmans ; he is represented as having occasioned confusion of castes » Mn. vii , 41 ; ix , 66 ; 67 , and as founder of the race of निषादs and धीवरs ; according to the विष्णु-पुराण , वेन was a son of अङ्ग and a descendant of the first मनु ; a वेन राज-श्रवस् is enumerated among the वेद-व्यासs or arrangers of the वेद) MBh. Hariv. Pur.;m. of various men , (esp.) of the author of RV. ix , 85 ; x , 123 (having the patr. भार्गव)

अंहो-मुच् [p= 1,2]mfn. delivering from distress RV. x , 63 , 9 VS.अंह् 1 [p= 1,2](cf. √ अङ्घ्) cl.1 A1. अंहते , to go , set out , commence L.; to approach L.; cl.10 P. अंहयति , to send Bhat2t2.  ; to speak Bhat2t2. ; to shine L.

कुशिक [p= 297,2] mfn. squint-eyed L.; m. N. of the father [or grandfather MBh. Hariv. ] of विश्वा-मित्र RV. iii , 33 , 5 MBh. &c; m. pl. the descendants of कुशिक RV. AitBr. &c

रात्रि [p= 876,1]f(इ or ई). or (older) र्/आत्री (prob. " bestower " , fr. √रा ; or " season of rest " , fr. √ रम्) night , the darkness or stillness of night (often personified) RV. &c ( °त्रौ ind. or °त्र्याम् ind. at night , by night ; रात्रौ शयनम् , a festival on the 11th day of the first half of the month आषाढ , regarded as the night of the gods , beginning with the summer solstice , when विष्णु reposes for four months on the serpent शेष); (with the patr. भारद्वाजी) N. of the authoress of RV. x , 127 Anukr.; रात्रौ ind. , »रात्रि 177050, at night , by night ; रात्रौ शयनम् , a festival on the 11th day of the first half of the month आषाढ , regarded as the night of the gods , beginning with the summer solstice , when विष्णु reposes for four months on the serpent शेष

वि-° हव्य [p= 1004,1]वि-ह्/अव्य or वि-हव्य्/अ, mfn. to be invoked or invited or desired RV. AV. VS.; m. (with आङ्गिरस) N. of the supposed author of RV. x , 128 Anukr.; f. (scil. सू*क्त) N. of RV. x , 128 (cf. °हवीय) TS. Ka1t2h. La1t2y.

प्रजा--पति [p= 658,2](°जा-) m. " lord of creatures " , N. of सवितृ , सोम , अग्नि , इन्द्र &c RV. AV.; (°जा-) a divinity presiding over procreation , protector of life ib. VS. Mn. Sus3r. BhP.; (°जा-) lord of creatures , creator RV. &c &c (N. of a supreme god above or among the Vedic deities [ RV. (only x , 21 , 10) AV. VS. Br. ] but in later times also applied to विष्णु , शिव , Time personified , the sun , fire , &c , and to various progenitors , esp. to the 10 lords of created beings first created by ब्रह्मा , viz. मरीचि , अत्रि , अङ्गिरस् , पुलस्त्य , पुलक , क्रतु , वसिष्ठ , प्रचेतस् or दक्ष , भृगु , नारद [ Mn. i , 34 ; cf. IW. 206 n. 1] , of whom some authorities count only the first 7 , others the last 3)

सु--कीर्ति [p= 1220,2]f. good praise , hymn of praise RV.; m. N. of the author of RV. x , 131 (having the patr. काक्षीवत.)शक--पूत [p= 1045,3](श्/अक-) mfn. " purified with cow-dung " , N. of the author of RV. x , 132 (having the patr. नार्मेध.) Anukr.सु--दास् [p= 1224,3]mfn. (prob. fr. a √ दास् = दाश्) worshipping the gods well (bestowing rich gifts Sa1y. ) RV. (compar. -तर ib.); m. N. of a celebrated king of the तृत्सुs (son of दिवो-दास , at whose court both वसिष्ठ and विश्वामित्र appear to have acted as family priests ; सुदास् पैजवन is regarded as the author of RV. x , Gr2S3rS. 133) RV. AitBr. Gr2S3rS. Mn. vii , 41.सु--दास [p= 1224,3] pl. N. of a people (v.l. -दाम and -दामन्) R. यौवनाश्व [p= 859,2] m. (fr. युवनाश्व) patr. of मान्धातृ Pravar. MBh. &c; of a grandson of मान्धातृ BhP. (accord. to Pa1n2. 6-2 , 107 Sch. , यौवन + अश्व).गोध [p= 368,1]m. pl. N. of a people MBh. vi , 9 , 42 (सोध , C) .गो--धा a [p= 365,1]N. of the authoress of a सामन्.; f. (g. भिदा*दि) a sinew (cf. ग्/ओ) RV. x , 28 , 10 and 11 AV. iv , 3 , 6; a chord RV. viii , 69 , 9; a leathern fence wound round the left arm to prevent injury from a bow-string MBh. iii , iv , vii R. i , ii; 10.136.01 The radiant (Sun supports) Agni, the radiant one (supports) water, the radiant one supports the heaven and earth, the radiant one is for the visibility of the whole diffused (universe)-- this light is called the radiant one. 10.136.02 The Munis, the sons of Va_taras'ana, wear the yellow dirty (vestments of bark), they follow the course of the wind, when they have assumed the (power of) gods. [i.e., by the might of their penance they become gods]. 10.136.03 Exhilarated by the sanctity of the Muni we have mounted upon the winds; behold, mortals, (in them) our forms! 10.136.04 The Muni flies through the firmament, illumining all objects, the friend of each deity, appointed for pious works. 10.136.05 The steed of the wind, the friend of Va_yu, the Muni, who is instigated by the deity, repairs to both oceans, the eastern and the western. 10.136.06 Wandering in the track of the Apsarasas and the Gandharvas, and the wild beasts, the radiant (Sun), cognizant of all that is knowable, (is my) sweet and most delightful friend. [Radiant Sun: or, Agni, or Va_yu]. 10.136.07 Va_yu churned for him, the inflexible (thunder) ground it when the radiant (Sun), along with Rudra, drank the water with his cup. [With his cup: the cup is the sun's rays, which absorb the moisture of the earth; the agitation of the wind sends this moisture down again as rain; kunan nama_ = that which often guides but cannot be guided, i.e., the ma_dhyamika_ va_k; Rudra = the lightning, vaidyuta_gni]. जूति [p= 424,2] f. ( Pa1n2. 3-3 , 97) going or driving , on , quickness , velocity , speed RV. AV. VS. xxi S3Br. ii , xii; flowing without interruption AV. xix , 58 , 1;impulse , incitement , instigation , inclination , energy RV. VS. ii , 13 S3Br. xii; = प्र-ज्ञान AitUp. v , 2; m. N. of the author of RV. x , 136 , 1वात--जूति [p= 934,3] m. (with वात-रशन q.v.) N. of the author of RV. x , 136 , 2 , Anukr.वृषाणक [p= 1013,1]m. N. of the author of RV. x , 136 , 4 (having the part. वातरशन) Anukr.; of शिव Lवात--रशन a [p= 934,3]mfn. (व्/आत-) wind-girt , having (only) air for a girdle (said of मुनिs and ऋषिs) RV. TA1r.;m. a naked monk (= दिग्-म्बर , दिग्-वासस्) BhP.; m. patr. of seven ऋषिs (viz. of ऋष्य-शृङ्ग , एतश , करिक्रत , जूति , वात-जूति , विप्र-जूत , and वृषाणक) RAnukr.करिक्रत [p= 255,2]m. N. of the author of RV. x , 130 , 5.एतश [p= 231,2]/एतश and एतश्/अ mfn. of variegated colour , shining , brilliant (said of ब्रह्मणस्-पति) RV. x , 53 , 9; m. a horse of variegated colour , dappled horse (esp. said of the Sun's horse) RV.; m. a Brahman Un2. iii , 149.अङ्ग 1 [p= 7,2]nd. a particle implying attention , assent or desire , and sometimes impatience , it may be rendered by well; a limb or subdivision of मन्त्र or counsel (said to be five , viz. 1. कर्मणाम् आरम्भो*पायः , means of commencing operations ; 2. पुरुष-द्रव्य-सम्पद् , providing men and materials ; 3. देश-काल-विभाग , distribution of place and time ; 4. विपत्ति-प्रतीकार , counter-action of disaster ; 5. कार्य-सिद्धि , successful accomplishment ; whence मन्त्र is said to be पञ्चा*ङ्ग); m. sg. or pl. N. of Bengal proper or its inhabitants

विश्वा--वसु [p= 994,3]mfn. (विश्व्/आ-) beneficent to all (said of विष्णु) MBh.; m. N. of a गन्धर्व (regarded as the author of the hymn RV. x , 139) RV. AV. VS. &c पावक [p= 623,2]mf(/आ)n. pure , clear , bright , shining RV. VS. AV. (said of अग्नि , सूर्य and other gods , of water , day and night &c ; according to native Comms. it is mostly = सोधक , " cleansing , purifying "); m. N. of a partic. अग्नि (in the पुराणs said to be a son of अग्नि अभिमानिन् and स्वाहा or of अन्तर्धान and शिखण्डिनी) TS. TBr. Ka1tyS3r. Pur.; m. a kind of ऋषि , a saint , a person purified by religious abstraction or one who purified from sin MBh.वि-ष्टार [p= 999,1] m. a layer of grass (?) RV. v , 52 , 10 (others " the far spread host , scil. of the मरुत्s "); a kind of metre (cf. next and Pa1n2. 3-3 , 34 ; viii , 3 , 94)

तापस [p= 442,3]mfn. (g. छत्त्रा*दि Pa1n2. 5-2 , 103) a practiser of religious austerities (त्/अपस्) S3Br. xiv Mn. vi , 27 &c;relating to religious austerity or to an ascetic R. G. ii , 52 , 5;m. of a होतृ Ta1n2d2yaBr. xxv , 15a

. 10.142.01 This person, Agni, was your praiser, for there is nothing else attainable, O son of strength; holy is the happiness derived from you, a triple defence; remove far from us, who are susceptible of harm, your scorching flame. [Triple defence: a defence against the three evils of existence]. 10.142.02 Exalted is the birth of you, Agni, who are desirous of (sacrificial) food; you preside like a councillor over all created beings; our praises flowing smoothly proceed to you, as herdsmen of their own will (go slowly) before (their flocks). 10.142.03 Blazing Agni, you destroy many a shrub, as you burn; and (the sites) of the tilled fields are laid waste, may we never rouse to anger your terrible flame. 10.142.04 When you move burning above and burning below, you scatter yourself like a devastating host; when the wind fans your flame, you shave the earth as a barber shaves a beard. 10.142.05 His lines (of flame) are visible, like one array of many chariots, when clearing away (the forests) with your arms (of flame) you march, Agni, over the prostrate earth. 10.142.06 May your withering flames, Agni, arise; may your light (arise), and the swift movements of you when you are praised; rise up, stoop down, increasing in might; may all the Vasus this day attend upon you. 10.142.07 This is the abode of the waters, the dwelling of the ocean; pursue, Agni, a different path from this; go by this (path) according to your pleasure. 10.142.08 Both at your arrival, Agni, and at your departure, may the flowering du_rva grasses spring up; may lakes (be formed) and lotuses (therein); may these be the dwellings of the ocean.  जरित a [p= 414,1]mfn. (p.p. Caus.) old , decayed Hariv. 15988 R. ii f.जरिता f. N. of a शार्ङ्गिका bird (mother of 4 sons at once by the ऋषि मन्द-पाल in the form of a शार्ङ्गक ; cf. जरित्/ऋ at end) MBh. i , 8346 ff. and 8379 ff.द्रोण [p= 502,3]n. (fr. 4. द्रु) a wooden vessel , bucket , trough &c ; a सोम vessel ([cf. Zd. draona]) RV. MBh. &c (ifc. f(आ). Hcat. ); mn. a measure of capacity (= 4 आढकs = 16 पुष्कलs = 128 कुञ्चिs = 1024 मुष्टिs , or = 200 पलs = 1÷20 कुम्भ , or = 1÷16 खरी= 4 आढकs , or = 2 आढकs = 1÷2 शूर्प= 64 Seras , or = 32 Seras) Mn. Ya1jn5. MBh. Sus3r. &c; m. of one of the 4 sons of मन्दपाल and जरिता (born as birds) MBh. i , 8345 &c (as author of RV. x , 142 , 3 , 4, with thepatr. शार्ङ्ग)सारिसृक्त [p= 1209,2]m. N. of the author of RV. x , 142 , 3 ; 6 (having the patr. शार्ङ्ग.) Anukr. स्तम्ब--मित्र [p= 1258,1] m. (cf. स्तम्भम्°) N. of a son of जरिता MBh.; (with शार्ङ्ग) of the author of RV. x , 142 , 7 ; 8 Anukr; स्तम्भ [p= 1258,2]m. (ifc. f(आ).) a post , pillar , column , stem (as of a tree ; also improperly applied to an arm) Ka1t2h. Gr2S3rS. MBh. &c; N. of a ऋषि &c VP. (cf. g. कुञ्जा*दि and शौनका*दि).अत्रि [p= 17,2]m. (for अत्-त्रि , fr. √ अद्) , a devourer RV. ii , 8 , 5; N. of a great ऋषि , author of a number of Vedic hymns; pl. (अत्रयस्) the descendants of अत्रि. तार्क्ष्य [p= 444,3]m. N. of a mythical being (originally described as a horse with the epithet /अरिष्ट-नेमि [ RV. i , 89 , 6 ; x , 178 , 1 Naigh. i , 14 Kaus3. 73] , later on taken to be a bird [ RV. v , 51 , interpol. A1s3vS3r. x , 7] and identified with गरुड [ MBh. Hariv. &c ] or called his elder brother [ L. ] or father [ BhP. vi , 6 , 2 and 21 ; » also -पुत्र] ; mentioned with अरिष्ट-नेमि VS. xv , 18 ; with अरिष्ट-नेमि , गरुड , अरुण and आरुणि as offspring of कश्यप by विनता MBh. i , 2548 and 4830 Hariv. 12468 and 14175 ; called a यक्ष VP. ii , 10 , 13 ; a मुनि with the N. अरिष्ट-नेमि MBh. iii , 12660 and 12665 ; xii , 10615 ; pl. a class of demi-gods grouped with the गन्धर्वs , यक्षs , and चारणs R. i , 16 , 9); N. of the hymn RV. x , 178 (ascribed to तार्क्ष्य अरिष्टनेमि) A1s3vS3r. ix S3a1n3khS3r. xi f. La1t2y. ; gold L.; pl. N. of a people MBh. ii , 1871 10.145.01 I dig up this most potent medicinal creeper, by which (a wife) destroys a rival wife, by which she secures to herself her husband. [The deity of aim: A_pastamba says a wife who wishes to get rid of a rival must repeat this hymn silently three times on going to bed, and then embrace her husband. The creeper referred to in the hymn is the patha]. 10.145.02 O (plant) with upturned leaves, auspicious, sent by the gods, powerful, remove my rival and make my husband mine alone. 10.145.03 Excellent (plant), may I too be excellent, excellent among the excellent, and may she who is my rival be vile among the vile. 10.145.04 I will not even utter her name, no (woman) takes pleasure in that person; may we remove the other rival wife to a distance. 10.145.05 I am triumphing, you are triumphant; we two being powerful will triumph over my rival. 10.145.06 I make you the triumphant (herb) my pillow, I support you with that more triumphant (pillow); let your mind hasten to me as a cow to her calf, let it speed on its way like water. इन्द्राणी [p= 167,2]f. the wife of इन्द्र RV. AV. VS. TS. MBh. &c; N. of दुर्गा Hariv. , (reckoned as one of the eight mothers [मातृका] or divine energies)देव--मुनि [p= 494,1] m. heavenly or divine मुनि Ta1n2d2yaBr.; N. of a son of इरं-मद and author of RV. x , 146 RV. Anukr.सु--वेदस् [p= 1234,1] m. N. of a ऋषि (having the patr. शैरीषि and author of RV. x , 147) Anukr.पृथु [p= 646,2]mf(व्/ई or उ)n. broad , wide , expansive , extensive , spacious , large; m. of one of the विश्वे देवाs VP.; m. of a दानव Hariv.

अर्च arca अर्च a. Ved. Shining; अस्मा एतद् दिव्यर्चेव मासा Rv.6.34.4.मृड [p= 829,3]mfn. showing compassion or mercy , gracious Ka1t2h. A1s3vGr2.; m. N. of अग्नि at the पूर्णाहुति Gr2ihya1s.; m. of शिव S3ivag. ज्योति [p= 427,2](only loc. °तौ) = °तिस् Ta1n2d2yaBr. xvi , 10 , 2;  ज्योतिस् [p= 427,3]

Ṛgveda & Sarasvati Script Corpora evidence ayohata,अयो-हत 'embossed alloy metalwork'

March 5, 2017, 1:23 am

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अयो--हत [p= 85,1] (/अयो.) mfn. embossed in iron-work RV. ix , 1 , 2 and 80 , 2. (Monier-Williams) ayasअयस्-हत a. Ved. embossed in iron-work, made by a priest who wears a golden ring on his finger (B. and R.) (Apte). The reference to 'iron' in both lexicons may signify ayas, 'alloy metal'. (Note: It is remarkable that both occurrences of the expression ayo-hata'embossed alloy metal' in the Somapavamāna maṇḍala IX of Ṛgveda.)

Creation of embossed alloyed metalwork in the days of Ṛgveda is a stunning metallurgical competence. While aya- in compound expressions is used as metaphors in chandas of Ṛca-s (see embedded terms from Samskrtam glosses), these two occurrences of the expression, अयो-हत ayo-hata are directly related to metalwork.

RV 9.80.2

RV 9.1.2

RV 9.80.2 Anvaya (the natural order or connection of words in a sentence , syntax , construing): vājin = O possessor of foog grain; Soma = Soma; aghnyā = by the unviolated (Ṛca or Mantra); yam = whom; tvā = you; abhi anūṣata = praise; vṛṣā = showerer (of boon); dyumān = bright; madah = delightful (sah = that); (tvam = you); ayohatam = embossed alloy metal (gold); yonim = in the place (pitcher); ā rohasi = climbs (and) maghonām = of the rich; mahi = great; śravah = fame (and) āyu = Age; pratiran = enhancing; indrāya = For Indra; pavase = flow Meaning: The possessor of good grain, O Soma ! The showerer of boon, the bright, the delightful, you, to whom the unviolated hymns praise, climb in the pitcher made of embossed alloy metal (gold) and enhancing the great fame and age of the rich, flow for Indra.

RV 9.1.2: Anvaya (the natural order or connection of words in a sentence , syntax , construing): viśvacarṣaṇih = All-seeing; rakṣohā = destroyer of the demon; (Somah = Soma); droṇa jars (Special containers for Soma, kept near the altar during the religious yāga); yonim = in the place; abhi ā asadat = may sit. Meaning: May the destroyer of demon, the all-seeing Soma sit in the place pressed by embossed alloy metal (gold) alongside the Droṇa jars.

Copper tablet (H2000-4498/9889-01) with raised script found in Trench 43.
"30% of the 177 copper artifacts from Harappa and Mohenjo Daro demonstrated tin, arsenic, nickel or lead alloying, of which tin is the most common. The amount of tin has ranged from 1 to 12% in the bronze artifacts studied. Besides copper, the Harappans worked with gold, silver and lead." https://www.harappa.com/blog/copper-harappan-age Vasant Shinde, 2016, Current Perspectives on the Harappan Civilization, in Gwen Robbins Schug and Subhas R. Walimbe (eds.), A Companion to South Asia in the Past, John Wiley & Sons, Sussex, UK, p. 132.

Harappa Raised Script. H94-2198. (After Fig. 4.14 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Eight inscribed copper tablets were found at Harappa and all were made with raised script, a technique quite different from the inscribed copper tablets.

The inscription on the cast copper tablet is read as: dul 'cast metal', khoT 'alloy ingot', bharata, 'alloy of coper, pewter, tin'. HierMohenjo-daro. Copper seal. National Museum, New Delhi (Source: Page 18, Fig. 8A in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum).

dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'; goT 'seed' Rebus: khoT 'alloy ingot'. खोट (p. 212) [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge. (Marathi) baraDo 'spine' Rebus: भरत (p. 603) [ bharata ] n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c. (Marathi) karava 'pot' Rebus: kharva 'wealth'; karba 'iron'; karNaka 'rim of jar' Rebus: karNI 'supercargo'; karnIka 'scribe'.
Mohenjo-daro silver seal. m1199 Mackay 1938, vol. 2, Pl. XC,1; XCVI, 520  karaNika 'rim of jar' rebus: karaNika 'helmsman, supercargo' karã̄ n. pl. wristlets, bangles (Gujarati) rebus: khAr 'blacksmith' ayo 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal'  khambhaṛā 'fish-fin' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'.Altyn-depe. Silver seal. Pictograph of ligatured animal with three heads. Hieroglyph: sangaDa 'joined animals' (Marathi) Rebus: sangāṭh संगाठ् । सामग्री m. (sg. dat. sangāṭas संगाटस्), a collection (of implements, tools, materials, for any object), apparatus. Given examples of similar joined animals, it may be surmised that the three animal hieroglyphs are: ranku 'antelope' Rebus: ranku 'tin'; krammara 'look backwards' Rebus: kamar 'smith'; barad 'ox' Rebus: bharat 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'; kondh 'one-horned young bull' Rebus: kondh 'turner'.

Mohenjo-daro. Copper seala. National Museum, New Delhi (Source: Page 18, Fig. 8A in: Deo Prakash Sharma, 2000, Harappan seals, sealings and copper tablets, Delhi, National Museum).

m0315 Silver seal

m0475 Inscribed metal place (One-horned young bull PLUS octopus)

An evidence for the continued use of Indus Script hieroglyphs comes from Ramurva copper bolt.

Hieroglyphs:

goT 'seed' Rebus: khoT 'alloy ingot'. खोट (p. 212) [ khōṭa ] f A mass of metal (unwrought or of old metal melted down); an ingot or wedge. (Marathi) kanda 'fire-altar' Rebus: khaNDa 'metal implements'; goT 'round object' Rebus: khoT 'alloy ingot' PLUS bhaTa 'rimless pot' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'; dhanga 'mountain-range' Rebus: dhangar 'metalsmith' PLUS bhaTa 'rimless pot' Rebus: bhaTa 'furnace'. Thus, the inscription on the Rampurva copperbolt provides technical specification on the metal object, the copper bolt: that it was made of an alloy ingot (from) furnace, (made by) metal implements metalsmith.

Who knows? The metalsmith might have worked for Asoka or Asoka's predecessors (earlier than 3rd cent. BCE), as Allchin surmises.

Rampurva copper bolt “The starting place for the inquiry is the Rampurva copper bolt at present in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. This was discovered in 1880 by Cunningham and H.B. Garrick. It was buried beside the fallen southerly pillar on which was engraved a set of Asoka’s pillar edicts. The pillar and its lion capital were subsequently fully excavated by Daya Ram Sahni. The more northerly Rampurva pillar is that associated with the famous bull capital. The bolt was examined by Cunningham who concluded that there could be n doubt of its being original and that it must have served to hold the lion capital in place upon its pillar. It is probable that other Asokan pillars and capitals bear mortises for similar bolts. This one is described as barrel shaped, of pure copper measuring 2 ft. ½ in. in length, with a diameter of 4 5/16 in. in the centre, and 3 5/8 in. at each end. Cunningham makes no mention of any marks upon the bolt, but Durga Prasad published an impression of four marks. They are made of lines of impressed dots and include the hill-with-crescent, the taurine or Nandipada, and the open cross:

Here then these signs occur upon an object which must have been made by craftsmen working for Asoka or one of his predecessors.” (F.R. Allchin, 1959, Upon the contextual significance of certain groups of ancient signs, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.) See: http://tinyurl.com/osk4m5a

Bronze plate with inscription. Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization Lahore Museum. (This is referred to as Copper plate on Indus Script Corpora).On the obverse of this copper plate inscrition is a hierolyph-multiplex: rhinoceros PLUS trough:

kANDa 'rhinoceros' Rebus: khaNDa 'metal implements' pattar 'trough' Rebus: pattar 'metalworker (goldsmith) guild'.

The text of the inscription is supercargo, scribe documenting three types of ayas 'iron, metal':
Hieroglyph: fish 'aya' Rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal'
Hieoglyph-multiplex: fish PLUS lid: aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron, metal'  adaren ‘lid’ Rebus: aduru 'native unsmelted metal'
Hieroglyph-multipled: fish PLUS notch: खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch Rebus: ayaskhāṇḍa 'excellent implements: tools, pots and pans, metalware'

Hieroglyph-multiplex: fish PLUS oval as parenthesis circumscript PLUS horn: aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron, metal' PLUS goTa 'round' Rebus: khoT 'ingot' koD 'horn' Rebus: koD 'workshop'

Hieroglyph: rim of narrow-necked jar: karava 'narrownecked jar' Rebus: kharva 'nidhi, karba 'iron'; karNaka 'rim of jar' Rebus: karNI 'supercargo', karNIka 'scribe'. 

Thus, the text message is: Metalworker guild workshop supercargo scribed, ingot (of) native unsmelted metal, excellent metal implemets. See: http://tinyurl.com/j8hh4q2

For a note on the snarling iron discovered by Paul Yule is appended. The snarling iron is the key instrument of a smith working in a forge. It is the anvil. It defines the occupation of अधिकरणम् -लेखकः a.official recorder or scribe who has left for posterity the Bharata Nidhi of over 7000 Indus Script inscriptions, providing for data mining of the splendour achieved during the Bronze Age by Bharatam Janam, the metalcaster folk celebrated by Rishi Visvamitra in Rigveda (RV 3.53.12)viśvāmitrasya rakṣati brahmedam bhārataṃ janam || This mantra (brahma) of Visvamitra protects the people of Bharatam. This is an emphatic Rigvedic self-identification of the people who worked with ayas 'metal'.

adhikaraṇīˊ f. ʻ *anvil ʼ, adhikaraṇa -- n. ʻ receptacle, support ʼ TUp. [√kr̥1]
Pa. adhikaraṇī -- f. ʻ smith's anvil ʼ; Pk. ahigaraṇī -- f. ʻ a piece of apparatus for a smith ʼ; K. yīran, dat. yṳ̄rüñ f. ʻ anvil ʼ, S. aharaṇi, araṇi f., L. (Jukes) ariṇ f., awāṇ. &circmacrepsilon;ruṇ, P. aihran, airaṇ, ā̆hraṇ f., WPah. bhal. arhini; roh. erṇe ʻ smithy ʼ, N. āran; H. aheran, ā̆hran m. ʻ anvil ʼ; -- H. Smith BSL 101, 115.Addenda: adhikaraṇīˊ -- : S.kcch. eṇ f. ʻ anvil ʼ; WPah.kṭg. n/arəṇ, n/arṇi f. ʻ furnace, smithy ʼ; āˊrəṇ m. prob. ← P. Him.I 4; jaun. āraṇ, airaṇ; G. eraṇi f. ʻ anvil ʼ, M. aheraṇ, ahiraṇ,airaṇ, airṇī, haraṇ f.(CDIAL 252)

Chanhu-daro snarling iron

Snarling iron excavated from Chanhudaro, now kept in Purana Qila Fort, Delhi. Dated to ca. mid-third millennium BCE. Sarasvati Script (Meluhha) inscription on a Chanhu-daro Snarling iron, 2529H, ASI, Central Antiquities Collection. 74.1/48

These snarling irons are approx. 60 cms. long and could have been produced out of the limestone mould of Susa, ca. 13th cent. BCE The basin which could have been used as a mould measured 92 cm at its widest; the centerpiece depression which could have produced the snarling iron is approx. 60 cms.

Glosses: koṭe meṛed = forged iron, in contrast to dul meṛed, cast iron (Mundari)

meṭ sole of foot, footstep, footprint (Ko.); meṭṭu step, stair, treading, slipper (Te.)(DEDR 1557). dula ‘pair’.

Rebus: dul 'metal casting'

Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) dul meṛed, cast iron (Mu.) mẽṛhẽt baṭi = iron (Ore) furnaces (Santali).A. bhaṭā ʻ brick -- or lime -- kiln ʼ; B. bhāṭi ʻ kiln ʼ; Or. bhāṭi ʻ brick -- kiln, distilling pot ʼ; Mth. bhaṭhī, bhaṭṭī ʻ brick -- kiln, furnace, still ʼ; Aw.lakh. bhāṭhā ʻ kiln ʼ; H. bhaṭṭhā m. ʻ kiln ʼ, bhaṭ f. ʻ kiln, oven, fireplace ʼ; M. bhaṭṭā m. ʻ pot of fire ʼ, bhaṭṭī f. ʻ forge ʼ. -- X bhástrā -- q.v. S.kcch. bhaṭṭhī keṇī ʻ distil (spirits) ʼ.(CDIAL 9656).  

Rebus: ḍhāḷako ‘a large metal ingot’ (Gujarati) [Note: Do the inverted U glyphs connote bun ingots?]

Hieroglyph baṭi 'broad-mouthed, rimless metal vessel'. Rebus: baṭi 'smelting  furnace'. Rebus: baṭa = a kind of iron (G.) bhaṭa ‘furnace’ (G.) baṭa = kiln (Santali). bhaṭa = an oven, kiln, furnace (Santali) baṭhi furnace for smelting ore (the same as kuṭhi) (Santali) baṭhu m. ‘large pot in which grain is parched.’ Rebus: baṭi, bhaṭi ‘furnace’ (Hindi) 

Hieroglyph: खांडा khāṇḍā m  A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). A gap in the teeth. Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’. 

The message conveyed by the inscription, read rebus: dul meṭ 'pair of feet'  Rebus: dul meḍ 'cast iron'. khāṇḍā 'indentation' Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’. [Note: Perhaps the three inverted U glyphs connote three storage pots containing tools, pots and pans, metalware.] Alternatively, the three 'inverted U' glyphs connote three (pe) baṭi 'broad-mouthed, rimless vessels' Rebus: three (pe)  baṭi 'smelting furnaces).

Snarling irons from the first quarter of the 20th century, after Otto 1922: 45 fig. 41-2. Used like special anvils for the raising of metal vessels.

The Chanhu-daro snarling alloy (ingot) has an inscription using Indus (Meluhha) writing with five glyphs and a dot glyph.  Chanhujodaro39A1 Chanhudaro39A2

The dot glyph is a notch upon the edge of the bronze snarling tool read rebus as: खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m  A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). Rebus: kāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’.

There are 3 U glyphs: kolmo 'three' (Munda) Rebus: kolimi 'forge, smithy' (Telugu). baṭhu m. ʻ large pot in which grain is parched' (Sindhi) Rebus: bhāṭhā ʻ kiln ʼ(Awadhi). The three U glyphs together read: kolimi bhāṭhā 'forge, smithy (with) smelter/furnace'.

See:  http://tinyurl.com/z6e27b3

Important find-spots in India of metal objects

Meluhha hieroglyphs on Chanhu-daro snarling iron

A Snarling iron is a metal worker's tool used to drive the walls of metal vessels. A snarling iron is a special anvil for the raising of brass or bronze vessels, for working on sheet metal. Some of the metallic bowls found in Chanhu-daro might have been so raised using the special anvil, the snarling iron.

EJH Mackay excavated a metal-workers' quarter in the 1930's and discovered a hoard of mostly metal objects of Chanhu-daro. Included in the 37 artefacts was a long curious bronze 'ingot' (2529,H) which measures 34.95 x 4.0 x 4.05 cm and weighs 2450 gm. There is a five character inscription at the bottom surface.

Names used for such anvils noted by Paul Yule: kharam (Raipur, Chattisgarh); 'jeypuri gun' (Madhya Pradesh); 'irsu' resting on a 'donga karoa' (Andhra Pradesh).

Near the small end of the object appears a deeply hammered dot.

కరవాయి [ karavāyi ] kara-vāyi. [Tel.] n. A curved iron bar which is put inside a small mouthed metal pot to meet the blow of the hammer outside.కంచరవాడు సుత్తితో పాత్రములను సాగగొట్టునపుడు వానిలోపల ఒత్తుడుగా నుంచే యినుము.

Koḍ. karava clay pot with narrow neck. Go. (Ma.) karvi narrow-mouthed earthen vessel for oil or liquor (Voc. 564).(DEDR1273) కరవటము [karavaṭamu]  karavaṭamu. [Tel.] n. A small cup. చిన్నబరిణె.

Ta. karu foetus, embryo, egg, germ, young ofanimal; karuppai womb; karuvam foetus, embryo.  Ma. karu embryo, yolk;  karuntala  generation.  Ko.karv foetus of animal, larva of bees; pregnant (of animals).  To. kef  pregnant, in: kef ïr pregnant buffalo, kef nïl- to become pregnant, of animals. Ka. kandufoetus of beasts (? or with 1411 Ta. kaṉṟu).  Te. karuvu foetus; (B.) kari uterus of animals; karugu an unopened ear of corn. Pa. kerba (pl. kerbel) egg.  garba egg (Voc. 1054);  Ga. (Oll.)  karbe  id.  Go.  (Ko.) (Koya Su.) garbūm id. ? Malt. káre to form as the stone or seed of a fruit. (DEDR 1279). gárbha m. ʻ womb, foetus, offspring ʼ RV. (CDIAL 4055)

Rebus: mould: Ta. karu mould, matrix; karukku engraving, carving, embossed work. Ma. karu figure, mould; karukku-paṇi embossed work; karaṭu the original of a copy. Ka. karu embossed work, bas-relief; karuv-iḍu to put bosses or raised figures, mould, model. Tu. karu, garu, karavi a mould. Te. karugu, karuvu id. Kuwi (S.) garra form, mint; ḍālu- gara womb(DEDR1280) Ta. karuvi instrument, tool. Ma. kari, karivi, karuvi, karu tool, plough, weapon. (DEDR 1290).

ఖర్వటము [ kharvaṭamu ] kharavaṭamu. [Skt.] n. A hamlet or village. A market town, a country town. పల్లె, పరగణాకు ముఖ్యగ్రామము. (Telugu) கர்வடம் karvaṭam , n. < kharvaṭa. Town surrounded by mountains and rivers; மலையும் யாறுஞ் சூழ்ந்த ஊர். (திவா.) The chief village in a group of 400 villages; நானூறு கிராமத்திற்குத் தலைக்கிராமம். (யாழ். அக.)(Tamil)

See: Yule, P. 1985. The bronze age metalwork of India. Prahistorische Bronze funde XX,8.  http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/savifadok/1895/1/Metalwork_BronzeAge_India.pdf (254 pages, 108 plates) http://www.scribd.com/doc/201075738/Metalwork-Bronze-Age-India

The snarling iron of Chanhu-daro is a tool which might have been used, in a forge, to produce many of the artefacts presented from this site, which was called the Sheffield of Ancient India:

A ‘Sheffield of Ancient India’: Chanhu-Daro’s Metal working Industry. Illustrated London News 1936 – November 21^st, p.909. 10 x photos of copper knives, spears , razors, axes and dishes.

Susa pot with metal implements and Sarasvati Script inscription. ayo 'fish' rebus: ayas 'alloy metal' PLUS karaDa 'aquatic bird' rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy'.kANDa 'water' rebus: khaNDa 'implements' PLUS dAma 'tied rope' rebus: dhAu 'mineral red ore' (Rigveda).

The metal hoard from 'Ibri/Selme, Sultanate of Oman by Paul Yule (2001), Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart.

Fig. 24. Bronze bangle (cat. no. 84) from the 'Ibri/Selme hoard. The arrow indicates the point where the metallographic investigation was made.

Fig. 19. Restored pan no. 147

Hieroglyphs: safflower, fish. karaḍa -- m. ʻsafflowerʼ, °ḍā -- f. ʻ a tree like the karañja ʼ (Prakrit); M. karḍī, °ḍaī f. ʻ safflower, carthamus tinctorius and its seed ʼ. (CDIAL 2788). Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi)  kharādī ‘ turner, a person who fashions or shapes objects on a lathe’ (Gujarati) 

 ayo 'fish' (Munda) Rebus: ayo 'alloy metal' (Gujarati)

Fig. 18. Restored finds

A remarkable combined (ligatured) hieroglyph is reported by N. Ganesan. (I have requested for details of provenience). The hieroglyphs are: 1. crocodile; 2. one-horned young bull; 3. anthropomorph (with ram's curved horns, body and legs resembling a person)

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/crocodiles-help-scholar-link-indus.html

The rebus readings of the composite hieroglyph may be suggested: 

1. khoṇḍ, kõda 'young bull-calf' Rebus: kũdār ‘turner’. कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ (Marathi)

2. kāru 'crocodile' (Telugu) Rebus: kāruvu 'artisan' (Telugu) khār 'blacksmith' (Kashmiri)

3. tagara 'ram' (Kannada) Rebus: damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian) tagara 'tin' (Kannada) The anthropomorph 'ram' hieroglyph together with incised 'fish' hieroglyph reads: tagara ayo 'metal alloy (with tin)'. This was the stock-in-trade of the artisan/merchant damgar.

अयस् ayas

अयस् a. [इ-गतौ-असुन्] Going, moving; nimble. n. (-यः) 1 Iron (एति चलति अयस्कान्तसंनिकर्षं इति तथात्वम्; नायसोल्लिख्यते रत्नम् Śukra 4.169. अभितप्तमयो$पि मार्दवं भजते कैव कथा शरीरिषु R.8.43. -2 Steel. -3 Gold. -4 A metal in general. -5 Aloe wood. -6 An iron instrument; यदयोनिधनं याति सो$स्य धर्मः सनातनः Mb.6.17.11. -7 Going. m. Fire. [cf. L. aes, aeris; Goth. ais, eisarn; Ger. eisin]. -Comp. -अग्रम्, -अग्रकम् a hammer, a mace or club tipped with iron; a pestle for cleaning grain. -अपाष्टि a. Ved. furnished with iron claws or heels. -कंसः, -सम् an iron goblet. -कणपम् A kind of weapon, which throws out iron-balls; अयःकणपचक्राश्म- भुशुण्डयुक्तबाहवः Mb.1.227.25. -काण्डः 1 an iron-arrow. -2 excellent iron. -3 a large quantity of iron. -कान्तः (अयस्कान्तः) 1 'beloved of iron', a magnet, load-stone; शम्भोर्यतध्वमाक्रष्टुमयस्कान्तेन लोहवत् Ku.2.59; स चकर्ष परस्मा- त्तदयस्कान्त इवायसम् R.17.63; U.4.21. अयस्कान्तमयः संक्रामति M. Bh. on P.III.1.7. -2 a precious stone; ˚मणिः a loadstone; अयस्कान्तमणिशलाकेव लोहधातुमन्तः- करणमाकृष्टवती Māl.1. -कारः 1 an iron-smith, blacksmith. -2 the upper part of the thigh. -किट्टम्, -कीजम् rust of iron. -कुम्भः an iron vessel, boiler &c.; so ˚पात्रम्. -कुशा a rope partly consisting of iron. -कृतिः f.a preparation of iron; one of the ways of curing leprosy (महाकुष्ठचिकि- त्साभेदः). -गः an iron hammer. -गुडः 1 a pill; one made of some preparation of iron. -2 an iron ball; दीप्तशूलष्टर्ययोगुडान् Ms.3.133. -3 A kind of weapon con- sisting of iron balls; लगुडायोगुडाश्मानः Mb.7.3.16. -घनः [अयो हन्यते अनेन इति P.III.3.82] an iron hammer, forge hammer; गदापरिघनिस्त्रिंशपट्टिशायोघनोपलैः Mb. 7.25.58. अयोघनेनाय इवाभितप्तम्R.14.33. -चूर्णम् iron filings. -जाल a. having iron nets; of impenetrable guiles. (-लम्) an iron net-work; अयोजालानि निर्मथ्य भित्त्वा रत्नगृहं वरम् Rām.3.35.35. -ताप a. making iron red-hot. -दत्, -दंष्ट्र a. Ved. iron-toothed, having iron rims (as chariots); having iron weapons; पश्यन् हिरण्यचक्रान- योदंष्ट्रान् विधोवतो वराहून् Rv.1.88.5. -दती a. proper name; (स्त्रियां संज्ञायाम् P.V.4.143). -दण्डः an iron club, K.76. -धातुःiron metal; अयोधातुं यद्वत्परिलघुरयस्कान्त-  शकलः U.4.21. -पानम् (अयःपानम्) N. of a hell (where redhot iron is forced down the throats of those who are condemned to it). -पिण्डः A canon-ball. -प्रतिमा (अयःप्रतिमा) an iron image. -बाहुः Name of a son of Dhṛitarāṣṭra. -मलम् rust of iron; so ˚रजः, ˚रसः. -मुख a. (-खी f.) 1 having an iron mouth, face, or beak. -2 tipped or pointed with iron; भूमिं भूमिशयांश्चैव हन्ति काष्ठमयोमुखम् Ms.1.84. (-खः) an arrow (iron- pointed); भेत्स्यत्यजः कुम्भमयोमुखेन R.5.55. -शङ्कुः 1 an iron spear; -2 an iron nail, pointed iron spike, अयःशङ्कुचितां रक्षः शतघ्नीमथ शत्रवे R.12.95. -शय a. lying in, made of iron, (said of fire). -शूलम् 1 an iron lance. -2 a forcible means, a violent proceeding (तीक्ष्णः उपायः Sk.); (cf. आयःशूलिक; also K. P.1; अयःशूलेन अन्विच्छतीत्यायःशूलिकः). -स्थूण a. 1 (अय˚ or यः˚) having iron pillars or stakes. हिरण्यरूपमुषसो व्युष्टावयः- स्थूणमुदिता सूर्यस्य Rv.5.62.8. -2 Name of a Ṛiṣi Śat. Br. -हत a. Ved. embossed in iron-work, made by a priest who wears a golden ring on his finger (B. and R.); रक्षोहा विश्वचर्षणिरभि योनिमयोहतम् Rv.9.1.2. -हृदय a. iron-hearted, stern, cruel, unrelenting; सुहृदयोहृदयः प्रतिगर्जताम् R.9.9. अयस्मय (अयोमय) a. (-यी f.) Ved. Made of iron or of any metal. -यी N. of one of the three habita- tions of Asuras.अयस ayasa अयस (At the end of comp.) See कार्ष्णायस, काला- यस &c.; अयोगूः A blacksmith; Vāj.3.5.(Apte)

Standard device is a freuqnetly occurring hieroglyph-multiplex (hypertext) composed of lathe, brazier and dotted circles signified on gold fillets of the civilization to signify sãgaḍ rebus: sangara 'proclamation'; sanghāta 'adamantine glue, vajra' (Varāhamihira).

Gold fillet. Punctuated design on both ends. Mohenjodaro. http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/mohenjodaro/gold-fillet.html

http://www.harappa.com/indus/79.html

Straight and curved gold fillet. Mohenjodaro (Kenoyer)

"Fillets (Pl. CLI, A, 4-8). A set of three very curious gold fillets was found with the jewellery from the HR site that has already been described. No. 6, the largest (HR 4212a(q) is a band of very thin gold averaging 0.4 inch in width, with a small hole at each rounded end and another at the bottom of the V-shaped piece in the middle. If these fillets were worn as they are photographed, it is possible that a cord was threaded through the hole in the middle of the fillet to support a heavy nose or forehead ornament. In modern Sind, especially heavy nose ornaments are often supported by a thread tied to the hair. These three fillets are somewhat out of shape, for each had been rolled into a ball, presumably for re-melting. Yet despite their age and ill treatment, the told still retains a certain amount of spring. The pottery head in Pl. XCIV,1, shows I imagine, how these fillets were worn. At the top of Pl. CI.I(A,1) a broken gold band (HR 4212a(x) is shown, which had also been rolled up. This band measures 6.2 inches long by 0.75 inch wide and has two holes at each end and also a row of small holes along the upper edge. The row of small holes perhaps served to secure the fillet to a head-dress, or, if worn the other way round, beads or sequins may have been fastened along it. This ornament was stiffened by a very ingenous device, the metal being twice box-pleated lengthways, not far from either edge. On either side of the gold bangles, Nos. 2 and 3, are coiled up fillets (HR 4212a(t andu) of another form, respectively measuring 16 inches long by 0.52 inch wide and 15.1 inches long by 0.35 inch wide. Both these fillets taper slightly towards the rounded ends, each of which is perforated with a hole. A very interesting fillet of the same kind from the VS Area (VS 3091) was found in a niche in the south-eastern corner of House XIV Block 2 VS Area at a depth of 3 ft.6 in. below the surface. It measures 16.5 inches long by 0.55 inch wide in the middle, and tapers to 0.4 inch wide at the carefully rounded ends. These ends bear a very rough design made by embossing the metal with a blunt point, and in each there is a small hole which has been pulled slightly out of shape by tension. The metal is 0.05 inch thick, and is bright-yellow gold which still retains a good deal of its original spring. The design on the two ends of this fillet is illustrated in Pl. CXVIII, 14, and resembles the cult object that is always represented in front of the unicorn animals present on most of the seals. (Pointed out to me by Mr. Hargreaves). This last fillet is very similar in shape to a silver fillet found in a grave at Kish and dated to the pre-Sargonic period, which was also ornamented as well as stiffened by embossing with a point.(Mackay, Report on the Excavation of the 'A' Cemetery at Kish, p. 52, pl. iv, No. 14. For an example from Ur but decorated by a different process, see Antiquaries Journ., vol. viii, pl. ix,3.)"(Marshall, John, 1931, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilization, pp.527-528)

Plate IV. 24 (Mackay, 1925, opcit.)

"Fillets. A piece of jewellery which was unique in this cemetery is a silver fillet worn by the occupant of grave 21. It is a long, narrow band, still with a certain amount of spring about it; it measures 170 mm in length, 11.5 mm in width, and 1 mm in thickness. It was adhering to the skull, lying horizontally across the forehead. Either for ornamentation or to stiffen it, both sides of the band were pricked all the way along about 5 mm from the edge. This was done with a pointed instrument, but without actually perforating the fillet. Both ends of the ornament are rounded, and there is nothing to show how it was fastened to the head. It was probably secured in the hair on either side of the face (Plate IV, No. 24).(Compare this fillet with a similar ornament worn in the hair on the alabaster head of a Sumerian woman of early date (Dr. Sarzec and Heuzey, Decourvertes en Chaldee, Plate VI, Fig. 3)."

Kuwait Gold Disk with Sarasvati Script hieroglyphs/hypertexts..Kuwait National Museum.  See decipherment at http://tinyurl.com/z3lppyo

 Focus on the center-piece: brazier PLUS eye PLUS eyelid PLUS horns of markhor: Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) eye.  Rebus: kanga ' large portable brazier, fire-place' (Kashmiri).Rebus: large furnace, fireplace: kang कंग् । आवसथ्यो &1;ग्निः m. the fire-receptacle or fire-place, kept burning in former times in the courtyard of a Kāshmīrī house for the benefit of guests, etc., and distinct from the three religious domestic fires of a Hindū; (at the present day) a fire-place or brazier lit in the open air on mountain sides, etc., for the sake of warmth or for keeping off wild beasts. nāra-kang, a fire-receptacle; hence, met. a shower of sparks (falling on a person) (Rām. 182). kan:gar `portable furnace' (Kashmiri)  

Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) eye.  Rebus: kanga ' large portable brazier

पात [ pāta ],पातें [ pātēṃ ] n (पातं) An eyelid.(Marathi)

पात [ pāta ],पातें [ pātēṃ ] n A blade (of a weapon or a tool). (Marathi)

mē̃ḍh 'antelope, ram'; rebus: mē̃ḍ 'iron' (Mu.) 

baṭa = quail (Santali) Rebus: baṭa = furnace, kiln (Santali) bhrāṣṭra = furnace (Skt.) baṭa = a kind of iron (G.) bhaṭa ‘furnace’ (Gujarati) 

rāngo   ‘water buffalo bull’ (Ku.N.)(CDIAL 10559) Rebus:  rango  ‘pewter’.  ranga, rang   pewter is an alloy of tin, lead, and antimony (anjana) (Santali).

Decipherment of Kuwait Gold Disk Sarasvati Script hieroglyphs/hypertexts in Meluhha:

1. A pair of tabernae montana flowers tagara 'tabernae montana' flower; rebus: tagara 'tin'

2. A pair of rams tagara 'ram'; rebus: damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian) Next to one ram: kuTi 'tree' Rebus: kuThi 'smelter' Alternative: kolmo 'rice plant' Rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'.

3. Ficus religiosa leaves on a tree branch (5) loa 'ficus leaf'; rebus: loh 'metal'. kol in Tamil means pancaloha'alloy of five metals'. PLUS flanking pair of lotus flowers: tAmarasa 'lotus' Rebus: tAmra 'copper' dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal' thus, denoting copper castings.

4. A pair of bulls tethered to the tree branch: barad, barat 'ox' Rebus: bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin' (Marathi) PLUS kola 'man' Rebus: kolhe 'smelter' kur.i 'woman' Rebus: kol 'working in iron' Alternative: ḍhangar 'bull'; rebus ḍhangar 'blacksmith' poLa 'zebu' Rebus: poLa 'magnetite'.

Two persons touch the two bulls: meḍ ‘body’ (Mu.) Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) Thus, the hieroglyph composition denotes ironsmiths.

5. A pair of antelopes looking back: krammara 'look back'; rebus: kamar 'smith' (Santali); tagara 'antelope'; rebus: damgar 'merchant' (Akkadian) Alternative: melh, mr..eka 'goat' (Brahui. Telugu) Rebus: milakkhu 'copper' (Pali), mleccha-mukha 'copper' (Samskritam)

6. A pair of antelopes mē̃ḍh 'antelope, ram'; rebus: mē̃ḍ 'iron' (Mu.) 

7. A pair of combs kāṅga 'comb' Rebus: kanga 'brazier, fireplace'

Phal. kāṅga ʻ combing ʼ in ṣiṣ k° dūm ʻI comb my hairʼ  khyḗṅgia, kēṅgī f.;
kaṅghā m. ʻ large comb (Punjabi) káṅkata m. ʻ comb ʼ AV., n. lex., °tī -- , °tikã -- f. lex. 2. *kaṅkaṭa -- 2. 3. *kaṅkaśa -- . [Of doubtful IE. origin WP i 335, EWA i 137: aberrant -- uta -- as well as -- aśa -- replacing -- ata -- in MIA. and NIA.]1. Pk. kaṁkaya -- m. ʻ comb ʼ, kaṁkaya -- , °kaï -- m. ʻ name of a tree ʼ; Gy. eur. kangli f.; Wg. kuṇi -- přũ ʻ man's comb ʼ (for kuṇi -- cf. kuṇälík beside kuṅälíks.v. kr̥muka -- ; -- přũ see prapavaṇa -- ); Bshk. kēṅg ʻ comb ʼ, Gaw. khēṅgīˊ, Sv. khḗṅgiā, Tor. kyäṅg ʻ comb ʼ (Dard. forms, esp. Gaw., Sv., Phal. but not Sh., prob. ← L. P. type < *kaṅgahiā -- , see 3 below); Sh. kōṅyi̯ f. (→ Ḍ. k*lṅi f.), gil. (Lor.) kōĩ f. ʻ man's comb ʼ, kōũ m. ʻ woman's comb ʼ, pales. kōgō m. ʻ comb ʼ; K. kanguwu m. ʻ man's comb ʼ, kangañ f. ʻ woman's ʼ; WPah. bhad. kãˊkei ʻ a comb -- like fern ʼ, bhal. kãkei f. ʻ comb, plant with comb -- like leaves ʼ; N. kāṅiyo, kāĩyo ʻ comb ʼ, A. kã̄kai, B. kã̄kui; Or. kaṅkāi, kaṅkuā ʻ comb ʼ, kakuā ʻ ladder -- like bier for carrying corpse to the burning -- ghat ʼ; Bi. kakwā ʻ comb ʼ, kakahā, °hī, Mth. kakwā, Aw. lakh. kakawā, Bhoj. kakahī f.; H. kakaiyā ʻ shaped like a comb (of a brick) ʼ; G. (non -- Aryan tribes of Dharampur)kākhāī f. ʻ comb ʼ; M. kaṅkvā m. ʻ comb ʼ, kã̄kaī f. ʻ a partic. shell fish and its shell ʼ; -- S. kaṅgu m. ʻ a partic. kind of small fish ʼ < *kaṅkuta -- ? -- Ext. with --l -- in Ku. kã̄gilo, kāĩlo ʻ comb ʼ.2. G. (Soraṭh) kã̄gaṛ m. ʻ a weaver's instrument ʼ?3. L. kaṅghī f. ʻ comb, a fish of the perch family ʼ, awāṇ. kaghī ʻ comb ʼ; P. kaṅghā m. ʻ large comb ʼ, °ghī f. ʻ small comb for men, large one for women ʼ (→ H. kaṅghā m. ʻ man's comb ʼ, °gahī, °ghī f. ʻ woman's ʼ, kaṅghuā m. ʻ rake or harrow ʼ; Bi. kãgahī ʻ comb ʼ, Or. kaṅgei, M. kaṅgvā); -- G. kã̄gsī f. ʻ comb ʼ, with metath. kã̄sko m., °kī f.; WPah. khaś. kāgśī, śeu. kāśkī ʻ a comblike fern ʼ or < *kaṅkataśikha -- .WPah.kṭg. kaṅgi f. ʻ comb ʼ; J. kāṅgṛu m. ʻ small comb ʼ.(CDIAL 2598)

Rebus: large furnace, fireplace: kang कंग् । आवसथ्यो &1;ग्निः m. the fire-receptacle or fire-place, kept burning in former times in the courtyard of a Kāshmīrī house for the benefit of guests, etc., and distinct from the three religious domestic fires of a Hindū; (at the present day) a fire-place or brazier lit in the open air on mountain sides, etc., for the sake of warmth or for keeping off wild beasts. nāra-kang, a fire-receptacle; hence, met. a shower of sparks (falling on a person) (Rām. 182). kan:gar `portable furnace' (Kashmiri)Cf. kã̄gürü, which is the fem. of this word in a dim. sense (Gr.Gr. 33, 7). kã̄gürü काँग्् or 
kã̄gürü काँग or kã̄gar काँग््र्् । हसब्तिका f. (sg. dat. kã̄grĕ काँग्र्य or kã̄garĕ काँगर्य, abl. kã̄gri काँग्रि), the portable brazier, or kāngrī, much used in Kashmīr (K.Pr. kángár, 129, 131, 178; káṅgrí, 5, 128, 129). For particulars see El. s.v. kángri; L. 7, 25, kangar;and K.Pr. 129. The word is a fem. dim. of kang, q.v. (Gr.Gr. 37). kã̄gri-khŏphürükã̄gri-khŏphürü काँग्रि-ख्वफ््&above;रू&below; । भग्ना काष्ठाङ्गारिका f. a worn-out brazier. -khôru -खोरु&below; । काष्ठाङ्गारिका<-> र्धभागः m. the outer half (made of woven twigs) of a brazier, remaining after the inner earthenware bowl has been broken or removed; see khôru. -kŏnḍolu -क्वंड । हसन्तिकापात्रम् m. the circular earthenware bowl of a brazier, which contains the burning fuel. -köñü -का&above;ञू&below; । हसन्तिकालता f. the covering of woven twigs outside the earthenware bowl of a brazier.

It is an archaeometallurgical challenge to trace the Maritime Tin Route from the tin belt of the world on Mekong River delta in the Far East and trace the contributions made by seafaring merchants of Meluhha in reaching the tin mineral resource to sustain the Tin-Bronze Age which was a revolution unleashed ca. 5th millennium BCE. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/08/indus-script-corpora-as-catalogus.html

8. A pair of fishes ayo 'fish' (Mu.); rebus: ayo 'metal, iron' (Gujarati); ayas 'metal' (Sanskrit)

9.A pair of buffaloes tethered to a post-standard kāṛā ‘buffalo’ கண்டி kaṇṭi buffalo bull (Tamil); rebus: kaṇḍ 'stone ore'; kāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’; kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar, consecrated fire’.

10. A pair of birds Rebus 1: kōḍi. [Tel.] n. A fowl, a bird. (Telugu) Rebus: khōṭ ‘alloyed ingots’. Rebus 2: kol ‘the name of a bird, the Indian cuckoo’ (Santali) kol 'iron, smithy, forge'. Rebus 3: baṭa = quail (Santali) Rebus: baṭa = furnace, kiln (Santali) bhrāṣṭra = furnace (Skt.) baṭa = a kind of iron (G.) bhaṭa ‘furnace’ (Gujarati) 

11. The buffaloes, birds flank a post-standard with curved horns on top of a stylized 'eye' PLUS 'eyebrows' with one-horn on either side of two faces

mũh ‘face’; rebus: mũh ‘ingot’ (Mu.) 

ṭhaṭera ‘buffalo horns’. ṭhaṭerā   ‘brass worker’ (Punjabi) 

Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) eye.  Rebus: kanga ' large portable brazier, fire-place' (Kashmiri).

Thus the stylized standard is read rebus: Hieroglyph components: kanga + ṭhaṭerā'one eye + buffalo horn' Rebus: kanga 'large portable barzier' (Kashmiri) +  ṭhaṭerā   ‘brass worker’ (Punjabi) 

 Ta. kaṇ eye, aperture, orifice, star of a peacock's tail. Ma. kaṇ, kaṇṇu eye, nipple, star in peacock's tail, bud. Ko. kaṇ eye. To. koṇ eye, loop in string.Ka. kaṇ eye, small hole, orifice. Koḍ. kaṇṇï id. Tu. kaṇṇů eye, nipple, star in peacock's feather, rent, tear. Te. kanu, kannu eye, small hole, orifice, mesh of net, eye in peacock's feather. Kol. kan (pl. kanḍl) eye, small hole in ground, cave. Nk. kan (pl. kanḍḷ) eye, spot in peacock's tail. Nk. (Ch.) kan (pl. -l) eye. Pa.(S. only) kan (pl. kanul) eye. Ga. (Oll.) kaṇ (pl. kaṇkul) id.; kaṇul maṭṭa eyebrow; kaṇa (pl. kaṇul) hole; (S.) kanu (pl. kankul) eye. Go. (Tr.) kan (pl.kank) id.; (A.) kaṛ (pl. kaṛk) id. Konḍa kaṇ id. Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) id. Manḍ. kan (pl. -ke) id. Kui kanu (pl. kan-ga), (K.) kanu (pl. kaṛka) id. Kuwi(F.) kannū (pl. kar&nangle;ka), (S.) kannu (pl. kanka), (Su. P. Isr.) kanu (pl. kaṇka) id. Kur. xann eye, eye of tuber; xannērnā (of newly born babies or animals) to begin to see, have the use of one's eyesight (for ērnā, see 903). Malt. qanu eye. Br. xan id., bud. (DEDR 1159) kāṇá ʻ one -- eyed ʼ RV. Pa. Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ blind of one eye, blind ʼ; Ash. kã̄ṛa, °ṛī f. ʻ blind ʼ, Kt. kãŕ, Wg. kŕãmacrdotdot;, Pr. k&schwatildemacr;, Tir. kāˊna, Kho. kāṇu NTS ii 260,kánu BelvalkarVol 91; K. kônu ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, S. kāṇo, L. P. kāṇã̄; WPah. rudh. śeu. kāṇā ʻ blind ʼ; Ku. kāṇo, gng. kã̄&rtodtilde; ʻ blind of one eye ʼ, N. kānu;A. kanā ʻ blind ʼ; B. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ; Or. kaṇā, f. kāṇī ʻ one -- eyed ʼ, Mth. kān, °nā, kanahā, Bhoj. kān, f. °ni, kanwā m. ʻ one -- eyed man ʼ, H. kān,°nā, G. kāṇũ; M. kāṇā ʻ one -- eyed, squint -- eyed ʼ; Si. kaṇa ʻ one -- eyed, blind ʼ. -- Pk. kāṇa -- ʻ full of holes ʼ, G. kāṇũ ʻ full of holes ʼ, n. ʻ hole ʼ (< ʻ empty eyehole ʼ? Cf. ã̄dhḷũ n. ʻ hole ʼ < andhala -- ).S.kcch. kāṇī f.adj. ʻ one -- eyed ʼ; WPah.kṭg. kaṇɔ ʻ blind in one eye ʼ, J. kāṇā; Md. kanu ʻ blind ʼ.(CDIAL 3019) Ko. kāṇso ʻ squint -- eyed ʼ.(Konkani)

Paš. ainċ -- gánik ʻ eyelid ʼ(CDIAL 3999) Phonetic reinforcement of the gloss: Pe. kaṇga (pl. -ŋ, kaṇku) eye. 

See also: nimišta kanag 'to write' (SBal): *nipēśayati ʻ writes ʼ. [√piś] Very doubtful: Kal.rumb. Kho. nivḗš -- ʻ to write ʼ more prob. ← EPers. Morgenstierne BSOS viii 659. <-> Ir. pres. st. *nipaiš -- (for *nipais -- after past *nipišta -- ) in Yid. nuviš -- , Mj. nuvuš -- , Sang. Wkh. nəviš -- ; -- Aś. nipista<-> ← Ir. *nipista -- (for *nipišta -- after pres. *nipais -- ) in SBal. novīsta or nimišta kanag ʻ to write ʼ.(CDIAL 7220)

Alternative: dol ‘eye’; Rebus: dul ‘to cast metal in a mould’ (Santali)Alternative: kandi  ‘hole, opening’ (Ka.)[Note the eye shown as a dotted circle on many Dilmun seals.]; kan ‘eye’ (Ka.); rebus: kandi (pl. –l) necklace, beads (Pa.);kaṇḍ 'stone ore' Alternative: kã̄gsī f. ʻcombʼ (Gujarati); rebus 1: kangar ‘portable furnace’ (Kashmiri); rebus 2: kamsa 'bronze'.

khuṇḍ ʻtethering peg or post' (Western Pahari) Rebus: kūṭa ‘workshop’; kuṭi= smelter furnace (Santali); Rebus 2: kuṇḍ 'fire-altar'

Why are animals shown in pairs?

dula ‘pair’ (Kashmiri); rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ (Mu.)

Thus, all the hieroglyphs on the gold disc can be read as Indus writing related to one bronze-age artifact category: metalware catalog entries.

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

March 5, 2017

Sarasvati Script &Ṛṣi भौमन, विश्व--कर्मन् architect worshipped by कारुs, artisans worships viśvedevā

March 5, 2017, 4:11 am

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Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/h8sknk3

Repeated references in Ṛgveda to work of artisans finds expression in the Sūktams of विश्व--कर्मन्, also named भौमन.

Viśvakarma Temple at Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh

Viśvakarma Temple, Lohgarh, Zirakpur (Near Chandigarh)

 Lord Krishna in the Golden City Dwarka built by Viśvakarma
Lord Krishna in the Golden City from the Harivamsha (Geneology of Vishnu) Opaque watercolor and gold on paper H: 34.9 W: 23.2 cm India The painting represents the mythical city of Dwarka, where the blue-skinned Krishna, an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu, is enthroned on a golden palace and surrounded by his kinsmen. A pastoral scene in the foreground evokes a familiar village setting and a sense that the gods are present in everyday life. This manuscript was painted for the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) who was quite interested in other religions. Akbar had translations made of major Hindu texts, including the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata(Great Story of the Bharatas), known in its Persian translation as Razmnama (Book of Wars). This page is from a section appended to the Razmnama known as the Harivamsa (Genealogy of Vishnu), which narrates of the life of Krishna. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishvakarman#/media/File:Dwarka.jpg

The role of Viśvakarma is consistent with the designation by Ṛṣi Viśvāmitra (RV 3.53.12) of Bhāratam Janam, an expression related to the following glosses, also attested in Sarasvati Script Corpora: 

bharatiyo 'caster of metals', bharat 'metal alloy'; भरत (p. 603) [ bharata ] n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c.भरताचें भांडें (p. 603) [ bharatācē mbhāṇḍēṃ ] n A vessel made of the metal भरत. 2 See भरिताचें भांडें.भरती (p. 603) [ bharatī ] a Composed of the metal भरत. (Molesworth Marathi Dictionary).This gloss, bharata is denoted by the hieroglyphs: backbone, ox.  

Seal published by Omananda Saraswati. In Pl. 275: Omananda Saraswati 1975. Ancient Seals of Haryana (in Hindi). Rohtak.

This pictorial motif gets normalized in Indus writing system as a hieroglyph sign: 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) The hieroglyph ligature to convey the semantics of ‘bone’ and rebus reading is: ‘four short numeral strokes ligature’ |||| Numeral 4: gaṇḍa 'four' Rebus: kaṇḍa 'furnace, fire-altar' (Santali)

bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier; bharatar, bharatal, bharataḷ = 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; bhaṭ, bhrāṣṭra = oven, furnace (Sanskrit.)

m1225a Side b: ‘svastika’ hieroglyph: Rebus: jasta, sattva , satthiya, zasath ‘zinc’PLUS ‘four’ strokes:

|||| Numeral 4: gaṇḍa 'four' 

Rebus: kaṇḍa 'furnace, fire-altar' (Santali) PLUS | koḍa ‘one’ Rebus: koḍ ‘workshop’  Thus, zinc fire-altar, workshop

Side a: balad m. ʻox ʼ, gng. bald, (Ku.) barad, id. (Nepali. Tarai) Rebus: bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin)(Punjabi)pattar ‘trough’ Rebus: pattar ‘guild, goldsmith’. Thus, copper-zinc-tin alloy (worker) guild.

kanac ‘corner’ Rebus:  kañcu ‘bronze’ (Telugu) dula ‘two’ Rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ kolom ‘three’ Rebus: kolami ‘smithy, forge’ Numeral || dula ‘two’ Rebus: dul ‘cast metal’ Numeral III kolom ‘three’ Rebus: kolami ‘smithy, forge’

kuṭila ‘bent’ CDIAL 3230 kuṭi— in cmpd. ‘curve’, kuṭika— ‘bent’ MBh. Rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) kastīra n. ʻ tin ʼ lex.H. kathīr m. ʻtin, pewterʼ; 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)  

kaṇḍa kanka ‘rim of jar’ Rebus: karṇīka ‘account (scribe)’ karṇī ‘supercargo, helmsman’. 
kaṇḍa 'fire-altar'.

भौमन [p= 768,3] m. N. of विश्वकर्मन् MBh. (prob. w.r. for भौवन).भौवन [p= 768,3] mfn. (fr. भुवन) belonging to the world AV. m. patr. of विश्व-कर्मन् (cf. भौमन) , of साधन &c VS. Br. BhP.

भुवन [p= 760,3]n. a being , living creature , man , mankind RV. &c; (rarely m.) the world , earth ib. (generally 3 worlds are reckoned [see त्रि-भुवन and भुवन-त्रय] , but also 2 [see भुवन-द्वय] , or 7 [ MBh. xii , 6924] or 14 [ Bhartr2. ] ; cf. RTL. 102 n.1);place of being , abode , residence AV. S3Br.; m. of an आप्त्य (author of RV. x , 157) RAnukr.; m. of a teacher of योग Cat. 

विश्व--कर्मन् a [p= 992,3]mfn. accomplishing or creating everything RV. AV. Br. MBh. 
Hariv.; m. " all-doer , all-creator , all-maker " , N. of the divine creative architect or artist (said to be son of ब्रह्मा , and in the later mythology sometimes identified with त्वष्टृ q.v. , he is said to have revealed the स्थापत्यवेद q.v. , or fourth उप-वेद , and to preside over all manual labours as well as the sixty-four mechanical arts [whence he is worshipped by कारुs or artisans] ; in the Vedic mythology , however , the office of Indian Vulcan is assigned to त्वष्टृ as a distinct deity , विश्व-कर्मन् being rather identified with प्रजा-पति [ब्रह्मा] himself as the creator of all things and architect of the universe ; in the hymns RV. x , 81 ; 82 he is represented as the universal Father and Generator , the one all-seeing God , who has on every side eyes , faces , arms , and feet ; in Nir. x , 26 and elsewhere in the ब्राह्मणs he is called a son of भुवन , and विश्व-कर्मन् भौवन is described as the author of the two hymns mentioned above ; in the MBh. and Hariv. he is a son of the वसुप्रभास and योग-सिद्धा ; in the पुराणs a son of वास्तु , and the father of बर्हिष्मती and संज्ञा ; accord. to other authorities he is the husband of घृताची ; moreover , a doubtful legend is told of his having offered up all beings , including himself , in sacrifice ; the रामा*यण represents him as having built the city of लङ्का for the राक्षसs , and as having generated the ape नल , who made राम's bridge from the continent to the island ; the name विश्व-कर्मन् , meaning " doing all acts " , appears to be sometimes applicable as an epithet to any great divinity) RV. &c; m. of one of the seven principal rays of the sun (supposed to supply heat to the planet Mercury) VP.; m. (also with शास्त्रिन्) N. of various authors Cat.

10.157.01 May we, along with Indra and the universal gods, possess all these worlds. 10.157.02 May Indra with the A_dityas perfect our sacrifice and our bodies and our offspring. 10.157.03 May Indra with the A_dityas, and attended by the Maruts, be the protector of our bodies. 10.157.04 When the gods returned (home), after slaying the asuras, (then were) the deities protecting their divinity. 10.157.05 When (the worshippers) with their pious acts offered praise in honour (of the gods), then (men) beheld around them the swift descending rain. Griffith: RV 10.157 HYMN CLVII. Visvedevas. 1571. WE will, with Indra and all Gods to aid us, bring these existing worlds into subjection. 2 Our sacrifice, our bodies, and our offspr. let Indra form together with Adityas. 3 With the Adityas, with the band of Maruts, may Indra be Protector of our bodies. 4 As when the Gods came, after they had slaughtered the Asuras, keeping safe their Godlike nature, 5 Brought the Sun hitherward with mighty powers, and looked about them on their vigorous Godhead. साधन [p= 1201,1]mf(ई or आ)n. leading straight to a goal , guiding well , furthering RV.;m. N. of the author of RV. x , 157 (having the patr. भौवन) Anukr.10.081.01 The r.s.i, the  10.081.01 The r.s.i, hota_ our father who offering all these worlds has taken his seat; desiring wealth by pious benedictions, the first inventor has entered inferior (beinggs). [Offering all these worlds: i.e., destroying at the pral.aya, or dissolution of the world (Yajus. 17.17); asi_dat = had stopped, or has sat down in Agni. The 'wealth' desired by Vis'vakarma_ is heaven, which is to be obtained by hymns and the like. a_s'is.a_ = by the wish to become many; or, by the desire to create again and again; prathamacchad = assuming the principal form, or first investing, Agni with the worlds; Parames'vara is intended: a_tma_ va_ idam eka eva_gra a_si_t: Aitareya Bra_hman.a 2.4.1; Nirukta, 10.26: Vis'vakarman was at a sarvamedha, or universal sacrifice; he offered up all the worlds, and last of all offered up himself in sacrifice. The first line of the r.ca is a reference to the destuction of all things; the second line of the r.ca refers to their re-creation]. 10.081.02 What was the station? What was the material? How was (it done)? So that the beholder of all, Vis'vakarman (was) generating and disclosed heaven by his might. [In the first r.ca, it is said that after the pral.aya, the creator made all things anew. In this r.ca, it is now asked: where was the scene of action, what were the materials, and how was thw work performed? In this world, a potter must have his shop, his clay, his wheel; so what does Is'vara have for site, matter and implements? The answer is negative. Is'vara does not need anything of this kjind. tatsr.s.t.va_ tadeva_nupra_vis'at: Taittiri_ya A_ran.yaka 8.6]. 10.081.03 Having eyes everywhere, and having a face everywhere, having arms everywhere, and having feet everywhere, he traverses (heaven) with his arms, (earth) with his swift-moving (feet), and exists a god without companion generating heaven and earth. [Traverses: sam dhamati = he blows together, or inflates; a metaphor to denote the work of creation]. 10.081.04 Which was the forest, which the tree, from which they fabricated heaven and earth? Inquire, sages, in your minds what (place) he was stationed in when holding the worlds. [They: i.e., the makers of the world, directed by Parames'vara]. 10.081.05 Grant to your friends, Vis'vakarman, at the oblation, your best, your worst and your intermediate forms, and to these do you yourself, possessor of the oblation, becoming augmented in person (by oblations), offer worship. [Your best...forms: The best forms are the bodies of the gods, etc.; the intermediate forms are the bodies of men, etc.; the inferior forms are the bodies of worms, etc. Vis'vakarman, the creator is mixed up with Vis'vakarman, as Tvas.t.a_ or Agni. It means that man is incompetent to worship the creator, that is, in his forms, and it must be done by himself]. 10.081.06 VIs'vakarman, magnified by the oblation, do you of yourself worship earth and heaven; let other men (who offer no oblations) be everywhere confounded; may he, rich in oblations, be the granter of heaven at this our (sacrifice). [Magnified by oblation: or, by me, Vis'vakarman, becoming an oblation. In the previous r.ca., havis.a_ = at the oblation = when I am made an oblation; cf. Nirukta 10.27; Yajus. 17.22; su_rih = prajn~a_ta, knowing; or, may Indra be our adviser]. 10.081.07 Let us this day invoke for our protection the lord of speech, the creator of all, who is swift as thought; may he, the bestower of all happiness, the doer of good works, be propitiated by all our oblations, (so as) to grant us his protection. [Lord of speech: all the epithets apply to Indra; Yajus. 8.45; 17.23].\ Griffith: HYMN LXXXI. Visvakarman. 81 1. HE who sate down as Hotarpriest-, the Rsi, our Father, offering up all things existing, He, seeking through his wish a great possession, came among men on earth as archetypal. 2 What was the place whereon he took his station? What was it that supported him? How was it? Whence Visvakarman, seeing all, producing the earth, with mighty power disclosed the heavens. 3 He who hath eyes on all sides round about him, a mouth on all sides, arms and feet on all sides, He, the Sole God, producing earth and heaven, weldeth them, with his arms as wings, together. 4 What was the tree, what wood in sooth produced it, from which they fashioned out the earth and heaven? Ye thoughtful men inquire within your spirit whereon he stood when he established all things. 5 Nine highest, lowest, sacrificial natures, and these thy midmost- here, O Visvakarman, Teach thou thy friends at sacrifice, O Blessed, and come thyself, exalted, to our worship. 6 Bring thou thyself, exalted with oblation, O Visvakarman, Earth and Heaven to worship. Let other men around us live in folly here let us have a rich and liberal patron. 7 Let us invoke today-, to aid our labour, the Lord of Speech, the thoughtswift- Visvakarman. May he hear kindly all our invocations who gives all bliss for aid, whose works are righteous.

10.082.01 The maker of the senses, resolute in  mind, engendered the water, (and then) these two (heaven and earth) floating (on the waters); when those ancient boundaries were fixed, then the heaven and earth were expanded.  [The maker of the senses: lit., the father of the eye; manasa_ dhi_rah = reflecting that there was no one equal to himself; a_po va_ idam agre; a_pa eva sasarja_dau: Taittiri_ya Sam.hita_ 7.1.5.1; Manu 1.8].
10.082.02 Vis'vakarman, of comprehensive mind and manifold greatness, is all-pervading, the creator, the arranger and the supreme supervisor; him in whom the desires of their (senses) are satisfied with food, they call (him) supreme beyond the seven r.s.is. [The devata_: is Prama_tma_ or A_ditya, the sun; cf. Nirukta 10.26. The second line of the r.ca: him in whom they delight their forms (or places) with water, him, those who are skille din mantras call the A_ditya single, superior to the seven r.s.is; or, the wise make the seven r.s.is one with Vis'vakarman; Nirukta notes that at the universal sacrifice Vis'vakarman Bhauvana offered up all beings and then himself].
10.082.03 He who is our preserver, our parent, the creator (of all), who knows our abodes (and knows) all beings, who is the name-giver of the gods-- he is one; other beings come to him to inquire. [i.e., to ask, 'who is the supreme lord?' or, they ask, what their offices are, and he appoints them their several functions].
10.082.04 Those ancient R.s.is who adorned (with light) these beings in the animate and inanimate world, offer to him wealth (of sacrifice) as praisers with abundant (laudation).
10.082.05 What was that embryo which was beyond the heaven, beyond this earth, beyond the gods, beyond the asuras, which the waters first retained, in which all the gods contemplated each other?
10.082.06 The waters verily first retained the embryo in which all the gods were aggregated, single deposited on the navel of the unborn (creator), in which all beings abide. [The embryo is Vis'vakarman. arpitam an.d.am = mundane egg; or, bi_jam].
10.082.07 You know not him who has generated these (beings); (his life) is another, different from yours; wrapped in fog, and foolish speech (do they) wander (who are) gluttonous and engaged in devotion. [Sa_yan.a: "The assertion that we know Vis'vakarman in the same way as men say, 'I am devadatta, I am yajn~adatta', is false, for the essence (tattva) of Vis'vakarman Parames'vara is not endowed with conscious individual existence, but he is a different entity from you who are sentient beings, who have individual consciousness, and so forth". Wrapped in foolish speech: jalpya_: i.e., saying I am god, I am man etc.; ukthas'a_sah = singing hymns with a view to gaining felicity in a future state: you are merely anxious for enjoyment in this world and in the next, therefore you know nothing of Vis'vakarman; or, you who are engaged in enjoyment of this world or the next, being subject to false knowledge or ignorance, have no knowledge of the Truth].

Griffith: RV X. 82 HYMN LXXXII. Visvakarman. 821. THE Father of the eye, the Wise in spirit, created both these worlds submerged in fatness.
Then when the eastern ends were firmly fastened, the heavens and the earth were far extended.
2 Mighty in mind and power is Visvakarman, Maker, Disposer, and most lofty Presence.
Their offerings joy in rich juice where they value One, only One, beyond the Seven Rsis.
3 Father who made us, he who, as Disposer, knoweth all races and all things existing,
Even he alone, the Deities' narnegiverhim-, other beings seek for information.
4 To him in sacrifice they offered treasures, Rsis of old, in numerous troops, as singers,
Who, in the distant, near, and lower region, made ready all these things that have existence.
5 That which is earlier than this earth and heaven, before the Asuras and Gods had being,
What was the germ primeval which the waters received where all the Gods were seen together?
6 The waters, they received that germ primeval wherein the Gods were gathefed all together.
It rested set upon the Unborns' navel, that One wherein abide all things existing.
7 Ye will not find him who produced these creatures: another thing hath risen up among you.
Enwrapt in misty cloud, with lips that stammer, hymnchanters- wander and are discontented.

S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
March 5, 2017

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"How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones..."-- Donald's tweet

March 5, 2017, 5:41 pm

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1. Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  Mar 4

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   How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

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2. Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  Mar 4

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   I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!

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3. Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  Mar 4

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   Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!

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FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim

By Abby Phillip and Ellen Nakashima March 5 at 8:15 PM 

FBI Director James B. Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to issue a statement refuting President Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump’s phones before the election, according to U.S. officials, but the department did not do so.

Comey made the request on Saturday after Trump accused Obama on Twitter of having his “‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower.” The White House expanded on Trump’s comments Sunday with a call for a congressional probe of his allegations.

The revelation, first reported by the New York Times, underscores the fraught nature of the FBI’s high-profile investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. A key question fueling that inquiry is whether Trump associates colluded with Russian officials to help Trump win.

Neither Justice nor the FBI would comment Sunday.

The development came as Trump's charge against Obama — leveled without any evidence — was being rebuffed both inside and outside of the executive branch. It drew a blunt, on-the-record denial by a top intelligence official who served in the Obama administration.

Speaking on NBC News on Sunday morning, former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. denied that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretap was authorized against Trump or the campaign during his tenure.

“There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign,” Clapper said on “Meet the Press,” adding that he would “absolutely” have been informed if the FBI had received a FISA warrant against either.

“I can deny it,” Clapper said emphatically.

In his claims early Saturday morning, the president tweeted that he “just found out” that Obama had “my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower” before the election, comparing it to “McCarthyism.”

“Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election?” Trump asked in another tweet. “Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!”

By Sunday morning, the White House doubled down on Trump's explosive tweetstorm and called for the congressional probe.

[Trump, citing no evidence, accuses Obama of ‘Nixon/Watergate’ plot to wiretap Trump Tower]

Current and former government officials said such surveillance would not have been approved by any senior Justice official in the Obama administration. And Trump’s allegation raised hackles in the FBI leadership, insinuating as it did that the bureau may have acted illegally to wiretap a presidential candidate without probable cause that he was an “agent of a foreign power,” as the foreign intelligence surveillance law requires.

“This is Nixon/Watergate,” Trump tweeted Saturday.

A spokesman for Obama countered several hours later that the former president never authorized a wiretap of Trump or any other American citizen. “Any suggestion otherwise is simply false,” the spokesman said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Sunday cited “reports” of “potentially politically motivated investigations” during the 2016 campaign, calling them “troubling.” But none of the media reports cited by the White House provides evidence of a politically motivated surveillance effort against Trump.

“President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016,” Spicer said. “Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted,” the statement added.

Former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. on March 5 denied that President Trump’s 2016 campaign was wiretapped while senators of both parties weighed in on the allegations. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Congressional committees in both the House and the Senate are probing not just suspected Russian efforts to undermine the 2016 election but any contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

Comey’s request is sure to raise eyebrows in light of his actions last year in the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Last July he held a news conference — without telling the Justice Department what he would say — to announce that the bureau had concluded Clinton did not commit a prosecutable offense. Then, 11 days before the election, Comey wrote Congress despite warnings from senior Justice officials that doing so would violate department policy and said the FBI was examining new emails that had come to light. Nothing came of the bureau’s additional review, but Comey took heat for his actions, which Democrats say influenced the outcome of the election.

It is not clear why Comey, who is the senior-most law enforcement officer who has been overseeing the FBI investigation from its inception in the Obama administration, did not himself issue a statement to refute Trump’s claims. Nor is it clear to whom he made his request. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself last week from all investigative matters related to the Trump campaign and any potential Russia links. The acting Deputy Attorney General, Dana Boente, a career federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, is now overseeing the probe.

Trump's tweets early Saturday may have been prompted by the comments of a conservative radio host, which were summarized in an article on the conservative website Breitbart. The Breitbart story had been circulating among Trump's senior aides on Friday.

[How hard is it to get an intelligence wiretap? Pretty hard.]

The White House's escalation of Trump's claims were kept at arm's length by congressional Republicans appearing on Sunday morning news broadcasts.

When asked about Trump's allegations, Senate Intelligence Committee member Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) declined to comment on the tweets but said he has “seen no evidence of the allegations.”

“Whether that’s a FISA court application or denial of that application or a re-submission of that application, that doesn’t mean that none of these things happened. It just means we haven’t seen that yet,” Cotton added, speaking on Fox News Sunday.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he is not aware of evidence to back up the president's claim. “I have no insight into exactly what he's referring to,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “The president put that out there, and now the White House will have to answer for exactly what he was referring to.”

Obama's allies were more blunt, denying flatly that the former president had ordered a wiretap of Trump's campaign.

“This may come as a surprise to the current occupant of the Oval Office, but the president of the United States does not have the authority to unilaterally order the wiretapping of American citizens,” said former Obama White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told “Meet the Press” that Trump is “in trouble” and acting “beneath the dignity of the presidency.”

“The president’s in trouble if he falsely spread this kind of information,” Schumer said. “It shows this president doesn’t know how to conduct himself.”

Earnest added that Trump was attempting to distract from the controversy involving contacts between his campaign aides, including now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Russian officials.

“We know exactly why president Trump tweeted what he tweeted,” Earnest added. “Because there is one page in the Trump White House crisis management playbook, and that is simply to tweet or say something outrageous to distract from a scandal. And the bigger the scandal, the more outrageous the tweet.”

[The one big question Jeff Sessions still hasn’t answered]

Trump's tweets early Saturday may have been prompted by the comments of a conservative radio host, which were summarized in an article on the conservative website Breitbart. The Breitbart story had been circulating among Trump's senior aides on Friday.

But appearing on ABCs “This Week,” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeatedly said that the president’s allegation was worth looking into.

“He's asking that we get down to the bottom of this, let's get the truth here, let's find out,” Huckabee Sanders said. “I think the bigger story isn't who reported it, but is it true. And I think the American people have a right to know if this happened, because if it did, again, this is the largest abuse of power that, I think, we have ever seen.”

Asked whether Trump truly believes Obama wiretapped him, Huckabee Sanders deflected.

“I would say that his tweet speaks for itself there,” she said.

Clapper's comments referred only to whether Trump campaign officials had been wiretapped. But their conversations could also have been captured by routine surveillance of Russian diplomats or intelligence operatives.

U.S. monitoring of Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, for example, caught his conversations with Trump adviser Michael Flynn during the campaign. Flynn went on to become Trump's national security adviser, but he was forced to resign last month after admitting that he had misled other senior Trump officials about the nature of those conversations.

The FBI and the National Security Agency also have obtained intercepted communications among Russians officials in which they refer to conversations with members of the Trump team, current and former U.S. officials have said.

On the broader question of apparent Russian interference in the 2016 election, Clapper urged congressional investigators to attempt to settle the issue, which he said has become a “distraction” in the political sphere.

The intelligence community found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government — at least until the end of the Obama administration, he said Sunday.

“We had no evidence of such collusion,” he said on “Meet the Press.” But Clapper added a caveat: “This could have unfolded or become available in the time since I left government.”

Whether there was any collusion is a key question fueling a wide-ranging federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

On Jan. 6, the U.S. spy agencies collectively released a report concluding that Russia carried out cyberhacks and other “active measures” with an intent to help Trump and harm the campaign and potential presidency of Hillary Clinton. The report, Clapper pointed out, included “no evidence” of collusion with the Trump campaign.

But the investigation by the FBI, the NSA and the CIA continues. The Senate and House intelligence committees also are conducting investigations.

Aaron Blake, Greg Jaffe, Robert Costa, Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/03/05/trump-seeks-congressional-probe-into-politically-motivated-investigation-during-2016-campaign/?utm_term=.b473a0e556ff

Hindus have an abiding sense of history. All ancient Hindu sacred texts starting with Ṛgveda are itihāsa, weltanchauung

March 5, 2017, 7:13 pm

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1. Hindu sense of history is an integral part of a Hindu's life. This is evidenced in Bali Yatra conducted every year on karthik purnima day to remember their ancestor's journey in the Indian Ocean (Hindumahasagar).

2. There is no document in history writing which can surpass Mahabharata in terms of accuracy in dating. Using the skymap as calendare, Veda Vyasa records in the Mahabharata over 150 astronomically observed events as the calendar precise to the day, tithi and nakshatra which pins down the sky constellation map. I know of NO history book which gives such precise timing of events.

Pres. Bill Clinton reportedly wondered: "What is Hindus' propaganda machinery which makes them assemble over 5 crore people for Kumbha mela at an appointed time and place?" He has to figure out. Every villager knows when the next Kumbha Mela is from her temple priest. Every village vegetable vendor knows the calendar; she/he brings pumpkins for sale on Amavasya day to be offered as prayers at road junctions. She also knows the specific dates of festivals.

When a married woman applies kumkum on her hair maang, she recollects the memory of her ancestor who practised this. Demonstrated from two terracotta toys unearthed by the French archaeologist Francois Jarrige from Nausharo.

Fig. 15-16. Nausharo (Pakistan): Terracotta female figures, painted. The yellow colour on
ornaments suggests that these were made of gold; the hair is black, while the red
on the medial partition-line of the hair indicates the use of vermilion. 2800-2600 BC. (Source: BB Lal's essayhttp://www.geocities.ws/ifihhome/articles/bbl002.html Why perpetuate myths?)

S. Kalyanaraman

Hinduism and Its Sense of History Hardcover – 24 Jun 2003by Sharma Arvind (Author)

Does Hinduism Lack a Sense of History? Thesis Re-examined

Arvind Sharma

DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195665314.003.0004

The preceding chapters were devoted to a consideration of the emergence of the view that the Hindus lacked a sense of history, its influence on Indian Studies, and the responses it evoked. This chapter now asks whether the proposition itself—independent of its origin, influence, and the response it has provoked—is valid or not. It argues that if one is looking for evidence to judge the presence or absence of historical sense among the Hindus, then the place to look for it are the epigraphic records left by the rulers. Stones and not parchment seems to have the medium of choice in ancient India. The two inscriptions examined are the Junagadh Inscription of Rudradāman (c. 150 AD) and the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta (c. 350 AD).

http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195665314.001.0001/acprof-9780195665314-chapter-4

The study of Hinduism for the past two centuries has been based on the view that the Hindus have lacked a sense of history. The evidence marshalled in this book renders this assumption, which has had far-reaching consequences, implausible. The book consists of four chapters, the first of which discusses the history of the notion that Hinduism has no sense of history. The second chapter considers the implications of such a view for Indian Studies. The third chapter addresses Hindu responses to the view that Hindus have no sense of history. The fourth and final chapter re-examines the thesis that Hinduism lacks a sense of history.

http://www.universitypressscholarship.com/search?isQuickSearch=true&pageSize=10&q=arvind+sharma&sort=relevance

Arvind Sharma re-examined his thesis in 2012: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195665314.001.0001/acprof-9780195665314-chapter-4

https://www.scribd.com/document/341032875/Does-Hinduism-Lack-a-Sense-of-History-Thesis-Reexamined-Arvind-Sharma-2012

https://www.scribd.com/document/341033270/Did-Hindus-Lack-a-Sense-of-History-Arvind-Sharma-2003

Did the Hindus Lack a Sense of History?

Arvind Sharma

Numen

Vol. 50, No. 2 (2003), pp. 190-227

Published by: Brill

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3270519

Page Count: 38

Does Hinduism Lack a Sense of History? Thesis Reexamined (Arvind Sharma 2012) by Srini Kalyanaraman on Scribd

Did Hindus Lack a Sense of History (Arvind Sharma 2003) by Srini Kalyanaraman on Scribd

The economic impact of colonialism -- Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson

March 5, 2017, 7:35 pm

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The economic impact of colonialism

Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson

Daron Acemoglu

Professor of Applied Economics, MIT

James Robinson

Professor, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

30 January 2017

The immense economic inequality we observe in the world today is the path-dependent outcome of a multitude of historical processes, one of the most important of which has been European colonialism. This column, taken from a recent Vox eBook, discusses how colonialism has shaped modern inequality in several fundamental, but heterogeneous, ways.

Editor's note: This column first appeared as a chapter in the Vox eBook, The Long Economic and Political Shadow of History, Volume 1, available to download here.

The immense economic inequality we observe in the world today didn’t happen overnight, or even in the past century. It is the path-dependent outcome of a multitude of historical processes, one of the most important of which has been European colonialism. Retracing our steps 500 years, or back to the verge of this colonial project, we see little inequality and small differences between poor and rich countries (perhaps a factor of four). Now the differences are a factor of more than 40, if we compare the richest to the poorest countries in the world. What role did colonialism play in this?

In our research with Simon Johnson we have shown that colonialism has shaped modern inequality in several fundamental, but heterogeneous, ways. In Europe the discovery of the Americas and the emergence of a mass colonial project, first in the Americas, and then, subsequently, in Asia and Africa, potentially helped to spur institutional and economic development, thus setting in motion some of the prerequisites for what was to become the industrial revolution (Acemoglu et al. 2005). But the way this worked was conditional on institutional differences within Europe. In places like Britain, where an early struggle against the monarchy had given parliament and society the upper hand, the discovery of the Americas led to the further empowerment of mercantile and industrial groups, who were able to benefit from the new economic opportunities that the Americas, and soon Asia, presented and to push for improved political and economic institutions. The consequence was economic growth. In other places, such as Spain, where the initial political institutions and balance of power were different, the outcome was different. The monarchy dominated society, trade and economic opportunities, and in consequence, political institutions became weaker and the economy declined. As Marx and Engels put it in the Communist Manifesto,

“The discovery of America, the rounding of the Cape, opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie.”

It did, but only in some circumstances. In others it led to a retardation of the bourgeoisie. In consequence colonialism drove economic development in some parts of Europe and retarded it in others.

Colonialism did not, however, merely impact the development of those societies that did the colonising. Most obviously, it also affected the societies that were colonised. In our research (Acemoglu et al. 2001, 2002) we showed that this, again, had heterogeneous effects. This is because colonialism ended up creating very distinct sorts of societies in different places. In particular, colonialism left very different institutional legacies in different parts of the world, with profoundly divergent consequences for economic development. The reason for this is not that the various European powers transplanted different sorts of institutions – so that North America succeeded due to an inheritance of British institutions, while Latin America failed because of its Spanish institutions. In fact, the evidence suggests that the intentions and strategies of distinct colonial powers were very similar (Acemoglu and Robinson 2012). The outcomes were very different because of variation in initial conditions in the colonies. For example, in Latin America, where there were dense populations of indigenous people, a colonial society could be created based on the exploitation of these people. In North America where no such populations existed, such a society was infeasible, even though the first British settlers tried to set it up. In response, early North American society went in a completely different direction: early colonising ventures, such as the Virginia Company, needed to attract Europeans and stop them running off into the open frontier and they needed to incentivise them to work and invest. The institutions that did this, such as political rights and access to land, were radically different even from the institutions in the colonising country. When British colonisers found Latin-American-like circumstances, for example in South Africa, Kenya or Zimbabwe, they were perfectly capable of and interested in setting up what we have called ‘extractive institutions’, based on the control of and the extraction of rents from indigenous peoples. In Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) we argue that extractive institutions, which strip the vast mass of the population of incentives or opportunities, are associated with poverty. It is also not a coincidence that such African societies are today as unequal as Latin American countries.

It wasn’t just the density of indigenous peoples that mattered for the type of society that formed. As we showed in Acemoglu et al. (2001), the disease environment facing potential European settlers was also important. Something that encouraged the colonisation of North America was the relatively benign disease environment that facilitated the strategy of creating institutions to guarantee European migration. Something that encouraged the creation of extractive institutions in West Africa was the fact that it was the ‘white man’s graveyard’, discouraging the creation of the type of ‘inclusive economic institutions’ which encouraged the settlement and development of North America. These inclusive institutions, in contrast to extractive institutions, did create incentives and opportunities for the vast mass of people.

Our focus on the disease environment as a source of variation in colonial societies was not because we considered this to be the only or even the main source of variation in the nature of such societies. It was for a particular scientific reason: we argued that the historical factors that influenced the disease environment for Europeans and therefore their propensity to migrate to a particular colony are not themselves a significant source of variation in economic development today. More technically, this meant that historical measures of European settler mortality could be used as an instrumental variable to estimate the causal effect of economic institutions on economic development (as measured by income per-capita). The main challenge to this approach is that factors which influenced European mortality historically may be persistent and can influence income today, perhaps via effects on health or contemporary life expectancy. There are several reasons why this is not likely to be true however. First, our measures of European mortality in the colonies are from 200 or so years ago, before the founding of modern medicine or the understanding of tropical diseases. Second, they are measures of mortality faced by Europeans with no immunity to tropical diseases, which is something very different from the mortality faced by indigenous people today, which is presumably what is relevant for current economic development in these countries. Just to check, we also showed that our results are robust to the controlling econometrically of various modern measures of health, such as malaria risk and life expectancy.

Thus, just as colonialism had heterogeneous effects on development within Europe, promoting it in places like Britain, but retarding it in Spain, so it also had very heterogeneous effects in the colonies. In some places, like North America, it created societies with far more inclusive institutions than in the colonising country itself and planted the seeds for the immense current prosperity of the region. In others, such as Latin America, Africa or South Asia, it created extractive institutions that led to very poor long-run development outcomes.

The fact that colonialism had positive effects on development in some contexts does not mean that it did not have devastating negative effects on indigenous populations and society. It did.

That colonialism in the early modern and modern periods had heterogeneous effects is made plausible by many other pieces of evidence. For example, Putnam (1994) proposed that it was the Norman conquest of the South of Italy that created the lack of ‘social capital’ in the region, the dearth of associational life that led to a society that lacked trust or the ability to cooperate. Yet the Normans also colonised England and that led to a society which gave birth to the industrial revolution. Thus Norman colonisation had heterogeneous effects too.

Colonialism mattered for development because it shaped the institutions of different societies. But many other things influenced these too, and, at least in the early modern and modern period, there were quite a few places that managed to avoid colonialism. These include China, Iran, Japan, Nepal and Thailand, amongst others, and there is a great deal of variation in development outcomes within these countries, not to mention the great variation within Europe itself. This raises the question of how important, quantitatively, European colonialism was, compared to other factors. Acemoglu et al. (2001) calculate that, according to their estimates, differences in economic institutions account for about two-thirds of the differences in income per-capita in the world. At the same time, Acemoglu et al. (2002) show that, on their own, historical settler mortality and indigenous population density in 1500 explain around 30% of the variation in economic institutions in the world today. If historical urbanisation in 1500, which can also explain variation in the nature of colonial societies, is added, this increases to over 50% of the variation. If this is right, then a third of income inequality in the world today can be explained by the varying impact of European colonialism on different societies. A big deal.

That colonialism shaped the historical institutions of colonies might be obviously plausible. For example, we know that, in Peru of the 1570s, the Spanish Viceroy Francisco de Toledo set up a huge system of forced labour to mine the silver of Potosí. But this system, the Potosí mita, was abolished in the 1820s, when Peru and Bolivia became independent. To claim that such an institution, or, more broadly, the institutions created by colonial powers all over the world, influence development today, is to make a claim about how colonialism influenced the political economy of these societies in a way which led these institutions to either directly persist, or to leave a path dependent legacy. The coerced labour of indigenous peoples lasted directly up until at least the 1952 Bolivian Revolution, when the system known as pongueaje was abolished. More generally, Acemoglu and Robinson (2012, Chapters 11 and 12) and Dell (2010) discuss many mechanisms via which this could have taken place.

Finally, it is worth observing that our empirical findings have important implications for alterative theories of comparative development. Some argue that geographical differences are dominant in explaining long-run patterns of development. In contradistinction, we showed that once the role of institutions is accounted for, geographical factors are not correlated with development outcomes. The fact that, for instance, there is a correlation between latitude and geography, is not indicative of a causal relationship. It is simply driven by the fact that European colonialism created a pattern of institutions that is correlated with latitude. Once this is controlled for, geographical variables play no causal role. Others argue that cultural differences are paramount in driving development. We found no role at all for cultural differences measured in several ways. First, the religious composition of different populations. Second, as we have emphasised, the identity of the colonial power. Third, the fraction of the population of a country of European descent. It is true, of course, that the United States and Canada filled up with Europeans, but in our argument this was an outcome of the fact that they had good institutions. It is not the numerical dominance of people of European descent today that drives development.

References

Acemoglu, D, S Johnson and J A Robinson (2001), “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation”, American Economic Review, 91, 1369-1401.

Acemoglu, D, S Johnson and J A Robinson (2002), “Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 1231-1294.

Acemoglu, D, S Johnson and J A Robinson (2005), “The Rise of Europe: Atlantic Trade, Institutional Change and Economic Growth”, American Economic Review, 95, 546-579.

Acemoglu, D and J Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail, New York: New York.

Dell, M (2010), “The Persistent Effects of Peru’s Mining Mita”, Econometrica, 78, 1863-1903.

Putnam, R H (with R Leonardi and R Y Nanetti ) (1994) Making Democracy Work, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

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http://voxeu.org/article/economic-impact-colonialism

NaMo, creative ideas for Bharatiya abhyudayam: cellphone as economic engine, to energize 1.5 bn people

March 5, 2017, 10:36 pm

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Creative ideas for Bharatiya abhyudayam: NaMo, one idea is to use the cellphone as the technological choice for quickening the pace of GDP growth.

I am thankful to Megh Kalyanasundaram for introducing me to a new VoxEU.org book (2017) of Centre for Economic Policy Research, London.

An excellent article in this book is by Joel Mokyr which I commend should be essential reading for all policy makers and students of all educational institutions of Bharatam. The ebook can be delivered through internet, to all 1.51  bilion cellphone users of Bharatam.

Joel Mokyr, 2017, The persistence of technological creativity and the Great Enrichment: Reflections on the“Rise of Europe.” in: The long economic and political shadow of history, Vol.1, pp.73 to 79 http://voxeu.org/system/files/epublication/Long%20Shadow_vol1_Jan17.pdf

Joel Mokyr cites Gibbon, in his historical account of ‘Great Enrichment’ with adoption of technologies as the engine of economic growth.. “Europe is now divided into twelve powerful,though unequal, kingdoms, three respectable commonwealths, and  a variety of smaller, though independent states…The abuses of tyranny are restraind by the mutual influence of fear and shame; republics have acquired order and stability; monarchies have imbibed he principles of freedom, or, at least, of moderation; and some sense of honour and justice is introduced into the most defective constitutions by the general manners of the times. In peace, the progress of knowledge and industry is accelerated by the emulation of so many active rivals…”

Interstate rivalry did many things…”The objection to this view is that fragmentation is not a sufficient condition. The Indian subcontinent and the Middle East were fragmented for much of their history, and Africa even more so, yet they did not experience a Great Enrichment. Clearly more was needed. One element of scientific and technological development that has perhaps not received as much attention as it should, is the size of the ‘market’ and intellectual and technological innovators faced.”

With these thoughts in Economic History of the last 500+ years (i.e. from 1500 CE), what lessons should Bharat learn to overcome the debilities created by the colonial exploitation and launch the nation of 1.28 billion people onto a framework of economic progress to take the nation to the status Bharat had in 1 CE contributing to about 33% of Global GDP?

The size of the market in Bharat is huge, not merely because the nation is endowed with the world’s youngest population (50% of 1.28 billion people are less than 25 years of age), but also because many educated Bharatiyas are IT-savvy and can cope with the new knowledge systems exemplified by the breakthrough in global communication systems through a technology called the cellphone.

As of Dec. 2016, the number of cellphones in Bharat was 1.15 billion (i.e. about 90% of Bharatiyas are cellphone users). It is not an uncommon sight to see a vegetable vendor even in a small town receiving a ‘missed call’ from her customer to ensure the supply of the day’s preferred grocery list.

How can Bharat leverage this ‘Great Enrichment’ potential of the cellphone to open up a world-wide market for the Bharatiya entrepreneurs? The weltanschauung of Bharatiyas are governed by a millennial tradition of ‘śreṇi’ (guild) as an economic institution. How can the cellphone communication network benefit these śreṇi to market their goods and services world-wide?

I suggest that NaMo should constitute a team of Bharatiyas to  suggest ideas for economic abhyudayam, ‘general welfare’ – leapfrogging to 10% annual growth from the present level of 7.1% growth rate) by coming up with a set of concrete economic ideas of governance in relation to this one technological opportunity: use of the cellphones as marketing instruments from all parts of the nation, from all users of cellphones of the nation.

I suggest that cellphone is an econmic engine, to energize 1.5 billion people to a higher level of economic activity.

S. Kalyanaraman

Sarasvati Research Center

March 6, 2017 

Indus Valley 'urban' tag contested (Full text Adaptation to variable environments, Northwest India)

March 6, 2017, 12:44 am

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Full text pdf http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/690112

https://www.scribd.com/document/341053192/Adaptation-to-Variable-Environments-Indus-Northwest-India-Petrie-et-al-Feb2017

| Monday , March 6 , 2017 |

Indus Valley 'urban' tag contested

G.S. Mudur

Excavations at Masudpur in Haryana, one of the many rural settlements of the Indus Valley civilisation. Picture courtesy: Cameron Petrie  New Delhi, March 5: Archaeologists have challenged the prevailing view that the Indus Valley civilisation was primarily an urban culture, nestled close to rivers, and vanished rapidly because of failing rains. Relying on excavations over the past decade, a team of Indian and British researchers has suggested the Indus civilisation's rural settlements have been under-appreciated, and that its people used multiple water sources and were resilient enough to adapt to the increasing aridity. They say their excavations indicate the Indus people harvested diverse crops, thrived in rural and urban settlements, and seemed prepared to respond to the rainfall decline that occurred between 2100BC and 1900BC and has long been linked to the civilisation's end. "Some chapters about the Indus civilisation need to be rewritten," said Ravindra Nath Singh, professor of archaeology at Banaras Hindu University who is collaborating with archaeologists from the University of Cambridge to examine the civilisation's rural sites in northwestern India. Almost all archaeologists agree that the Indus civilisation's largest settlements such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Ganweriwal, Rakhigarhi and Dholavira emerged around 2500BC and flourished up to 1900BC. But the cause and pace of the civilisation's decline has remained a puzzle. Many researchers have attributed it to weaker rainfall starting about 2100BC. The drier weather, according to this emerging view, led the Indus people to abandon their cities and move eastward into the fertile Gangetic plains. Some archaeologists have proposed that the failing rains merely hastened a decline that had already started. Ravindra Singh Bisht, former deputy director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India, who had directed excavations at Dholavira, says weakening trade with contemporary Mesopotamia around 2000 BC ruined the civilisation's economy. "The trade failure and the persistently failing rains may have both contributed to the end," said Bisht, who is not associated with the BHU-Cambridge study. "The Indus civilisation still poses mysteries. We still do not know who founded the civilisation or exactly how and why it ended. Some of these mysteries may remain as long as the script remains un-deciphered." The BHU-Cambridge researchers say the patterns of ancient settlements do not reveal an abrupt or massive migration of people between 2100BC and 1900 BC. Instead, they suggest that the transition from the Indus Valley to the Gangetic plains was slower and smoother than presumed. "The decline of the Indus cities appears not to have been a classic collapse, but was something that took time," Cameron Petrie, a South Asian archaeology specialist at Cambridge, told The Telegraph. "It may have (taken) up to 400 years. The dating is not precise and is a topic for future research." Singh and Petrie will later this month launch fresh excavations at Lohari-Ragho in Haryana's Hissar district, which preliminary excavations suggest had been inhabited from 3000BC to about 1500BC, to piece together a sharper timeline of events. "We've learnt from childhood that the Indus civilisation was an urban culture but it now appears that its cities were exceptions," Singh said. "There is evidence for more than 3,000 village settlements across the region. They did not have the large buildings and drainage and bricks seen in the Indus cities. There was diversity in the way of living." The Indus civilisation has long been portrayed as a riverine culture. But the archaeologists say that while cities like Mohenjodaro and Harappa were close to rivers, others such as Nausharo and Ghandi Umar Khan were in alluvial areas. Some sites in Sindh, Cholistan and Gujarat were in areas that were arid and lacked perennial rivers. In Haryana, for instance, the Ghaggar was dry during several months of the year. Rakhigarhi too is far from any major river. "Even with no river (nearby), the civilisation flourished there," Singh said. "We believe the people depended not just on rivers but also on water from wells and ponds and lakes that filled during the monsoon." The BHU-Cambridge team has published its review of the excavations, conducted since 2007, in the journal Current Anthropology. Its studies also indicate that the Indus civilisation's farmers had domesticated rice long before rice from China spawned the crop's cultivation across the Gangetic plains. The researchers say their studies show that the Indus people grew rice, millet and tropical pulses and had adapted to living in different environmental conditions even before the emergence of the Indus cities. "We have proposed that there was considerable variation in the ways the Indus populations accessed water... including direct rainfall, floodwater run-off, wells, pooling, and ponds," Petrie said. The diversity of crops and the multiple sources of water would have helped the Indus populations adapt to the rainfall decline. Petrie said: "We think some of the ideas about climate and civilisation collapse and culture change are too simplistic and need to be re-evaluated."

https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170306/jsp/nation/story_139226.jsp#.WL0b3vl97IV

Current Anthopology, Vol. 58, No. 1, Feb. 1, 2017

Adaptation to Variable Environments, Resilience to Climate Change: Investigating Land, Water and Settlement in Indus Northwest India

Cameron A. Petrie, Ravindra N. Singh, Jennifer Bates, Yama Dixit, Charly A. I. French, David A. Hodell, Penelope J. Jones, Carla Lancelotti, Frank Lynam, Sayantani Neogi, Arun K. Pandey, Danika Parikh, Vikas Pawar, David I. Redhouse, Dheerendra P. Singh
C. A. Petrie is Reader in South Asian and Iranian Archaeology, C. A. I. French is Professor in Geoarchaeology, P. J. Jones and D. Parikh are PhD students, and D. I. Redhouse is Computer Officer in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge (Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, United Kingdom [cap59@cam.ac.uk]). R. N. Singh is Professor in Archaeology and History of Science and Technology, A. K. Pandey is Draughtsman, and D. P. Singh is Research Assistant in the Archaeological Lab in the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology at Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi 221 005, India). J. Bates is Trevelyan Research Fellow at Selwyn College and Research Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeology, University of Cambridge (Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3ER, United Kingdom). Y. Dixit is Marie Curie PRESTIGE and LabexMER Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ifremer-Brittany Centre of Plouzané, France Laboratoire Environnements Sédimentaires (BP70 Ifremer-Brittany Centre, 29280 Plouzané, France). D. A. Hodell is Woodwardian Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge (Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, United Kingdom). C. Lancelotti is Postdoctoral Fellow in the CaSEs Research Group in the Department of Humanities at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (c/Trias-Fargas 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Spain). F. Lynam is Head of Interactive Development at Noho (46 South William Street, Dublin 2, DO2 EE02, Ireland). S. Neogi is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Cultural Studies and Archaeology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, and Research Associate at Murray Edwards College at the University of Cambridge (Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DF, United Kingdom). V. Pawar is Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak (Rohtak, 124001 Haryana, India).

Abstract

This paper explores the nature and dynamics of adaptation and resilience in the face of a diverse and varied environmental and ecological context using the case study of South Asia’s Indus Civilization (ca. 3000–1300 BC). Most early complex societies developed in regions where the climatic parameters faced by ancient subsistence farmers were varied but rain falls primarily in one season. In contrast, the Indus Civilization developed in a specific environmental context that spanned a very distinct environmental threshold, where winter and summer rainfall systems overlap. There is now evidence to show that this region was directly subject to climate change during the period when the Indus Civilization was at its height (ca. 2500–1900 BC). The Indus Civilization, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to understand how an ancient society coped with diverse and varied ecologies and change in the fundamental environmental parameters. This paper integrates research carried out as part of the Land, Water and Settlement project in northwest India between 2007 and 2014. Although coming from only one of the regions occupied by Indus populations, these data necessitate the reconsideration of several prevailing views about the Indus Civilization as a whole and invigorate discussion about human-environment interactions and their relationship to processes of cultural transformation.

Adapting to Variable Environments, Being Resilient to Changing Climates

Given the considerable importance of climate, climate change, and human/environment relationships in the present, it is perhaps no surprise that there is ongoing interest in the way that humans caused and/or responded to environmental and ecological change in the past (Barnes et al. 2013; Diamond 2005; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006). Unquestionably, there is much to learn from the past about the success or failure of adaptations to particular environments and ecological niches and the sustainability and resilience of responses to environmental pressures and climatic threats. Disentangling these dynamics is not, however, a straightforward process, and it is increasingly recognized that responses to environmental change are neither deterministic nor straightforward; particularly because environmental parameters, human behavior, and the interrelationship between these two elements are inherently complex (McAnany and Yoffee 2009; Miller, Moore, and Ryan 2011). This line of thinking recognizes that humans and the environment are neither independent nor simple variables; rather, they are both complex and interlinked in what has been described as both panarchy and a social-ecological system (SES) that witnesses cycles of resilience and adaptive change (e.g., Berkes, Colding, and Folke 2003; Gunderson and Hollig 2002). Leslie and McCabe (2013:116) have noted that while the concepts of resilience and adaptive change have been explored conceptually, empirical analysis remains rare, at least partly because resilience is difficult to measure in the context of complex socioecological systems. Archaeologists can play a unique role here as they are able to empirically investigate the before, during, and after of past instances of success or failure, thus furthering understanding of adaptation, resilience, and human response to climate change (cf. Mitchell 2008; Van de Noort 2011).

Although archaeologists recognize that human behavior is nuanced and varied, much of the debate about the impact of climate change on ancient civilizations has tended to be simplistic, both in terms of empirical approach and conceptual grounding. Debate has been dominated by numerous attempts to correlate global-scale climate records and the timing of local-scale cultural transformations that are visible in the archaeological record (e.g., deMenocal 2001; Haug et al. 2003; Staubwasser et al. 2003; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006), despite recognition that there is rarely direct evidence to link the two data sets (e.g., Aimers and Hodell 2011). As a result, inferences tend to be speculative and end up in “correlation equals causation” circularity. Furthermore, despite attempts to the contrary, there remains a fundamental disconnect between scientific approaches to understand global climate and the dynamics of climate change, on the one hand, and humanistic approaches to understand how human populations perceive climate and respond to climate change on the other (Barnes et al. 2013). Part of the problem is that archaeologists often uncritically look to distant climate data sets to interpret local cultural dynamics, while paleoclimatologists tend to uncritically look for cultural correlates to the climatic events that they observe (Aimers and Hodell 2011).

Archaeologists are now increasingly interested in understanding the ways that humans respond to change and the degree to which their societies and choices are sustainable and facilitate resilience (e.g., McAnany and Yoffee 2009; Miller, Moore, and Ryan 2011). This does, however, present significant empirical challenges as there is growing consensus that in order to properly comprehend human adaptation, sustainability, and resilience, it is essential to consider local climatic and environmental conditions (e.g., Aimers and Hodell 2011; Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014; Madella and Fuller 2006). In fact, it is arguable that an understanding of the local context is essential for establishing whether past human societies were willing, able, or, in fact, required to respond to global-scale pressures and potential threats.

Focusing on the local context also allows for nuanced exploration of the relationships between adaptation and resilience. While resilience can be viewed in terms of response to distinct step changes in climatic systems, behavior may already be adapted to ecological regimes that are intrinsically variable during single years and between years, which may make them predisposed to resilience. This fits neatly with what N. Miller (2011) has described as “predictable unpredictability,” where populations make use of subsistence and cultural strategies that are tailored to absorb and mitigate risk.

This paper will explore the nature and dynamics of adaptation and resilience in the face of a diverse and varied environmental and ecological context using the case study of South Asia’s Indus Civilization (ca. 3000–1300 BC), and although it will consider the Indus region as a whole, it will focus primarily on the plains of northwest India. Most early complex societies developed in regions where the climatic parameters faced by ancient subsistence farmers were varied but rain falls predominantly in one season. The Indus Civilization stands apart from other early complex societies for a number of reasons, but the significance and ramifications of the specific environmental context within which it evolved is not widely recognized outside of Indus research circles. Importantly, the geographical spread of the Indus Civilization spanned a very distinct environmental threshold, where winter and summer rainfall systems overlap and steep rainfall gradients are also evident. It, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to understand how an ancient society coped with both diverse and varied ecologies as well as change in the fundamental and underlying environmental parameters.

The Cultural and Environmental Context of the Indus Civilization

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The Indus Civilization was one of the great early complex societies of the Old World, and during its urban phase (ca. 2600–1900 BC), it spanned large parts of modern Pakistan and India (Agrawal 2007; Chakrabarti 1999; Fairservis 1967, 1971; Kenoyer 1998; Lal 1997; Marshall 1931; Possehl 2002; Sankalia 1962; Wheeler 1968; Wright 2010). The Indus Civilization has, however, been marginalized or excluded in much of the comparative literature on early complex societies, which is unfortunate, as it has much to contribute. For example, it has been argued that the Indus Civilization does not neatly conform to the prevailing models for early complex societies; for instance, the major Indus architectural structures that have been exposed do not match expectations of monumentality (e.g., Possehl 1998; although see Yoffee 2005:228–229). While there is a lack of consensus about Indus sociopolitical structure and organization (e.g., Kenoyer 1994; Possehl 1998; Wright 2010), this actually serves to emphasize that interpretation of socioeconomic structures can be challenging in the absence of texts that can be readily translated (e.g., Parpola 1994).

It is clear that following a protracted period of village-based settlement, the urban phase of the Indus Civilization developed on the plains of modern Pakistan and northwestern India (fig. 1A) during the mid-third millennium BC (∼4.6–4.5 ky BP). It has been claimed that during this phase, Indus settlements were distributed across an area of ca. 1 million km2concentrated around the river systems of northwest South Asia (Agrawal 2007:3; Possehl 2003:1). While this is an overestimation of the actual area occupied by Indus populations, our present understanding of settlement distribution suggests that the Indus Civilization was likely the most geographically extensive of all the early Old World civilizations (cf. Agrawal 2007; Possehl 2003; Wheeler 1968:4).

Figure 1. Distribution of urban-phase Indus settlements (including sites with Kulli and Sorath-Harappan material; A) and post-urban-phase Indus settlements (B) and their relationship to the distribution of mean annual rainfall recorded between 1900 and 2008.

Present knowledge indicates that there was a constellation of four or five particularly large Indus settlements, which are usually described as cities (Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Rakhigarhi, Dholavira, and possibly Ganweriwala; Kenoyer 2008:188; Petrie 2013:91). The inhabitants of these cities produced, used, and traded distinctive types of material culture, including painted pottery and figurines that were presumably made locally, and jewelry, standardized weights, and stamp seals that were made from raw materials typically obtained from medium- and long-range sources (the abundance of relevant specialist reports are reviewed recently in Wright 2010:148–166, 182–203; also Coningham and Young 2015:211–223). In a landscape dominated by rural settlements, Indus cities appear to have been the exception rather than the norm (Petrie 2013). The substantial distances between the major centers (at least 280 km) have been used to suggest that they each controlled vast hinterlands (e.g., Kenoyer 1997:54, 1998:50, table 3.1). It is, however, also probable that large and medium-sized settlements played an important and, perhaps, independent rather than subordinate role in both interactive processes and socioeconomic control structures (Petrie 2013:91, 94–95; Sinopoli 2015:322).

To some extent, the pattern of material evidence seen at the city-sites has also been observed at large, medium, and small settlements, and this has led to the suggestion that there was marked uniformity in some aspects of Indus material culture (e.g., seals, weights, script; Agrawal 2007:7; Chakrabarti 1999:179ff.; Kenoyer 2008:207; H. M.-L. Miller 2013; Wright 2010:23, 327, 334). While similarities between some cultural elements have been emphasized, variation in material and human behavior has been recognized for some time and is increasingly being acknowledged (e.g., Ajithprasad 2011; Joshi 1984; Meadow and Kenoyer 1997:139; Petrie 2013:91, 95; Possehl 1982, 1992, 2002; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010; Wright 2010:180ff.). This variation is particularly evident in subsistence practices (e.g., Vishnu-Mittre and Savithri 1982:215; Weber 1999; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010; Weber and Kashyap 2016; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010), settlement systems (Petrie 2013), and the production and use of particular categories of material culture, most notably figurines and ceramic vessels (e.g., Parikh and Petrie, forthcoming; Petrie 2013; Uesugi 2011).

It has long been recognized that there is considerable variation in climate, hydrology, and ecology across the extensive area in which Indus settlements are found (e.g., Agrawal and Sood 1982; Joshi 1984; Possehl 1982, 1992; also Chakrabarti 1999:153–160; Shinde et al. 2006; Wright 2010:166–170), but the specifics of this diversity and the degree to which it maps onto cultural variation has not been addressed in detail. Environmental factors undoubtedly placed specific constraints on cultural behavior and the choices open to the inhabitants of the various Indus regions, and it is arguable that comprehending the ways in which humans interacted with diverse and potentially changing environments over time and across space is critical for understanding the rise, floruit, and decline of Indus urbanism (cf. Agrawal and Sood 1982; Petrie 2013).

The underappreciation of the degree and implications of cultural and environmental variation across the Indus zone is particularly telling when it comes to explaining the decline and ultimate abandonment of the Indus urban centers. This process appears to have been accompanied by a reduction in settlement density in the western and central parts of the Indus zone and an increase in the number of village-sized settlements in its eastern reaches (i.e., Haryana/Punjab and Gujarat; fig. 1B). Indus urban decline has been referred to as a collapse or a transformation, and from the beginnings of research on the Indus Civilization, both natural and human factors have been invoked as likely causes (e.g., Allchin 1995; Marshall 1931; Possehl 1997a, 1997b; Ramaswamy 1968; Wright 2010). There is, however, no consensus as to which factors are the most significant, and there have been substantial gaps in the evidence that might enable us to assess the process as a whole. These gaps include a shortage of focused research on the socioeconomy of the posturban and subsequent periods, a lack of absolute dates, and little high-resolution climatic and environmental evidence directly from the region.

Given these limitations in the evidence, it is perhaps unsurprising that there has been no agreement about the significance of climate and climate change on the Indus Civilization. Some have argued that there is no conclusive evidence to show that there is any difference in annual rainfall patterns between 6000 BP and the present (e.g., Kenoyer 1997, 2008:186; Possehl 1997a), while others have posited climate change as the primary cause for the collapse and/or transformation of the Indus Civilization (e.g., Clift and Plumb 2008:205–210; Giosan et al. 2012; Shinde et al. 2006; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006). Within the diverse zone occupied by Indus populations, environmental factors related to hydrology were certainly important, and shifting/drying rivers and floods have long been proposed as major culprits. There have, for example, been extensive arguments made for and against the impact of flooding at Mohenjo-daro (e.g., for: Raikes 1965, 1968; Raikes and Dales 1977; against: Lambrick 1964, 1967). We also now have detailed reconstructions of river shifts in Sindh, which demonstrate the movement of the main Indus channel between 4000 and 2000 BC (e.g., Flam 1981, 1993, 1999, 2013; Jorgensen et al. 1993). Furthermore, remote sensing has suggested that settlement patterns in southern Punjab may have responded to the dynamics of the Beas River system (Wright and Hritz 2013). These reconstructions and other geomorphological investigations also provide insight into the other major topic of hydrological discussion, the impact of the drying of the Ghaggar/Hakra River, which is often equated with the “lost” Saraswati River (e.g., Clift et al. 2012; Danino 2010; Ghose, Kar, and Husain 1979; Giosan et al. 2012; Lal 2002; Mughal 1997; C. F. Oldham 1874, 1893; R. D. Oldham 1886; Shinde et al. 2006; Stein 1942; Valdiya 2002; Wilhelmy 1969; Yash Pal et al. 1980; also Flam 1999, 2013). In northwest India, connections between climate change and river shift have been mooted (e.g., Giosan et al. 2012), and it has also been posited that neotectonic processes have been a factor in reshaping hydrology (e.g., Puri and Verma 1998).

A number of separate archaeological projects have applied multidisciplinary analysis of environmental parameters impacting Indus populations, incorporating geology, geomorphology, and bioarchaeology (e.g., Sindh Archaeological Project: Flam 1981, 1993, 1999, 2013; Jorgensen et al. 1993; Mission Archéologique Française en Inde: Courty 1985, 1995; Courty, Goldberg, and Macphail 1989; Francfort 1985; Gentelle 1985; Harappa Archaeological Research Project: Amundson and Pendall 1991; Belcher and Belcher 2000; Meadow 1991; Weber 2003; Beas Landscape and Settlement Survey: Schuldenrein, Wright, and Khan 2007; Wright 2010; Wright, Bryson, and Schuldenrein 2008; Wright and Hritz 2013; Wright, Khan, and Schuldenrein 2002, 2005a, 2005b; Indus Project of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature: Rajaguru and Deo 2008; Shinde et al. 2008; Weber, Kashyap, and Mounce 2011). However, thus far, there have been only limited attempts to correlate and integrate the findings of these projects (e.g., Schuldenrein, Wright, and Khan 2007; Wright 2010: 25–44). There has also been only limited attention to proxy evidence for ancient climate that is proximate to the Indus zone and/or can be connected directly to the archaeological record.

Climate has long been considered an important parameter for understanding the Indus Civilization, starting from Marshall’s (1931:2; after Stein 1931) suggestion that there has been a significant decrease in rainfall since the Indus period. In querying this interpretation, Raikes and Dales (1961) highlighted the “importance of integrating all types of evidence and checking on the inferences drawn from them” (279). However, traditionally, there has been an underappreciation of the relationships between the environmental and cultural dynamics that were in action. As elsewhere, archaeologists considering the Indus case have tended to either under- or overemphasize the possible role of climate (e.g., Clift and Plumb 2008:205–210; Giosan et al. 2012; Kenoyer 1997, 2008:186; Possehl 1997a; Shinde et al. 2006; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006). Furthermore, when climate has been invoked as a critical driver of social change, there has been a reliance on distant climate proxy data sets for support (e.g., Giosan et al. 2012; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006), which is at least partly because of the lack of proximate proxy data that might inform us about its impact on the diverse local context. A range of climate proxy data is certainly available from various locations in the subcontinent, particularly from dry lakes in Rajasthan (e.g., Enzel et al. 1999; Prasad and Enzel 2006), and new proxy data sets continue to become available (e.g., Leipe et al. 2014; Prasad et al. 2014; Sarkar et al. 2015), but they are typically not proximate to the Indus zone. Unfortunately, the highest-resolution proxy data currently available comes from regions far outside the Indus zone that are characterized by different weather systems (e.g., Oman: Fleitmann et al. 2003; northeast India: Berkelhammer et al. 2012), while the more proximate data sets are either lacking in chronological precision or do not actually cover the critical period of the late-third and early second millennium BC (see Madella and Fuller 2006:1287ff., figs. 2, 9; Possehl 1999:259–263, fig. 3.112). Until recently, the most direct insights from within the Indus zone h

Figure 2. Distribution of urban-phase Indus settlements (A) and post-urban-phase Indus settlements (B) and their relationship to Global Köeppen-Geiger Climate Classification Zones.

While top-down approaches that rely on distant proxy data provide broadscale context, they do not provide the level of bottom-up local-scale detail necessary to evaluate the nature of regional dynamics across a large and ecologically varied expanse. Arguably, such resolution is essential for establishing the nuances of local climatic and environmental conditions and whether human societies of the past were willing, able, or even required to respond to pressures and threats.

Given that the Indus Civilization spanned a large and environmentally diverse area, it is unlikely that climate change would have had identical or even comparable effects in all regions. Similarly, hydrological shifts that may have been devastating in one area might have had no direct impact in others or may even have been beneficial. Furthermore, human behavior was likely already adapted to ecological regimes that are intrinsically variable between seasons and between years (see Wright 2010:25–44, 312–313, 315–319). Comprehension of the interrelationships between past climate and environment and human actions and reactions can result only from integrated approaches and collaborative research projects that seek to identify the interconnections between the archaeological evidence and the evidence for climatology, hydrology, sedimentology, and even ethnography, which are fundamentally interrelated but are too often treated as independent data sets.

This paper integrates research carried out as part of the Land, Water and Settlement project, which conducted collaborative work in northwest India between 2007 and 2014 (http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/rivers/). It reviews the evidence for environmental diversity in northwest South Asia, assesses the ramifications of recently obtained data on the ancient hydrology and climate of northwestern India, and presents new archaeological evidence relating to geomorphology, settlement dynamics, the use of material culture, and subsistence practices in this region. Although coming from one of several regions occupied by Indus populations, these data necessitate the reconsideration of many prevailing views about the Indus Civilization as a whole, and this paper aims to further invigorate discussion about human-environment interactions and their relationship to processes of cultural transformation.

Factors Influencing Environmental Diversity in Northwest South Asia

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As noted above, the area across which Indus Civilization populations lived spans an environmental threshold characterized by a zone of overlap between winter and summer rainfall systems and steep rainfall gradients for both systems. This particular location spans a range of distinct ecological zones, with modern Köppen-Geiger Climate Classifications (Kottek et al. 2006) ranging from areas of arid hot desert (BWh) to areas of arid hot steppe (BSh) and areas that are warm and temperate with dry winters and hot summers (Cwa; fig. 2A, 2B). An important consequence of this environmental context is that even without human interference, water is available from different sources at different times of the year, including winter rain (December–February), rain from the Indian summer monsoon (June–September), snowmelt from the Himalayas, and the surface and river runoff that results from all of the above.

The lack of systematic and localized paleoclimatic data means that it is not yet possible to fully reconstruct the distribution of rainfall at the time of the Indus Civilization (see below). To frame our understanding, however, it is instructive to look at modern rainfall patterns to gain some insight into the nature of rainfall variability across the same geographic region. Plotting annual rainfall averages calculated using global rainfall data for the period between 1900 and 2008 illustrates that over the past century, different areas in northwest South Asia received different amounts of rainfall during an average year, ranging from 0 to 1,000 mm (fig. 1A, 1B). In addition, there is also variation in the seasonal distribution of modern rainfall (figs. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B). The summer monsoon makes the dominant contribution to the average annual rainfall in many areas of the Indus zone, particularly those to the east, although a significant proportion of summer rain is lost through evapotranspiration. In contrast, the extensive areas of Punjab and Sindh that lie along the Indus and the rivers of Punjab receive rainfall in different intensities and at different times during the year. To further complicate matters, the historical record shows dramatic interannual fluctuations in the intensity of monsoon rainfall, with years of particularly heavy rainfall resulting in flooding and waterlogging interspersed with years of monsoon failure (Adamson and Nash 2013; Possehl 1999:286–287; Sarma 1976).

Figure 3. Distribution of urban-phase Indus settlements (A) and post-urban-phase Indus settlements (B) and their relationship to mean winter rainfall (1900–2008).

Figure 4. Distribution of urban-phase Indus settlements (A) and post-urban-phase Indus settlements (B) and their relationship to mean summer rainfall (1900–2008).

While this assessment of modern rainfall patterning is informative, it cannot be assumed that the seasonal rainfall fell in similar patterns in the past. On the basis of analysis of sediments at the mouth of the Indus River, Staubwasser and Weiss (2006) suggested that the mid-Holocene was characterized by high intra-annual rainfall variability in an increasingly arid climate, but we have little comprehension of the nature of this variability on the ground. Wright, Bryson, and Schuldenrein (2008) have used macrophysical climate modeling to make predictions about the intensity of summer and winter rainfall at Harappa between 14,000 BC and AD 2000. They modeled a protracted period of reduced rainfall between ca. 2100–1600 BC, which corresponds to the period of Indus urban deterioration and was attributed to a reduction in both winter and summer rain. Wright, Bryson, and Schuldenrein (2008) make it clear, however, that it is not feasible to extrapolate this record to other regions within the Indus zone (see also Balbo et al. 2014).

It is important to remember that beyond rainfall itself, an abundance of perennial and ephemeral rivers and streams redistribute water coming from the winter rains, snowmelt, and summer monsoon, and these all influence the hydrological systems of the Indus zone (Flam 1993, 1999, 2013; Jorgensen et al. 1993; Wright, Bryson, and Schuldenrein 2008). Furthermore, in addition to rainfall and hydrology, there is variation in the underlying geology, soils, and geomorphology, and similar degrees of variation invariably existed in these elements in the past (e.g., Belcher and Belcher 2000; Schuldenrein, Wright, and Khan 2007).

The available data thus indicate that the region inhabited by Indus populations was marked by considerable diversity in the distribution of winter and summer rainfall and variation in the quantity and intensity of rainfall in any one season in any one year. The Indus zone is thus “predictably unpredictable” in multiple ways. The variation in water supply combines with significant variation in hydrology and soils to create a broad zone comprising numerous ecological niches. All of these parameters enabled and/or constrained the types and range of subsistence practices that were possible and thus frame our understanding of Indus adaptation and resilience to climate change and the relationship of these factors to Indus urban decline.

Coping with Environmental Diversity

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Within the broader context of overlying environmental variability driven by climatic gradients, it is clear that Indus populations also occupied a diverse range of ecological niches or habitat zones. The Indus Civilization has long been regarded as riverine (e.g., Marshall 1931), and while many major Indus settlements were located close to rivers (e.g., Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal), others were located in intermontane valleys (e.g., Dabar Kot, Periano Ghundai) or on alluvial fans (e.g., Nausharo and Ghandi Umar Khan) at the margins or inside of what are today arid zones (sites in Sindh, Cholistan, and Gujarat), in areas that lack perennial rivers but are watered by monsoon rainfall (sites in Haryana and east Punjab), and even on islands (e.g., Dholavira; Petrie 2013; Petrie and Thomas 2012; Wright 2010:33–38).

It is notable that each of the Indus cities was supported by a different hydrological regime. Harappa, Ganweriwala, and Mohenjo-daro are in areas on the alluvial Indus plain that differ from each other in amounts of rainfall and proximity to major watercourses that provide water from both nonlocal rainfall and snowmelt in the Himalayas. Mohenjo-daro also has evidence for the extensive use of wells (Jansen 1993, 1994:270), and examples are also known from elsewhere, including Harappa (Kenoyer 2008) and Dholavira (Bisht 2005, n.d.:138–145). It is presumed that in each of these instances, the inhabitants exploited both river water and groundwater. In contrast, Rakhigarhi lies at some distance from known watercourses but is in the zone where both summer-monsoonal and, to a lesser extent, winter rainfall systems operate today. It has been proposed that Rakhigarhi lay on the course of a now extinct watercourse, which is often referred to as the Drishadvati (Nath 1998; Suraj Bhan 1975:95–101; Valdiya 2002). However, no evidence for this watercourse is visible today on the surface (Singh et al. 2010b), and analysis of the satellite imagery suggests that only small-scale watercourses are preserved in the subsurface (Mehdi et al. 2016, figs. 2, 10). It is not yet clear where the water used by the inhabitants of Rakhigarhi originated, though a combination of wells and ponds that collect monsoon runoff is a viable option (Petrie 2013). Dholavira is located in an area that today receives relatively limited rainfall but is close to two seasonal streams or runnels and has a system of dams that help channel water into a series of large stone-lined reservoirs and tanks, all of which presumably helped compensate for the unpredictable water supply (Bisht 2005, n.d.:138–169). Recognition of this diversity in settlement location and availability of water is essential for understanding both adaptations to different environments and responses to environmental challenges in the Indus context.

It has long been hypothesized that there was variation in the subsistence practices used by Indus populations (e.g., Chakrabarti 1988; Vishnu-Mittre and Savithri 1982), and this fits with the theme of coping with diverse environments. Although primarily speaking about Sindh and Baluchistan, Fairservis (1967:10, 42, 1971:169–172, 228–232) argued that Indus farmers were adapted to the diverse environments that they inhabited, particularly in terms of the adaptating practices to the available water resources. Speaking more broadly, Possehl (1982, 1992) and Joshi (1984) have both posited the existence of ecocultural domains. More recently, models have been proposed for helping to identify Harappan agroecological zones, and several distinct ecozones have been identified (Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010). However, robust evidence to support these suggestions is not widely available. For instance, Wright (2010) has pointed out that the archaeobotanical evidence that informs us about Indus populations is “uneven and dependent upon limited excavation” (170).

Indus agriculture is typically characterized as being dominated by the exploitation of a particular set of animals (primarily zebu, goat, sheep, and water buffalo) and a range of winter and summer crops (Meadow 1996; Weber 1999; Wright 2010:168–170). The exploitation of particular crops appears to have been variable, and it has often been argued that two broad zones can be differentiated, with the predominant use of winter crops (rabi—wheat, barley, pea, lentil, chickpea) in some areas and the predominant use of summer crops (kharif—millet, rice, tropical pulses) being evident in others (Fuller 2006, 2011; Fuller and Madella 2001; Kajale 1991:173; Madella and Fuller 2006; Meadow 1996:398–400; Pokharia, Kharakwal, and Srivastava 2014; Weber 1999:818–822, 2003:180–185; Weber and Kashyap 2016:9, 11, fig. 1; Weber, Kashyap, and Harriman 2010:36–37, fig. 1; Wright 2010:169–170). It is also asserted that there was an increased use of summer crops from the beginning of the second millennium BC onward, and Wright (2010:43) has suggested that this agricultural diversification may have been a response to ecological challenges.

Variation in practices is typically presented through comparison of Harappa in Punjab, which shows the predominant use of the winter cereals barley and wheat and the limited use of summer crops such as millets (Panicum) in what has been described as a complex multicropping system (Weber 2003:181), and Rojdi and Babar Kot in Gujarat, which show an almost complete focus on summer crops (e.g., Reddy 1997, 2003; Weber 1991, 1999:816–818; Weber and Kashyap 2016; Weber, Kashyap, and Harriman 2010; Wright 2010:169–170; see also García-Granero et al. 2016). Winter and summer crops have been reported from several sites in northwest India, including rice and millet from preurban/Early Harappan period contexts at Banawali, Balu, and Kunal (e.g., Saraswat 2002; Saraswat and Pokharia 2002, 2003; Saraswat et al. 2000). It has, however, been argued that these attestations should be discounted because of a lack of quantification in the final publications, and a lack of direct absolute dates (e.g., Fuller 2006:13, 16; 2011; see Petrie et al. 2016). Furthermore, winter and summer crops are also seen at Farmana in northwest India, though rice is not present in the stratified contexts, but the significance of this is difficult to interpret as only presence and absence information for macro- and microbotanical remains are provided, alongside summative figures for seed density and ubiquity (Kashyap and Weber 2013; Weber and Kashyap 2016; Weber, Kashyap, and Mounce 2011, tables 11.1, 11.2).

Given that we lack published quantified assemblages from most Indus sites where archaeobotanical analysis has been carried out, it is likely that interpretations based on contrasting Harappa and sites in Gujarat are too simplistic. The problems are partly related to coverage but also interpretation. For instance, as noted above, it has been argued that the cropping system at Harappa was a complex multicropping strategy (Weber 2003), which may have been a response to ecological challenges (Wright 2010:43). The published evidence that includes quantification (e.g., Weber 2003), however, suggests relatively restricted use of crops grown in the nondominant season. It could thus be argued that such low proportions of summer crops do not actually indicate extensive multicropping (Petrie and Bates, forthcoming; Petrie et al. 2016). Petrie and Bates (forthcoming) and Petrie et al. (2016) have, therefore, argued that while the archaeobotanical assemblages thus far published do demonstrate regional variation in subsistence practices (e.g., García-Granero, Lancelotti, and Madella 2015; Weber 1999, 2003; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010; Weber and Kashyap 2016), they have not (yet) provided convincing evidence from any single location for cropping in two seasons in anything approaching equivalent proportions (see below). They thus advocate the use of more precise terminology to characterize the variation that is observed (Petrie and Bates, forthcoming).

Although Indus populations may well have selected specific plant crops, the degree of variation in local environmental conditions, vegetation, rainfall, and water supply would invariably have necessitated specific adaptations to farming practices for successful farming in different regions. These adaptations would likely have included a range of approaches to water supply (cf. H. M.-L. Miller 2006, 2015; Petrie and Thomas 2012) and a spectrum of cropping strategies ranging between a heavy focus on winter or a heavy focus on summer crops, with the middle ground being made up of a nuanced array of strategies where different combinations of winter and summer crops were utilized according to local conditions and choices (Petrie and Bates, forthcoming; also Petrie 2013; see below).

It is clear that the degree of ecological diversity encompassed by the Indus Civilization and the variability of adaptation and response across that area is critical for understanding the developments of the Indus period. However, the diversity in socioecological systems can be characterized adequately only by detailed research in each of the relevant zones. This research has only recently begun to be carried out at a suitable resolution. In Pakistan, the most important contributions have come from the Sindh Archaeological Project (Flam 1993, 1999, 2013; Jorgensen et al. 1993) and the Beas Landscape and Settlement Survey (Schuldenrein, Wright, and Khan 2007; Wright 2010; Wright, Bryson, and Schuldenrein 2008; Wright and Hritz 2013; Wright, Khan, and Schuldenrein 2002, 2005a, 2005b), while in India, knowledge is advancing most overtly in Gujarat through the North Gujarat Archaeological Project (Balbo et al. 2014; García-Granero et al. 2016; Madella et al. 2010) and in Haryana/Punjab/north Rajasthan through the Land, Water and Settlement project and the earlier Mission Archéologique Française en Inde (Courty 1985, 1995; Courty, Goldberg, and Macphail 1989; Francfort 1985; Gentelle 1985). The evidence gathered by the Land, Water and Settlement project will be explored further below, covering five key areas: monsoon dynamics, the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra, monsoon flooding, settlement dynamics, and variation in material culture and subsistence.

Changes in Intensity of the Indian Summer Monsoon during the Holocene

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The significant environmental variability of the Indus region and the apparent flexibility of Indus populations in coping with this range of environments both form a critical backdrop to debates about the impacts of climate change. As noted above, until recently, however, debates about the impacts of climate change on Indus populations have been hampered by a lack of direct and proximate climate data. Proximate data is essential for establishing whether there was any local impact of globally detectable climate change on the plains of northwest South Asia during the Holocene.

New proxy records have been collected from within the Indus zone as part of the Land, Water and Settlement project, and these inform understanding of variation in the climate affecting Indus populations. The most relevant is the climate proxy record from Lake Kotla Dahar in southern Haryana (fig. 1A, 1B), which indicates that there were two distinct shifts in rainfall distribution and intensity during the mid-late Holocene that affected northwest India (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014). In the early Holocene, Kotla Dahar was a deep lake, implying regular and consistent rainfall input to offset evaporation, which given its location, would have been primarily monsoonal (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014). The first shift occurred at some point between ca. 4400 and 3760 BC (ca. 6400–5760 BP), when there was a decrease in monsoon rainfall and a progressive lowering of the lake level. This initial shift is roughly coincident with the evidence for change from Didwana (Zone D5) and Lunkaransar (Zone 3) lakes in Rajasthan, though there are no reliable dates for the transitions at either (Enzel et al. 1999; Madella and Fuller 2006; Prasad and Enzel 2006). The second of these changes is more directly relevant, as it shows Kotla Dahar becoming completely ephemeral ca. 2200–2000 BC (ca. 4100 ± 100 BP) as a result of an abrupt weakening of the monsoon (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014). This shift in the monsoon is visible as a 300 ± 100-year event in speleothem records in Oman (Fleitmann et al. 2003) and northeast India (Berkelhammer et al. 2012) and appears to match a change in levels of discharge from the Indus between ca. 4200 and 3600 BP (Staubwasser et al. 2003). The Kotla Dahar evidence indicates that the shift in the intensity and extent of monsoon rainfall specifically in northwest India was both dramatic and protracted, resulting in an ephemeral lake that continues to the present (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014).

The degree to which the data from Kotla Dahar might be extrapolated to other parts of the Indus zone is debatable, and the relationship between climate and culture change remains ambiguous. It is nonetheless tempting to highlight correlations. The weakening in monsoon strength ca. 2200–1900 BC appears to correlate broadly with both the maximum extent of occupation at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and the onset of Indus urban decline, though this was not a uniform process (e.g., Wright 2010:43). The chronological correlation between the data sets is, however, imprecise due to the limitations of radiocarbon dating techniques in terms of precision (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014; Staubwasser and Weiss 2006).

The Kotla Dahar proxy record suggests that climate must be formally considered as a contributing parameter in the process of Indus deurbanization, at least in the context of the plains of northwest India. This is, however, inevitably only part of the story, and it is the human response to this change in climate that is the critical element. For example, it has been suggested that decline in monsoon strength led to the diversification of the Indus crop assemblage through the adoption or intensified use of more summer crops such as millet and rice (Giosan et al. 2012; Madella and Fuller 2006; Wright 2010:321ff.). This reconstruction is perhaps overly simplistic, as it advocates the greater exploitation of summer crops at a time when the summer rainfall weakened, and it does not consider the different lengths of growing seasons required for millet and rice or the fact that each of these crops is suited to somewhat different ecological conditions. It has also been at least partly superseded by new evidence that gives fresh insight into the nature of environmental adaptation that Indus populations engaged in even before the development of urban centers (see below).

The Role of the Paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra River in Northwest India

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Alongside the considerations of climate and climate change, there has been considerable discussion of the role of the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra River in the origin, floruit, and transformation of the Indus Civilization. It is often suggested that this paleochannel provided an important source of water for Indus populations living in various areas (e.g., Danino 2010; Kenoyer 1997; Lal 2002; Mughal 1997; Tripathi et al. 2004; Valdiya 2002; Yash Pal et al. 1980). However, the lack of dates for the perennial flow of water in this paleochannel and the lack of clarity about the source of that water means that this claim is largely speculation.

Although traces of a paleochannel were observed on the ground in Rajasthan and Punjab in the nineteenth century, today it is primarily known thanks to a large linear feature visible on satellite imagery (Bhadra, Gupta, and Sharma 2009; Yash Pal et al. 1980). Analysis of sections exposed in wells and electrical resistivity surveys in various locations along the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra in northwest India have suggested that this feature was one or more large relict river channels (Saini et al. 2009; Sinha et al. 2013; Mehdi et al. 2016).

There have now been several attempts to date the flow of perennial water through these paleochannels, in both Pakistan and India. There is growing consensus that the major paleochannel ceased to be a perennial watercourse before the Holocene (Clift et al. 2012; Giosan et al. 2012; Lawler 2011:23; Saini et al. 2009). However, there is some evidence of water flowing through various channels during the mid-Holocene (Clift et al. 2012; Giosan et al. 2012; Maemoku et al. 2012; Saini et al. 2009; Shitaoka, Maemoku, and Nagatomo 2012) and ongoing debate about whether the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra was an earlier course of the modern Sutlej (Lawler 2011:23) or an earlier course of another river, perhaps the Yamuna (Clift et al. 2012).

Despite being visible on satellite imagery, the fact that a large river channel is not visible on the ground in many areas demonstrates that there has been a considerable alluviation in the channel since perennial flow ceased. The precise subsurface architecture of the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra and Punjab hydrological systems, the date at which particular channels carried perennial water, and the source of that water continue to be debated, but there is a real possibility that the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra did not carry water perennially during the Indus period. If this is true, it has profound implications for interpretations of the importance of this hydrological system for Indus populations, not least because it means that while water continued to flow through the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra seasonally, it was not a perennial river in the centuries before, during, or after the Indus Civilization.

Taken together, the new data stand in contrast to a range of historical attestations to the existence of a mighty perennial river along this course in northwest India (e.g., Chakrabarti and Saini 2009; Danino 2010). It is, however, important to point out that the extant documentary records are unlikely to conform neatly to modern distinctions between ephemeral and perennial water flow. What might have appeared as a mighty river in times of monsoon-induced spate may have been dry at other times of the year. If the water flow in the modern Ghaggar is any indication, rivers in this environment can be virtually empty for much of the year and full to overflowing during the monsoon.

Perhaps more importantly, the watercourse need not have been perennial to have been important for the ancient inhabitants. The new data suggest that the settlements along the course of the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra such as Kalibangan, Banawali, and Bhirrana were not sited to exploit a perennial river but to gain access to water via reliable annual monsoon runoff and overbank flooding. Water was undoubtedly exploited for different purposes when it was available and captured and stored for use at other times, and it is likely that the paleo-Ghaggar-Hakra was important during the Indus period for reasons that are quite different to those usually claimed. Overall, the likelihood that the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra was not a perennial river has important implications for the way in which Indus populations were adapted to a diverse and variable environment and the type of responses that were needed when that environment changed dramatically.

In addition to its implications for understanding Indus settlement systems in northwest India, the possibility that the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra did not carry perennial water is particularly significant for understanding the evidence for extensive Indus settlement in Pakistani Cholistan. Giosan et al. (2012) have suggested that “reliable monsoon rains were able to sustain perennial rivers earlier during the Holocene,” which “explains why Harappan settlements flourished along the entire Ghaggar-Hakra system without access to a glacier-fed river” (3). However, the monsoon is unlikely to have provided a sustained source of water throughout the year; instead it produces a charge between June and September to the hydrological system that may have otherwise been dormant. Rather than seeking to explain the Cholistan settlement concentration by proposing that summer monsoon rainfall is capable of supporting perennial river flow, an alternative possibility is presented by a critical reexamination of the dynamics of the Cholistan settlement system.

As published, the Cholistan survey data show that there were considerable numbers of sites occupied in the preurban, urban, and posturban Indus periods, each of which were up to five centuries in duration (Mughal 1997). As is true for many regions of the world, it is assumed that settlements were occupied for the entirety of each period. Unfortunately, we know very little about the lifeways of the people living in these settlements as no excavations have been published, and we have no robust data on local subsistence practices, geomorphology, or hydrology. We do know, however, that very small numbers of the Indus settlements were occupied in consecutive periods and that, in each period, settlements were concentrated in different parts of the survey area. Use of the Dewar algorithm (1991) to assess settlement contemporaneity in the Cholistan data has suggested there is a reasonable statistical likelihood that as few as 5%–10% of settlements may have been occupied contemporaneously during the preurban, urban, and posturban periods (Petrie and Lynam, forthcoming). In contrast, using the same algorithm to analyze the data from the Rakhigarhi Hinterland Survey from northwest India reveals a significantly high degree of contemporaneity of occupation at settlements during the preurban, urban, and posturban periods in that region (75%; Petrie and Lynam, forthcoming). These data suggest that it may be a mistake to assume that the large numbers of settlements recorded for each phase in Cholistan represent concentrated and dense settlement. Rather, Cholistan may have been characterized by an unstable settlement system with little continuity of occupation between periods at individual settlements, and only a subset of settlements may have been occupied at any one time.

While this suggestion is provocative, we currently lack the data to determine whether it is sound, and the river systems of Cholistan undoubtedly require further detailed investigation. Instability in the Cholistan settlement system may have been a product of the operation of a braided river system, which would have been susceptible to the frequent small-scale avulsions during the periods of flooding that occur during monsoon rains. Such an environment may have required settled populations to be relatively mobile in order to survive a constantly shifting hydrology, and there may have been high population mobility between settlement locales. Individual families or kin groups potentially spread their members between multiple settlements, and individuals or groups might have moved between settlements to access available water in times of shortage or stress. Such practices clearly have implications for our understanding of the degree to which Indus populations were adapted to a diverse environment and the sustainability and resilience of those adaptations.

Geomorphological Evidence for Monsoon-Induced Annual Flooding

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The recent data from Kotla Dahar and the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra are congruent with the results of systematic geomorphological analysis of the context of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India by the Land, Water and Settlement project. Analysis of soil and sediment samples taken adjacent to settlements lying in two areas along the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra in central Harayana (Burj, Bhirrana, and Banawali) and northern Rajasthan (Dabli-vas Chugta and Kalibangan) has shown that, during the Holocene, the lower-lying areas in the landscape were probably more or less continually subjected to the slow, low-energy seasonal deposition of overbank flood deposits composed of fine sand and silt (fig. 5A, 5B; French, Sulas, and Petrie 2014; Neogi 2013; Singh et al. 2010a, 2012). These sediments are composed of very fine micaceous sands and silts, suggesting low energy water transport, and were presumably deposited by runoff associated with monsoonal rains and riverine overbank flooding, which lead to the seasonal aggradation of alluvium (Giosan et al. 2012; Singh et al. 2010a, 2012). This reconstruction appears to correlate with Clift et al.’s (2012) reconstruction of the mid-late Holocene Sutlej and Yamuna River drainage and Flam’s (1993, 1999, 2013) analysis of sedimentation in Sindh.

Figure 5. A, Geoarchaeology at Masudpur I showing an alluvially thickened, organic sandy-silt-buried soil horizon situated beneath ca. 1 m of archaeological deposits. B, Close-up of a micromorphological slide taken from this section.

Today areas along and adjacent to the paleo-Ghaggar are subject to flooding and associated sedimentation during the monsoon. The new geomorphological evidence from the Land, Water and Settlement project suggests that this process has been active for some time and was undoubtedly important for Indus farmers in this region (French, Sulas, and Petrie 2014; Neogi 2013; Singh et al. 2010a, 2012). In turn, this has important implications for considerations of the impacts of climate change. The weakened summer monsoon in northwest India after ca. 2200 BC attested at Kotla Dahar would have resulted in, at minimum, a reduction in the intensity of that rainfall, which in turn will have decreased the amounts of annual overbank flood-induced sedimentation and erosion. Monsoon weakening will thus inevitably have had consequences for farmers relying on overbank flooding to water summer crops and the concomitant stored soil moisture essential for the establishment of winter wheat and barley.

Settlement Distribution Data

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To contextualize the new understanding of rainfall distribution, climate change, hydrology, and geomorphology in northwest India, the Land, Water and Settlement project has also carried out extensive investigation of the settled landscape of this region. There is a sizable body of evidence for the distribution of preurban, urban, and posturban Indus settlements throughout Pakistan and northwest India (e.g., Joshi, Bala, and Ram 1984; Kumar 2009; Possehl 1999). These data have been used to build models of long-term sociocultural change and highlight a potential shift of settlement toward the Ganges plains in the wake of the decline of the Indus urban centers (Giosan et al. 2012; Joshi, Bala, and Ram 1984; Madella and Fuller 2006).

The limitations of the core data set have, however, typically been overlooked. Detailed surveys in northwest India by the Land, Water and Settlement project have demonstrated that a significant proportion of these data are fundamentally unreliable. Both reconnaissance and detailed surveys have shown that there are significant errors in the published locations of many sites, highlighted that the knowledge of site distribution and density is dictated by the intensity and extent of previous surveys, and established that large numbers of sites of all periods have not been recorded (Pawar 2012; Singh et al. 2008, 2010b, 2011). These realizations have several important implications; for instance, it has frequently been stated that there is a close spatial correlation between the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra and the distribution of Indus settlements and that there is a profusion of Indus sites along this channel in the area to the east of Kalibangan (e.g., Danino 2010; Lal 2002; Valdiya 2002). The Rakhigarhi Hinterland Survey (Singh et al. 2010b) and Ghaggar Hinterland Survey (Singh et al. 2011) and compilations of other extant survey data (Kumar 2009) have revealed, however, that there are actually relatively few sites that lie directly along the course of the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra for much of its course across northwest India (fig. 6A, 6B).

Figure 6. Distribution of urban-phase Indus settlements (A) and post-urban-phase Indus settlements (B) in northwest India and their relationship to mean annual rainfall (1900–2008). Major Indus sites and sites investigated by the Land, Water and Settlement project are shown in white.

Despite its limitations, the extant survey data can be combined with the Land, Water and Settlement project results to show that urban and posturban Indus settlements were not specifically concentrated along any river channel but were, in fact, distributed across various parts of the plain. This distribution includes areas close to the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra, areas adjacent to ephemeral watercourses and areas that have no relationship to any visible water sources, including the desert margin in northwest India (fig. 6A, 6B; Petrie 2013; Singh et al. 2008, 2010b, 2011). Although there is no clear evidence for a large paleochannel in the vicinity of Rakhigarhi, the possibility that there is a subsurface channel in this area cannot be discounted, though its age and precise course—and, hence, its relationship to the ancient settlements—will only be reconstructed through a targeted study to this end.

While there is general consensus that there was an increase in settlement in northwest India in the posturban Late Harappan period, this conclusion is almost entirely based on inferences arising from the aforementioned unreliable survey data. Importantly, the Land, Water and Settlement project surveys have shown that there was no increase in the number of village-sized settlements in the central part of the plains during the posturban phase, which implies that there was no substantial increase in the local population in these areas (Singh et al. 2010b, 2011). This observation suggests that if the perceived intensification of village settlement in northwest India during the posturban/Late Harappan period is real, then it was concentrated elsewhere, most probably in the areas that are warm and temperate with dry winters and hot summers (Cwa) that lie along the Himalayan front and at the eastern edge of the plains (figs. 2B, 3B, 4B). Today these areas receive more than 300 mm of direct monsoon rain per annum (fig. 4B), which suggests that they are likely to have received some rainfall even during periods of weaker monsoon, though this remains to be demonstrated. The cultural processes that led to this pattern of settlement have still not been examined systematically, and additional areas in Haryana and the broad region along the Himalayan front in both Pakistani and Indian Punjab need to be surveyed if the nature of settlement distribution is to be properly understood. In particular, it needs to be determined whether and when specific habitats and environmental contexts were being selected preferentially.

This reassessment of the evidence for the distribution of settlements in northwest India suggests that the local Indus populations probably employed a range of approaches to land use, even before cities developed. Perhaps the key element is that for populations to have lived in such environmentally diverse areas, their agricultural systems must have been far more flexible and adaptive to local conditions than is usually acknowledged. In some areas of northwest India, rainfall may have been sufficient to grow crops without irrigation, while in others, various methods of low-cost irrigation or active water management (bunds, canals, etc.) may have been essential. It is thus likely that the ancient populations, in this area at least, made use of whatever water was available, whether it was from rainfall, runoff, and overbank flooding or water flow from streams and rivers (cf. H. M.-L. Miller 2006, 2015; Wright 2010:33–34). It is also likely that attempts were made to capture and store water in ponds and tanks and to access underground water using wells, as is prevalent among modern populations (Petrie 2013; Singh et al. 2008). Although canal-based irrigation is frequently dismissed as a contributing factor in Indus farming practices, Chakrabarti (1988, 1999:327) has long argued that it must have played a critical role (cf. Francfort 1992; Gentelle 1985, fig. 14). The identification of evidence for irrigation (or its lack) should be a priority of future research, and similarly, the role of ponds and tanks requires focused investigation, as both were potentially very significant during the Indus period.

The Material Culture and Subsistence Practices of Village-Based Early and Mature Harappan Populations in Northwest India

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Although there is clear evidence for the widespread use of a range of distinctive material culture items and practices during the urban phase of the Indus Civilization, it is arguable that the degree of material uniformity has been overstated (Petrie 2013). When excavations at Indus settlements are published, it is the typically classic Indus material (e.g., seals, beads, black-on-red decorated pottery) that is highlighted. However, a range of other cultural material is also recovered, and there are several instances where regionally distinct material, including decorated ceramic vessels and figurines, were produced and used locally. For example, excavations at the urban-phase site of Farmana in northwest India have shown that the population of this town-sized settlement predominantly used locally produced and distinctively decorated ceramic vessels (comprising 80% of the assemblage) and made relatively limited use of the more distinctive classic Indus ceramics well known from sites like Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan, Harappa, and Mohenjo-daro (Uesugi 2011:179ff.).

Excavations carried out as part of the Land, Water and Settlement project have deepened our comprehension of this regionality. At the smaller, village-sized sites of Masudpur I and VII (fig. 7), which lie within the hinterland of Rakhigarhi, only region-specific styles of pottery were used during the urban phase, and no classic Indus types were recovered from either the surface or the excavations (fig. 8; Parikh and Petrie, forthcoming; Petrie, Singh, and Singh 2009). Other types of characteristically Indus material were present, however, including various types of beads and bangles (fig. 9A, 9B), suggesting that the populations of these settlements remained connected to the interactive networks that linked Indus populations more broadly. This evidence for regional variation supports the suggestion that the widespread attestation of classic Indus material is actually a veneer that overlay a considerable degree of cultural diversity (Meadow and Kenoyer 1997:139; Petrie 2013).

Figure 7. Excavations being carried out in Trench XA1, Masudpur 1.

Figure 8. Classic Harappan ceramics from Farmana and local ceramics from Masudpur I and VII (after Uesugi 2009, figs. 6.126, 6.145, 6.161).

Figure 9. Indus material culture from Masudpur I and VII, including steatite, faience, and agate beads (A) and Indus-style ceramic bangles (B).

There is also evidence to suggest that a diverse crop assemblage and, thus, diverse subsistence practices were being used in northwest India well before the posturban period. The combined macro- and microscopic analysis of material from systematically recovered samples collected at Masudpur I and VII have revealed evidence for the exploitation of both summer and winter crops and, particularly, the preferential exploitation of millet (both Echinochloa cf. colona and Setaria cf. pumila), rice (Oryza), and a range of tropical pulses including mung bean (Vigna radiata), urad bean (Vigna mungo), and horsegram (Macrotyloma cf. uniflorum; fig. 10A, 10B; Bates 2016; Petrie and Bates, forthcoming; Petrie et al. 2016). This discovery confirms earlier indications that these crops were being used in this region (Saraswat and Pokharia 2002, 2003) but goes further by dating their exploitation using both relative material culture indicators and direct accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates to the Early, Mature, and Late Harappan phases (Petrie et al. 2016). Millet appears to have been the dominant crop in all phases at both sites, and rice is the second-most abundant crop at Masudpur I, appearing in higher quantities and proportions than either wheat or barley (Bates 2016; Petrie and Bates, forthcoming; Petrie et al. 2016, tables S2, S3). These new dates confirm that summer crops were being used alongside winter crops before, during, and after the existence of the Indus urban center at Rakhigarhi, which is different to what is seen at Farmana (Weber, Kashyap, and Mounce 2011).

Figure 10. Carbonized crop grains from Masudpur VII, including carbonized rice grains (Oryza; A) and carbonized millet grains (Echinochloa; B).

The excavations by the Land, Water and Settlement project thus confirm that there was diversity in material culture both between regions and between different types of Indus settlements within regions. They have also definitively demonstrated that different subsistence pathways involving combinations of winter and summer crops were used in different areas and that there was marked diversity in the crop assemblage within some regions before the Indus urban phase. They thus suggest that Indus populations in some regions were well adapted to living in diverse and changeable ecological and environmental conditions and were thus well placed to make sustainable and resilient decisions in the face of environmental change. The choices that Indus populations made in the face of such change all potentially revolve around the consolidation of the rural/agrarian baseline and include deurbanization (and decentralization), simplification of craft practices, population displacement, and widespread adoption of diverse approaches to subsistence.

Conclusions: Adaptation, Resilience, and Changing Perceptions of Indus Urban Decline

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There is much to learn from investigating the archaeology of human adaptation, resilience, and response to climatic and environmental change and the adaptive and resilience strategies that complex sociopolitical systems may have to engage in to survive. If we are to understand how humans coped with climate change, it is important to understand how they were adapted to particular environments and whether those adaptations enabled populations to be resilient in the face of episodes of climate change. For most ancient complex societies, water is a critical factor, and the availability of water and the way that it is managed and used provide critical insight into human adaptation and the suitability and resilience of subsistence practices.

This paper has outlined a wide range of new evidence that encourages the reconsideration of several aspects of the nature of the Indus Civilization, particularly the environmental and climatic context within which urbanism developed and, ultimately, declined. It is not yet possible to establish adequately how Indus populations responded to the change in rainfall patterns that affected the plains of northwestern South Asia ca. 2200–2100 BC. The evidence for climate change at a local scale indicates that there were clear changes to the patterns and intensity of summer rainfall in northwest India. Given the degree of environmental variation within the Indus zone and the range of adaptations to farming that were being used across it, it is likely that these changes in summer rainfall would have had a differential impact, with some regions feeling the change directly and perhaps acutely, while others would have been impacted indirectly, if at all. Ascertaining the nature of this differential impact is an obvious topic for future research.

The new archaeobotanical data produced by the Land, Water and Settlement project shows that models arguing that the collapse of Indus urbanism was caused by a shift in the summer monsoon (Staubwasser and Weiss 2006), which led to the diversification of the crop suite used, including the widespread adoption and/or more intensive exploitation of rice and millet (Giosan et al. 2012; Madella and Fuller 2006), are overly simplistic. They are also potentially paradoxical, as it was in northwest India that there appears to have been a reduction in the quantity of the summer rainfall needed to water these summer crops and potentially aid the growing of winter ones. Rather than being forced to intensify or diversify subsistence practices in response to climatic change, the evidence from Masudpur I and VII for the use of millet, rice, and tropical pulses in the preurban and urban phases suggests that local Indus populations were already adapted to living in varied and variable environmental conditions before the development of urban centers. These environments are today marked by differences in ecology and are subject to considerable variation in rainfall patterns during individual years and between years, and similar patterns might reasonably be expected for the past. This pattern of ecological diversity and variable rainfall reinforces suggestions that different strategies must already have been adopted in different areas in response to different ecologies (Petrie 2013; Singh and Petrie 2009; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010; Wright 2010). This variation in approaches to subsistence is also matched by a hitherto underemphasized diversity in the nuances of cultural practices that have been at least partly masked by the overt and widely used veneer of distinctive (or classic) elements of Indus material culture.

Based on the work conducted by the Land, Water and Settlement project, we argue that it is this fundamental diversity in behavior, particularly in the proportional exploitation of winter and summer crops, that may have made it possible for populations in some areas to adjust to the dramatic weakening in monsoon rainfall after ∼4200 BP/ca. 2200–2100 BC. We also argue that true insight into suitable strategies for surviving in variable environments that undergo change can come only by establishing the degree to which subsistence systems were adapted to local conditions and resilient to factors such as water stresses and the socioeconomic and political stresses that result from climate change. It will, however, only be possible to characterize the level of variation in subsistence practices across the Indus Civilization when evidence for the proportional exploitation of individual plant and animal species in a range of different regions is more widely available.

The impact of climate change on the populations of the Indus Civilization more broadly will inevitably also reflect the level and nature of interaction between the populations living in different regions. Looking at a global scale, it is clear that the patterns of impact and response to climate change were extremely variable (McAnany and Yoffee 2009; Miller, Moore, and Ryan 2011), and we should expect the same from Indus populations. Humans are unlikely to have been passive in the face of environmental change, and cities and civilizations did not simply disappear. Rather, populations adapt, adjust, move, die out, or thrive, depending on their circumstances.

In the Indus context, we know that the final phase of the urban period (the late Mature Harappan/Harappa 3C phase; ca. 2200–1900 BC) appears to be a phase of intensive interaction, at least in terms of networks of raw material acquisition and redistribution (Law 2011). It is also apparently the period in which Harappa was most densely occupied (Kenoyer 1991:57; 2005). It was, however, a period of transformation, such that by ca. 1900 BC, a very different socioeconomic and political structure is evident. On the basis of current data, it appears that in Sindh, the city at Mohenjo-daro was significantly depopulated during the final urban phase and there was a reduction in the intensity of settlement in the region generally (e.g., Joshi, Bala, and Ram 1984; Possehl 2002:212, 241, table 13.2). By ca. 1900 BC in Cholistan, the largest settlements were abandoned or reduced in size and almost all others were displaced (Mughal 1997:51–52), while in Punjab, major settlements, including Harappa, reduced in size (Kenoyer 2005, 2008; Wright 2010:310). Analysis of pathologies visible on skeletons from Cemeteries R37 and H at Harappa, which span this protracted period of transition, has revealed evidence for various infections and diseases, including leprosy and tuberculosis, which indicate deteriorating health (Robbins Schug and Blevins 2016; Robbins Schug et al. 2013a, 2013b). The response in Haryana and Gujarat is visible in the abandonment of large settlements and a focus on smaller town or village-sized settlements.

The review presented here highlights internal dynamics and frames them in relation to a changing climatic context, but we also know that other cultural dynamics were also at play within the Indus zone and the surrounding regions. These include the deterioration of trade through the Persian Gulf, the increased evidence for contact with the populations of inner Asia (e.g., Bactria Margiana Archaeological Complex, or BMAC), and the establishment of new settlements in borderland areas whose inhabitants used distinctive material culture (e.g., Pirak, Jarrige, and Santoni 1979; see Wright 2010:228–230, 308–325).

Precisely how all of these developments interrelate and, in turn, articulate with a weakening of the summer monsoon is as yet unclear, but it is possible that climate change introduced a degree of entropy into a very complex and interactive urbanized system, potentially creating unpredictable unpredictability. Large cities and high local population densities may have become unsustainable, but sustainability, resilience, and continuity may have been possible by embracing rural lifeways that saw the maintenance and dispersal of diverse approaches to substance. The need to respond to climate change is only one factor that might have influenced Indus cultural transformation and the adaptation of Indus substance practices to a range of ecological zones, and the resilience of these adaptations in the face of climatic and social change remain critical topics for future research.

Acknowledgments

The collaborative Land, Water and Settlement project laid the platform for the TwoRains project, which was awarded funding by the European Research Council in 2015 and will run until 2020. The Land, Water and Settlement project was primarily funded by a Standard Award from the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) under the title “From the Collapse of Harappan Urbanism to the Rise of the Great Early Historic Cities: Investigating the Cultural and Geographical Transformation of Northwest India between 2000 and 300 BC.” Smaller grants were also awarded by the British Academy’s Stein Arnold Fund, the Isaac Newton Trust, the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, and the Natural Environment Research Council. The PhD research of Sayantani Neogi was funded by UKIERI, and that of Jennifer Bates was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. We would like to thank a large number of individuals and institutions that have made this project possible. First, we thank A. Vaish, K. N. Srivastava, and Dr. G. S. Gupta (Director Generals, Archaeological Survey of India [ASI]), Dr. B. R. Mani (Additional Director General, ASI), and Dr. R. S. Fonia and Dr. S. P. Manik (Directors of Excavations and Explorations, ASI) for granting us permission to carry out the field research. The collaborative agreement on which this project is based was signed by Prof. P. Singh, Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and Dr. K. Pretty, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. We are also grateful to the current Vice Chancellors of BHU, Prof. D. P. Singh and Dr. L. Singh. We have been given abundant support by Prof. S. R. Dubey, former head of the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, BHU, and Prof. G. Barker, former head of the Division of Archaeology, University of Cambridge and Director of the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance, advice and hospitality of Prof. A. Singh (Rohtak University), Dr. N. Ahuja (Jawaharlal Nehru University), Prof. M. K. Jones (Cambridge), J. R. Knox (formerly of the British Museum), and, particularly, Dr. R. Tewari (Director General, ASI, former head of Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology), Dr. K. S. Saraswat (formerly of the Birbal Sahni Institute), and Dr. P. Joglekar (Deccan College, Pune), all of whom joined us in the field. We would also like to offer grateful thanks to Profs. R. Meadow, K. Thomas, and R. Wright and to Dr. E. Cork for reading early drafts of this paper and offering a range of helpful suggestions, correctives, and safety ropes that helped us keep focused. We would also like to thank Prof. M. Madella, who has been a constant source of advice and direct support in several instances. Last, we would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments and criticisms. These readers may not completely agree with the opinions expressed in the final paper, but their comments have hopefully made our arguments more robust and helped us make this a better and more rounded work.

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William R. Belcher

Division of Social Sciences, University of Hawai’i-West O’ahu, 91-1001 Farrington Highway Kapolei, Hawaii 96707, USA (belcher@hawaii.edu). 20 VII 16

Petrie et al.’s article, at first glance, appears to be related to climatic change and understanding subsistence and settlement variation within a small region of the Indus Valley Civilization. However, the authors conduct a vast synthesis concerning subsistence (primarily agriculture) variation, material culture, settlement pattern, and hydrological regimes during the third millennium BC. The key focus for this study is diversity and understanding how ancient peoples focused on adapting to a highly diverse and fluctuating environment, both in the short term of generations and the longer term of almost a thousand years of occupation in the region. The synthetic nature of this article is hinted at in relation to the project title, Land, Water and Settlement project; the research focus of this project now continues with the interdisciplinary work of the TwoRains project.

While climate studies related to ancient societies have been an important part of archaeological research, these studies have gained additional importance and a greater visibility within the field due to the political and social significance of understanding current and past climate change. Within the past 5 years, several studies have focused on the role of climate change and the decline of the Indus Valley Tradition (i.e., Giosan et al. 2012). This research looks at very large-scale global monsoonal models and applies these to a large, regional context such as the Indus Valley Civilization. While I disagree with some of the conclusions and applications of these large, global models, these studies have brought into the forefront the need for more regional research.

One of the most powerful aspects of this paper is its recognition of the amount of regional variation that exists in terms of rainfall patterns, hydrological patterns, and monsoonal cycles across the area that encompasses the almost 1 million sq. km that is thought to represent the expanse of the Indus Valley Civilization. The authors’ review of the amount of diversity in terms of settlement, material culture, and agricultural practices that exist across this landscape is key to our understanding these flexible socioecological adaptations. However, only a few sites possess the detailed information that allow for ecological and subsistence reconstruction. While most researchers recognize that there is diversity across this larger landscape, there is still the pervading myth of cultural homogeneity within the Indus Valley Civilization. By recognizing the more regional aspect of various characteristics of the Indus Valley Civilization, the authors are able to address a much richer landscape of socioecological adaptation, albeit for the specific region of Haryana/northern Punjab area.

This multidisciplinary project focuses on creating a localized model for the Haryana/northern Punjab region using geological, geomorphological, and archaeological data. By using specific regional data, the authors are filling out a detailed understanding of the environment for a specific region. This should set the stage and create a model for ecological research for future directions. This study allows us to understand the regional climatic changes that occurred in this area. However, Petrie et al. warn us not to extrapolate these data to the Indus region overall.

During the summary of data related to diverse hydrological patterns, there are two important points that should be emphasized here: the hydrology Ghaggar-Hakra River and the settlement pattern contemporaneity. Petrie and colleagues present data that suggest the Ghaggar-Hakra River was not a perennial source of water. Additionally, the density of settlements along the area, at least in terms of the Cholistan region in Pakistan, were probably not all occupied at the same time; in fact, Petrie et al. suggest that as few as 5%–10% of the settlements were contemporaneous. These two data sets suggest that many aspects of current presentations related to the role of this river system to the Indus Valley Civilizations are overly simplistic.

This article is data heavy and deserves a second or third reading to understand the implications of the research. Recognition of the diversity of the ecological and hydrological setting is the first step in beginning to understand the flexible adaptations that many of the regional aspects of the Indus Valley Civilization must have had. Petrie et al. state that some populations within this large regional civilization were well adapted to ecological change as reflected in subsistence strategies and water management, and thus we may need to rethink our understanding of what it means for this civilization’s “end.”

Heather M.-L. Miller

Anthropology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, Ontario L5L1C6, Canada (heather.miller@utoronto.ca). 1 VII 16

This paper makes a substantial contribution to the literature on complex societies and environmental effects, using the Indus Civilization case. The authors present both their own important new data and an invaluable summary of similar collaborative projects from elsewhere in the Indus world. They place these and other recent climatic studies in environmental and cultural context, employing approaches from both the sciences and the humanities. Indus researchers, those looking to use the Indus as a comparative case, and scholars interested in the relationship between environment and society broadly will all find this paper of great use, especially as Petri et al. have employed a clear, direct writing style.

Readers now expect the “but” explaining where I think this research went wrong. It is not coming. It is encouraging to see this presentation in a high-profile anthropology journal of the excellent work done by Indus scholars on the environment and climate change over the past few decades (and more). It is even better to see a publication emphasizing the importance of considering human adaptability and traditions when assessing the possible role of climatic change in social and cultural change, contributing this important anthropological perspective to current debates in several of the highest-profile general science journals.

I am particularly thankful to see that the authors stress the dual-rainfall nature of Indus climatic regimes, as well as the multiplicity of environmental contexts found within the borders of this expansive ancient society. Too many studies of ancient climate change for this region focus solely on changes in the monsoon summer rainfall system and ignore the winter rainfall regime. There is no question that the monsoon system is and was critical for this entire region, and especially so for the eastern areas within modern-day India, both for direct rainfall and for runoff or collected water supply. The winter rainfall regime seems to have also been critical for Indus agricultural systems, though, at the least for western Indus regions and the greater Indus River floodplains in Punjab and Sindh, and we lose a great part of the potential flexibility and adaptability of ancient (and modern) agricultural systems if we do not consider both systems, as the authors emphasize.

The authors highlight the importance of examining local conditions as well as large-scale ones; through this, they provide pathways from such large-scale climate reconstructions to an understanding of the role of human actions and reactions. For example, looking at the local sources and methods of agricultural water supply shows the complexity of water availability for Indus farmers, beyond a simple rainfall-based climate change model, as the authors note. Their discussion of the paleo-Ghaggar/Hakra hydraulic regime is a useful update, and I look forward to the forthcoming publication on the associated settlement patterns, particularly if they prove to be as significant as the reassessment of the patterns in northwest India (Singh et al. 2010b, 2011).

There is a common but significant oversight here, found in most discussions of the effects of climatic/environmental change on the history of the Indus Civilization as a tradition and as a complex society: the tendency to look at only agricultural crops, more specifically only at plant foods, ignoring the effects on animal and other plant production systems. (I am also guilty of this in the writings the authors cite, except for the weasely insertion of a line or a footnote indicating that animal food production is important but that I will not deal with it.) Since the early days of Indus archaeology and especially since the first environmentally inclusive archaeological projects of the 1970s and ’80s, researchers have noted that animal husbandry was a major part of Indus food production systems. Mixed agricultural economies were certainly an important part of Indus food production, with crop farmers also keeping animals, perhaps in significant numbers, as part of the well-known mixed economy benefits of animal and crop coproduction. But there must also have been pastoral communities at this time, communities more focused on animals than plants (e.g., Bhan 2011; Mallah 2011; Meadow 1996; Meadow and Patel 2003; Mughal 1997:59). Such communities could have followed a range of lifestyles, from seminomadic to primarily settled, including the opportunistic growing of fodder. What would be the effects of climate change on such animal-oriented communities? Were they even more dependent than farmers on rainfall for food production? What other strategies might they have had to deal with the “predictable unpredictability” of water and, therefore, fodder supply in these regions? Aside from Reddy (1997, 2003) and Chase and colleagues (Chase 2014; Chase et al. 2014) for Gujarat and Thomas (2003) for Bannu in the far northwest, few Indus researchers have modeled how such communities might have managed to feed their animals and how this relationship between plant and animal food production systems might have changed through time, although this may be part of the work of the North Gujarat Archaeological Project (Madella et al. 2010) or other projects noted by Petrie et al. Similarly, fish and other wild plant and animal foods would also be affected by climatic/environmental conditions; we know that fish were important for at least some Indus communities (Belcher 1998, 2003). Nonfood plant and animal products were likely critical aspects of Indus economic systems, particularly for fiber and cloth production, and climate-linked upsets in these production systems could have had devastating effects on exchange networks or tax/tribute systems required to sustain Indus social and political structures.

As always, there is still plenty of work to be done. This does not take away from the substantial contribution made by the researchers of the Land, Water and Settlement project and the other projects discussed in this paper. Their example here of how to assess the effects of climate change on plant-based agricultural systems, including an examination of existing methods of adaptation and resiliency already practiced in the Indus tradition, have laid the groundwork for approaches that can be applied to all of the other production systems described above. The authors are to be highly commended on the result.

Steven A. Weber

Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, 14204 Northeast Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, Washington 98686, USA (webersa@wsu.edu). 16 VII 16

First, the authors are to be commended for taking existing models regarding the unique nature of the diversity of Indus Civilization environment and building a more concrete understanding of the influence climate change had on agricultural practices and, subsequently, the evolution of this civilization. These are important issues where more data and more thorough discussions are needed. The paper’s strength lies in its addition of new data (mainly from Haryana) and its synthesis of existing arguments regarding agricultural diversity and the significance of climate change, especially as it relates to local environments. While these contributions are very valuable, the paper at times fails to adequately distinguish between which ideas are completely new and novel and which arguments are, in essence, extensions of existing debates. I strongly disagree with their conclusion that “robust evidence to support” the existence of ecocultural or agroecological domains is not available. The importance of understanding the diverse and varied ecologies of this civilization has been an accepted reality for some time as is the argument that the “proportional exploitation of winter and summer crops” may have made it possible for populations in some areas to adjust to climate change. The contention that the cultural and environmental variation across the Indus zone is underappreciated, especially when it comes to explaining the decline of the urban centers, is puzzling, as this is well recognized in the archaeological record. The argument that to understand cropping at any point in time in South Asia, due to its great regional environmental diversity, a local ecological approach was the soundest was among the several ideas incorporated into Osada Toshiki’s project Environmental Change and the Indus Civilization. This major project, supported by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN; 2004–2011), drew several similar conclusions to those that appear here in this paper and in other papers associated with the Land, Water and Settlement project. For example, the RIHN project discussed how climatic stress was experienced in different regions of the Indus Civilization in different ways; in some areas, the effects were much more extreme and made it difficult to produce the crops necessary to keep several large urban centers sustainable. One conclusion was that the civilization’s communities that were based on diverse multiseasonal cropping (including both summer and winter crops) with local processing and storage (often at the household level) were more adaptive to climate stress.

One minor concern I have with this paper is the extensive use or reference to forthcoming publications. This came up more than 15 times in the paper, and while I appreciate the difficulty in the pace in which material gets published, it means that the reader has to take the authors’ word for much of the new information without being able to judge its quality oneself.

Finally, I am excited to see the authors’ efforts at constructing a quantifiable and comparable archaeobotanical database. This type of approach, until recently, has been relatively rare for the Indus Civilization, although the need for such an approach is well understood and has slowly become accepted as the best approach (see Fuller and Weber 2006). Surprisingly, the article either misunderstands the results or challenges the value of the archaeobotanical data collected from Rojdi, Farmana, and Harappa. Summer crops were not only clearly evident at all three sites but were an important part of the agricultural strategy. Rojdi was one of the first large quantifiable archaeobotanical data sets collected in South Asia (Weber 1991). Evidence from the analysis of more than 14,000 seeds showed that summer crops remained prominent even after the decline of the monsoons. At Farmana, phytoliths, starches, and carbonized seeds were recovered and analyzed (Weber, Kashyap, and Mounce 2011), and some of this material was individually dated to secure its age. The material shows that while both summer and winter crops were in use throughout its occupation, the ubiquity and density of summer crops remained constant, while the winter crops declined during the Late Period. Published data and recently completed analysis indicate that summer crops were always important even during the mature occupation where they accounted for nearly 35% of the crops. Summer crop production never declined even with a decline in the monsoons.

The most interesting archaeobotanical data set, as well as the largest from any Indus site, is from the city of Harappa. Seeds have been individually dated from systematically collected samples, and presently more than 200,000 seeds have been analyzed. The database is completely quantifiable. Such a large number of seeds have taken many years to analyze, but the goal is to have the complete collection published and available by 2018. While the various occupations at Harappa (3300–1700 BC) show winter cropping as the most important, summer crops were being used throughout. During Period 3A (2600–2400 BC) and again in Periods 4/5 (1900–1700), summer crops increased in use according to measures of ubiquity, density, and frequency. Based on this data, I have argued that communities like Harappa made themselves sustainable during periods of climatic stress because they were capable of harvesting both summer and winter crops. Unlike other large Indus cities, Harappa was not abandoned in spite of indications of stress and decline.

In sum, we know a lot more about cropping and shifts in agricultural practices and adaptive abilities in different regions of the Indus Civilization than this paper acknowledges. Regional cropping variability due to ecological variation has been going on for a long time in South Asia and continues today. Climatic shifts need to be understood at the local level if we are to better comprehend the evolution of the Indus Civilization. It is only from sites where we have extensive horizontal exposures, with samples representing many distinct features such as floors, storage bins, trash areas, streets, drains, burials, and so on that we can begin to appreciate the relationship of plants to the rest of the material record and thus to cultural variability. Notwithstanding my caveats, the debate raised in this paper concerning climate change, diverse ecologies, and adaptability in the Indus Civilization is very welcome.

Rita P. Wright

Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, Rufus D. Smith Hall, 25 Waverly Place, New York, New York 10003, USA (rita.wright@nyu.edu). 28 VI 16

Petrie and his colleagues make an argument for the significance of climate change and diverse ecologies as factors in adaptability and resilience in the Indus Civilization. They also review the current results of their Land, Water and Settlement research that will fill in important gaps. While the authors appear to agree that cropping patterns and water systems influenced the growth and decline of the Indus Civilization, in spite of what they consider the poor quality of the current evidence, they fail to consider the diverse social organization that enabled regionally distinct communities to adapt differently when confronted with regional and global shifts in moisture systems.

True enough, we learn a lot about subsistence practices and ecological variability, but there is more to it than available foods and climate. Cropping, processing, and management of plants and water directly and indirectly reflect social processes and social organization. As examples of the ways in which they influence adaptability and resilience, I turn to good contextual data for cropping patterns at Rojdi and Harappa and water management systems at Dholavira.

Cropping Patterns, Diverse Ecologies, and Household Economies

Rojdi, a 12-ha agricultural community in Gujarat, and Harappa, a major center in the late and posturban phases of the Indus, provide contrasting adjustments to climate change. These results are based on excavated and stratified levels collected from primary, secondary, and tertiary contexts, some of which are accelerator mass spectrometry dated. Of specific relevance is the evidence for chaff and weed remains at both sites. Residues of chaff and weeds are indicative of the threshing, winnowing, grinding, and cleaning of grains (Weber 1996, 1999) in households. At Harappa, they are present only in the latest phases of occupation, when the average area of the site diminished. During the urban phases, the city’s agricultural production was based on large-scale, seasonally based cultivation in which the processing of crops took place in fields (Weber 1999, 2003:181) and is suggestive of a community or centralized organization. In distinction, the presence of chaff and weeds in households reflects a political and social reorganization that may have resulted from ecological stress due to climate changes. This pattern differed from the long-term settlement at Rojdi. Millet was a preferred crop, and this small-seeded and lower-yielding grain was well adapted to a farming community with a lower population than Harappa (Weber 2007, 2010). Although there were some changes in cropping patterns at Rojdi, the presence of chaff and weeds is consistent with household production. Both Harappa and Rojdi continued to be occupied after the critical 1900 BCE date invoked by Petrie and his colleagues. When the two settlements are compared, their ability to adapt to climate change differed. At Harappa, it was based on a shift from a complex social organization based on a centralized or communal agricultural system and a more sustainable and less complex social organization that was based in households. Unlike the major center at Mohenjo-daro, for example, Harappa continued to be occupied at least until 1700 BCE (Wright 2010). At Rojdi and neighboring settlements, farmers continued to be based on household production and the cultivation of millets until at least 1700 BCE and possibly later (Weber 1998, 2007; Weber, Barela, and Lehman 2010).

Water Management

The water source at Dholavira does not conform to the elaborate systems envisioned by a model focused on irrigation. Rainfall at Dholavira is exceedingly low, and the landscape is absent of a major river system.1 Better monsoon conditions existed at 3000 BCE, when the first settlers came to the region, but even then precipitation was marginal (Agrawal 2009). In spite of the challenges of low rainfall and a harsh environment, the city became one of the Indus’s major centers.

The first settlers at Dholavira built a modest water system in which they channeled the flow of an ancient runnel to provide potable water and what appears to be a still-water system (Scarborough 1993, 2003; Scarborough and Lucero 2010). Its construction at Dholavira is documented from the initial (preurban) period when it was cut into base rock for the storage of potable water. Very likely, a small group of knowledgeable farmers built and managed the timing and maintenance of the flow of water. Later in the urban period, rock-cut reservoirs and dams were constructed from nonlocal stones that were procured from a distance, when the system was expanded, perhaps due to a population influx and expansion of the city. The new system was massive. Many more reservoirs and dams were constructed that provided water for a variety of human needs, including drinking water at its highest reaches. As water cascaded through the terraced city of approximately 100 ha, it reached the lower levels of the city carrying potable and domestic water before being channeled to agricultural fields (Bisht 1994, 2005, 2009). The complexity of this system and the substantial labor force needed to construct and manage its flow could have been managed and monitored at each level by collective groups, as has been documented elsewhere by a more centralized bureaucracy in view of its complexity. The Dholavira data provide evidence for the significance of water storage and the contribution of small-scale producers at Indus’s major centers.

Though Dholavira’s reservoir system did break down, we know from my discussion of Rojdi that populations remained at sustainable levels in interior settlements after Dholavira was not longer inhabited. It was the dual presence of these very different agricultural strategies and the small-scale household production that contributed to the sustainability of settlement in Gujarat. As Weber and others have noted, these changes may be part of wider social process elsewhere (Fuller and Stevens 2012; Weber 1999, 2003). I look forward to the published results of the Land, Water and Settlement research and whether their results are consistent with ones documented at Dholavira, Rojdi, and Harappa.

Reply

C. A. Petrie

R. N. Singh

J. Bates

Y. Dixit

C. A. I. French

D. A. Hodell

P. J. Jones

C. Lancelotti

F. Lynam

S. Neogi

A. K. Pandey

D. Parikh

V. Pawar

D. I. Redhouse

D. P. Singh

We would like to thank our four colleagues for their comments, which in general are complimentary but also raise specific issues and/or points of criticism. As Miller recognizes, our paper sets out to speak to a broad audience. We set out to synthesize a range of evidence from the Indus case in a way that hopefully allows us to emphasize how it speaks to themes relevant to non-Indus as well as Indus scholars in both the sciences and humanities. We also stand by our aim to propel the Indus example into broader debates, particularly those related to adaptation and resilience.

All of the reviewers commend us for building on existing models of Indus environmental diversity to achieve a more concrete understanding of the influence climate change had on its agricultural practices and evolution. However, Weber, and to some degree Wright, suggest that we do not appropriately acknowledge previous scholarship, particularly that documenting agricultural and environmental diversity in the Indus context. We disagree with this and a number of associated suggestions.

Throughout our paper, we acknowledge that previous work has addressed related themes and cite as much of this research as is feasible, and we note Miller’s recognition that we highlight the range of “excellent work done by Indus scholars on the environment and climate.” However, we also make clear that there are important differences between our approach and results and those of previous work, both in terms of theoretical framework and the empirical approach of investigating one specific region in detail.

This leads us to respond to Weber’s particular claim that Toshiki Osada’s Environmental Change and the Indus Civilization project based at Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) drew several similar conclusions to those made by the Land, Water and Settlement project, especially as he refrains from citing any supporting references. Osada and colleagues have published a formidable array of papers and edited volumes on their work, and there is no question that the RIHN project has been extremely important for Indus archaeology in its investigation of sites in multiple regions. In many ways, the team’s key contribution has come via its collaborative excavations at settlement sites, including Girawad, Farmana, Madina, and Kanmer, and impressively, final publications of these excavations were available within 3 years of the completion of the fieldwork. It should, however, be acknowledged that, to date, there has been no synthetic presentation of its results, and the project’s discussion of environmental factors relevant to these sites is either preliminary or limited (e.g., Lancelotti and Madella 2010; Pokharia 2012; Rajagur and Deo 2008; Weber, Kashyap, and Mounce 2011). Further, the broader project outputs on climate and environmental change have either not been proximate (lake data from Nepal; Nakamura et al. 2016) or, in our opinion, adequately resolved (e.g., a relatively limited number of optically stimulated luminescence dates relating to river-shift investigations; Maemoku et al. 2012; Shitaoka, Maemoku, and Nagatomo 2012). We argue that far more proximate and nuanced analyses are required to provide a well-grounded palaeoclimatic framework for the Indus region as a whole, and more comprehensive analyses are required to resolve important questions about fluvial regimes.

The Land, Water and Settlement project has obtained proximate palaeoclimate data from Kotla Dahar (Dixit, Hodell, and Petrie 2014) and two other locations across northwest India (Dixit et al. 2014, 2015), and these records attest to considerable climatic variation in the eastern Indus region during the Holocene. We have also mapped modern climatic patterns in relation to Indus settlement distribution (fig. 2A, 2B), and our archaeological and archaeobotanical investigations at six separate settlement sites across this one region highlight the likelihood that there was considerable variation in ecological and human adaptation and response within this region in the past (Bates 2016; Petrie and Bates, forthcoming). In this regard, we note that both Belcher and Miller highlight the significance of the local nature and amount of regional variation that we discuss. We thus emphasize that our work has different objectives and outcomes to the RIHN project, and our conclusions about adaptation and resilience are both novel and robustly integrated.

We certainly do not suggest that there are no robust data on archaeobotanical or palaeoenvironmental change available, nor do we suggest that cultural and environmental variation across the Indus zone has not been recognized in the archaeological record. We do, however, highlight that some of the available data sets are either partial or incompletely published. We argue that the overall corpus of environmental evidence from the Indus zone that is published, including information about proportions of summer/winter cropping, is not yet detailed enough to constitute a robust basis for building appropriately nuanced models of agroecological diversity or to test their veracity. We also stress that there is likely to be considerably more variation than is currently recognized.

Leaving aside our work, well-resolved archaeobotanical information is typically available from one or a small number of archaeological sites in any one area across the Indus zone. The important data from Rojdi (Weber 1991, 1999), Babar Kot and Oriyo Timbo (Reddy 1997, 2003), and Harappa (e.g., Weber 1999, 2003) can tell us only so much about Gujarat and Punjab, respectively, as both are ecologically and hydrologically diverse regions. Such limitations make consideration of the impact of climate change even more challenging. Thus, while Wright (2010) and others have addressed the implications of climatic and agricultural variation for processes of deurbanization, we argue that we still lack enough fundamental data to ground those ideas and test the theories, and these limitations should be acknowledged.

In our view, the Land, Water and Settlement project presents an important contrast in approach, which has enabled us to demonstrate that northwest India in the Indus period is far more environmentally, agriculturally, and culturally diverse than has ever been previously acknowledged. We argue that this level of intraregional diversity has ramifications for our understanding of the Indus zone as a whole—as well as the extent to which the available data permit adequate modeling of socioecological systems, cultural diversity, and responses to climate change.

In a similar vein, we suggest that, overall, the Indus archaeobotanical evidence base remains as yet insufficient to resolve important patterns of social and economic organization. We concur with Wright’s assertion that archaeobotanical analysis offers extremely important insights into these issues, and she rightly points out the importance of evidence of chaff and weeds for gaining insight into agricultural labor organization and the agricultural economy. With respect to information about local conditions and their relationship to agricultural cropping and associated weeds, Weber’s (1992, 1999) detailed and comprehensive work at Rojdi and Reddy’s (1997, 2003) work at Babar Kot and Oriyo Timbo are exemplary and are published with raw data, facilitating detailed (re)analysis by others. However, the work at these and the Land, Water and Settlement sites are the exception rather than the norm. As Weber notes, the full assemblage from Harappa—without doubt, the most important Indus archaeobotanical assemblage from an urban site to date—is still under analysis. This includes the crop-processing and weed-ecology data that are essential for discussions of both the ecology and social organization of agricultural production. We firmly believe that when complete, the analysis of the full archaeobotanical data set from Harappa will revolutionize our understanding of many aspects of social and economic life at this major city and its hinterland and potentially force further reconsideration of the aspects of adaptation and resilience explored here. If we are to properly characterize agroecological diversity, far more data needs to be collated for each area, including consideration of local-scale soil and weed ecology, and we believe that the Land, Water and Settlement project has made considerable strides in this regard in northwest India (e.g., Bates 2016; Neogi 2013; Petrie and Bates, forthcoming).

We also fully concur with Wright’s point that there is more to understanding the Indus than available foods and climate. While our focus is on the relationships between environment and Indus society, we do emphasize the importance of recognizing human agency, human choice, and social processes in how Indus populations responded to diverse and changing environments. We also agree with Wright’s point that diverse social organization may have supported or shaped human adaptation to climatic shifts and discuss this in our reassessment of settlement patterns in Cholistan and through our evidence for cultural diversity in settlement location and the use of ceramic vessels in northwest India.

Wright makes another important point about the diverse nature of water management across the Indus zone, and this sits well with our view that water management is fundamental to understanding how Indus populations responded to a variable and changing climate. The range of approaches to water management practised within northwest India are fully in keeping with Wright’s points about the diversity of water management evident at Rojdi and Dholavira in Gujarat. We do reiterate, however, that there is a clear need to carry out further research into Indus water management practices as part of efforts to understand how Indus societies responded to varied and changing environments across the diverse setting that they occupied.

As Miller notes, many of the studies exploring ancient climate change consider proxies relevant to the summer rainfall system but overlook the dynamics of the winter rainfall regime. H. M.-L. Miller (2006, 2015) has previously emphasized the important role of summer rains for winter cropping but also the critical role of the ancient winter rainfall regime, and her point about the need for information on this weather system is well made. Clarity in this regard will come only from palaeoclimate data sets obtained from Pakistani and Indian Punjab, which must be an objective for future research.

Miller also rightly draws attention to the impact of climate change on nonfood crops, animal husbandry, and pastoral communities. Reduced availability of water is likely to have affected the growing of fiber and oil products, including linseed/flax, mustard, and sesame, particularly as cotton and flax are both thirsty crops. Further attention to both the role of nonfood crops in Indus economies—and how they may have been affected by environmental changes—is another clear avenue for future research, as Miller suggests. The Land, Water and Settlement project has considered animal exploitation, but this research is still ongoing and incorporates a spectrum of archaeozoological and isotopic analyses, including analysis of carbon, oxygen, and strontium in tooth enamel carbonate to investigate animal diet and mobility. This research will complement the work on pastoralism mentioned by Miller and contribute to an expansion of knowledge about Indus animal economies, facilitating their integration into discussions of agroecological and economic diversity, adaptation, and resilience.

Weber neatly encapsulates our core contention by reiterating that environment and climate need to be understood at the local level if we are to better comprehend the evolution of the Indus Civilization. Bottom-up approaches that focus on local-scale data relevant for understanding climate and environment are seeing increasing archaeological application, and the need for such evidence to support modeling of human responses to climate change is a key point of our paper. More detailed, multiproxy studies across more parts of the greater Indus zone are needed if we are to reach the stage of being able to compare and contrast responses across different social and ecological Indus settings. Our excavations in northwest India have thus far been limited, but we have excellent stratigraphic and chronological control, and our operations have been widespread in terms of geographical scale. Our work thus creates an opportunity to start understanding variation across an individual region. However, as Miller rightly notes, “there is still plenty of work to be done,” and we suggest that further research will increase emphasis on the nature of ecological diversity and human responses to that diversity within each of the large-scale domains, or ecocultural regions, within the greater Indus region. We look forward to being part of that ongoing process through the TwoRains project.

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Notes

1. In a widely circulated video production of the archaeology at Dholivira, a narrator speaks of a river system. In publications, Bisht is explicit that the water drained off of a “runnel.”

© 2017 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved

Adaptation to Variable Environments Indus Northwest India (Petrie et al, Feb2017 by Srini Kalyanaraman on Scribd

Keezhadi dig to continue

March 6, 2017, 1:38 am

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Published: March 1, 2017 12:30 IST | Updated: February 28, 2017 14:22 IST

TAMIL NADU

Keezhadi dig to continue

BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT An aerial view of the excavation.

ON February 20, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) granted permission in writing to its Superintending Archaeologist, K. Amarnath Ramakrishna, of the Excavation Branch-VI in Bengaluru to continue the excavation at Keezhadi, about 13 kilometres from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, where previous excavations yielded artefacts and other evidence that point to it being a Tamil Sangam age site. The letter was from Jitendra Nath, Director (Exploration and Excavation), ASI, New Delhi, conveying the permission of Rakesh Tewari, ASI Director General, for the third season of excavation up to September 30. Ramakrishna is confident of resuming the excavation by March 15 after signing an agreement with the landowners to dig quadrants on their land.

In November 2016, the ASI top brass told Ramakrishna that the licence for the third season was conditional on receiving a report from him on the excavation so far. Tewari told Frontline on November 25, 2016: “The licence for the third year will be given after the completion of the documentation of the excavation and the artefacts [found at Keezhadi] during the first two years. Otherwise, the report never comes” (‘More excavation only after report’, Frontline, January 20, 2017).

When this reporter contacted Tewari on January 8, the ASI Director General said Ramakrishna had submitted only “brief” and “sketchy” reports about the first two years. Permission would be given to him after he wrote “a detailed report”, the Director-General said. Ramakrishna later said he had submitted a detailed interim report on February 9 to the Director-General on the excavation.

Two seasons of excavation in 2015 and 2016 revealed massive brick structures, ring wells, drainage systems and furnaces dating to the second century BCE of the Tamil Sangam age. The excavation yielded 5,600 artefacts such as potsherds with Tamil Brahmi script, ivory ear-lobes, ivory dice, bi-conical gold beads, rouletted ware, russet-coated ware, white-coated black ware, beads made of semi-precious stones, big copper beads and terracotta figurines. In the lower depths were found iron implements such as axes, daggers, knives, forceps and black and red ware of the Iron Age.

Ramakrishna was sure that Keezhadi was “definitely a Tamil Sangam site” which was an “urban centre” and “a habitational site.” He added, “The discovery of iron implements proved at once that Keezhadi was an Iron Age settlement which evolved and continued into the Historic period. So this site is definitely a crucial site for Tamil Nadu to determine its cultural sequence.”

In September 2016, a controversy erupted over the decision to take the artefacts for further study to Bengaluru where the Excavation Branch-VI is situated. Kanimozhi Mathi, an advocate, filed a public interest petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court against the move and also pleaded that the trenches should not be closed. On November 24, 2016, Justices S. Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran of the Madurai Bench permitted ASI to shift the artefacts to its chemistry branch headquarters in Dehradun or any other laboratory in the country. The judges allowed ASI to close the trenches because the land had to be returned to its owners.

Archaeologists, academics, students and others were chagrined when Frontline reported that Ramakrishna would not receive permission for the third season until he wrote a detailed report on the first two seasons. The ASI top brass was also worried because the issue had become sub judice. Leaders of political parties took up the issue with Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Mahesh Sharma. Informed sources said Sharma played an important role in the grant of permission. However, the letter from Jitendra Nath said: “The annual interim report of the work done comprising relevant section drawings, stratigraphy, and important findings, with illustrations should be submitted immediately after the completion of the work to this office....” All antiquities unearthed at the site should be documented in the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA) 3D format, available at the website of NMMA, the letter said.

It insisted that the “excavation report after the conclusion of the excavation, as per the Wheeler Committee report, 1965, comprising the facts of the excavation, the plan of the site, its stratigraphy, the relationship of buildings and objects to the culture or cultures, a brief definition of these cultures in the light of the present knowledge and a precise account of the work done should also be submitted within six months....”

Meanwhile, the Accelerated Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating of two excavated charcoal samples from Keezhadi sent to Beta Analytic, Miami, Florida, USA, revealed that they belonged to circa 200 BCE. “This is a perfect date which corresponds with the Tamil Sangam age,” Ramakrishna said.

T.S. Subramanian
http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/keezhadi-dig-to-continue/article9563577.ece?homepage=true

Deep state vs.a perpetual state of chaos -- Philip Rucker, Robert Costa & Ashley Parker (WP)

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Inside Trump’s fury: The president rages at leaks, setbacks and accusations

President Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House with his grandchildren Joseph and Arabella Kushner, before departing for Florida on March 3. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

By Philip Rucker, Robert Costa and Ashley Parker March 5 at 8:18 PM 

President Trump spent the weekend at “the winter White House,” Mar-a-Lago, the secluded Florida castle where he is king. The sun sparkles off the glistening lawn and warms the russet clay Spanish tiles, and the steaks are cooked just how he likes them (well done). His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner — celebrated as calming influences on the tempestuous president — joined him. But they were helpless to contain his fury.

Trump was mad — steaming, raging mad.

Trump’s young presidency has existed in a perpetual state of chaos. The issue of Russia has distracted from what was meant to be his most triumphant moment: his address last Tuesday to a joint session of Congress. And now his latest unfounded accusation— that Barack Obama tapped Trump’s phones during last fall’s campaign — had been denied by the former president and doubted by both allies and fellow Republicans.

When Trump ran into Christopher Ruddy on the golf course and later at dinner Saturday, he vented to his friend. “This will be investigated,” Ruddy recalled Trump telling him. “It will all come out. I will be proven right.”

“He was pissed,” said Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax, a conservative media company.
Former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. on March 5 denied that President Trump’s 2016 campaign was wiretapped while senators of both parties weighed in on the allegations. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Trump enters week seven of his presidency the same as the six before it: enmeshed in controversy while struggling to make good on his campaign promises. At a time when White House staffers had sought to ride the momentum from Trump’s speech to Congress and begin advancing its agenda on Capitol Hill, the administration finds itself beset yet again by disorder and suspicion.

[Trump accuses Obama of ‘Nixon/Watergate’ wiretap — but offers no evidence]

At the center of the turmoil is an impatient president increasingly frustrated by his administration’s inability to erase the impression that his campaign was engaged with Russia, to stem leaks about both national security matters and internal discord and to implement any signature achievements.

This account of the administration’s tumultuous recent days is based on interviews with 17 top White House officials, members of Congress and friends of the president, many of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly.

Gnawing at Trump, according to one of his advisers, is the comparison between his early track record and that of Obama in 2009, when amid the Great Recession he enacted an economic stimulus bill and other big-ticket items.

Trump’s team is trying again to reboot this week, with the president expected to sign a new executive order Monday implementing an entry ban for some countries after the initial one was blocked in federal court. The administration also intends to introduce a legislative plan later in the week to repeal and replace Obama’s health-care law, officials said.

The rest of Trump’s legislative plan, from tax reform to infrastructure spending, is effectively on hold until Congress first tackles the Affordable Care Act.

White House legislative staffers concluded late last week that the administration was spinning in circles on the health-care plan, amid mounting criticism from conservatives that the administration was fumbling.

With Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on the road with Vice President Pence, a decision was made: Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, would become the point person, though officials insisted Price had not been sidelined.

[From order to disorder: How Trump’s immigration directive exposed GOP rifts]

On Friday, Mulvaney convened a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with top administration officials and senior staff of House and Senate leaders to hammer out the final details of the proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act.

“Mulvaney has been essential in helping us get health care over the finish line,” said Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director.

On Capitol Hill, Price is seen by some Republicans as more knowledgeable about health-care policy than Mulvaney, given his experience as a physician and his time as chairman of the House Budget Committee. But Mulvaney benefits from the close relationships he has forged with Trump’s top advisers and with the House’s conservative wing.

Trump, meanwhile, has been feeling besieged, believing that his presidency is being tormented in ways known and unknown by a group of Obama-aligned critics, federal bureaucrats and intelligence figures — not to mention the media, which he has called “the enemy of the American people.”

That angst over what many in the White House call the “deep state” is fomenting daily, fueled by rumors and tidbits picked up by Trump allies within the intelligence community and by unconfirmed allegations that have been made by right-wing commentators. The “deep state” is a phrase popular on the right for describing entrenched networks hostile to Trump.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), an advocate of improved relations between the United States and Russia, said he has told friends in the administration that Trump is being punished for clashing with the hawkish approach toward Russia that is shared by most Democrats and Republicans.

“Remember what Dwight Eisenhower told us: There is a military-industrial complex. That complex still exists and has a lot of power,” he said. “It’s everywhere, and it doesn’t like how Trump is handling Russia. Over and over again, in article after article, it rears its head.”

[Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’]

The president has been seething as he watches round-the-clock cable news coverage. Trump recently vented to an associate that Carter Page, a onetime Trump campaign adviser, keeps appearing on television even though he and Trump have no significant relationship.

Stories from Breitbart News, the incendiary conservative website, have been circulated at the White House’s highest levels in recent days, including one story where talk-radio host Mark Levin accused the Obama administration of mounting a “silent coup,” according to several officials.

Stephen K. Bannon, the White House chief strategist who once ran Breitbart, has spoken with Trump at length about his view that the “deep state” is a direct threat to his presidency.

Advisers pointed to Bannon’s frequent closed-door guidance on the topic and Trump’s agreement as a fundamental way of understanding the president’s behavior and his willingness to confront the intelligence community — and said that when Bannon spoke recently about the “deconstruction of the administrative state,” he was also alluding to his aim of rupturing the intelligence community and its influence on the U.S. national security and ­foreign policy consensus.

Bannon’s view is shared by some top Republicans.

“It’s not paranoia at all when it’s actually happening. It’s leak after leak after leak from the bureaucrats in the [intelligence community] and former Obama administration officials — and it’s very real,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “The White House is absolutely concerned and is trying to figure out a systemic way to address what’s happening.”

The mood at the White House on Tuesday night was different altogether — jubilant. Trump returned from the Capitol shortly before midnight to find his staff assembled in the residence cheering him. Finally, they all thought, they had seized control. The president had even laid off Twitter outbursts — a small victory for a staff often unable to drive a disciplined message.

“He nailed it, and he knew it,” said Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president.

[Trump gives his hard-line campaign promises a more moderate tone in address to Congress]

The merriment came to a sudden end on Wednesday night, when The Washington Post first reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with the Russian ambassador despite having said under oath at his Senate confirmation hearing that he had no contact with the Russians.

Inside the West Wing, Trump’s top aides were furious with the defenses of Sessions offered by the Justice Department’s public affairs division and felt blindsided that Sessions’s aides had not consulted the White House earlier in the process, according to one senior White House official.

The next morning, Trump exploded, according to White House officials. He headed to Newport News, Va., on Thursday for a splashy commander-in-chief moment. The president would trumpet his plan to grow military spending aboard the Navy’s sophisticated new aircraft carrier. But as Trump, sporting a bomber jacket and Navy cap, rallied sailors and shipbuilders, his message was overshadowed by Sessions.

Then, a few hours after Trump had publicly defended his attorney general and said he should not recuse himself from the Russia probe, Sessions called a news conference to announce just that — amounting to a public rebuke of the president.

Back at the White House on Friday morning, Trump summoned his senior aides into the Oval Office, where he simmered with rage, according to several White House officials. He upbraided them over Sessions’s decision to recuse himself, believing that Sessions had succumbed to pressure from the media and other critics instead of fighting with the full defenses of the White House.

In a huff, Trump departed for Mar-a-Lago, taking with him from his inner circle only his daughter and Kushner, who is a White House senior adviser. His top two aides, Chief of Staff ­Reince Priebus and Bannon, stayed behind in Washington.

[Upheaval is now standard operating procedure inside the White House]

As reporters began to hear about the Oval Office meeting, Priebus interrupted his Friday afternoon schedule to dedicate more than an hour to calling reporters off the record to deny that the outburst had actually happened, according to a senior White House official.

“Every time there’s a palace intrigue story or negative story about Reince, the whole West Wing shuts down,” the official said.

Ultimately, Priebus was unable to kill the story. He simply delayed the bad news, as reports of Trump dressing down his staff were published by numerous outlets Saturday.

Trouble for Trump continued to spiral over the weekend. Early Saturday, he surprised his staff by firing off four tweets accusing Obama of a “Nixon/Watergate” plot to tap his Trump Tower phones in the run-up to last fall’s election. Trump cited no evidence, and Obama’s spokesman denied any such wiretap was ordered.

That night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump had dinner with Sessions, Bannon, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly and White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, among others. They tried to put Trump in a better mood by going over their implementation plans for the travel ban, according to a White House official.

Local Politics Alerts

Breaking news about local government in D.C., Md., Va.

Trump was brighter Sunday morning as he read several newspapers, pleased that his allegations against Obama were the dominant story, the official said.

But he found reason to be mad again: Few Republicans were defending him on the Sunday political talk shows. Some Trump advisers and allies were especially disappointed in Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), who two days earlier had hitched a ride down to Florida with Trump on Air Force One.

Pressed by NBC’s Chuck Todd to explain Trump’s wiretapping claim, Rubio demurred.

“Look, I didn’t make the allegation,” he said. “I’m not the person that went out there and said it.”

Damian Paletta contributed to this report.

Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. He previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter.

  Follow @PhilipRucker

Robert Costa is a national political reporter at The Washington Post.

  Follow @costareports

Ashley Parker is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2017, after 11 years at The New York Times, where she covered the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns and Congress, among other things.

  Follow @ashleyrparker

6.3K Comments

Ilikethenats

8:04 PM GMT+0530

“Look, I didn’t make the allegation,” he said. “I’m not the person that went out there and said it.” 
 
Boy!! that is one passionate response to a question! I hope he's on my side if I ever get in trouble for doing something politically insane. How much longer are we going to have to put up with trump & his band of delirious supporters. This ceased being democracy & dissolving into anarchy.

LikeReplyShare

Christopher Kelly

8:04 PM GMT+0530

Surprise, With an Alt Left Owner Like Jeff Bezo's, it simply wouldn't do to just write a Story on Trump without smearing him, painting him as a loose canon. All the while covering for 8 long years the last dictator disaster as Presidential and God's Gift to the American People. As long as this paper is a tax write off for Bezo's it will attack President Trump.

LikeReplyShare

Darth Hader

8:04 PM GMT+0530

That Russian ambassador that just dropped dead in NYC a few weeks ago....Wonder what that guy knew....

LikeReplyShare

Liar in chief

8:04 PM GMT+0530

Trump is bat sh$t nuts, crazy, looneytoons. Impeachment now!

LikeReplyShare

http://tinyurl.com/gntyumm

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Yaska’s Nirukta and his reflections on language -- Avatans Kumar

March 7, 2017, 7:19 am

≫ Next: Memo for Rahul Gandhi. Go. -- Meghnad Desai

≪ Previous: Deep state vs.a perpetual state of chaos -- Philip Rucker, Robert Costa & Ashley Parker (WP)

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Yaska’s Nirukta and his reflections on language

Considering the depth and breadth of knowledge expressed through Yaska’s work, it is safe to say that Yaska is not only an etymologist par-excellence, he is also a semanticist and philosopher-grammarian.

Avatans Kumar @avatans

Indology | 07-03-2017

“The person, who is able to recite the Vedas, but does not understand its meaning is like a post (sthaanu), or a mere load-bearer (bhaarahaara); but he who understands the meaning will attain all good here and hereafter, being purged from sins by knowledge.” ~ Yaska

Introduction:

The history of the science of linguistics in India can be traced back to the age of the Vedas, some 3,500 (or more) years ago. The necessity of ensuring that no corruption or modification should creep into the Vedic texts (and language itself) led Indian scholars to discuss, debate, and put forward theories of language, and discourse. Some of the prominent among those early scholars were Panini, Yaska, Katyayana, Patanjali, Bhartrihari, Shaktayana, Gargya, Audambarayna, etc.

Yaska is known for his pioneering work in the science of etymology, the Nirukta. The exact date of Yaska’s existence in not known, but Saroop puts him at least a century earlier than Plato. Kapoor, on the other hand, puts him much earlier. “Indians have not been a biographical people and details of an individual’s life have not really mattered. What matters is the relative chronology of ideas” (Kapoor, 2010). Kapoor (2010) also mention a ‘meta-rule in Indian thought — “Not to mention Buddha is not to know Buddha and not to know Buddha is to have been born before Buddha.” It is important to note that neither Yaska, nor Panini mention Buddha, but Panini does quote Yaska. Based on this, Kapoor (2010) places him in the 9th century BCE, though he could have been much earlier.

Yaska is the first writer on etymology and he is the first scholar to treat it as an independent science. Nirukta, written by Yaska, is a commentary on Nighantu. Yaska himself compiled a list of classified ambiguous or opaque Vedic words, based on meaning, for his Nighantu. As such, many consider Nighantu as the earliest work in lexicography. Nirukta is also considered one of the six Vedangas. The Vedangas (literally, the ‘limbs of the Vedas’) are the ancillary disciplines, a prerequisite of sorts, for mastering/understanding of the Vedas. The six Vedangas include shiksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta(etymology), chhanda (meter), and jyotish (astronomy).

Indian Knowledge Tradition

The Vedas consist of eternal words and the mantras, out of which, it is believed an entire universe can be created. Vedic scholars believe that a universe of objective realities exists because humans can express it through language. Nothing exists without language. Every element, every object, every idea in this world exists because it can be expressed through a language (includes sounds, words). Rooted in this worldview, Vedic mantras were recited by the priests at the altar during rituals and ceremonies to produce desired results, say for example, rain. Since language was so central to the Vedic worldview, its purity, correct pronunciation, intonation, etc. was paramount in getting desired results. Despite the preeminence of the Vedas in the Indian Knowledge Tradition (IKT), there were fierce debates about the efficacy of the Vedic mantras itself. Yaska, in his Nirukta mentions Kautsa (another grammarian) who believed that Vedic mantras were meaningless. To counter Kautsa, Yaska asserts that Vedic texts cannot be studied in isolation. In order to get the meaning of the Vedic texts one has to study ‘with the system’, ‘in the system’. Besides a prerequisite of the six Vedangas, one must also understand the three basic concepts of the Vedas – (1) who the rishi(seer) is of the specific section (who is saying?), (2) to which devata the mantras are dedicated (for whom it is being said?), and (3) how is it set to meter or chhanda (how is it being said?). Considering the centrality of language in the IKT, it is no surprise that three of the six Vedangas (Shiksha, Vyakarana, and Nirukta) are directly related to the science of language.

Origin of Language

The question of the origin of language was hotly debate in the IKT. Yaska belonged to the school of Etymologists (Nairukt) whose primary belief was “all words are derived from original roots”. Though it may appear sometimes that Yaska believed in the Grammarians’ (Vaiyakaranas) viewpoint as he does accept the principle of onomatopoeia (Anukarana) as a phenomenon of language. But he seems to have taken the middle-path when he asserts that onomatopoeia is found only in the names of birds. The word dudumbhi is alternatively explained by Yaska as onomatopoeic – dudumbhir iti shabdanukaranam. Yaska often quotes Audambarayana’s extreme view in this regard where he had denied outright the role of onomatopoeia in the origin of language. Plato, on the other hand, considers onomatopoeia as the most important factor in the formation of language and finds a counterpart in India in Panini who too accepts this phenomenon. But Yaska, does not assign any significant role to onomatopoeia in the foundation of language. He remains a committed adherent of the root theory. Yaska believed that there are some words in the language that are formed by mere imitation of the sounds of nature, mostly birds. However, these words, he believed, can be derived otherwise as well.

Eternity of Words

In the IKT, both grammarians and philosophers alike, hotly debate the idea of the eternity of words. Katyayana, in a commentary on Panini, makes reference to two opposite schools of thought – Naityashabdika and Karyashabdika. It is to be noted that shabda in the IKT, refers to word, sound, and the language itself. Panini and Katyayana believed that words were eternal in nature. Audambarayana, as quoted by Yaska, held the contrary view where words were considered transitory in nature, that is, they last only so long as they are uttered – indriyanityam vachanaudambarayanah. But Yaska doubts the transitory nature of the words. He claims that it would be difficult to have a four-fold division of words (Vaikhari, Madhyama, Pashyanti, and Para) without considering them eternal. The Taittiriyas, the followers of the Taittiriya Pratishakhya, also seem to hold the same view that defines lopa as vinash or annihilation.

Parts of Speech

Pada, in Vajasneyi Pratishakhya, has been used to indicate meaningful sounds (arthaah padam). Panini describes pada as subant and tirang. Group of varnas has also been described as pada. Such definitions enable Yaska to use the term pada for his group of words listed in Nirukta. Yaska divides his group of words (padas) into four groups (chatvari padajatani namakhyate chopsargnipatashch) – (1)nama (noun), (2)akhyata (verb), (3)upasarga(preposition), and (4)nipat (particles).

1. Nama (Noun): Nama, according to Yaska, has ‘being’ (satva) as its fundamental notion. Yaska believed that nouns are derived from verbs (dhatuj/akhyataj). This assertion, however, wasn’t without controversy. Many grammarians, including Gargya, argued that if all nouns were derived from verbs, every person who performs a particular action should have the same name. Yaska presents several counter arguments to Gargya’s criticism. For example, Yaska says, everybody who cuts wood is not called a carpenter. Similarly, a carpenter performs many other actions besides cutting wood. Therefore, objects are named for one specific important action.
2. Akhyat (Verb): Yaska defines verbs as having bhava (becoming) its fundamental notion. It is the avastha, or the state, that is the determining factor between a noun and a verb. While verbs are sadhya, nouns are siddha. Yaska’s ‘becoming’ has both the notion of action and the notion of time. Yaska lists six modifications of verbs – (a) genesis, (b) existence, (c) alteration, (d) growth, (e) decay, and (f) destruction.
3. Upasarga (Preposition): Yaska defined Upsargas as words that bring into prominence the subordinate meaning of nouns and verbs. Sanskrit grammarians differed in whether or not upsargashad meaning of their own. Yaska believed upasargas did have meaning of their own. In Nirukta, he lists 20 upsargas with their meaning. They are aa, a, para, abhi, prati, ati, su, nir, dur, ni, ava, ut, sam, vi, apa, anu, api, upa, pari, adhi.
4. Nipat (Particles): The fourth parts of speech discussed in Nirukta is nipat (particles). Yaska says that particles occur in three senses – (1) comparative, (2) Conjunctive, and (3) expletive. Yaska gives a list of particles in each group, and explains their meanings. He even provides quotes from Vedic literature to illustrate their usages. There are several particles, but Yaska choses to list twenty-four of them. They are aha, a, it, iva, ima, u, ut, kam, kila, khalu, cha, chit, tvat, ha, nanu, nu, nunam, ma, na, sasvat, sim, ha, and hi.

Nighantu

Yaska’s Nirukta is the pre-eminent work on etymology. It is probably the first work on the subject and the first one to treat it as a separate scientific subject. Nirukta is listed as fourth of the six Vedangas in the Taittiriya Upanishad. Nirukta in itself is not an independent treatise. It is a commentary on Yaska’s earlier work Nighantu, which is a compilation of classified list of Vedic words.

Nighantu is organized in five chapters. Chapters 1-3 are called Naighantuka Kanda, which deals with synonyms, and contain 1,341 words. Chapter 4 is called Naigama Kanda and it contains homonyms. This chapter lists 278 words. The 5th chapter, the Daivata Kanda, deals with the names of deities. The Daivata Kanda has 151 words. Out of the three chapters of Naighantuka Kanda, the first deals with physical objects like earth, water and objects of nature like cloud, dawn, day, and night. The second chapter of the Naighantuka Kanda deals with human beings and its anatomy such as arms, limbs, fingers, as well as qualities associated with humans such as wealth, anger, etc. The third and final Naighantuka chapter deals with abstract qualities such as heaviness and lightness of objects.

Many scholars consider Nighantu as the earliest attempt at lexicography. Organization of chapters of Nighantu, at the very least, represents some sort of arrangement. However, it does not contain the exhaustive list of all Vedic words. It contains only problematic words – words that are ambiguous, opaque, or synonymous. Also, words are listed in the exact form in which they appear in the Vedic texts. A word may have a repeat entry if it has the same form but different meaning.

Nirukta

Nirukta is considered the oldest Indian treatise on etymology, philology, and semantics. However, Nirukta remains the pre-eminent work on etymology.  Yaska’s Nirukta is not only the first work on etymology, it is also the first work to treat etymology as a science. Yaska considers etymology as integral to the understanding and analysis of the Vedic texts and samhitas and as such a complement of grammar. Yaska goes so far as to claim that etymology is science, and it should be studied for its own sake, for the knowledge is commended, and ignorance is condemned (Chapter 1, 15-20).

Yaska considers dhatu, or root, as the primordial element of a word. Every word has a root as its origin. In tracing the root, Yaska follows three basic rules. First rule has to do with the laws of phonology. For example, it is easy to trace the origin of words such as pachak, and bodhfrom the root pach, and budh respectively. However, such phonological connections aren’t always easy to make. As his second rule, Yaska then goes on to suggest considering the meaning of the word and try to derive the root from some similarity of form. In the absence of any such similarity, he recommends considering even a letter or a syllable. Yaska also had the foresight to see the misuse of this rule by the amateurs. He emphasizes the importance of context. He warns that single words isolated from their context should not be thus derived. Finally, Yaska claims that that the roots should be derived in accordance with their meaning. “If their meanings are the same, their etymologies should be the same, if the meanings are different, the etymologies should be different.”

Nirukta has 12 chapters and Yaska deals with etymology proper starting with chapter 2, section 2. Chapter 1 (and part of chapter 2) of Nirukta deals with some very important theoretical aspects which gives us an insight into Yaska’s overall philosophical and linguistic approach. Those theoretical aspects can be grouped together as follows (Kapoor, 2010)

1. Primacy of meaning, importance of the knowledge, and the meaningfulness of the Vedic mantras.
2. Parts of speech.
3. The verb-root principle.
4. Language variation, its causes, forms, and effects.
5. Principles of Nirvachana (etymology).

Additionally, types of hymns and philosophy of gods is also discussed (in Daivata Kanda).

Nighantu Chapters	Categories Covered	Nirukta Chapters & Sections
Chapter 1, Naighantuka Kanda	Synonyms	Chapter 2
Chapter 2, Naighantuka Kanda	Synonyms	Chapter 3, sections 1-12
Chapter 3, Naighantuka Kanda	Synonyms	Chapter 3, sections 13-22
Chapter 4, Naigama Kanda	Homonyms	Chapters 4, 5, and 6
Chapter 5, Daivata Kanda	Names of deities	Chapters 7-12.

Table: Organization of Nighantu and Nirukta chapters.

Word entries in Nirukta follow a painstakingly elaborate process. This speaks volumes for the level of sophistication and understanding of the subject matter which cannot be mastered without the presence of a longstanding framework and tradition. For a typical Nirukta entry, Yaska takes a word, derives its verb-root, provides the meaning of the verb root, and then based on the verb-root meaning provides the meaning of the derived word. Further, Yaska illustrates the words with examples. In doing so, he cites the appropriate Vedic hymns. Additionally, he also provides social, historical, geographical, and philosophical information as well as explanation. When Yaska encounters a controversial (or a potentially controversial) word, in the true IKT tradition, he first provides purvapaksha (the counter opinion) followed by powerful arguments of his own against that opinion. Here is an example of a typical Nirukta entry (Nirukta, Chapter 2, section 5) (Saroop):

The word gauh, is a synonym for ‘earth’ (so called) because it goes very far, or people go ever it (root gam). Or it may be derived from (the root) ga with the suffix au (ga+au=gau). Moreover, it is a synonym of ‘an animal’ from the same root also. Further, in the latter meaning, there are Vedic passages where primary forms (of gauh) are used in a derivative sense: ‘Mix soma with milk’, i.e., (gauh is used in the sense) of milk. Matsarah means soma; it is derived from (the root) mand meaning to satisfy. Matsarah is a synonym of greed also: it makes man mad after wealth. Payas (milk) is derived from (the root) pa (to drink), or from pyay (to swell). Kshiram (milk) is derived from (the root) kshar (to flow), or it is derived from ghas (to consume) with the suffix ira, like ushira (root of a plant). ‘Milking soma they sit on a cow-skin’, i.e., (gauh is used in the sense) of cow-skin for sitting on. Amshuh (soma is so called because) no sooner than it goes in, it is agreeable, or it is agreeable for life. Charma (skin) is derived from (the root) char (to move) or (it is so called because) it is cut off (from the body). ‘Thou art girded round with skin and phlegm, be strong’, this (is said) in praise of a chariot. Moreover, it means tendon and phlegm: ‘Girt with tendon and phlegm, it flies when discharged’; this is in praise of an arrow. Bow-string is called gauh also: if it be gavya, it is the derivative form; if not (it is causal), i.e., it sets arrow in motion.

Conclusion

Considering the depth and breadth of knowledge expressed through Yaska’s work, it is safe to say that Yaska is not only an etymologist par-excellence, he is also a semanticist and philosopher-grammarian. Yaska’s reflections on language and language philosophy, and his work on Nighantu and Nirukta points to an intellectual endeavor unparalleled in any knowledge tradition of the world. Yaska was acutely aware of the dialectical and regional variations in the spoken language. Yaska had the awareness of the existence and the foresight of the possible existence of other modes of expression. But he gives the articulate speech primacy over the others. Yaska, through his treatise, is able to conclusively settle some of the old controversies (verb-root controversy) of his time. His was also the first known attempt at developing a method for the interpretation of texts.

References:

Kapoor, Kapil. Dimensions of Panini Grammar: the Indian Grammatical System. New Delhi, D.K. Printworld, 2005.

Sarup, Lakshman. Nighantu and the Nirukta, the Oldest Indian Treatise on Etymology, Philology, and Semantics. Sanskrit Text with an Appendix. 1927.

USCCollege. “Kapil Kapoor Saturday Keynote Speaker.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Nov. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=urj_cyh24Jk. Accessed 26 Feb. 2017.

http://indiafacts.org/yaskas-nirukta-reflections-language/

Memo for Rahul Gandhi. Go. -- Meghnad Desai

March 18, 2017, 6:32 pm

≫ Next: Kabristan for counterfeit secularism. NaMo demonetises Rs. 1k and Rs. 500 notes, also takes out fake political currency

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Out of my mind: Memo for Rahul Gandhi

You could do the best thing for the Congress and Indian politics now. Quit. Take a lifelong sabbatical from politics. Get a life.

Written by Meghnad Desai | Published:March 19, 2017 12:23 am

Rahul Gandhi

Now is the hour to swallow that poisoned chalice your mother proffered to you some years ago. It is time to admit that in a family which has for five generations made sacrifices for the country, one more, final sacrifice is needed.

One was never sure. When you entered politics back in 2004, I, like many others, was thrilled. You were self aware of the anomaly of your position. Your inherited rather than earned entitlement to leadership was uncomfortable for you. But I am sure the adulation of the hundreds of followers and a doting family soothed your doubts. You meant well. You wished to reform the party. You wanted to introduce primaries for selection of Congress candidates. You even held some primaries, but never enough to change the old order.

Then you seemed to have lost interest in that idea. In politics, you need persistence to change the way things are done. We thought you would grasp the nettle of office. I expected you to be given a portfolio in the first UPA government to prepare you to take over as prime minister before the the election of 2014. We waited but nothing happened. The nomination of Narendra Modi as the BJP’s leading campaigner must have delighted you. It was such an easy open goal, you must have thought. Yet you did not lead from the front.

The shock of defeat galvanised you. You have spoken more often and landed one or two effective blows, such as suit boot ki sarkar. But let us face it: you do not actually like politics. You do it because Mother expects. We all grow up to fulfil our parents’ wishes for our future. You had no choice.

Now I think you will agree that your future in politics is bleak. Next time around, the Congress may not even get 44 seats. Even if it gets a few more, it will sit in the Opposition. You look bored sitting in the Lok Sabha. I do not blame you. Do you really want to be there past your 50, waiting for some miraculous defeat of Modi?

You could do the best thing for the Congress and Indian politics now. Quit. Take a lifelong sabbatical from politics. Get a life. You are young enough to be able to do things you really want to do. Right now you have to get away from Delhi and fly off somewhere secret to pursue what you enjoy. We do not know but we can guess. You went away for 50 days and more after the defeat of 2014. The defeat of 2017 is much more decisive. Do not offer yourself false comfort about Manipur or Goa.

Punjab was not your doing. But it offers an answer. If you stay away and let regional leadership flourish, the Congress may yet survive. It is hard to admit but your absence may be the cure the Congress needs. People will flatter you and tell you it was not your fault that the Congress bombed in UP. Don’t believe them. Take responsibility. Resign from any leadership post permanently. Resign from even the primary membership of the Congress. Get the entire family to come out with you.

Don’t worry about the Congress. It has leaders who will flourish if you absent yourself. Give it a chance. GO.

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/memo-for-rahul-gandhi-4575351/

Kabristan for counterfeit secularism. NaMo demonetises Rs. 1k and Rs. 500 notes, also takes out fake political currency

March 18, 2017, 6:55 pm

≫ Next: Depressed by politics? Just let go -- Arthur C Brooks

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UP election results will herald a funeral of 'counterfeit' secularism in India

Tufail AhmadMar, 12 2017 15:50:18 IST

On Saturday, when the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election results were announced, I had argued in FirstpostDecode – the website's live election day coverage – that BJP's landslide victory will herald in the "funeral of secularism", whose practice in India can be described as "Muslim communalism". The Muslim voters now are well-aware that they are being used by political parties.

My co-panellists felt uneasy by this line of argument. One co-panellist wondered: "Is he trying to say that we should drop secularism from our constitution?" About the use of Muslim voters in the name of secularism, a second panellist said, "My sense is that the Muslim voter doesn't like this particularly, and doesn't respond to it."

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Trying to blame the campaign "messaging" by politicians, he said: "The Muslim voter in many states has decided not to be used." This attempt to shift blame from the Muslim voters, or their intellectuals, does not hold true.

The discussion led to another level of argument – that secularism has transformed into communalism, meaning it is a new phenomenon that can be blamed, presumably, on the BJP. This is not a new phenomenon, I argued, saying that Mahatma Gandhi supported the Khilafat Movement in the name of secularism. To which the second panellist retorted, "But at that time, the country seemed to be very supportive of it overall."

BJP workers carry a giant cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they celebrate the party’s victory in the UP. PTI

So, it seems that we have arrived at a new definition of secularism, as per which, if the entire country supports Muslim communalism – notably a purely Islamic phenomenon like the Khilafat Movement led by Islamic clerics – then that can be dubbed as secularism.

The only criterion of secularism in this conception is that the entire country must support it. This is the behavioural meaning of secularism in India, that is headed for a proper 'funeral' in coming decades.

There are two other meanings of secularism. One, as a movement of scientific ideas, secularism reduces the role of religion in the life of individuals and societies and helps them live a meaningful, rational and considered life. In this sense, secularism empowers the individual. Second, there is a constitutional meaning of secularism, as per which the state must maintain distance from religion. In both these meanings, you and I cannot have any disagreement.

However, it is the behavioural meaning of secularism that has emerged as a threat to Indian Muslims, and as a national security threat to India. In this meaning, the secular Hindu passes a law such as the Right to Education Act, saying that children aged 6-14 must be in proper schools but at the same time, exempts madrassas, effectively telling Muslims to go to madrassas and study the Quran. So, in essence, secular Hindus are telling Muslims that you are good in madrassas and subjects like mathematics and physics are reserved for Hindus.

Take another example of behavioural secularism. In 1986, a law was passed in Parliament whose sole purpose was to quash an order of the Supreme Court, which had granted alimony to a destitute Muslim woman, Shah Bano. This practice of secularism was, like the Khilafat Movement, meant to benefit Islam.

Take law and order for example. Kamlesh Tiwari is languishing in jail for criticising Prophet Muhammad, while police officers do not have the guts to arrest Islamic clerics that announce a reward of Rs 51 lakh rupees for beheading Tiwari in jail.

The communal policing in the name of secularism is dividing India along religious lines. At the behavioural level, secularism has made policing communal in the Indian society and, therefore, has emerged as a national security threat.

The counter-secularism forces have registered a decisive victory in UP and this trend is likely to continue through the 2019 elections and beyond. It is a movement of ideas that will ultimately lead to 'authentic' secularism in India, where every underprivileged Indian will receive benefits from the state, but not in the name of quota, secularism and religion.

In United States' politics, liberalism is considered a word of abuse. Similarly, the constant abuse of secularism in India, jointly by the Left-liberal forces and Islamic clerics, has made it a form of abuse. This form of abuse in language and practice is rooted in the history of the world. India's intellectual discourse was shaped and dominated by Western-educated editors and academics. Their viewpoint dominated India's masses over the past century. This viewpoint is essentially European in origin.

New Delhi: BJP workers play holi with a giant cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they celebrate the party’s victory in the UP and Uttarakhand Assembly elections, at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI Photo by Manvender Vashist(PTI3_11_2017_000219B)

Emerging from the first and second World Wars, the Western liberals and their Indian followers imposed a liberal-secular order of thinking that prioritised the blacks against whites in the West and Muslims against the Indian identity.

This class of Indians viewed nationalism in its European sense – in which nationalism was xenophobic, narrow and consequentially murderous, resulting in the killings of millions of people during the two world wars. Because the prevailing view of nationalism in India is European in its nature, India’s liberal intellectuals and editors deride Indian nationalism, encouraging in this process 'counterfeit' secularism that divides Muslims and Hindus, and separates Muslims from India's mainstream.

Speaking of such liberal intellectuals, English novelist George Orwell wrote in the preface to his Animal Farm: "One cannot expect intelligent criticism or even, in many cases, plain honesty from liberal writers and journalists who are under no direct pressure to falsify their own opinions."

This behavioural secularism in India – practised by this class of liberal-left academics, journalists and politicians for the past seven decades – has subordinated our policing to Muslimism, advanced legislation to suit Islamic clerics such as in the Shah Bano case and the RTE, and forced the Indian state to hand over its responsibility of teaching Muslim children to madrassas. In the US, it was challenged by Donald Trump. In India, it is trumped, not by Modi, but by the Modi phenomenon.

The ideas of co-existence and pluralism are India's original contributions to civilisation. There is no country that can claim copyright on these ideas. Liberalism and secularism have sought to thrive at the cost of Indian civilisation because Indian intellectuals, influenced by the West, continue to undermine the Indian identity.

Austrian economist FA Hayek described such liberal intellectuals as "professional second-hand dealers in ideas" but now that Modi has emerged as the first-hand dealer in ideas, their counterfeit secularism and they are headed for proper 'funerals'.

Follow the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election Live

The author, a former BBC journalist, a contributing editor at Firstpost and executive director of the Open Source Institute, New Delhi. He tweets @tufailelif

Published Date: Mar 12, 2017 03:50 pm | Updated Date: Mar 12, 2017 03:50 pm
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/up-election-results-will-herald-a-funeral-of-counterfeit-secularism-in-india-3330912.html

Shamshan won against kabristan in Uttar Pradesh: Owaisi on BJP victory

INDIA Updated: Mar 17, 2017 20:41 IST

Press Trust of India 

Asaduddin Owaisi observed that days of the dynastic politics are certainly over now.(PTI Photo)

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday termed “shamshan winning against kabristan” the BJP’s resounding victory in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

“The classic example is (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s reference to freedom from slavery of thousand years, where he was referring to the cultural nationalism.

“And now, one party is trying to impose its ideology and thoughts on minorities. The BJP’s victory in UP is ‘shamshan (crematorium) winning against kabrastan (graveyard),” the Hyderabad MP said at the India Today conclave here.

During a poll rally in Uttar Pradesh, Modi had stressed that there should be no discrimination on the basis of caste and religion. “If there is electricity in kabrastan and during Ramzan, it must also be available in a samshan and during Diwali,” Modi had said.

In the bitterly-fought election, the BJP secured a landslide mandate, winning 312 out of 403 seats in the northern state.

Owaisi observed that days of the dynastic politics are certainly over now.

“One has to be an effective communicator to reach out to people. And you do not have to be a junior Modi to defeat Narendra Modi,” he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Social Welfare Sajjad Lone and the BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe were other participants in the session on topic “A million mutinies, What makes an Indian?”

Sahasrabuddhe said, “Voters in Uttar Pradesh have overwhelmingly voted for the BJP. We have broken the vote bank politics. There was a major backlog of development in UP which BJP has addressed to and secured votes.”

Countering him, Owaisi asked why a single candidate of BJP could not win in the Valley.

“If the BJP was addressing a constituency of development, then why a single Muslim woman candidate was not fielded? BJP has not even given ticket to any Muslim candidates (in UP elections),” the AIMIM chief said.

However, Sahasrabuddhe said that besides all forms of democracy, the BJP also believe in “spiritual democracy where all beliefs are respected and accepted.”

He said it was “highly impossible” to impose one thought on another community.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/shamshan-won-against-kabristan-in-uttar-pradesh-owaisi-on-bjp-victory/story-3erz5D1yasDrVZ3DpCGb7N.html

Depressed by politics? Just let go -- Arthur C Brooks

March 18, 2017, 9:34 pm

≫ Next: Mahabharat Retold with Scientific Evidences -- Saroj Bala (Dec. 2016)

≪ Previous: Kabristan for counterfeit secularism. NaMo demonetises Rs. 1k and Rs. 500 notes, also takes out fake political currency

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Depressed by Politics? Just Let Go

Cherry blossoms in early bloom, in Washington. CreditAl Drago/The New York Times

When is politics like a tree?

If you study and write about happiness as I do, you become attuned to patterns. For instance, when I walk into a workplace, I can usually tell, based on my first few conversations, if the environment is happy or not. And in the past couple of years, I have noticed a happiness pattern that relates to politics. Namely, the people most in the know tend to be unhappier than those who pay less attention.

I subjected this observation to a bit of analysis, and sure enough, the numbers bear it out. I analyzed the 2014 data from the General Social Survey collected by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago to see how attention to politics is associated with life satisfaction. The results were significant. Even after controlling for income, education, age, gender, race, marital status and political views, being “very interested in politics” drove up the likelihood of reporting being “not too happy” about life by about eight percentage points.

My results did not prove causality: People who pay close attention to politics might also tend to have some latent source of unhappiness. But behavioral science shows that the link might just be causal through what psychologists call “external locus of control,” which refers to a belief that external forces (such as politics) have a large impact on one’s life.

An external locus of control brings unhappiness. Three social psychologists showed this in a famous 2004 paper published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review. Studying surveys of college students over several decades and controlling for life circumstances and demographics, they compared people who associated their destinies with luck and outside forces with those who believed they were more in control of their lives. They conclude that an external locus is correlated with worse academic achievement, more stress and higher levels of depression.

Incidentally, the researchers also found that this external locus of control has been increasing among students since the 1960s. No surprise here, as young people have been increasingly exposed to trigger warnings, sensitivity about microaggressions and safe spaces. Awareness of oppression is crucial, of course, but the research suggests that today’s campus trends carry tangible academic and psychological costs.

To be sure, an external locus of control is not necessarily inaccurate. If someone is directly affected by a political action (having her immigration status changed or losing her health insurance, for example), her attention will naturally be occupied by events outside her control. However, the external locus of control can also be based on an illusion that something affects us — meaning that the resulting unhappiness is unnecessary.

Which brings us back to the opening question of this essay: When is politics like a tree? In his classic book “Living With the Himalayan Masters,” the Hindu guru Swami Rama recounts the day his master taught him the nature of “maya,” or illusion. Without warning, his master tightly grabbed hold of a tree and cried out: “Help me! My body has been caught by this tree trunk.” Swami Rama exhausted himself trying to pry his master off the tree, but to no avail. Finally, his master let go, and said, laughing, “This is maya.” He explained that we needlessly attach our fate to external things, bringing misery. The simple solution: Just let go.

The question today is how much of our political consumption is like the tree, and thus expendable in order to raise our happiness. We all have political opinions — some of them strongly held. But much of what actually happens in politics is far beyond our individual influence. That doesn’t mean it is intrinsically unimportant, but let’s be honest: Many of us consume political news and commentary in a compulsive, concupiscent sort of way, voluntarily subjecting ourselves to gratuitous information and stimuli, particularly on social media.

The unhappiness results speak for themselves. A friend of mine — a well-known journalist with a large social media following — once confided in me that there is little that brings him more anxiety than checking his Twitter feed. As he clicks on his notifications, he can feel his chest tighten. Maybe you can relate to this.

So what is the solution? First, find a way to bring politics more into your sphere of influence so it no longer qualifies as an external locus of control. Simply clicking through angry political Facebook posts by people with whom you already agree will most likely worsen your mood and help no one. Instead, get involved in a tangible way — volunteering, donating money or even running for office. This transforms you from victim of political circumstance to problem solver.

Second, pay less attention to politics as entertainment. Read the news once a day, as opposed to hitting your Twitter feed 50 times a day like a chimp in a 1950s experiment on the self-administration of cocaine. Will you get the very latest goings on in Washington in real time? No. Will that make you a more boring person? No. Trust me here — you will be less boring to others. But more important, you will become happier.

So go ahead, let go of the tree.

Mahabharat Retold with Scientific Evidences -- Saroj Bala (Dec. 2016)

March 18, 2017, 11:04 pm

≫ Next: Āryabhaṭa and his sine table -- manasa-taramgini. Calculus: the real story -- CK Raju (2015)

≪ Previous: Depressed by politics? Just let go -- Arthur C Brooks

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Mahabharat Retold with Scientific Evidences

 Saroj Bala

IRS (1972 Batch), Retd. Member, CBDT

Director, Institute of scientific Research on Vedas

E-mail: sarojbala044@gmail.com  

(Presented in WAVES international conference in December, 2016,New Delhi).

Abstract

Entire ancient history, revealed through Vedas and Epics, is capable of being re-constructed scientifically with accuracy by makinguse of modern scientific tools and technologies, which include planetarium software. The astronomical references of Rigveda could be observed in the sky between 7000 BCE and 5000 BCE, whereas those of Ramayan could be observed sequentially around 5100 BCE. The astronomical references of Mahabharat pertain to the sky views observed sequentially between 3153 BCE and 3102 BCE. For arriving at these dates, following approach & methodology were adopted –

· More than one lakh slokas contained in nine volumes of Mahabharat (Parimal Publications) were scrutinized and astronomical references were extracted sequentially. Only those which were found in Critical Edition as well were identified for sequential dating. All translations were redone with the help of Sanskrit scholars and referring to dictionaries as some of the traditional translations were found to be not fully correct.

·       Astronomical references from Sabha parva, Vana Parva, Udyog Parva, Bhisma Parva, Shalya Parva, Shanti Parva, and Mausal Parva have been dated sequentially by making use of Planetarium software (Fogware). The internal consistency of astronomical dates with the text of Mahabharta was ensured. Astronomical dates calculated by almost all the scholars during last 130 years were analysed with respect and genuine efforts were made to provide the missing links and to make the dating more comprehensive.

·       Vana Parva of Mahabharat reveals that in Mahabharat days asterisms were being counted from Rohini as equinox was on that. Astronomically there is precession of equinox by one degree in 72 years. Today Spring equinox is in 3rd quarter of Purva Bhadrapad

Asterism; thus equinox has moved by more than 5.25 naksatras (Krttika, Bharani, Asvini, Revati, and Uttara Bhadrapada) since this reference in Mahabharata. This means that more than 5040 years (960 X 5.25) have passed. This took our research period for dating of Mahabharata references to 4000 BC – 3000 BC).

· A more accurate translation of all the relevant slokasof chapters 2 and 3 of Bhishma Parva, had enabled such accurate depiction of sequential sky views, which should be able to set at rest all controversies regarding the dating of Mahabharat war. Sky view of 19^th December, 3139 BC, depicting Magh Shukla Saptami, a day before Bhishma’s demise and of September 14, 3139 BC, depicting all astronomical references of Bhishma Parva observed six hours before solar eclipse of Kartik month are most exclusive, which do not get repeated on any other date; not even around 3067 BC, 1792 BC or 1472 BC.

Eleven sequential sky views covering a period of 52 years from 3153 BC to 3101 BC have been generated, using planetarium software (Fogware), which exactly match the descriptions in Mahabharat, are internally consistent and sequentially accurate. Evidences from archaeology, archaeobotany, palynology, oceanography, remote sensing and genetic studies have corroborated this date sequence of events recorded in Mahabharat. The kingdoms which supported Pandavas and Kauravas during Mahabharat war, have been plotted on the Map, which reveals that entire Greater India was involved in this war. This map also certifies the existence of Bharatvarsha as a Nation with defined boundaries for more than 5000 Years.

	Date				Reference				Description of Event / Sky view
	Oct. 20, 3153 BC, 10:25 hrs. /				Mahabharat				Solar eclipse observed when Pandavas were
	Hastinapur (Meerut)				Sabha Parva				leaving Hastinapur for 13 years of exile after losing in
					2/80/29				the game of dice. War started after 14 years appx.
	Aug. 31, 3139 BC; 11:10 hrs. /				Bhishma parva 6/2/23				Lunar eclipse followed by solar eclipse within 14 days; foreboding
	Hastinapur								widespread destruction before war
	Sep. 14, 3139 BC				Bhishma  parva  6/2/23				Solar eclipseobserved within 14 days (13thtithi) of lunar eclipse. On
	22:15 hrs. / Hastinapur				& 6/3/28-32				next Amavasya, Mahabharat war actually started.

	18:30 hrs. / Hastinapur				Bhishma parva. 6/3/14					Just six hours before the eclipse all the positions of stars and planets
					-18					described in Udyog Parva & Bhishma Parva could be observed in the
										sky.
	Sep. 25, 3139 BC				Udyog Parva 5/83/6-7					Lord Krishna leaves for last peace mission in Kartika month, Revati
										Nakshtra.
	Oct. 3. 3139 BC				Shalya Parva 9/34/5-6,					After failure of Krishna’s peace mission, Balram leaves
	Hastinapur				Udyog Parva 5/142/17-					for pilgrimage in Pushya Nakshtra. 3-4 days later, Krishna tells Karna
					18					that war could begin on next Amavasya.
	Oct. 13, 3139 BC 6:15 hrs. /				Udyog Parva					Amavasya within 13 days of Kartik Purnima, moon near Jyeshta
	Hastinapur				5/142/17-18					(Scorpius / vrishchika) – war started after the failure of Sri Krishan’s
										last peace mission.
	Nov. 14, 3139 BC 06:50 hrs. /				Shalya Parva	9/34/5-7				With Shalya’s fall war came to an end on 31st October. Duryodhan
	Kurukshetra									went into hiding in Dvaipayana lake. Pandavas could locate him only
										after 12-13 days. Balram comes back after 42 days in Shravana
										Nakshatra. Duryodhana gets killed in Gada yuddha with Bhim
	Dec. 19, 3139 BC				Anushasan	Parva				Occurrence of Winter Solstice on Magh Shukla Saptmi. Next day on
	07:20 hrs. / Kurukshetra				13/167/26-28					Magh Ashtami was Bhishma’s demise. This was 68th day after
										beginning of the war on 13thOct.
	March 3, 3102 BC 10:30 hrs. /				Mausala parva 16/2/18-					Solar Eclipse on 13th tithi after Purnima again in the 36th year of war
	Dwarka				19					indicating;  annihilation  of  Yadavas  and  destruction  of  Dwarka,
										proving Gandhari’s curse true
	Jan. 22, 3101 BC Delhi 10:47				Sabha  Parva	2/1//19-				Spectacular assemblage of Sun, Moon & Five Planets around Aries
					91; Dasagitika/3					when Kali era Began 37 years after the Mahabharat war

Table 1: List of some important sequential sky views generated along with the dates on which these are recorded as observed at the time of important events narrated in Mahabharat

Note: References are from ‘Mahabharat’ of Parimal Prakashan (2008 Edition) translated by M N Dutt, edited by Dr. Ishwar Chandra Sharma and Dr. O N Bimali; all these are also included in critical edition ‘The Mahabharat’ by Vishnu S. Sukthankar.

Keywords: Saroj bala, Shri Krishna, Shri Ram, Mahabharat, Bhagvadgita, Ramayan, Pandu, Pandavas, Kunti, Yudhishthir, Bhim,Arjun, Nakul, Sahadev, Kuru, Draupadi, Kauravas, Dhritarashtar, Gandhari, Duryodhan, Bhishma, Dronacharya, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, Sukthankar, Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Kurukshetra, Dwarika, Matsya Desh, Kamyaka forest, Gandhamadan Parvat, Ekchakra Nagri, Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana, Kunal, Sarasvati, Lahuradeva, Jhussi, Sabha parva, Vana Parva, Udyog Parva, Bhishma Parva, Shalya Parva, Shanti Parva, Stri Parva, Anushasan Parva, Mausal Parva, Tithi, Nakshatras , asterism, planets, equinox, sky-view, Planetarium software, Astronomical, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, archaeology, archaeobotany, palynology, oceanography, remote sensing, genetic studies, Gandiv, astras, sastras, Mace, Terracotta, Gandhara, Kamboja, Matsya, Surasena, Kuru, Panchala, Avanti, Chedi, Vatsa, Kasi, Kosala, Malla, Magadha, Vrijj, Anga, Asmaka, Yadus,

Full Paper

Did Lord Krishna actually recite the profound philosophy of Gita to Arjun from the battlefield of Kurukshetra? Did the land of Kurukshetra actually turn red with the blood of millions of warriors who were killed during that historic war? If yes, then where, when and in which year?

About 5200 years back Vichitravirya, the son of Raja Shantanu, was coronated as the king of Hastinapur. He was married to Ambika and Ambalika, two daughters of King Kashiraj. Vichitravirya thereafter died very soon. In order to save the Kuru Dynasty from extinction and with the permission of mother Satyavati, Ambika bears a son through Sage Vyas who is named as Dhritarashtra whereas Ambalika bears a son named Pandu.

Since Dhritarashtra was blind from birth, he was considered unfit for the throne; therefore, Pandu is coronated as the king of Hastinapur. For this reason, Dhritarashatra nurtured resentment against Pandu from the very beginning. King Pandu expanded the boundaries of Kuru kingdom through multiple victories but there after he handed over the Throne to Dhritarashtra and went to live the life of an ascetic along with his two wives Kunti and Madri. King Pandu was blessed with five sons – Yudhisthir, Bhim, Arjun, and Nakul & Sahadev. Dhritarashtar was married to Gandhari who gave birth to many sons; the eldest was named Duryodhan.

Maharishi Dronacharya was appointed as the teacher for both Kuru and Pandu princes. For doing well in every competition, Pandava princes were generally appreciated which generated a lot of jealousy among in the hearts of Kuru princes. For this very reason, Duryodhan attempted to kill Pandu princes through deceit but all such attempts remained unsuccessful. Since Yudhisthir was the eldest of Pandu and Kuru princes and was also very accomplished, talented and admired by the public, he was declared as the Crown Prince of Hastinapur.

Out of jealousy and frustration, Duryodhan and his Shakuni mama hatched a conspiracy to send all Pandavas to Varanavat and then burn them alive in Lakshagrih i.e. a house built with highly inflammable material by Purochan. However, Pandavas saved their lives by escaping through a tunnel alongwith mother Kunti. They reached Ekchakra Nagri and started living with a Brahmin. After some years, Pandavas went to participate in the Swayamvara of Draupadi, the princess of Panchala. Her brother, Dhrishtadyumna hadannounced that anyone who shoots the target with the five arrows through the five holes of the Yantra over which the target was kept would have Draupadi as his wife. Arjun won the archery contest and won Draupadi as his wife. On reaching Ekchakra Nagri, Arjun announced to his mother that he had won the “prize,” Kunti told him to share that prize with his brothers, without seeing Draupadi. Like an irrevocable vow, her statement, even by mistake, could not be undone, so all five brothers married Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupada.

Back in Hastinapur, Dhritarashtar had declared Duryodhana as the Crown Prince presuming that all Pandava brothers had died alongwith their mother Kunti in Varanavat Lakshagrih. After learning about Pandava’s victory during Draupadi Swayamvara, Dhritarashtar invitedthem to Hastinapur along with their mother Kunti and wife Draupadi. On being persuaded by Bhishma Pitamah and King Dhritarashtra, Duryodhan handed over deserted region of Khandav Van as half the kingdom to Yudhisthira, who accepted the offer in the hope of averting a war.Thereafter, with the help of Vishvakarma and Maya Danav, the Pandavas built a great city named Indraprastha along with its grand palace.

Duryodhan could not digest this prosperity of Pandavas; he invited them to a game of dice with the intention of winning their kingdom through deceit. Yudhishthira lost everything, his wealth, his kingdom and even Draupadi in this game of dice. Dushasan dragged Draupadi in to Kuru Darbar, Karna, still stinging from his rejection at the swayamvara, called her a harlot who serviced five men. Enraged at this treatment of his wife, Bhim vowed that he would one day drink Duhsasana’s blood and break Duryodhana’s thigh. The wicked Kauravas even tried to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire Raj Darbar, but her honour was saved by Lord Krishna who miraculously created lengths of cloth to replace the ones being removed.

After having lost in the game of dice, the Pandavas were required to go into exile for 12 years, and live incognito in the 13th year; if discovered by the Kauravas, they would be sent into exile for another 12 years. As they were leaving Hastinapur, there were many ill omens and a solar eclipse was also seen as per references in Sarga 80 of Sabha Parva (2/80/29). This eclipse was seen on 20th Oct. 3153 BC (10:25 hrs) from Hastinapur (29^o N, 77^o E) –

Figure 1: Solar eclipse as seen on 20th Oct. 3153 BC (10:25 hrs) from Hastinapur (29°N, 77°E)

The Pandavas first went to Kamyaka forest, where Lord Krishna, King Drupad, and Draupadi’s brother Dhristadyumna expressed their outrage at the humiliation of Draupadi in Kuru Court and they all pledged revenge and re-installation of Dharmaraja Yudhishthra on the throne. Thereafter, Pandavas moved into Dvyaitavana and built their hermitage, where Rishi Markandeya consoled them by narrating the story of Ramayan; comparing sufferings of Yudhishthira with that of Lord Ram, sacrifices of his four brothers with those of Lakshman and troubles of Draupadi with those of Sita. Draupadi and Bhim were sore and angry and made every effort to provoke Yudhishthira to take revenge from Kauravas but were unable to convince him.

Pandavas, thereafter, returned to Kamyaka forest. After a briefing from Sage Vyasa, Yudhishthira told Arjun “all four branches of weaponry have been mastered by Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Karna and Ashvathama, who being on the side of Duryodhana have made him invincible. Therefore, only celestial weapons obtained from Indra can provide us victory”.Great warrior Arjun quickly left with the resolve to secure these weapons. He crossed Himalayas, and thereafter he crossed Gandhamadan Parvat and obtained the divine weapons with the blessings of Lord Indra and Lord Shiva. Bright, brilliant and even more powerful Arjun came back and narrated the story of his adventures to Yudhishthira. They all moved back to Dvaitavan, where Duryodhana and Karna came to enjoy the sight of Pandavas living in miserable conditions. But instead, Karna was defeated by Gandharvas, who also captured Duryodhana. On being so ordered by Yudhishthira, Pandavas defeated Gandharvas and rescued Duryodhana. Duryodhana boiled with anger at this humiliation.

Thereafter, one day king Jayadratha, husband of Duryodhana’s sister Dushala, came suddenly and forcibly abducted Draupadi in his chariot. Bhim and Arjun chased him, defeated him and rescued Draupadi. Back in the hermitage, Rishi Markandeya consoled Yudhishthira by narrating the story of abduction of Sitaji by Ravana; Lord Ram had killed Ravana and rescued Sitaji. Rishi Markandeya assured that troubles of Yudhishthira would also soon be over and he would rule as the king of Hastinapur.

During these twelve years of exile; there were many more adventures and many alliances were also made for a possible future battle.According to the conditions of the game of dice, the thirteenth year, which the Pandavas were to spend in disguise had now arrived. They went to the court of King Virata of Matsya Desh.Yudhishthira presented himself as a poor Brahmin, his brothers and Draupadi as wandering servants; they all found refuge at the court of King Virata. Towards the end of 13^th year of living incognito and presuming that Pandavas might be hiding in Viratanagar, Duryodhana launched an attack on Virata's kingdom. The king entrusted his troops to his young son who needed a chariot driver. Accepting Draupadi’s suggestion, prince Uttar tookArjun as his charioteer; Arjun defeated Duryodhana’s forces and repulsed the attack on Virat’s kingdom.

After this Victory, the true identity of Pandavas got revealed. Consequently King Virata offered his daughter Uttarā’s hand to Abhimanyu, son of Arjun through Subhadra, sister of Lord Krishna. The wedding was celebrated in style; the Kings from all over the Indian sub-continent assembledin Viratanagar to attend this marriage. Apprehending that Duryodhana would not give back their kingdom to Pandavas, this occasion was also used to build alliances for augmenting military power in case war became inevitable.

Duryodhana refused to give their kingdom back to them, claiming that Arjun was identified one day before the completion of 13^th year but neither Bhishma Pitamah nor Guru Drona agreed with him. Duryodhana even rejected Lord Krishna’s proposal of giving them only five villages. The war thus became imminent and all efforts made to prevent war had failed. There are several references to dhoomketus, ulkapats, eclipses which forebode widespread destruction. There is a reference to very inauspicious lunar eclipse on Kartika Purnima followed by a solar eclipse on 13^th day in Sarga two and three of Bhishma Parva (6/2/23, 6/3/14-18). This lunar eclipse was seen from Hastinapur (29^oN, 77^oE)on 31^st August 3139 B.C. (11:10 hrs) on the first Purnima of Kartika month –

Figure 2: Lunar eclipse as seen from Hastinapur (29°N, 77°E) on 31st August 3139 B.C. (11:10 hrs) on the first Purnima of Kartika month

 On 14^thSeptember 3139 B.C., on Kartika Amavasya day a solar eclipse was also observed from Hastinapur. This was 13^th lunar tithi as there was tithi kshaya on 1-2 September and at the time of solar eclipse on 14^thSeptember new lunar tithi had not begun. Reference here be also made to 6/3/32 , which states that a lunar fortnight has hitherto consisted of 14 days or 15 days or even of 16 days, but on the 13^th day and in the course of same month two eclipses have taken place. See the sky-view depicting solar eclipse of 14th September, 3139 BC (22:15 hrs.) from Hastinapur (29^o N, 77^o E)-

Figure 3: Sky-view depicting solar eclipse of 14th September, 3139 BC (22:15 hrs.) from Hastinapur (29°N, 77°E)

 In Sarga 3 of Bhishma Parva, there are comprehensive details of locations and movements of various Planets and Nakshatras just before the solar eclipse. All these positions could be exactly seen in the sky just six hours before the solar eclipse on 14^th September, 3139BC(18:30 hrs.) from Hastinapur (29^oN, 77^oE). The positions as narrated in Mahabharat are summarized as under –

•     6/3/14 – Mangal (Mars) is comfortable (i.e. magh) entering its own house i.e. mesha(Aries) in Vakra-gati (in backward motion) as it was in Tauras before 13^th Sep 3139 BC. Brihaspati(Jupiter) is in Shravan Nakshtra (in Capricornus). Sun’s offspring Shani (Saturn) is (in Scorpius) and is thus aspecing Bhagham i.e. Uttar Phalguni(in Leo) which is 10^th constellation from Scorpius and is therefore in full aspect of Saturn.

•     6/3/15 - Shining brilliantly, the planet Shukra (Venus) is aspecting Poorva Bhadrapada & there after Uttara Bhadrapada (both in Pisces). On 14^th Sep 3139 BC, Venus is situated in kanya(Virgo) and is thus aspecting 7^th constellation from its location i.e. Meena Rashi (Pisces).

•     6/3/17 - Both Sun and moon are located in Scorpius, therefore they are afflicting Rohini (located just opposite in Taurus). Parush Graha i.e. Shukra (Venus) is located between between Chitra&Swati Asterisms and is thus located between Kanya (Virgo Constellation) and Tula (Libra).

•      6/3/18 - Brihspati i.e. Jupiter (Pavak prabha) is going around Shravana in Brahmraashi i.e.Makar Rashi (Capricornus); whereas Vakra/Lohitangi.e.Mangal(Mars) in Vakra-anuvakra gati (backward-forward motion) is looking stable/static.

Figure 4: Planetary positions as seen in the sky six hours before the solar eclipse on 14th September, 3139 BC (18:30 hrs.) from Hastinapur (29°N, 77°E)

 This sky view is exclusive and it does not get repeated in/around 3067 BC, in 1792 BC or in 1478 BC; for this reason the date of war in 3139 BC appears to be almost indisputable. There is lunar eclipse on first Kartik Purnima on 31 Aug 3139 BC followed by solar eclipse on 14^th Sep 3139 BC, which had occurred on 13^th lunar tithiafter the lunar eclipse; all the above stated planetary positions could be observed six hours before the solar eclipse.

Eleven Akshauhini Sena of Duryodhana and Seven Akshauhini Sena of Yudhisthira had by now assembled in Kurukshetra. Duryodhana wanted to start the war in Pushya Nakshtra i.e. 3^rd October, 3139 B.C. However, in the meantime in the month of Kartika, after the end of autumn season (Patjharh) and beginning of winter season (HemantRitu), Shri Krishana left Dwarka for Hastinapur on his last peace mission in Rewati Nakshtra (5/83/6-7). See the sky-view on 25^th September 3139 B.Cat 6:20 AM from Dwarika (23^o N, 69^o E), in the month of Kartik –

Figure 5: Sky-view on 25th September 3139 B.Cat 6:20 AM from Dwarika (23°N, 69°E), in the month of Kartik

 After reaching Hastinapur, Lord Krishna tried to persuade Duryodhana to make peace with Pandavas but Duryodhana said, “I can sacrifice my life, my kingdom, my everything, but I can never live in peace with the Pandavas”. Consequently, the peace mission failed and the war was just going to begin. Not wanting to take sides, Balram left for 42 days of pilgrimage in Pushya Nakshtra (Moon in Cancer) i.e. on 3^rd Oct. 3139 BC and was to come back after 42 days in Shrawan nakshatra (5/142/17-18 & 9/34/5-6). See the sky view of 3^rd October, 3139 BC from Hastinapur (29^o N, 77^o E), when Moon was in Pushya nakshatra -

Figure 6: Sky view of 3^rd October, 3139 BC from Hastinapur (29^o N, 77^o E), when Moon was in Pushya nakshatra

The forces of Duryodhana and of Yudhisthira stood opposite to each other in Kurukshetra; ready to fight the most devastating war in the history of mankind! As suggested by Lord Krishna the war actually started on Jyeshtha Amavasaya day of Marghshish month, when Moon was near Jyeshtha in Scorpius (5/142/17-18), which happened to be on 13^th October, 3139 B.C. See the sky-view of this historic day!

Figure 6: Sky-view on 13th October, 3139 B.C. - Amavasya day of Margshish month when Moon was near Jyeshtha in Scorpius. Mahabharat war started on this day.

 Eleven divisions of Duryodhana’s army and seven divisions of Yudhisthira’s army stood face to face in the battle ground of Kurukshetra. Arjun requested Lord Krishna to take his chariot in the middle of Kuru and Pandu armies. After seeing his near and dear ones, like Bishama Pitamah and Guru Drona, Arjun broke down and abandoned his GandivDhanush. At this juncture, through Arjun, Lord Krishna passed on to the World the great philosophy of Bhagavad Gita.He asked Arjun to do his Karma by fighting the war in order to protect Dharma. He also added that the soul is eternal and indestructible, only the body is perishable.

The time of this Gita-updesh must have been sometime before the beginning of war on 13^th October 3139 B.C. It was the month of Margshish, in winter season, when the Sun was in Dakshiayan (Southward movement). We Indians still wait for the assurance given by Shri Krishna during Gita Updesh -

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata | abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmyaham || (4.07) paritrānāya sādhunām vināsāya ca duskritām | dharma-samsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge || (4.08)

Through these words Lord Krishna had assured that whenever and wherever there is a decline of Dharma i.e. virtue and true religion languish whereas irreligion and sin predominate, O descendant of Bharat! I manifest myself in different eras to establish the superiority of Dharma by annihilating the miscreants and protecting the pious and the noble.

We still console ourselves at the death of a near and dear one by remembering what Lord Krishna had said –

nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvakaḥ | na cainaṃ kledayantyāpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ || (2.23)

Meaning thereby that the soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapons, nor can it be burnt by fire. The soul cannot be moistened/submerged by water, nor can it be withered by wind. The soul is eternal and indestructible, it isonly the body which perishes.

karmanya evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana |

ma karma-phala-hetur bhur mā te sango 'stv akarmani ||2-47||

Meaning thereby that your concern is only with the actions, never with their fruits. Let not the fruits of actions be your motives. Perform your righteous duties without being attached to their results.

Our belief system still centers around karma yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga, the three paths out of which individual could make a choice.

The war began on 13^th October, 3139 B.C., with Bhishma Pitamah as the Commandar -in-chief of Duryodhana’s army. Military science was much developed; a four division army comprising infantry, horse riders, elephant riders and rathis were built in nine steps. The weapons used included astras (missiles like chakras and arrows), sastras (swords, spears and axes), dandayuddha (mace and musala) and yantrayuddha (firearms like sataghni and bhusundi). Some such weapons, which are considered to be more than 5000 years old, have been found during excavations in the relevant geographic locations. Every day there used to be different kind of battle-array. At least eighteen types of vyuha-rachnas are described in the Epic.

Under the command of Bhishma Pitamah, Kuru army fought fierce battles and killed very large number of warriors of Pandava’s side during first nine days. The Pandavas visited Bhishma Pitamah by night on ninth day and sought his blessings. He advised them to place Shikhandi in the front line as Bhishma would not attack a woman. On the 10^th day, placing Shikhandi in front of him, Arjun succeeded in showering thousands of arrows on Bhishma Pitamah, which practically put him on the bed of arrows. Bhishma Pitamah was now waiting for the beginning of Uttrayan for his mahaprayan.

On 11^th day of war, Guru Drona took over as the commander-in-chief of Duryodhana’s forces. Through his clever chakravyuh formation (circular array), he succeeded in killing Abhimanyu when Jaidrath engaged Arjun in adiversionary battle far away. However, on the 15^th day Dhrishtadyumna succeeded in killing Dronacharya by severing his head. On 16^th day Karna took over as the commander-in-chief of Duryodhana’s forces but on the 17^th day of war, the wheel of Karna’s chariot got stuck in the mud. Just at that time Arjun shot an arrow which instantly killed Karna in the battlefield.

On the 18^th day Shalya came to fight as the commander-in-chief of Duryodhan’s Kuru forces but got killed at the hands of Yudhisthira by mid day. Thus on the 18^th day the war came to an end but Duryodhana hid himself in the waters of Dvaipayan Lake; he was making plans to take revenge from Pandavas after his recovery. The Pandavas launched the search operation; after several attempts, they finally succeeded in locating him on the 14^th day. On being challenged by Pandavas, Duryodhana came out of the lake to fight mace battle with Bhim. Just at that time Balram came there in Shrawan Nakshatra after 42 days of pilgrimage and he desired to see the mace battle between his two disciples (Shalya Parva 9/34/5-7). See the sky-view from Kurukshetra (30^o N 77^o E) of 14^thNovember, 3139 B.C, when Moon was near Shrawan in Capricornus.

Figure 7: sky-view from Kurukshetra (30° N 77° E) of 14th November, 3139 B.C, when Moon was near Shrawan in Capricornus

On being hit by Bhim on his thighs, Duryodhana collapsed and Pandavas went away leaving him behind in pain. Kritverma, Kripacharya and Ashvatthama were grief- stricken looking at the plight of Duryodhana. They decided to take revenge from Pandavas; In the middle of night when the entire Pandava sena and all the five sons of Draupadi were in deep slumber, they killed Dhrishtadyumna and five sons of Draupadi by striking them with their shastras. Thereafter, they killed all other remaining warriors by putting the camp on fire. Ashvatthama even tried to destroy the womb of Uttara but Lord Krishana saved her pregnancy. This child in Uttara’s womb, named Parikshit, later on became the king of Hastinapur when Pandavas went for Swargarohan.

Yudhishthira reported the death toll at six million during this dreadful war. The women were crying piteously after losing their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons (M.B. – Stri Parva) According to one study conducted by Estonian Bio-Centre, Tartu, around 5000 years back the ratio of men vis-à-vis the women went down to 1:4.

Let us just have one look at the map which displays the geographic locations of kingdoms and tribes which had participated in Mahabharat War. Most of the North Western kingdoms of Indian sub-continent fought on behalf of Kauravas; whereas those from South Eastern areas participated in the war to support the Pandavas.

Figure 8: Map depicting kingdoms which participated in Mahabharat War

 After the end of Mahabharat War, Yudhishthira was coronated as the king of Hastinapur. Grief-stricken, he was very reluctant to accept the kingship. He performed the funeral rites of the deceased kings and warriors and took several steps to console the grieving females.

Lying on his bed of arrows, Bhishma Pitamah was waiting for the Sun to begin its Northward journey (Uttarayan) . That day arrived on 19^th December 3139 B.C. when it was Saptmi of the lighted fortnight in the month of Maghaand moon was in Rohini Nakshtra (in Taurus), as per the references in Anushasana Parva(13/167/26-28) and in Shanti parva (12/47/3) of Mahabharat. See the Sky view from Hastinapur (29^o N, 77^o E) of 19 ^thDecember, 3139 BC at 7.20 AM, when Sun had just started its northwards journey; Moon was near Rohini and it was Magh Shukla Saptami. This is also a unique date and sky-view which does not get repeated in / around 3067 BC, 1792 BC or 1478 BC.

Figure 9: Sky view from Hastinapur (29°N, 77°E) of 19th December, 3139 BC at 7.20 AM, when Sun had just started its northwards journey; Moon was near Rohini and it was Magh Shukla Saptami

King Yudhishthira arrived on Magh Shukla Saptami and bowed before Bhishma Pitamah who enlightened him about the basic principles of Rajdharma, Mokshdharma, Daandharma and Shantidharma. Thereafter every surviving member of the family met Pitamah. The very next day i.e. on 20^th December 3139 B.C., Bhishma left for his heavenly abode and this day is celebrated as Bhishma Asthmi till date.

Thereafter, Yudhishthira got fully involved in the welfare of the Praja. After some time he conducted Ashvamedha Yagya and gave huge amount of wealth in charity. Lord Krishna had also got fed up with wars and battles, therefore, was in search of peace. So he went and settled in Dwarika along with Yadavas, Gopis and war-widows.

36 years were spent in peace but thereafter the signs of destruction all around again became visible. Around that time, a solar eclipse was seen from Dwarika which also occurred on an Amavasya on 13^th lunar tithi after Purnima as per references in the Mausala Parva. See the solar eclipse of 3^rd March 3102 B.C. (at 10:30 AM) from Dwarika (23^o N, 69^o E), which could be seen right from the time of Sunrise to Sunset.

Figure 10: solar eclipse of 3rd March 3102 B.C. (at 10:30 AM) from Dwarika (23°N, 69°E), which could be seen right from the time of Sunrise to Sunset

Thereafter, there was destruction all around in Dwarika. Yaduvanshis were killing other Yaduvanshis. Balraam had died by drowning in the sea, Vasudeva also left for his heavenly abode; Yadav race was at the verge of extinction. After some time the entire city of Dwarika was devoured by the Sea. On receipt of a message from Lord Krishna, Arjun had left for Dwarika. However, in the meantime an arrow mistakenly shot by a hunter pierced at the heel of Lord Krishna, who thereafter left for celestial region.

Arjun performed the last rites of many kinsmen and took the survivors along with him. He made Vajra the king of Indraprastha and settled other survivors in smaller kingdoms. After hearing about the destruction in Dwarika and about Mahapriyan of Lord Krishna, Yudhisthira decided to renounce the world. He coronated Prikshit, son of Uttara and Abhimanyu, as the king of Hastinapur. After donating huge amount of wealth in charity, he left for Swargarohan accompanied by his four brothers and Draupadi.

Around this time a spectacular assemblage of Moon and five bright planets along with the Sun was seen on the eastern horizon in Aries and Pisces on 22nd January, 3101 B.C. This striking sight at dawn must have come down as a legend associated with the beginning of Kali Era i.e. Kaliyug –

Figure 11: Sky-view on 22nd January, 3101 B.C. when assemblage of Moon and five bright planets along with the Sun was seen on the eastern horizon in Aries and Pisces associated with the beginning of Kali Era or Kalyug

Let us have one look again at the map of Bharatvarsha of Mahabharat times, given above. Bharatvarsha was a nation with defined boundaries 5000 years back, when its territories included modern day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkamenistan, Tibet, Bangla-Desh etc. Excavations have been carried out in many of the principalities and kingdoms plotted in this Map, which had participated in the Great War. From the archaeological evidence from these sites, it has been concluded on the basis of C-14 dating that these political principalities and kingdoms were well established by the second millennium BCE, though the settlements started at many of these sites much earlier; for example -

·       Sarai Khola and Pushkalavati (Charsadda) in Gandhara,

·       BMAC and Gandhara Grave Culture sites in Kamboja;

·       Bairat, Gilund and Ojiana in Matsya

·       Mathura, Sonkh and Noh in Surasena

·       Hastinapura, Hulas and Alamgirpur in Kuru

·       Ahichchhatra, Atranjikhera, Kannoj and Kampilya in Panchala

·       Ujjain, Kayatha, Nagda, Ahar in Avanti

·       Eran and Tripuri in Chedi

·       Kaushambi and Jhusi in Vatsa

·       Rajghat-Sarai Mohana in Kasi

·       Ayodhya, Sravasti, Lahuradewa, Siswania in Kosala

·       Rajdhani, Narhan, Sohgaura in Malla

·       Rajgir, Chirand and Juafardih (Nalanda) in Magadha

·       Vaisali and Lauriya Nandangarh in Vrijj

·       Champa and Oriup in Anga

·       Adam and Inamgaon in Asmaka

Kingdom of Kurus i.e. Hastinapur was near Upper Ganga plains, Krishna’s Mathura was on the banks of Yamuna and war was fought in Kurukshetra of Sarasvati region. The excavations carried out in these areas have also established the direct connection of Mahabharat references with 3000 BC. These include excavations at Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana and Kunal in the Sarasvati valley and Lahuradeva and Jhussi etc. in Ganga region, from where terracotta, beads, jewellery,metals, weapons etc. have been excavated, the radio-metric dates of which go back to the time bracket ranging between 5000 - 2500 BC.

See pottery, mirror, necklace, silver and beads excavated from Rakhigarhi in Saravati and Drishadvati belt near Hissar of modern day Haryana –

 Figure 12: Pottery, mirror, necklace, silver and beads excavated from Rakhigarhi in Saravati and Drishadvati belt near Hissar of modern day Haryana

Figure 13: Arrow heads, lapis lazuli, bangles and beads etc. excavated from Bhirrana in the area adjacent to Rakhgarhi

In fact the entire region, at multiple sites, has yielded similar kind of artefacts, which are dated more than 5000 years old. Have a look at those excavated from Kunal, near Kurukshetra -

Figure 14: 5000 year old artefacts excavated from Kunal near Kurukshetra

In middle Ganga Plains, the most important excavated sites include Koldihwa, Lahuradeva, Jhusi, Tokwa and Hetapatti etc., which have revealed an uninterrupted history of cultural development in this region from 7000 BC till date. More than 5000 year old plants have been found in these areas, many of which find reference in Mahabharat -

 

Figure 15: Crop remains from 7000-6000 B.C. found in Middle Ganga Plains

 In view of the above said scientific evidences, we can safely conclude that Mahabharat refers to the historical events of the remote past. The Mahabharat war was actually fought about 5150 years back in 3139 BC. Just before that war, Shri Krishna had actually passed on to the world, through the instrumentality of Arjun, that adbhut jnana of Bhagavadgita.

Keeping in mind the discriminations and distortions prevailing in India during modern times, let us remember and follow what Lord Krishna said in 4/13 of Bhagavadgita –

cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ | tasya kartāramapi māṃ viddhyakartāramavyayam || (4.13)

Lord Krishna said that four varnas had been created by God Almighty, based on the guna i.e. qualities and karmai.e. actions/functions of individuals. Thus the four varnas had nothing to do with the birth or with the modern day caste system. Dronacharya was a Brahmin but fought like a kshtriya; Karna was discriminated against by Bhishma but befriended by Kuru king Duryodhana. Eklavya was discriminated against by Drona but was mentored by Jarasandha. Sudama was a Brahmin but was very poor, whereas Drona was a Brahmin but humiliated by King Drupada. Thus discrimination was not caste-based but more complex, which reflected the selfish motives and baser or nobler instincts of individuals.

However over the years these four varnas got linked to birth and gave rise to caste-system. Slowly social evils like untouchability, inequality, caste -based discrimination started taking deep roots, which have played havoc with our country and its social fabric. To remove these vices, we shall have to revert back to the true teachings contained in our ancient Vedas and Epics. We shall have to cleanse these from the distortions, which were interpolated subsequently after India was enslaved by external forces. Let us all resolve to build India in which no one is discriminated against and all are treated with love and respect.

In the words of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, “In India the core culture goes beyond time. It precedes the arrival of Islam; it precedes the arrival of Christianity……..It is when we accept India in all its splendid glory that, with a shared past as a base, we can look forward to a shared future of peace and prosperity, of creation and abundance. Our past is there with us forever. It has to be nurtured in good faith, not destroyed in exercises of political one-upmanship”.

Note on References

No references have been given within the text of this paper because no extracts or pictures have been taken from any other book. This paper contains the sky- views of astronomical references in Mahabharat, which have been generated making use of Planetarium software. The pictures of excavated artefacts have been taken from the reports published by Archaeological Survey of India and Indian Archaeology Society. However, the names of authors of books and articles who might have influenced the thought process behind this paper are listed below with gratitude.

-   Saroj Bala

  

Gratitude

A K Gupta	J F Jarrige	R Saraswat
A K Pokharia	J R Sharma	Rajgopalachari C.
A R Chaudhry	John Marshall	Rakesh Tewari
A P J Abdul Kalam	K D Abhyankar	Ramtej Pandey
Ajay Mitra Shastri	K L Joshi	Sadguru Jaggi vasdev Ji
Ashok Bhatnagar	K L Seshagiri Rao	Swami Ramsukh Das
Ayengar R N	K N Dikshit	S Kalyanaraman
Banmali O N	K S Sarswat	S N Chaturvedi
B K Bhadra	K S Valdiya	S P Gupta
B Narhari Achar	K V R S Murty	S R Rao
B P Radhakrishna	K V Krishna Murthy	S Sorensen
B R Mani	Kamlesh Kapur	S Sukthankar
Barthwal H	Kapil Kapur	Sriram Sharma
Bhagvadatta Satyashrva	Kenneth Kennedy	Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji
Bhagwan Singh	Kulbhushan Misra	Subhash Kak
C M Nautiyal	M G Yadav	Subramanian Swamy
Cavalli-Sforza	Maitreyee Deshpande	V D Misra
Chanchala Srivastava	Manjil Hazarika	V H Sonawane
Come carpentier	Michael Denino	V R Rao
David Frawley	Narahari Achar	V S Wakankar
Divya Tripathi	N S Rajaram	Vasant Shinde
Dutt M N	Narasimha Rao	Vartak P V
Romesh C Dutt	Peeyush Sandhir	Vijay Singhal
G R Sharma	Premendra Priyadarshi	Yashpal
Gurcharan Das	Pushkar Bhatnagar	Yogesh Chandra
Gyaneshwar Chaubey	R Nigam	Yuktanand Swami
H Maheshwari	R P Arya	Z D Ansari
Ishwar Chandra Sharma	R S Bisht	Many more