China's Bhutan land grab aims at bigger target -- Brahma Chellaney

July 12, 2017, 12:47 am

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July 11, 2017 2:57 pm JST

Brahma Chellaney

China's Bhutan land grab aims at bigger target

Beijing employs stealth aggression in territorial expansion

China honed its "salami slicing" strategy in the Himalayan borderlands with India in the 1950s, when it grabbed the Switzerland-sized Aksai Chin plateau by surreptitiously building a strategic highway through that unguarded region.

Aksai Chin, part of the original princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, has since provided China with the only passageway between its rebellious regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. Now, the attempt by the People's Liberation Army to replicate its seizure of Aksai Chin by building a military road through the Doklam plateau of tiny Bhutan has triggered one of the most serious troop standoffs in years between China and India, which is a guarantor of Bhutanese security.

The standoff involving hundreds of PLA and Indian troops, near where the borders of Tibet, Bhutan and India's Sikkim state meet, has successfully halted the Chinese construction of the highway in Doklam, which Beijing claims as a "traditional pasture for Tibetans." This is similar to Beijing's claims in the South and East China seas, which are based on "traditional fishing grounds for Chinese." The Indian intervention has triggered a furious reaction from China, which is warning India almost daily to back down or face reprisals, including a possible war. India has mobilized up to 10,000 troops for any contingency.

The Chinese defense ministry has warned India to learn the "historical lessons" from the major military reversals it suffered in 1962 when China carried out a surprise trans-Himalayan invasion just when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were locked in the Cuban missile crisis. Beijing has also stepped up diplomatic pressure on New Delhi, with the Chinese foreign ministry insisting that the "precondition for any meaningful dialogue" would be for Indian troops to "unconditionally" pull back from Doklam.

Beijing's full-throttle campaign against India amounts to psychological warfare, from mounting daily threats to staging military drills in Tibet. For example, a recent "full combat readiness" exercise with tanks was aimed at delivering a clear warning to New Delhi, according to Chinese state media. However, the more China threatens India and the more it refuses to seek a compromise, the more it paints itself in a corner.

Beijing has no good options in emerging as a winner from this confrontation. Given the geography, military logistics, weapon deployments and the entrenched Indian positions, the PLA will find it hard to give India a bloody nose and seize Doklam. If it were to attack, it could suffer a setback. Just as Beijing's intense propaganda war against India over the Dalai Lama's April tour to the Chinese-claimed northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh achieved nothing, China risks losing face over the current troop standoff.

The central issue that China has sought to disguise is its intrusion into tiny Bhutan, which has less than 800,000 people. To cause a distraction, Beijing, in keeping with ancient military theorist Sun Tzu's concept of strategic deception, has tried to shift the focus to India through a public relations blitzkrieg that presents China as the victim and India as the aggressor. Just as it has touted historical claims to much of the South China Sea, which have been dismissed by an international arbitral tribunal as groundless, Beijing contends that Doklam (or "Donglang" as China calls it) has belonged to it "since ancient times."

Beijing's dire warning

Besides launching a flurry of official denunciations of India, China has employed the state media in the psychological warfare campaign. "We firmly believe that the face-off in the Donglang area will end up with the Indian troops in retreat. The Indian military can choose to return to its territory with dignity or be kicked out of the area by Chinese soldiers," China's nationalist tabloid Global Times said on July 5. "This time we must teach New Delhi a bitter lesson."

An article on the PLA's English-language website, China Military Online, has warned that "if a solution isn't reached through diplomatic or military communication or the issue isn't handled properly, another armed conflict ... is not completely out of the question."

Despite the Indian army's prompt actions to protect Bhutan's territorial interests, the standoff has exposed some of India's institutional weaknesses. In combating disinformation in war or peace, time is of the essence. Yet it took New Delhi more than four days to issue its first statement in response to China's verbal attacks against India's move to protect Bhutan, its longstanding strategic ally. The result was that after Beijing revealed the days-old troop standoff just hours before the June 26 meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, the Indian media was awash with Chinese propaganda, reporting only Beijing's line on the standoff.

The current crisis has shown that New Delhi is ill-prepared to counter China's grandstanding tactics. India's response to the continuing barrage of hostile Chinese statements against it has been confined to a single statement issued by its foreign ministry on June 30. This is partly to do with India's intrinsically defensive strategic mindset, including a reluctance to employ its natural economic leverage to rein in Chinese belligerence.

Since China has an almost $60 billion annual trade surplus with India currently, New Delhi has an opportunity to emulate Beijing's use of trade as a political instrument in punishing South Korea, Mongolia, the Philippines, Japan and others. The flood of Chinese goods entering India is overwhelming. The lopsided trade balance not only rewards China's strategic hostility but also foots the bill for its strategy of encircling India. Beijing thus has little incentive to moderate its behavior or avoid belligerence.

India also appears reluctant to reopen the Tibet issue, even though China is laying claim to Indian and Bhutanese territories on the basis of alleged Tibetan (not Han Chinese) historical links to these areas. Like Doklam, China claims Arunachal Pradesh, a territory almost three times larger than Taiwan that is famous for its virgin forests and soaring mountain ranges. To help curb such territorial revisionism, India needs to question China's claim to Tibet itself.

Tibet, autonomous until China annexed it in 1951, enjoyed close historical transportation, trade and cultural links with India, exemplified by the fact that the main Tibetan cities are located close to the Indian border. But with Tibet now locked behind a Chinese "iron curtain," the formerly integrated economies and cultures of the entire Himalayan region have broken apart.

Expansion drive

Modern China has come a long way since the Great Wall denoted the limits of the Han empire's political frontiers, as during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Territorially, Han power is now at its zenith. With the exception of Mongolia, China is seeking to expand its frontiers beyond the conquests made by the Manchu Qing dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries. By relying on stealth aggression in which no bullets or missiles need to be fired, China has mastered the art of creeping, covert warfare, as is apparent in the Himalayas and the South and East China seas. "Only vast lands can cradle great powers," according to Chinese geographers Du Debin and Ma Yahua.

Recent events have offered clear evidence on how China uses history to justify its territorial ambitions. In the same week that it dusted off an 1890 colonial-era accord on the Tibet-Sikkim border to use in its propaganda war against India, even though the agreement was irrelevant to its intrusion into Bhutan, it mocked as worthless the legally binding 1984 pact with Britain that paved the way for Hong Kong's handover in 1997 by guaranteeing the city's rights and freedoms under China's "one country, two systems" formula. By turning its back on the 1984 pact, Beijing indicated that "one country, two systems" was just a ruse to recover Hong Kong. Yet China will cling to colonial-era accords if they still serve its interests.

Unless Beijing reopens the door to diplomacy, the present military stalemate at Doklam could drag on until the arrival of the harsh winter forces the rival troops to retreat, thus ending the confrontation. This would restore the status quo ante by frustrating the PLA's road-building plan. The brief July 7 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi at the G-20 summit in Hamburg has offered China an opening to save face through a possible mutual retreat from Doklam.

Whatever happens, the current crisis offers India important lessons, including how a clever China presents itself as the victim and feeds disinformation to the Indian media. This should, however, not have come as a surprise. It is standard Chinese strategy to play the victim in any conflict or dispute in an example of how China blends toughness, savvy, single-mindedness and deft propaganda to try to achieve its goals. Psychological warfare is integral to China's military strategy. Yet India found itself taken by surprise.

More fundamentally, India must recognize that while caution is prudent, diffidence tends to embolden the aggressor. It should continue to err on the side of caution but must shed its reluctance to employ countervailing leverage against China so that it is not always in a reactive mode.

Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and the author of nine books, including "Water: Asia's New Battleground," the winner of the Bernard Schwartz Award.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Brahma-Chellaney/China-s-Bhutan-land-grab-aims-at-bigger-target?page=1

http://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Brahma-Chellaney/China-s-Bhutan-land-grab-aims-at-bigger-target?page=2

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Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction -- Gerardo Ceballos et al (Full Text)

July 12, 2017, 2:24 am

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Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines

1. Gerardo Ceballosa,1, 
2. Paul R. Ehrlichb,1, and 
3. Rodolfo Dirzob

Author Affiliations

1. Contributed by Paul R. Ehrlich, May 23, 2017 (sent for review March 28, 2017; reviewed by Thomas E. Lovejoy and Peter H. Raven)

2. Significance

   The strong focus on species extinctions, a critical aspect of the contemporary pulse of biological extinction, leads to a common misimpression that Earth’s biota is not immediately threatened, just slowly entering an episode of major biodiversity loss. This view overlooks the current trends of population declines and extinctions. Using a sample of 27,600 terrestrial vertebrate species, and a more detailed analysis of 177 mammal species, we show the extremely high degree of population decay in vertebrates, even in common “species of low concern.” Dwindling population sizes and range shrinkages amount to a massive anthropogenic erosion of biodiversity and of the ecosystem services essential to civilization. This “biological annihilation” underlines the seriousness for humanity of Earth’s ongoing sixth mass extinction event.

3. Abstract

   The population extinction pulse we describe here shows, from a quantitative viewpoint, that Earth’s sixth mass extinction is more severe than perceived when looking exclusively at species extinctions. Therefore, humanity needs to address anthropogenic population extirpation and decimation immediately. That conclusion is based on analyses of the numbers and degrees of range contraction (indicative of population shrinkage and/or population extinctions according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature) using a sample of 27,600 vertebrate species, and on a more detailed analysis documenting the population extinctions between 1900 and 2015 in 177 mammal species. We find that the rate of population loss in terrestrial vertebrates is extremely high—even in “species of low concern.” In our sample, comprising nearly half of known vertebrate species, 32% (8,851/27,600) are decreasing; that is, they have decreased in population size and range. In the 177 mammals for which we have detailed data, all have lost 30% or more of their geographic ranges and more than 40% of the species have experienced severe population declines (>80% range shrinkage). Our data indicate that beyond global species extinctions Earth is experiencing a huge episode of population declines and extirpations, which will have negative cascading consequences on ecosystem functioning and services vital to sustaining civilization. We describe this as a “biological annihilation” to highlight the current magnitude of Earth’s ongoing sixth major extinction event.
   • sixth mass extinction
    
   • population declines
    
   • population extinctions
    
   • conservation
    
   • ecosystem service
   The loss of biological diversity is one of the most severe human-caused global environmental problems. Hundreds of species and myriad populations are being driven to extinction every year (1⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–8). From the perspective of geological time, Earth’s richest biota ever is already well into a sixth mass extinction episode (9⇓⇓⇓⇓–14). Mass extinction episodes detected in the fossil record have been measured in terms of rates of global extinctions of species or higher taxa (e.g., ref. 9). For example, conservatively almost 200 species of vertebrates have gone extinct in the last 100 y. These represent the loss of about 2 species per year. Few realize, however, that if subjected to the estimated “background” or “normal” extinction rate prevailing in the last 2 million years, the 200 vertebrate species losses would have taken not a century, but up to 10,000 y to disappear, depending on the animal group analyzed (11). Considering the marine realm, specifically, only 15 animal species have been recorded as globally extinct (15), likely an underestimate, given the difficulty of accurately recording marine extinctions. Regarding global extinction of invertebrates, available information is limited and largely focused on threat level. For example, it is estimated that 42% of 3,623 terrestrial invertebrate species, and 25% of 1,306 species of marine invertebrates assessed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are classified as threatened with extinction (16). However, from the perspective of a human lifetime it is difficult to appreciate the current magnitude of species extinctions. A rate of two vertebrate species extinctions per year does not generate enough public concern, especially because many of those species were obscure and had limited ranges, such as the Catarina pupfish (Megupsilon aporus, extinct in 2014), a tiny fish from Mexico, or the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi, extinct in 2009), a bat that vanished from its namesake volcanic remnant.
   Species extinctions are obviously very important in the long run, because such losses are irreversible and may have profound effects ranging from the depletion of Earth’s inspirational and esthetic resources to deterioration of ecosystem function and services (e.g., refs. 17⇓⇓–20). The strong focus among scientists on species extinctions, however, conveys a common impression that Earth’s biota is not dramatically threatened, or is just slowly entering an episode of major biodiversity loss that need not generate deep concern now (e.g., ref. 21, but see also refs. 9, 11, 22). Thus, there might be sufficient time to address the decay of biodiversity later, or to develop technologies for “deextinction”—the possibility of the latter being an especially dangerous misimpression (see ref. 23). Specifically, this approach has led to the neglect of two critical aspects of the present extinction episode: (i) the disappearance of populations, which essentially always precedes species extinctions, and (ii) the rapid decrease in numbers of individuals within some of the remaining populations. A detailed analysis of the loss of individuals and populations makes the problem much clearer and more worrisome, and highlights a whole set of parameters that are increasingly critical in considering the Anthropocene’s biological extinction crisis.
   In the last few decades, habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive organisms, pollution, toxification, and more recently climate disruption, as well as the interactions among these factors, have led to the catastrophic declines in both the numbers and sizes of populations of both common and rare vertebrate species (24⇓⇓⇓–28). For example, several species of mammals that were relatively safe one or two decades ago are now endangered. In 2016, there were only 7,000 cheetahs in existence (29) and less than 5,000 Borneo and Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelli, respectively) (28). Populations of African lion (Panthera leo) dropped 43% since 1993 (30), pangolin (Manis spp.) populations have been decimated (31), and populations of giraffes dropped from around 115,000 individuals thought to be conspecific in 1985, to around 97,000 representing what is now recognized to be four species (Giraffa giraffa, G. tippelskirchi, G. reticulata, and G. camelopardalis) in 2015 (32).
   An important antecedent to our work (25) used the number of genetic populations per unit area and then estimated potential loss on the basis of deforestation estimates and the species–area relationship (SAR). Given the recognized limitations of the use of SAR to estimate extinctions, our work provides an approach based on reduction of species range as a proxy of population extirpation. The most recent Living Planet Index (LPI) has estimated that wildlife abundance on the planet decreased by as much as 58% between 1970 and 2012 (4). The present study is different from LPI and other related publications in several ways, including that here we use all decreasing species of vertebrates according to IUCN, mapping and comparing absolute and relative numbers of species, and focusing on population losses. Previous estimates seem validated by the data we present here on the loss of local populations and the severe decrease in the population size of many others (see also refs. 3, 4, 6⇓–8, 26). Here we examine the magnitude of losses of populations of land vertebrate species on a global system of 10,000-km2 quadrats (Methods). Species vary from common to rare, so that our analysis, which includes all land vertebrate species (amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals) deemed as “decreasing” by IUCN, provides a better estimate of population losses than using exclusively IUCN data on species at risk. Obviously, common species decreasing are not ordinarily classified as species at risk. IUCN criteria provide quantitative thresholds for population size, trend, and range size, to determine decreasing species (28, 33). We also evaluate shrinking ranges and population declines for 177 species of mammals for which data are available on geographic range shrinkage from ∼1900 to 2015. We specifically focus on local extinctions by addressing the following questions: (i) What are the numbers and geographic distributions of decreasing terrestrial vertebrate species (i.e., experiencing population losses)? (ii) What are the vertebrate groups and geographic regions that have the highest numbers and proportions of decreasing species? (iii) What is the scale of local population declines in mammals—a proxy for other vertebrates? By addressing these questions, we conclude that anthropogenic population extinctions amount to a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth and that population losses and declines are especially important, because it is populations of organisms that primarily supply the ecosystem services so critical to humanity at local and regional levels.
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   Results

   Patterns of Variation in Population Loss Among Vertebrates.

    

   Considering all land vertebrates, our spatially explicit analyses indicate a massive pulse of population losses, with a global epidemic of species declines. Those analyses support the view that the decay of vertebrate animal life is widespread geographically, crosses phylogenetic lineages, and involves species ranging in abundance from common to rare (Figs. 1–4). The losses, however, are not uniform: some regions exhibit higher concentrations of species with local population extinctions than others, including a strong latitudinal signal corresponding to an intertropical peak (i.e., roughly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn) of number of decreasing species, particularly strong in mammals and birds, which largely drive the overall land vertebrate pattern (Fig. 3, Center). Notably, some parts of the planet harbor low absolute numbers of vertebrate species undergoing decline (Figs. 2 and 3), such as those areas of low species richness located in hypercold (northernmost locations, particularly of the Western Hemisphere) and hyperarid (Saharan Africa and Central Asia) regions. However, it is instructive to examine their corresponding proportional numbers, an aspect we discuss in detail in another section below.

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   Fig. 1.

   Decreasing land vertebrates, as exemplified with these four species, include taxa with different conservation status (e.g., low concern, critically endangered), current geographic range (e.g., large, very restricted), and abundance (e.g., common, rare). The data on conservation status, current geographic range, and abundance are from IUCN (28). Barn swallow image courtesy of Daniel Garza Galindo (photographer).

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   Fig. 2.

   Global distribution of terrestrial vertebrate species according to IUCN (28). (Left) Global distribution of species richness as indicated by number of species in each 10,000-km2 quadrat. (Center) Absolute number of decreasing species per quadrat. (Right) Percentage of species that are suffering population losses in relation to total species richness per quadrat. The maps highlight that regions of known high species richness harbor large absolute numbers of species experiencing high levels of decline and population loss (particularly evident in the Amazon, the central African region, and south/southeast Asia), whereas the proportion of decreasing species per quadrat shows a strong high-latitude and Saharan Africa signal. In addition, there are several centers of population decline in both absolute and relative terms (Borneo, for example).

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   Fig. 3.

   Latitudinal distribution of species richness (Left), decreasing species (Center), and the percentage of species (Right) that are suffering population losses in relation to total species richness, in each 10,000-km2 quadrat. Patterns of species richness in relation to latitude are similar in all vertebrates, although there are more species per quadrat in birds and mammals and, as expected, a scarcity of reptiles and amphibians at high latitudes. The patterns of number of species with decreasing populations indicate that regions with high species richness also have high numbers of decreasing species, but the percentage of decreasing species in relation to species richness shows contrasting patterns between mammals and birds compared with reptiles and amphibians. In mammals and birds, the percentage of decreasing species is relatively similar in regions with low and high species richness. In contrast, there are proportionally more decreasing species of reptiles and amphibians in regions with low species richness.

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   Fig. 4.

   The percentage of decreasing species classified by IUCN as “endangered” (including “critically endangered,” “endangered,” “vulnerable,” and “near-threatened”) or “low concern” (including “low concern” and “data-deficient”) in terrestrial vertebrates. This figure emphasizes that even species that have not yet been classified as endangered (roughly 30% in the case of all vertebrates) are declining. This situation is exacerbated in the case of birds, for which close to 55% of the decreasing species are still classified as “low concern.”

   The number of decreasing species of all land vertebrates in each of the 10,000-km2 quadrats over Earth’s land surface ranges from a few to more than 365 (Fig. 2). As expected, large concentrations of decreasing vertebrate species occur in species-rich areas of moist tropical forests adjacent to mountainous regions, such as the Andes–Amazon region, the Congo basin-adjacent eastern African highlands, and the Himalayas–south Asian jungle belt. The distribution of the number of decreasing species considering vertebrate classes separately reveals notable differences. First, the maximum number of decreasing species in a 10,000-km2quadrat varies from a high value of 296 decreasing birds per quadrat, to a low maximum of 60 decreasing reptiles in a quadrat. Second, mammals and birds have relatively similar distribution patterns of decreasing species, except that birds have more decreasing species in the temperate zones. Third, mammals and birds have patterns of decreasing species quite distinct from those of reptiles and amphibians (Figs. 2 and 3), given that the latter are rarer in the northern and southern temperate and subpolar regions (both are essentially absent from the Arctic and are missing from the Antarctic). Fourth, reptiles and amphibians clearly differ from each other in regions where decreasing species are concentrated. For example, there are more decreasing reptiles in the Eurasian and African continents, and more decreasing amphibians in the Americas.

   There is also great variation in the total population size and geographic ranges among individual species. Although there is no accurate information on population size for most taxa, whatever is available indicates that the total population size in species with decreasing populations varies from fewer than 100 individuals in critically endangered species such as the Hainan black-crested gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), to many millions of individuals in decreasing common species such as the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). Similarly, the smallest ranges (i.e., <1 km2) are seen in species such as the Carrizal seedeater (Amaurospiza carrizalensis) from Venezuela and Herrera’s false coral snake (Lampropeltis herrerae) from Mexico, both denizens of tiny islands. The largest ranges are hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, as in the bush dog (Speothos venaticus) from South America and the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) from Eurasia. The sum of the 10,000-km2 quadrats representing the current ranges of the 8,851 decreasing vertebrate species is 1,350,876 quadrats. A highly conservative estimate would indicate a similar number of local populations facing extinction. This is, of course, a very rough estimate of the total number of populations, as the number of populations of a decreasing species in each quadrat largely depends, aside from suitable habitat distribution within the quadrat, on animal body mass and trophic position (e.g., ref. 34). The assumption of one population per 10,000 km2 might seem very conservative, as this area could accommodate many populations of small animals (e.g., 0.1-kg rodents), most of which could have been extirpated. However, 10,000 km2 may not be sufficient for, or can barely accommodate a viable population of large carnivores (say a 330-kg Siberian tiger; ref. 34). Nonetheless, our results provide evidence of the extremely large numbers of vertebrate populations facing extinction, compared with the number of species.

   Proportion of Vertebrate Species Decreasing.

    

   The proportion of decreasing vertebrates shows that there are areas across the planet with high concentrations of decreasing species in all vertebrates and regions with high proportions of decreasing species of a particular group (Figs. 2, 3, and 5). For example, in mammals, the highest percentage of decreasing species is concentrated in tropical regions, mostly in the Neotropics and Southeast Asia, whereas in reptiles, the proportional decline concentrates almost exclusively in Madagascar. Decreasing amphibians are prominent in Mexico, Central America, the northern Andes, and Brazil’s Atlantic forest in the Americas; West Africa and Madagascar in Africa; and India and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Philippines in Asia–Southeast Asia. Finally, decreasing species of birds are found over large regions of all continents (Fig. 2).

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   Fig. 5.

   The percentage of species of land mammals from five major continents/subcontinents and the entire globe undergoing different degrees (in percentage) of decline in the period ∼1900–2015. Considering the sampled species globally, 56% of them have lost more than 60% of their range, a pattern that is generally consistent in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe, whereas in South America and North America, 35–40% of the species have experienced range contractions of only 20% or less. (See text for details.)

   Roughly a third (8,851/27,600) of all land vertebrate species examined are experiencing declines and local population losses of a considerable magnitude (Figs. 2–4). Such proportion of decreasing species varies, depending on the taxonomic group, from 30% or more in the case of mammals, birds, and reptiles, to 15% in the case of amphibians. Furthermore, of the decreasing species, many are now considered endangered (Fig. 4). Beyond that, roughly 30% of all decreasing species are still sufficiently common that they are considered of “low concern” by IUCN, rather than “endangered.” That so many common species are decreasing is a strong sign of the seriousness of the overall contemporary biological extinction episode.

   In our 10,000-km2 quadrats, the proportion of decreasing species ranges from less than 10% to more than 50% (Fig. 2). The geographic distributions of absolute (i.e., number) and relative (i.e., percentage) of decreasing species is contrasting. Whereas tropical regions have larger numbers of decreasing species, as expected, given their higher species richness, their corresponding proportions are relatively low. In contrast, temperate regions tend to have similar or higher proportions of decreasing species, a trend dramatically prominent in the case of reptiles.

   Local Population Extinctions in Mammals.

    

   Our most detailed data allow comparison of historic and present geographic range of a sample of 177 mammal species (Figs. 5 and 6). Most of the 177 mammal species we sampled have lost more than 40% of their geographic ranges in historic times, and almost half have lost more than 80% of their ranges in the period ∼1900–2015. At the continental and subcontinental level, some patterns become evident (Fig. 5). The predominant category of range contraction is ≥80% in Africa (56% of the sampled mammal species), Asia (75% of the species), Australia (60% of the species), and Europe (40% of the species). In the Americas, range contractions are less marked but still considerable: 22% of the species in North America and 17% of the species in South America have experienced range contractions of at least 80%. Nevertheless, 50% of the species in North America and 28% of the species in South America have experienced a range contraction of 41% or more.

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   Fig. 6.

   Percentage of local population extinction in 177 species of mammals in 1° × 1° quadrats, as an indication of the severity of the mass extinction crises. The maps were generated by comparing historic and current geographic ranges (49) (SI Appendix, SI Methods). Note that large regions in all continents have lost 50% or more of the populations of the evaluated mammals. Because of the small sample size, biased to large mammal species, this figure can only be used to visualize likely trends in population losses.

   The comparison of the 1900–2015 geographic ranges showed that the 177 species of mammals have disappeared from 58,000 grid cells. On the assumption that on average each of the 10,000-km2 occupied quadrats held a single population of the species found within it, this implies that roughly 58,000 populations of the 177 mammals we examined have gone extinct. Consider the following emblematic cases: The lion (Panthera leo) was historically distributed over most of Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East, all the way to northwestern India (SI Appendix, Fig. S1). It is now confined to scattered populations in sub-Saharan Africa and a remnant population in the Gir forest of India. The vast majority of lion populations are gone. In its African stronghold, it historically occupied roughly two thousand 10,000-km2 cells, and now it is reduced to some 600 cells. Other species, such as the mountain lion (Puma concolor), are known to be doing better. The mountain lion has lost some of its local populations in North America, but has not suffered such disastrous losses as its Old World relative, adapting relatively well to human-dominated landscapes, and it is still found across 85% of its historic range.

   Clearly, the extinction of mammal populations, although varying from species to species, has been a global phenomenon (Fig. 6). Strikingly, the predominant color code in the mammalian map is that of 70% or more of population losses, with the exception of some areas of South America and high latitudes of North America. Particularly hard hit have been the mammals of south and southeast Asia, where all of the large-bodied species of mammals analyzed have lost more than 80% of their geographic ranges. The Cape and Sahara regions in Africa, central Australia, the eastern United States, and the Atlantic forest in South America have also suffered severely from population extinctions.
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   Discussion

   It has recently been shown, using conservative estimates of current and background species extinction rates, that Earth is now in a period of mass global species extinction for vertebrate animals (11). But the true extent of this mass extinction has been underestimated, because of the emphasis on species extinction. This underestimate largely traces to overlooking the accelerating extinction of populations. Whereas scientists have known for a long time that several relatively well-studied species have undergone major contraction of their ranges, experienced considerable population decreases, and suffered many population extinctions, the global extent of population shrinkage and extirpation has previously not been recognized and quantified.

   In addition, some studies document that invertebrates and plants are suffering massive losses of populations and species (35⇓⇓–38). Here we extend investigation of mass extinction to terrestrial vertebrate population decreases and losses, and give estimates of the number of their species with decreasing populations. The accuracy of the estimates is strongly dependent on an unknown parameter, namely, the actual average area occupied by a vertebrate population (e.g., refs. 35, 39⇓–41). However, even if a population would, on average, occupy an area five times larger than what we have used here (i.e., 50,000 km2) there would still be hundreds of thousands of populations that have suffered extinction in the past few centuries. On the other hand, most vertebrates (∼70%) are small species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. If, on average, they have one population every 10 km2 then vertebrates would have suffered more than a billion population extinctions.

   Our results show that population extinction in land vertebrates is geographically omnipresent, but with notable prominence in tropical, species-rich regions. It is interesting, however, that when population extinctions are evaluated as the percentage of total species richness, temperate regions, with their typical low species diversity, show higher proportions of population loss.

   There are some illustrative qualitative examples of population decreases and their consequences within terrestrial and marine vertebrates, but ours is an attempt at a quantitative evaluation of global trends in population extinctions. Recent reviews indicate that species extinctions, population decreases, and range contraction (implying population extinctions) among terrestrial invertebrates and plants are as severe as among vertebrates (e.g., refs. 35⇓⇓–38). For example, long-term monitoring of insect populations in the United Kingdom shows that 30–60% of species per taxonomic order have contracting ranges (36). The situation in plants has been less evaluated; thus it is difficult to compare them with animals, but there is little reason to believe that the extinction situation in plants is dramatically different (37). Furthermore, research shows that the loss of animal populations indirectly leads to changes in plant communities (20, 37, 39), frequently causing the reduction of local species richness and dominance of a few plant taxa that either experience “ecological release” in response to decreasing herbivore pressures (42, 43), and/or experience population reductions due to the decline of animals responsible for pollination or dispersal (e.g., refs. 2−3, 20). The status of biodiversity among microorganisms is too poorly known to permit us to make any comparison and generalizations about the current pulse of extinctions, although some recent research has unraveled feedbacks between local large herbivore defaunation and mycorrhizal richness (44, 45). Given what we know about genetic population differentiation, it is expected that the range contractions and declines we document here imply a considerable loss of intraspecific genetic diversity (23) but this is, clearly, an aspect that warrants further investigation.

   In sum, by losing populations (and species) of vertebrates, we are losing intricate ecological networks involving animals, plants, and microorganisms (e.g., refs. 2, 8, 18, 45, 46). We are also losing pools of genetic information that may prove vital to species’ evolutionary adjustment and survival in a rapidly changing global environment. This suggests that, even if there was not ample sign that the crisis extends far beyond that group of animals, today’s planetary defaunation of vertebrates will itself promote cascading catastrophic effects on ecosystems, worsening the annihilation of nature (2, 3, 46). Thus, while the biosphere is undergoing mass species extinction (11), it is also being ravaged by a much more serious and rapid wave of population declines and extinctions. In combination, these assaults are causing a vast reduction of the fauna and flora of our planet. The resulting biological annihilation obviously will also have serious ecological, economic, and social consequences (46). Humanity will eventually pay a very high price for the decimation of the only assemblage of life that we know of in the universe.
   Previous SectionNext Section

   Conclusion

   Population extinctions today are orders of magnitude more frequent than species extinctions. Population extinctions, however, are a prelude to species extinctions, so Earth’s sixth mass extinction episode has proceeded further than most assume. The massive loss of populations is already damaging the services ecosystems provide to civilization. When considering this frightening assault on the foundations of human civilization, one must never forget that Earth’s capacity to support life, including human life, has been shaped by life itself (47). When public mention is made of the extinction crisis, it usually focuses on a few animal species (hundreds out of millions) known to have gone extinct, and projecting many more extinctions in the future. But a glance at our maps presents a much more realistic picture: they suggest that as much as 50% of the number of animal individuals that once shared Earth with us are already gone, as are billions of populations. Furthermore, our analysis is conservative, given the increasing trajectories of the drivers of extinction and their synergistic effects. Future losses easily may amount to a further rapid defaunation of the globe and comparable losses in the diversity of plants (36), including the local (and eventually global) defaunation-driven coextinction of plants (3, 20). The likelihood of this rapid defaunation lies in the proximate causes of population extinctions: habitat conversion, climate disruption, overexploitation, toxification, species invasions, disease, and (potentially) large-scale nuclear war—all tied to one another in complex patterns and usually reinforcing each other’s impacts. Much less frequently mentioned are, however, the ultimate drivers of those immediate causes of biotic destruction, namely, human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich. These drivers, all of which trace to the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet, are themselves increasing rapidly. Thus, we emphasize that the sixth mass extinction is already here and the window for effective action is very short, probably two or three decades at most (11, 48). All signs point to ever more powerful assaults on biodiversity in the next two decades, painting a dismal picture of the future of life, including human life.
   Previous SectionNext Section

   Methods

   For full methods, please see SI Appendix. We determined the number of decreasing vertebrate species using the IUCN (28) Red List of Threatened Species. In the IUCN, species are classified as decreasing, stable, or increasing (see also ref. 33). Either range contraction (population extinction) or reduction in numbers in extant populations determines whether a species is decreasing. We used the IUCN maps of terrestrial vertebrates (i.e., mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) to create the global maps of number of species (richness) and of decreasing species, and percentage of decreasing species in relation to total species richness. The distribution of all of the species was superimposed in a 22,000 grid of 10,000-km2 quadrats covering the continental lands. For the grid, a Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection was used (see ref. 49 for details of the projection methods). In our analyses a critical issue is how grid squares and populations correspond. This is a very difficult problem that varies with definitions of species. (In this paper, we stick with the classic biological definition of species.) The number of populations also varies from species to species; for example, a highly phylopatric species would have more populations per square than a very vagile species, and species with different mating systems would have different estimates of numbers of Mendelian populations, and these would not be the same as estimates of number of demographic units (50). For the purposes of understanding the annihilation, these differences are not critical. For example, if we have lost 90% of the lion’s geographic range, whether this amounts to 10,000 demographic units or 4,000 Mendelian populations is trivial in the present context. It would be extremely useful if we had much more information on population structure for all vertebrates, but this is a major, pending agenda.

   The population extinction analysis was conducted on 177 mammalian species occurring on five continents. Specifically, we analyzed 54 species in Africa, 14 in Asia, 57 in Australia, 15 in Europe, and 35 in America. The historical distribution was gathered from specialized literature (see details in ref. 26) and the current distribution from IUCN (28). Historic and current ranges were digitized as geographic information system polygons and elaborated in ArcGis 10.1 (51). For each species, we calculated the area of the historical and present distribution (in square kilometers) to estimate the percentage of lost area and the percentage of area where the species are extant. A caveat of these estimates regards how representative the sample of 177 species is. We recognize a bias in that the data include a large number of medium- and large-sized species, for which the best information is available. However, given that such medium and large species are the most seriously threatened by the predominant proximate drivers of defaunation (2, 3), the likely bias against small-sized species should not affect our overall interpretation of results.
   Previous SectionNext Section

   Acknowledgments

   We thank John Harte for very helpful comments on the manuscript and Noé Torres, Giulia Santulli, and Jesús Pacheco for their help with data analyses. The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Stanford University supported our work.
   Previous SectionNext Section

   Footnotes

   • 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: gceballo@ecologia.unam.mx or pre@stanford.edu.

   • Author contributions: G.C., P.R.E., and R.D. designed research; G.C. and P.R.E. performed research; G.C., P.R.E., and R.D. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; G.C. analyzed data; and G.C., P.R.E., and R.D. wrote the paper.
   • Reviewers: T.E.L., George Mason University; and P.H.R., Missouri Botanical Garden.
   • The authors declare no conflict of interest.
   • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1704949114/-/DCSupplemental.
   Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.
   Previous Section

    

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http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/07/05/1704949114.full

Era of 'biological annihilation' is underway, scientists warn

Tatiana Schlossberg| NYT News Service | Updated: Jul 12, 2017, 01.00 PM IST

NEW YORK: From the common barn swallow to the exotic giraffe, thousands of animal species are in precipitous decline, a sign that an irreversible era of mass extinction is underway, new research finds.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, calls the current decline in animal populations a "global epidemic" and part of the "ongoing sixth mass extinction"+ caused in large measure by human destruction of animal habitats+ . The previous five extinctions were caused by natural phenomena.

Gerardo Ceballos, a researcher at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City, acknowledged that the study is written in unusually alarming tones for an academic research paper. "It wouldn't be ethical right now not to speak in this strong language to call attention to the severity of the problem," he said.

Ceballos emphasized that he and his co-authors, Paul R Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo, both professors at Stanford University, are not alarmists, but are using scientific data to back up their assertions that significant population decline and possible mass extinction of species all over the world may be imminent, and that both have been underestimated by many other scientists.

The study's authors looked at reductions in a species' range — a result of factors like habitat degradation, pollution and climate change, among others — and extrapolated from that how many populations have been lost or are in decline, a method that they said is used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They found that about 30 percent of all land vertebrates — mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians — are experiencing declines and local population losses. In most parts of the world, mammal populations are losing 70 percent of their members because of habitat loss.

In particular, they cite cheetahs, which have declined to around 7,000 members; Borneo and Sumatran orangutans, of which fewer than 5,000 remain; populations of African lions, which have declined by 43 percent since 1993; pangolins, which have been "decimated"; and giraffes, whose four species now number under 100,000 members.

The study defines populations as the number of individuals in a given species in a 10,000-square-kilometer unit of habitat, known as a quadrat.

Jonathan Losos, a biology professor at Harvard, said that he was not aware of other papers that have used this method, but that it is "a reasonable first pass" at estimating the extent of species decline and population loss.

Losos also noted that giving precise estimates of wildlife populations is difficult, in part because scientists do not always agree on what defines a population, which makes the question inherently subjective.

Despite those issues, Losos said, "I think it's a very important and troubling paper that documents that the problems we have with biodiversity are much greater than commonly thought."

The authors of the paper suggest that previous estimates of global extinction rates have been too low, in part because scientists have been too focused on complete extinction of a species. Two vertebrate species are estimated to go extinct every year, which the authors wrote "does not generate enough public concern," and lends the impression that many species are not severely threatened, or that mass extinction is a distant catastrophe.

Conservatively, scientists estimate that 200 species have gone extinct in the past 100 years; the "normal" extinction rate over the past 2 million years has been that two species go extinct every 100 years because of evolutionary and other factors.

Rather than extinctions, the paper looks at how populations are doing: the disappearance of entire populations, and the decrease of the number of individuals within a population. Overall, they found this phenomenon is occurring globally, but that tropical regions, which have the greatest biodiversity, are experiencing the greatest loss in numbers, and that temperate regions are seeing higher proportions of population loss.

Ehrlich, who rose to prominence in the 1960s after he wrote "The Population Bomb," a book that predicted the imminent collapse of humanity because of overpopulation, said that he sees a similar phenomenon in the animal world as a result of human activity.

"There is only one overall solution, and that is to reduce the scale of the human enterprise," he said. "Population growth and increasing consumption among the rich is driving it."

He and Ceballos said that habitat destruction — deforestation for agriculture, for example — and pollution were the primary culprits, but that climate change exacerbates both problems. Accelerating deforestation and rising carbon pollution are likely to make climate change worse, which could have disastrous consequences for the ability of many species to survive on earth.

Ceballos struck a slightly more hopeful tone, adding that some species have been able to rebound when some of these pressures are taken away.

Top Comment

Author is right Just take our example for residential projects forest is destroyed making Life of these animals miserable so While doing development alternative habitat should be provided for these a... Read MoreKautilllya Raj

Ehrlich, however, continued to sound the alarm. "We're toxifying the entire planet," he said.

When asked about the clear advocacy position the paper has taken, a rarity in scientific literature, he said, "Scientists don't give up their responsibility as citizens to say what they think about the data that they're gathering."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/era-of-biological-annihilation-is-underway-scientists-warn/articleshow/59557886.cms

Nexus in Lutyens: Meet the forces that conspire against India -- Rakesh Krishnan Simha

July 12, 2017, 6:12 am

≫ Next: Too early to settle the Aryan migration debate? -- G. Chaubey, K. Thangaraj

≪ Previous: Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction -- Gerardo Ceballos et al (Full Text)

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http://indiafacts.org/nexus-lutyens-meet-forces-conspire-india/

Too early to settle the Aryan migration debate? -- G. Chaubey, K. Thangaraj

July 12, 2017, 5:43 pm

≫ Next: Kaushal Panwar, Professor; Phalahari Suryavanshi Das, Temple Priest

≪ Previous: Nexus in Lutyens: Meet the forces that conspire against India -- Rakesh Krishnan Simha

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Note: A scintillating piece by Geneticists, Dr. Chaubey and Dr. Thangaraj. 

The moral of the story is that Tony Joseph and all The Hindu readers should take Dr. MB Richards' thundering statements on a genetic narrative about fecund European genes with a pinch of salt. Maybe, archaeology/linguistics will give different pointers to explain the peopling of Bharatam.

Kalyan

Too early to settle the Aryan migration debate?

G. ChaubeyK. Thangaraj

JULY 13, 2017 00:05 IST

With genetic data currently available, it is difficult to deduce the direction of migration either into India or out of India during the Bronze Age

On June 17, The Hindu published an article by Tony Joseph (“How genetics is settling the Aryan migration debate”) on current genetic research in India and stated that “scientists are converging” on the Aryan migration to the Subcontinent around 2000-1500 BC. This conclusion was mainly based on the results obtained from the paternally inherited markers (Y chromosome), published on March 23, 2017 in a scientific journal, BMC Evolutionary Biology, by a team of 16 co-authors including Martin P. Richards of the University of Huddersfield, which compiled and analysed Y chromosome data mainly from the targeted South Asian populations living in the U.K. and U.S. However, anyone who understands the complexity of Indian population will appreciate that Indians living outside the Subcontinent do not reflect the full diversity of India, as the majority of them are from caste populations with limited subset of regions.

Under-representation

A recent paper by Dhriti Sengupta and colleagues (‘Genome Biology and Evolution 2016’; 8:3460-3470), showed that the South Asian populations included in the “1000 Genomes Project” under-represent the genomic diversity of the Subcontinent. Tribes are one of the founding populations of India, any conclusion drawn without studying them will fail to capture the complete genetic information of the Subcontinent.

Marina Silva/Richards et al. argued that the maternal ancestry (mtDNA) of the Subcontinent is largely indigenous, whereas 17.5% of the paternal ancestry (Y chromosome) is associated with the haplogroup R1a, an indication of the arrival of Bronze Age Indo-European speakers. However, India is a nation of close to 4,700 ethnic populations, including socially stratified communities, many of which have maintained endogamy (marrying within the community) for thousands of years, and these have been hardly sampled in the Y chromosome analysis led by Silva et al., and so do not provide an accurate characterisation of the R1a frequencies in India (several tribal populations carry substantial frequency of haplogroup R1a).

Equally important to understand is that the Y chromosome phylogeny suffered genetic drift (lineage loss), and thus there is a greater chance to lose less frequent R1a branches, if one concentrates only on specific populations, keeping in mind the high level of endogamy of the Subcontinent. These are extremely important factors one should consider before making any strong conclusions related to Indian populations. The statement made by Silva et al. that 17.5% of Indians carry R1a haplogroup actually means that 17.5% of the samples analysed by them (those who live in U.K. and U.S.) carry R1a, not that 17.5% of Indians carry R1a!

Genetic affinities

Indian genetic affinity with Europeans is not new information. In a study published in Nature (2009; 461:489-494), scientists from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and Harvard Medical School (HMS), U.S., using more than 5,00,000 autosomal genetic markers, showed that the Ancestral North Indians (ANI) share genetic affinities with Europeans, Caucasians and West Asians. However, there is a huge difference between this study and the study published by Silva et al., as the study by CSIR-CCMB and HMS included samples representing all the social and linguistic groups of India. It was evident from the same Nature paper that when the Gujarati Indians in Houston (GIH) were analysed for genetic affinities with different ethnic populations of India, it was found that the GIH have formed two clusters in Principal Component Analysis (PCA), one with Indian populations, another an independent cluster. Similarly, a recent study (‘Neurology Genetics’, 2017; 3:3, e149) by Robert D.S. Pitceathly and colleagues from University College of London and CSIR-CCMB has analysed 74 patients with neuromuscular diseases (of mitochondrial origin) living in the U.K. and found a mutation in RNASEH1 gene in three families of Indian origin. However, this mutation was absent in Indian patients with neuromuscular diseases (of mitochondrial origin). This mutation was earlier reported in Europeans, suggesting that these three families might have mixed with the local Europeans; highlighting the importance of the source of samples. Another study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics (2011; 89:731-744) by Mait Metspalu and colleagues, where CSIR-CCMB was also involved, analysed 142 samples from 30 ethnic groups and mentioned that “Modeling of the observed haplotype diversities suggests that both Indian ancestry components (ANI and ASI) are older than the purported Indo-Aryan invasion 3,500 YBP (years before present). As well as, consistent with the results of pairwise genetic distances among world regions, Indians share more ancestry signals with West than with East Eurasians”.

We agree that the major Indian R1a1 branch, i.e. L657, is not more than 5,000 years old. However, the phylogenetic structure of this branch cannot be considered as a derivative of either Europeans or Central Asians. The split with the European is around 6,000 years and thereafter the Asian branch (Z93) gave rise to the South Asian L657, which is a brother branch of lineages present in West Asia, Europe and Central Asia. Such kind of expansion, universally associated with most of the Y chromosome lineages of the world, as shown in 2015 by Monika Karmin et al., was most likely due to dramatic decline in genetic diversity in male lineages four to eight thousand years ago (Genome Research, 2015; 4:459-66). Moreover, there is evidence which is consistent with the early presence of several R1a branches in India (our unpublished data).

The Aryan invasion/migration has been an intense topic of discussion for long periods. However, one has to understand the complexity of the Indian populations and to select samples carefully for analysis. Otherwise, the findings could be biased and confusing.

With the information currently available, it is difficult to deduce the direction of haplogroup R1a migration either into India or out of India, although the genetic data certainly show that there was migration between the regions. Currently, CSIR-CCMB and Harvard Medical School are investigating a larger number of samples, which will hopefully throw more light on this debate.

Tony Joseph responds: There is a technical point in suggesting that the South Asian populations included in the “1000 Genomes Project” under-represent the complete genomic diversity of the Subcontinent and, therefore, the 17.5 % R1a frequency the ‘BMC Evolutionary Biology’ study arrived at may not be precise. That a sample under-represents the complete genomic diversity of India could be said of virtually any study whatsoever, including the studies that the authors of the rejoinder have done. The point about the Marina Silva/Martin P. Richards et al. study is that its conclusions about the chronology of multiple migrations into South Asia are not dependent upon the precise percentage of R1a population — they remain robust whether the R1a percentage is 12.5 % or 17.5% or 22.5 %. The precision of the percentage or the impugned under-representation would have been an issue if the study were to make detailed conclusions about, say, how the Bronze Age migrations spread across different regions in India. Since it is not doing that, under-representation ceases to be a material issue. In an email to me on May 29, weeks before my article was published, this is what Prof. Richards said about the sample: “It’s true that some of the 1000 Genomes Project (1KGP) sequences that we analysed for genome-wide and Y-chromosome data were sampled from Indians in the U.K. and U.S., and lack tribal groups, which might well be an issue for a detailed regional study of the subcontinent (our mtDNA database was much larger). But we are simply looking at the big picture across the region (what was the role of Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement, primarily) and the signals we describe across the five 1KGP sample sets are clear and consistent and also fit well with the lower-resolution data that has been collected in the past (e.g. for R1a distributions). By putting everything together, we feel the sketch of the big picture that we propose is very well supported, even though there will certainly be a huge amount of further analysis needed to work through the regional details.” The second argument that the rejoinder makes, as summed up in its last paragraph, is that ‘Out of India’ is a possible explanation for the genetic spread that we observe. This is helpful insofar as it accepts that the genetic spread that we observe does need an explanation. But the problem with proposing ‘Out of India’ as that explanation is the following: it is not as if the ‘Out of India’ hypothesis is new; it has been around for decades. But the rejoinder makes no reference to a single peer-reviewed genetic study that makes a serious case for ‘Out of India’. If the hypothesis were tenable at all, shouldn’t there have been many peer-reviewed papers by now making the case and fleshing out the details?

K. Thangaraj is with the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and G. Chaubey is with the Estonian Biocentre in Tartu, Estonia

Tony Joseph is a writer and former editor of ‘BusinessWorld’. Twitter: @tjoseph0010

Comments (15)

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Kalyan 

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P

Pramod 

2405 Points

4 hours ago

From Michael Bumshad to Gyanendra Choube, many scientist have
contributed to the genetic research. R1a haplogroup, the marker of 
Indo-European speakers has been traced in many south Indians tribes such as
Koya and Chenchu. As such, one research paper cannot provide us any
definitive conclusion, that too when the research tested only those Indians who
have settled overseas. Of particular importance is a research paper entitled,
“Fundamental genomic unity of ethnic India is revealed by analysis of
mitochondrial DNA” by Sushant Roychoudhary and others. This indicates that
Indian population was founded by a small numbers of females, possibly arriving
at one of the early waves of out-of-Africa migration of modern humans and the
South Asian mtDNA pool is more or less static. It would be highly illogical to
suggest that the so called pastoral ‘Aryan’ tribes consisted only of males! The
debate, therefore, is far from settled.

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P

Pramod 

2405 Points

5 hours ago

The debate is far from settled. Firstly, it is highly inappropriate to refer to the
putative migrants into South Asia as Aryans. Aryan race is a mythical concept.
In all recent research papers the putative migrants are referred to as
‘Indo-European Speakers’. Social customs, culture, religious practices and
languages can transcend and migrate even without actual human migration. In
this context I cite a much referred Max Muller quote : “There is no Aryan race in
blood. Aryan in scientific language is utterly inapplicable to race. It means
nothing but language and if we speak Aryan race at all, we should know that it
should mean no more than Aryan speech. I have declared again and again that
if I say Aryan, I mean neither blood nor bones, nor hair nor skull; I mean simply
those who speak Aryan language.” Tony Joseph has lowered the quality of the
debate by raising the Aryan bogey, which is an utterly non-scientific approach. 
(Contd.)

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Sarath Pockyarath5 hours ago

Tony Joseph now admits tribal populations were excluded having made it look
as if the study was nation wide and irrefutable evidence. Quote “It’s true that
some of the 1000 Genomes Project (1KGP) sequences that we analysed for
genome-wide and Y-chromosome data were sampled from Indians in the U.K.
and U.S., and lack tribal groups, which might well be an issue for a detailed
regional study of the subcontinent"Unquote.. I now feel like laughing.

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Hariharan Pv

32465 Points

6 hours ago

That serious scientific analyses and debates are seen to continue of the subject
of Indian population groups - whether migrants entered and propagated,
mingling with Locals, or locals emigrated... etc - are good for Science. The
debates may lead to much better and more correct understanding, over the
years.

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Vinu ട്രോട്സ്കിയുടെ ഭൂതം

3035 Points

6 hours ago

what difference does it make? we all came from Africa, if we look way back ..

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B

Bino 

35 Points

6 hours ago

With a Dravidian Brahmin run RSS government in the center which is fighting
tooth and nail to safeguard the genetic cum genealogical cum hereditary caste
system from collapsing as well as the protection of the Aryan rights at the top of
the caste ladder it is very important to debunk the Aryan invasion theory so that
the Dravidian population does not rise up in revolt and and annihilate the Aryan
minority of this 60 year old nation. under normal circumstances it will be
perfectly alright to agree with the truth of Aryan invasion. The Vedas of the
Brahmic religion of the Aryans also gives us clear clues that Aryans are invaders
of this region History again is repeat with Aryan invasion stories a fact that
even V. D. Savarkar, admits (Hindu Rashtra Darshan, Swatantryaveer Savarkar
Rashtriya Smarak Trust, Dadar, Mumbai, P.19).This debate is never going to
end until the RSS firmly esblishes its theory in the minds of its people.

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Vithal Rajan

415 Points

6 hours ago

Politics and religion have muddied any scientific discourse about Indian
pre-history for a long time. In addition the Indus valley which could yield
archealogical clues lies on a hot political border. We may have to wait till
Pakistani scientists decipher the ancient Indus Valley language and establish
when and how the Aryans came in and what destroyed the Dravidian civilization.

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S

Shankar 

100 Points

6 hours ago

Hindu scriptures based on history like Mahabharatham talk of Indians visiting far
east to thailand and west to Greece. Let us not simply categorise these to some
stories. These scriptures are called "Ithihasas" meaning "it happened thus".

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R

Ravi 

18165 Points

7 hours ago

Tony Joseph is incompetent to enter this discussion. These scientists should not
cast pearls unnecessarily before Josephs!

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J H

Jai Hind

450 Points

7 hours ago

Finally a sensible article on this topic. Why is Tony Joseph still responding? he
should go back to his business of editing business magazines. This topic is not
for him

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S

Srinivasan 

50 Points

9 hours ago

It is instructive that the rejoinders to this debate has come from
scholars,researchers and specialists while the grand "settling" hypothesis
[unclaimed by the authors of the original paper] is by a former editor of a
business news paper. One would like to know how many "peer-reviewed original
papers" that Mr.Joseph has published before being taken seriously for
astoundingly brazen conclusions unsupported by any data such as this " [R1A]
came later with a language called Sanskrit" exactly 3500 years ago.

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Kalyan 

45 Points

9 hours ago

A scintillating piece by Geneticists, Dr. Chaubey and Dr. Thangaraj. 

The moral of the story is that Tony Joseph and all The Hindu readers should
take Dr. MB Richards' thundering statements on a genetic narrative about
fecund European genes with a pinch of salt. Maybe, archaeology/linguistics will
give different pointers to explain the peopling of Bharatam.

10

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M

Maverick 

75 Points

11 hours ago

Interesting follow through of the previous article. The objection to the previous
article is made only on mere technical ground more than the logical one. there's
no outline what wrong with the theory and what facts it contradicts. In any study,
there will be under representation and it will be serious problem only if the
objective is of quantitative in nature. Convincing reply is given by Tony. The 
objection seems to that the CCMB have the diversity of sample and they only
have the ultimate right to settle the debate. Of course they don't want to settle
the debate, especially not along the lines political establishment liking.

11

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R

RAJAALSAHI 

8045 Points

12 hours ago

The Golwalkar/RSS claim now stand devoid of any meaning whatsoever thanks
to Genetics. The Authors in this article say "with the information currently
available, it is difficult to deduce the direction of haplogroup R1a migration either
into India or out of India, although the genetic data certainly show that there was
migration between the regions". This is key! Either way, whether into India or out
of India, Europeans, Caucasians and West Asians are of us and we of them.
This puts laid to the fascist and baseless misleading propaganda by RSS
against Mughals who were from C Asia and who are clearly our own, whether
their ancestors came from India or entered India from their region. ANI
(Ancestral North Indian) is also abundant in W Asian lineage, once again
whether their ancestors came from India or went into India! Therefore we cannot
say Mughals invaded India when Babur came, for he came into the land of his
ancient ancestors, Bharat! RSS fooled us, pitching Indian against Indian!

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S

Saratchandran 

3835 Points

12 hours ago

There is more than enough evidence to suggest that tye out of Africa tribe, about
70 to 100 thousand years ago, settled down in South India, multiplied in the
tropical luscious land, moved north to North India, one stream moved out
through the Khyber pass and populated the Misdle East while a second stream
moved North East towards Thailand. It means, India was the nursery of the
world population. So those tribes left for the far lands may have returned to the
motherland periodically for one reason or the other, just as the NRI are doing
now. Would you call those NRI returning to India as others and the New

Aryans!!?
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/too-early-to-settle-the-aryan-migration-debate/article19265947.ece

Kaushal Panwar, Professor; Phalahari Suryavanshi Das, Temple Priest

July 12, 2017, 6:29 pm

≫ Next: Kr̥ṣṇa, Yādava, ābhīra, ahir, āyar herdsmen, hunters, metalworkers, traders; Ahar-Banas culture ca. 3000 BCE

≪ Previous: Too early to settle the Aryan migration debate? -- G. Chaubey, K. Thangaraj

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From manual scavenger to professor, the journey of Kaushal Panwar

Despite facing discrimination at every step, Kaushal Panwar managed to achieve her dreams. But she says her identity, for people around her, is still that of a Dalit.

Ashwaq Masoodi

It’s like hitting a brick wall with bare fists. You could just give up, thinking you’ll make no more than a scratch. Or you could smash through one day, with the help of a chalk and a slate.

When the little Dalit girl first turned up for Sanskrit lessons one morning, it made her high school teacher in Haryana furious.

“You will do what your parents did in their lives. Go clean toilets! Why waste your time?”

Kaushal Panwar, born in the Balmiki caste, among the lowest of low castes, was back the next day. The teacher had no option but to allow the seventh grader to attend, but she had to sit in the last row. She did not mind—just as long as she could learn, she reasoned to herself.

Panwar, then in her early teens, would not have known what she was about to take on: Ancient Hindu texts forbid women and members of low castes from studying Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas and other holy scriptures.

But for Panwar, studying the classical language and reading Sanskrit religious texts was opening up her world, offering new meanings in complex historical contexts. It was literally like reading a guide on how and why to discriminate against the so-called lower castes—the key, if you like, to unlocking the behaviour of her teacher.

It upset and enraged her, but Panwar had found her calling in life: She secured her PhD in Sanskrit and launched into a life in academics.

“If you don’t know something, how can you criticize it? If you are a nobody, who will listen to you? And how will you question anything?” asks Panwar, 39 now, sitting in her three-room home in West Delhi, where the name plate of her apartment bears her name. She says: “Here, you will not see those gender biases and stereotypes that you see among higher castes.” 

Panwar is an assistant professor in the Sanskrit department in Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University. She is fiery, confident and uncompromisingly forthright—just the kind to break down walls.

She proudly says she is a Balmiki, unlike many others of her caste who change their surnames in order to escape discrimination. Society, Panwar says, doesn’t let you forget your caste and its long history of discrimination.

“During my childhood, teenage and college in Haryana, and then my doctorate in Delhi....everywhere, the only identity I was reduced to was my caste.”  

The pond

A small pond—that’s what most of Panwar’s childhood memories revolve around. Growing up in her village in Rajound in Kaithal district of Haryana, the pond was where Panwar played, dried cow dung cakes, bathed cattle and washed clothes.

As soon as the adults went in for their daily afternoon siesta, Panwar and her friends would scamper out to jump into the pond, locally called johari or jodh. The village was dominated by upper-caste Rajputs, and only a few houses belonged to Balmikis. One day, a group of Rajput girls saw the Balmiki children bathing in the pond. “Paani ko tumne bheet diya (You made the water impure),” they shouted, says Panwar. She was all of seven or eight, but she knew something was terribly wrong.

Alone in that group of several children, both boys and girls, Panwar instinctively took a stand. “I said, ‘Since we have made this water impure for you, don’t use this pond ever again and leave it for us’.” The Rajput girls summoned boys from their community and a fight followed; village elders joined in, and it lasted for more than a month, Panwar says.

“There are layers of discrimination that you witness...The more you observe, the worse things become, because then you become aware of even the subtle hints. How does a child know the difference between man and woman...who tells them? The society, right? The same society teaches us about caste. Like gender, caste is also taught,” she says. 

From being barred a drink of water from a tap in a temple near her house, to being forced to wear a pink uniform while upper-caste students wore blue, to being scolded in class because she could answer questions that upper-caste students couldn’t, Panwar’s life is full of stories of discrimination and her fight back . 

Read and you will know

That Sanskrit class for instance. It was the seventh grade, and students had to choose one of three elective subjects: Home science, music or Sanskrit. Panwar chose Sanskrit. To her, Sanskrit was just another subject. To the Sanskrit teacher, it was anything but. Sanskrit teachers in village schools are almost always from the upper caste. To her teacher, this was blasphemy. 

For long, the learning of Sanskrit has been restricted to the upper castes.

“Sanskrit had become a vehicle for the expression of India’s historical social inequalities, based on the Hindu caste system,” says Columbia University professor and Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock, who started a fellowship in Sanskrit at his University for Dalits to study the language.

Brahmin privilege ensured their special access to knowledge and to the language of knowledge—Sanskrit—and preserving this privilege meant denying lower castes access to these resources.

Humiliation by the upper-caste teacher continued, but Panwar stuck to her decision. One day, when she came home crying, her father told her: “They (upper castes) will do what they want to do. You make sure (that) one day you study more than this teacher who thinks you don’t deserve to study Sanskrit.”

It was a remarkable intervention. Panwar’s parents were daily wage manual labourers. Illiterate, they spent most of their lives paying off debt without even knowing whether their hard work was proportional to the amount they took as loan from landlords.

Whenever Panwar asked her father about caste, his stock reply was: “There is a division between people. I don’t know who created this. The educated must have answers to these questions. Read and you will know.”

Panwar still didn’t know that caste played a role in something as basic as the choice of language a child could learn. Slowly, she realized what the outrage of her teacher and classmates really was all about. She completed her Bachelors in Sanskrit from the Indira Gandhi Mahila Mahavidyalaya in Kaithal district, Masters from Kurukshetra University, MPhil from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak and, finally, PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. 

The more she read, the angrier she became. But she wanted to keep reading. “Both, as being a woman and being a Dalit, reading these texts shakes you up. It is so derogatory, so outrageous, at so many levels,” she says. 

A parallel

Panwar’s story is similar to that of Kusum Pawde—although the two are set apart from each other by thousands of kilometres. Pawde grew up in Maharashtra, a testament to the pervasive nature of caste.

The similarities are evident in Pawde’s essay, The Story of my Sanskrit, in her 1981 autobiography Antasphot. Describing a Dalit becoming a Sanskrit scholar, Pawde writes: “Seeing this knowledge, hidden in the esoteric inner sanctum, come within the embrace, not just of any person, but one whom religion has considered to be vermin—that is their victory.” Even after Pawde and Panwar made a name for themselves, people would tell them things like: “You don’t look Dalit.” Or, “How is it that the way you read Sanskrit is almost like a Brahmin?” 

When Panwar decided to pursue higher education, her teachers kept telling her: “This isn’t like high school. Mastering Sanskrit is not something that you or your people can do.” Panwar kept proving them wrong. Studying on stipends, and simultaneously working as a labourer in the sites around her college, and as a manual scavenger during her M.A, Panwar made it through.

There was this one time when, on seeing her emerging from the jhuggi (a slum dwelling), her classmates who stayed in the hostel stopped to talk to her—not out of sympathy but to make fun.

Another time, when she was doing her M.A, she went with her aunt to manually remove human excrement from a house, which turned out to be her classmate’s.

Once in JNU, a student, after finding out her caste said, “We should get a havan(purification ceremony) done on Panwar’s desk.” All she would think through this humiliation was: “I will study harder than them.” 

In 2012, Panwar gave a lecture on The Situation of Shudras in Vedas at Harvard University, US, and appeared in Aamir Khan’s television show Satyamev Jayate, that brought her recognition and fame. Unlike many others, she wants to tell her story because she is proud of where she is. But there is too much to forget and forgive.

Memories of how she was not allowed to drink from, or even touch, the earthen water pitchers in her school still infuriate her. She remembers how, in anger, she broke several of these pitchers with her takhti (traditional wooden writing slate). “Caste discrimination has not ended in India. It has just changed its form,” she says referring to how modernization and industrialization has broken the traditional model of caste-based discrimination that existed earlier.

Panwar has achieved what she wanted to, but she says her identity, for the people around her, is still what it was—that of a Dalit.

This is the second of a three-part series. To read the first part, click here.

Kaushal Panwar is an assistant professor of Sanskrit at Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University. Priyanka Parashar/Mint

First Published: Wed, Jul 12 2017. 01 25 AM IST

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/OVM3Pby01fN7wbAUIJHoXJ/From-manual-scavenger-to-professor-the-journey-of-Kaushal-P.html

Dalit priest Phalahari Suryavanshi Das performs the daily rituals at Mahavir temple in Patna. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint

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Last Published: Wed, Jul 12 2017. 01 26 AM IST

From an outcast to a temple priest

The journey of Phalahari Suryavanshi Das, a Dalit priest at Patna’s Mahavir temple, exemplifies a small but significant step to break the caste barrier in Bihar

Ashwaq Masoodi

Patna: Two priests stand before flower-draped Hanuman idols, accepting offerings from devotees; plucking a flower from among those adorning the deities and adding it to the prasad as a blessing, before returning it to the devotees waiting with folded hands and bowed heads. The air inside Patna’s Mahavir temple reverberates with chants of Hanuman Chalisa and the Ramayana’s Sundar Kand, punctuated by the intermittent ringing of the temple bell. Most devotees leave after the priests hand them the prasad and lightly touch their heads in blessing; a few touch the priests’ feet.

The ritual is perhaps typical of most temples in India. What is distinctive in this particular temple is the identity of the priests presiding over rituals in the sanctum sanctorum. On the right, dressed in a lemon kurta and white pyjama, with hair neatly parted on one side is Dwarka Das, 35, and a Brahmin. On the left, in a white dhoti and matching uparē (shawl worn over the shoulders), with long stringy locks of hair that resemble dreadlocks, is Phalahari Suryavanshi Das. He is 62 years old and a Dalit.

“A Dalit priest standing shoulder to shoulder with a Brahmin priest inside one of the largest temples, frequented by all castes, is symbolic in itself. It is a marker of the social change that’s slowly happening...at least here,” says Acharya Kishore Kunal, a retired IPS officer and former chairman of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts.

Priesthood among Hindus has traditionally been an upper caste monopoly. At a time when Dalits in several parts of the country are fighting for the right even to enter temples, the presence of a Dalit priest in the sanctum sanctorum of a 300-year-old temple is remarkable.

A Dalit priest standing shoulder to shoulder with a Brahmin priest inside one of the largest temples, frequented by all castes, is symbolic in itself. It is a marker of the social change that’s slowly happening...at least here- Acharya Kishore Kunal, retired IPS officer and former chairman of Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts

Spending some time in the temple shows this is not mere tokenism. “Even the first time when I came here, I knew who the priest was. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras...all are the same in front of god and this temple just reinforces that. Every time I come here, I make sure I touch Phalahari baba’s feet at least once,” says Vinay Aggarwal, a 50-year-old businessman who visits the temple every day on his way to work.

There is authority and fearlessness in Suryavanshi Das’s eyes, and confidence that shows that he has long been accepted by the people of Patna and is no longer the “other”. In fact, he says, there have been instances when even “Brahmin intellectuals” have come for his darshan.

“I am a Mahatma. I never thought of myself as a Dalit. When you become a Mahatma, you abandon all such worldly identities. Saint Ramananda said, ‘Jaati panthi pucchai nahi koi, hari ko bhaje so hari ka hoi (Let no one ask of caste or sect; if anyone worships God, then he is God’s).’ Upper and lower castes are not the creation of God. It is our creation,” says Suryavanshi Das, who only eats fruits, hence the name Phalahari.

There is authority and fearlessness in Suryavanshi Das’s eyes, and confidence that shows that he has long been accepted by the people of Patna and is no longer the ‘other’

Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who fought for the rights of the Dalits and other socially backward classes, vehemently criticized the Brahmin monopoly over priesthood in a speech titled Annihilation of Caste, which was written for the 1936 annual conference of Hindu reformist group Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, but never delivered as his invitation was withdrawn due to the speech’s content. “The profession of a Hindu priest is the only profession which is not subject to any code... The priestly class must be brought under control by some such legislation... It will democratise it (priesthood) by throwing it open to everyone. It will certainly help to kill Brahminism and will also help to kill caste, which is nothing but Brahminism incarnate,” Ambedkar wrote in the speech.

In Bihar, the beginning of this change started on 13 June 1993, when a three-member delegation escorted Suryavanshi Das as he stepped into the sanctum sanctorum of the Mahavir temple late that afternoon. The presence of the three priests—Ramchandra Paramahans, Mahant Avaidyanath of Baba Gorakhnath Dham and Mahant Avadh Kishore Das, indicated that Suryavanshi Das’s appointment had received the stamp of approval. But behind all this was Kunal, who as the caretaker of the temple took it upon himself to change the social order and break the caste barrier. It was he who institutionalized philanthropy through the temple and slowly built a reputation for himself and the temple.

A Hanuman temple appointing a Dalit priest would ordinarily have resulted in some kind of resistance from the locals in a state where caste still remains relevant. But it didn’t. “This change was endorsed by three important priests of the time. And by then, people knew me as a true devotee. People trusted me. Had I come forward as a progressive liberal talking about change, I doubt I would have been successful in bringing about this change,” says Kunal.

The installation of Dalit priests in more than a dozen temples in Bihar does not mean caste has become irrelevant in the country or even the state, but it is definitely a small step towards breaking the barrier

India’s centuries-old caste hierarchy deemed those born in the so-called lower castes to be so unclean that they couldn’t even be touched. Untouchability was officially outlawed in 1950, but many continue to believe that touching some lower castes would make them impure. In this backdrop, Kunal’s dream of making caste irrelevant was not realistic.

Kunal personally visited Ayodhya’s Sant Ravidas temple, to request the head priest there to send a pujari for the Mahavir temple in Patna. Ravidas was a 15th century Bhakti saint who advocated “inclusive coexistence” in a casteless and classless society. Dalits revere him as a saint and have built several temples in his name.

Kunal says he thought he would be lynched at Ayodhya or Varanasi for suggesting such blasphemy, but surprisingly nothing happened.

Initially, those at the Ravidas temple thought perhaps Kunal had some political aspirations and was doing this to get the Dalit vote. For this reason, they did not immediately offer any of their priests. But within a few days, Suryavanshi Das was selected after he and several others were interviewed.

“It was an experiment that I was trying. I chose temples because I believe that in this country, you can become a Prime Minister being a Dalit, but it is nearly impossible to become a temple priest. Till now, I have installed Dalit priests in over a dozen temples here,” says Kunal, who has written a three-volume book titled Dalit Devo Bhav, which demolishes “myths” around caste-discrimination in Hindu society and the place of Dalits in history.

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There was some initial resistance. Some people warned Kunal about the possible repercussions of appointing a Dalit priest, but ultimately, it all went about smoothly. 

“I never thought, nor had I ever heard about a Dalit priest in a temple where all castes would come till then, but I wasn’t scared. I was sure about my knowledge, and I knew I had the backing of so many respectable people. I was proud of myself. Even today, I am more revered than any other priest in this temple,” says Suryavanshi Das.

His childhood memories centre around being forced to sit in the back rows of the classroom because how could a Dalit even sit with the upper castes? From there to seeing his name etched on marble plates outside temples he has inaugurated, life has changed dramatically for him.

The installation of Dalit priests in more than a dozen temples in Bihar does not mean caste has become irrelevant in the country or even the state, but it is definitely a small step towards breaking the barrier.

This is the first of a three-part series. To read the second part, click here.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/4AFwC6y1bCUMpagm23fnjI/From-an-outcast-to-a-temple-priest.html

Kr̥ṣṇa, Yādava, ābhīra, ahir, āyar herdsmen, hunters, metalworkers, traders; Ahar-Banas culture ca. 3000 BCE

July 12, 2017, 9:45 pm

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आभीर [p= 145,3] m. N. of a people MBh. R. VP.; a cowherd (being of a mixed tribe as the son of a Brahman and an अम्बष्ठ woman) Mn. x , 15 , &c; आभीरी f. the language of the आभीरs

Asirgarh Fort, built by King Asa Ahir in Madhya Pradesh

Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya,says that the Abhira are recorded as being in India in the 1st-century CE work, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Bhattacharya considers the Abhira of old to be a race rather than a tribe. (Bhattacharya, Sunil Kumar (1996). Krishna — Cult In Indian Art. M.D. Publications. p. 126.)

"A legendary story of the origin of the Nandvanshi Ahirs narrates that on his way to kill the rakshasas, Krishna crossed the river Yamuna accompanied by the Gawlis; those that crossed the river with him became the Ahir Nandabanshi. Nandvanshi and Yaduvanshi titles are fundamentally synonymous." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahir_clans

यादव [p= 851,2] mf(ई)n. (fr. यदु) relating to or descended from यदु MBh. Ka1v. &c; m. N. of कृष्ण L.

 ābhīra m. ʻ name of a people ʼ MBh., ʻ herdsman ʼ Mn., °rī -- f. lex. Pk. ābhīra -- , āhī°, ahira -- , āhēra -- ; Ku. ahīr ʻ a partic. low caste ʼ; B. āhir, f. āhīri ʻ cowherd ʼ, Or. āhira, f. °ri, Bi. ahīr, Bhoj. Aw. ahir, H. ahīr, f. °ran, °rnī; G. āhīr m., f. °rṇī ʻ pastoral tribe in Kathiavad, herdsman ʼ, āhīrṛã̄ n. pl. ʻ herdsmen (spoken of affectionately or contemptuously) ʼ; M. ahīr m., f. ahiraṇ, °rṇī, ʻ herdsman, a caste of Śūdras in Khandesh who are traders ʼ. -- K. āyiru m. ʻ forest hunter ʼ rather < ākhēṭa -- .(CDIAL 1232) ஆயர்பாடி āyar-pāṭi , n. < ஆயர் +. Hamlet of cowherds; இடைச்சேரி. (திவ். நாய்ச். 14, 2.); தலையாயார் talai-y-āyār , n. < id. +. Persons of the first rank, eminent persons; பெரி யோர். கல்லாக் கழிப்பர் தலையாயார் (நாலடி. 36, 6). (Tamil)

"Aayar are ethnic group of India and were possibly related to the historic Yadava people mentioned in the Puranas. In the early Sangam literature, the Ayars are described as having occupied the mullai or 'forest region'. The word Ayar is derived from the Dravidian word Aa, meaning cow.^[3]However, they are also known by other names, including Konar and Idaiyar." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayar

Ahar-Banas cultural sites

	Cache of seal impressions discovered in Western India offers surprising evidence for cultural complexity in little-known Ahar-Banas culture, ca. 3000 to 1500 BCE Find provides new insight into widespread trade, cultural exchange in region.
	June 5, 2003
	Excavating at the ancient town of Gilund in southern Rajasthan, India, one of the largest sites of the little-known Ahar-Banas culture, archaeologists led by teams from the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Deccan College, Pune, India, have discovered a bin filled with more than 100 seal impressions dating to 2100-1700 B.C. The existence of the seals, and their particular styles, offer surprising new evidence for the apparent complexity of this non-literate, late and post-Indus Civilization-era culture, according to Dr. Gregory Possehl, UPM curator and excavation co-director. Dr. Possehl, collaborator Dr. Vasant Shinde of Deccan College, and their teams made up of professionals and students from around the world have conducted excavations at Gilund over four seasons, beginning in 1999. The team is working to understand the social life, history and agricultural developments of these peoples, separated by about 200 miles of largely mountainous and desert-like regions from the powerful Indus Civilization that had its heyday 2500-1900 B.C. They came upon the bin with its seal impressions in the 2002-2003 season completed in February. The bin was in a large building that has not yet been completely excavated but is known to be larger than 25-by-60 feet, composed of parallel walls of well-made sun-dried brick. The size and nature of the building suggests that it was a "public" structure, with walls ranging in width from about 30 to 49 inches, and spaces between them about the same width. The presence of the bin within the space between two of the walls, and other signs of occupation, including pits and living debris, indicate that the long, narrow "rooms" were used for storage. While the exact nature of the commodities stored in the warehouse is not known, agricultural or animal products, possibly valuable processed items like ghee, oil and textiles, seem likely, according to Dr. Possehl. Clay, nature's soft and plentiful sealant, has been used by people for millennia to keep containers closed. Seals, on the other hand, frequently decorated with symbols to indicate a person or persons and used to make seal impressions that lay claim or suggest special rights to a container's contents, suggest a more stratified society. While no actual seals were discovered at Gilund, the unexpected collection of so many seal impressions strongly points to the presence of a populate of elite citizens who used stamps as identification of themselves and their elevated status -- and who marked commodities that were stored in this building under their control. A large oval shaped bin about 5 feet deep and 2.5 feet in diameter at its midpoint, to keep the seal impressions in -- and potentially keep others from duplicating specific impressions for their own use -- further indicates the elitist nature of this warehouse. The impression designs, according to Dr. Possehl, offer additional evidence for a more worldly-wise culture than was formerly assumed to exist at Gilund. The impressions found in the bin were made from seals both round and rectilinear. The design motifs are generally quite simple, with wide-ranging parallels from Indus Civilization sites such as Chanhu-daro, Pirak, Kot Diji and Nindowari, 400 to 500 miles away. There are also distinct parallels with seals from another cultural group archaeologists call the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), from as far away as Central Asia and northern Afghanistan, 1,000 miles to the northwest. "Gilund is providing us with good evidence for a stratified society that had wide-ranging contacts between the peoples of western India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia just at the end of the third millennium and the beginning of the second millennium," noted Dr. Possehl. "Archaeologists have known for a number of years that the so-called BMAC peoples were in Sindh and Baluchistan, as well as Iran, and even as far south as the Arabian Gulf. This, however, is the first time that such evidence has come from so deep within India, significantly expanding the geographic picture of a critical period of regional change, when the once-powerful Indus Civilization is undergoing a process of transformation." That transformation, Dr. Possehl notes, eventually led to the abandonment of the great Indus cities, the simplification of the Indus people's socio-cultural system, the loss of much of their technological virtuosity, and an end to their system of writing and measurements. "Learning more about how cultures like the Ahar-Banas and BMAC interacted with the Indus Civilization may help to broaden our understanding of the rise, and fall, of great civilizations of the world," said Dr. Possehl. Excavations at Gilund will resume next winter, when the archaeologists will explore the wall or walls discovered last season around the site to determine if the town was fortified. They will also further explore the large public building where the impressions were found, seeking further evidence of the building's function. Funding for the Gilund Project was made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, private donors, and Deccan College, Pune, India.
	Source: Penn Museum For Additional Information Contact: University Communications at 215-898-8721.http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?674&soc

Evidence of Indus seals of Ahar-Banas culture is integral to the Vedic culture of Sarasvati_Sindhu civilization 

Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/zfwouy5

manasataramgini ‏@blog_supplement  3 hours ago

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

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

Following notes point to the essential similarity between Ahar-Banas artifacts and the finds from other sites of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. In particular, the seal showing a + shaped fire-altar may be explained as a Vedi. Similar hieroglyphs occur on Indus Script Corpora, for example the following:

Kot Diji type seals with concentric circles from (a,b) Taraqai Qila (Trq-2 &3, after CISI 2: 414), (c,d) Harappa(H-638 after CISI 2: 304, H-1535   after CISI 3.1:211), and (e) Mohenjo-daro (M-1259, aftr CISI 2: 158). (From Fig. 7 Parpola, 2013).

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

I suggest that the 'dotted circle' signifies on Indus Script corpora: ḍāv ʻdice-throwʼ Rebus: dhāu 'ore'. 
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/evolution-of-brahmi-script-syllables.html?view=sidebar 

Evolution of Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- from Indus Script. Ur cylinder seal, Harappa tablet with 5 svastika deciphered. Evolution of Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- traced from Indus Script hieroglyph dotted circle, dām 'rope (single strand or string?)', dã̄u 

ʻtyingʼ, ḍāv m. ʻdice-throwʼ rebus: dhāu 'ore' 

Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- are derived from Indus Script hieroglyphs: dhāv 'string, dotted circle' rebus: dhāu'ore'

Button seal. Harappa.

Fired steatite button seal with four concentric circle designs discovered at Harappa. 

Sibri cylinder seal with Indus writing hieroglyphs: notches, zebu, tiger, scorpion?. Each dot on the corner of the + glyph and the short numeral strokes on a cylinder seal of Sibri, may denote a notch: खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m  A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.

 m0352 cdef

The + glyph of Sibri evidence is comparable to the large-sized 'dot', dotted circles and + glyph shown on this Mohenjo-daro seal m0352 with dotted circles repeated on 5 sides A to F. Mohenjo-daro Seal m0352 shows dotted circles in the four corners of a fire-altar and at the centre of the altar together with four raised 'bun' ingot-type rounded features.

Rebus readings of m0352 hieroglyphs:

  dhātu 'layer, strand'; dhāv 'strand, string' Rebus: dhāu, dhātu 'ore'

1. Round dot like a blob -- . Glyph: raised large-sized dot -- (gōṭī ‘round pebble);goTa 'laterite (ferrite ore)

2. Dotted circle khaṇḍa ‘A piece, bit, fragment, portion’; kandi ‘bead’;

3. A + shaped structure where the glyphs  1 and 2 are infixed.  The + shaped structure is kaṇḍ  ‘a fire-altar’ (which is associated with glyphs 1 and 2)..

Rebus readings are: 1. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼgoTa 'laterite (ferrite ore); 2. khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’; 3. kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar, consecrated fire’.

Four ‘round spot’; glyphs around the ‘dotted circle’ in the center of the composition: gōṭī  ‘round pebble; Rebus 1: goTa 'laterite (ferrite ore); Rebus 2:L. khoṭf ʻalloy, impurityʼ, °ṭā ʻalloyedʼ, awāṇ. khoṭā  ʻforgedʼ; P. khoṭ m. ʻbase, alloyʼ  M.khoṭā  ʻalloyedʼ (CDIAL 3931) Rebus 3: kōṭhī ] f (कोष्ट S) A granary, garner, storehouse, warehouse, treasury, factory, bank. khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ metal is produced from kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar’ yielding khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’. This word khaṇḍā is denoted by the dotted circles.

eraka 'wing' Rebus: eraka 'moltencast' garuDa 'eagle' Rebus: karaDa 'hard alloy'; garuDa 'gold' (Samskritam)

Hieroglyph: eruvai 'eagle'; synonym: गरुड 'eagle' eraka 'wing'. Rebus: eruvai 'copper' (Tamil. Malayalam)+ करडा [ karaḍā ] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c.  eraka 'moltencast' See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/06/suparna-garuda-eagle-meluhha-hieroglyph.html?view=classic

Harappa seal h166A, h166B. Vats, 1940, Excavations in Harappa, Vol. II, Calcutta: Pl. XCI. 255

               

वेदि [p= 1017,2] f. (later also वेदी ; for 1. 2. » col.2) an elevated (or according to some excavated) piece of ground serving for a sacrificial altar (generally strewed with कुश grass , and having receptacles for the sacrificial fire ; it is more or less raised and of various shapes , but usually narrow in the middle , on which account the female waist is often compared to it) RV. &cthe space between the supposed spokes of a wheel-shaped altar , S3ulbas.a stand , basis , pedestal , bench MBh. Ka1v. &c  

Hieroglyph/Rebus: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) kāṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans and metal-ware' (Marathi)

वेदि  f. knowledge , science (» अ-व्°)

नाग nāga [p= 532,3] m. (prob. neither fr. न-ग nor fr. नग्न) a snake , (esp.) Coluber Naga S3Br. MBh. &c

नाग  nāga n. (m. L. ) tin , lead Bhpr. n. a kind of coitus L.

गरुड [p= 348,3] m. ( √2. गॄ Un2. iv , 155 , " devourer " , because गरुड was perhaps originally identified with the all-consuming fire of the sun's rays) , N. of a mythical bird (chief of the feathered race , enemy of the serpent-race [cf. RTL. p.321] , vehicle ofविष्णु [cf. RTL. pp. 65 ; 104 ; 288] , son of कश्यप and विनता ; shortly after his birth he frightened the gods by his brilliant lustre ; they supposed him to be अग्नि , and requested his protection ; when they discovered that he was गरुड , they praised him as the highest being , and called him fire and sun MBh. i , 1239 ff. ; अरुण , the charioteer of the sun or the personified dawn , is said to be the elder [or younger cf. RTL. p.104] brother of गरुड ; स्वाहा , the wife of अग्नि , takes the shape of a female गरुडी = सुपर्णी MBh. iii , 14307 and 14343) Suparn2. TA1r. x , 1 , 6 MBh. &ca building shaped like गरुड R. VarBr2S. See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/06/suparna-syena-patanga-garuda-takes-to.html

gāruḍa गारुड a. (-डी f.) [गरुडस्येदं अण्] 1 Shaped like Ga- ruḍa. -2 Coming from or relating to Garuḍa. -डः, -डम् 1 An emerald; राशिर्मणीनामिव गारुडानां सपद्मरागः फलितो विभाति R.13.53. -2 A charm against (snake) poison; संगृहीतगारुडेन K.51 (where it has sense 1 also). -3 A missile presided over by Garuḍa. -4 A military array (व्यूह) of the shape of Garuḍa. -5 Gold. 

Ta. eruvai a kind of kite whose head is white and whose body is brown; eagle. Ma. eruva eagle, kite.(DEDR 818). Rebus: eruvai ‘copper’ (Tamil).

eṟaka ‘wing’ (Telugu) Rebus: erako ‘molten cast’ (Tulu) loa ‘ficus’; rebus: loh 

‘copper’. Pajhar ‘eagle’; rebus: pasra ‘smithy’. 

Hieroglyph: वज्र[p= 913,1] mfn. shaped like a kind of cross (cf. above ) , forked , zigzag ib. [cf. Zd. vazra , " a club. "]

Rebus: वज्र[p= 913,1] mn. n. a kind of hard iron or steel L. mfn. adamantine , hard , impenetrable W." the hard or mighty one " , a thunderbolt (esp. that of इन्द्र , said to have been formed out of the bones of the ऋषिदधीच or दधीचि [q.v.] , and shaped like a circular discus , or in later times regarded as having the form of two transverse bolts crossing each other thus x ; sometimes also applied to similar weapons used by various gods or superhuman beings , or to any mythical weapon destructive of spells or charms , also to मन्यु , " wrath " RV. or [with अपाम्] to a jet of water AV. &c ; also applied to a thunderbolt in general or to the lightning evolved from the centrifugal energy of the circular thunderbolt of इन्द्र when launched at a foe ; in Northern Buddhist countries it is shaped like a dumb-bell and called Dorje ; » MWB. 201 ; 322 &c ) RV. &ca diamond (thought to be as hard as the thunderbolt or of the same substance with it) , Shad2vBr. Mn. MBh. &cm. a form of military array , Mn. MBh. &c (cf. -व्यूह)a kind of hard mortar or cement (कल्क) VarBr2S. (cf. -लेप)

m0451A,B Text 3235 

m1390Bt Text 2868 Pict-74: Bird in flight.

Elamite bird (eagle?) with spread wings on an axe-head from Tepe Yahya (Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C. and D.T. Potts. 2001. Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: The Third Millennium. Cambridge: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, p.216).

Two seals from Gonur 1 in thee  Murghab delta; dark brown stone ((Sarianidi 1981 b: 232-233, Fig. 7, 8) eagle 

engraved on one face.

"a fortified enclosure of mud and brick, comparable to the citadels of the Harappans, spread over 500 sq m. It was filled with ash and cowdung. A people called the Ahars had built it in Balathal near modern Udaipur some 4,500 years ago.

Carbon dating established that they had lived in and around the Mewar region in Rajasthan between 3,500 and 1,800 B.C. They were Mewar's first farmers, older even than the Harappans. But why had they built a fort only to fill it with ash and cowdung? To solve the mystery, a team of Indian archaeologists excavating the site went on removing layer after layer of civilisation. ...Who Were The Ahars?

There are 90 sites of Ahar - a ruralsociety. The recent round of excavations is establishing that Ahar culture and Harappan civilisation were different though contemporary and related. This village life emerged much before the mature Harappan era...In modern Rajasthan, Ahar sites have been reported in Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Bundi, Tonk and Ajmer dotting10,000 sq km. "There is a commonality in all 90-sites located in South eastern Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh,'' says Jaipur-based Rima Hooja, a scholar on Ahar culture...The excavations reveal a large number of bull figurines indicating the Ahar people worshipped the bull. At Marmi, a site near Chittorgarh, these figures have been found in abundance indicating it could be a regional shrine of the bull cult of this rural population. Discovery of cow-like figurines in Ojiyana, the first site found on the slope of a hill, has baffled archaeologists...

Decorated black-and-red pottery is a mark of Ahar culture distinct from the Harappan where the interiors of vessels was black. In Balathal, the black-and-red ware constitute only 8 per cent of the ceramic assemblage whereas in Ahar it is 70 per cent.,,Unlike other chalcolithic cultures which had stone tools, the Aharites made copper tools such as chisels, razors and barbed and tanged arrow heads, apparently for hunting. Probably, they had the advantage of access to copper from the Khetri mines and in the nearby Aravalli hills. There is evidence of copper melting too. Harappans probably imported copper ores and even finished copper goods from Ahar people...Balathal, for example, remained unoccupied until 300 B.C., when in the Mauryan era, some people re-occupied the sites. Lalti Pandey of the Institute of Rajasthan Studies says of these people that "they knew of iron smelting and manufactured iron implements''. Two iron smelting furnaces have been found in Balathal in this phase. It is around this period's layer that the fifth skeleton was found." -- Rohit Parihar in http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ahar-culture-provides-clues-to-links-between-harappans-and-their-predecessors/1/232800.html                                                                                                       See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2016/04/varaha-in-indus-script-reinforces-vedic.html Two Indus Script inscribed anthropomorphs of Ancient Bharatam copper complexes are deciphered as seafaring metalsmiths, merchants...              

The decipherment is consistent with the archaeological finds of Bhirrana-Kalibangan-Karanpura-Ahar-Banas complex as Vedic Sarasvati civilization metalwork continuum of Bharatam Janam (RV 3.53.12), 'metalcaster folk'. 

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

1. Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India Offers Surprising New Evidence For Cultural Complexity in Little-known Ahar-Banas Culture, Circa 3000-1500 B.C.E
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      7. Ahar-Banas culture finds point to copper/iron metalwork during the Chalcolithic period.
         Iron points and nails from Gilund.
         “The copper objects discovered at Gilund invite comparisons to the copper assemblages of Ahar, Balathal and Ojiyana…Implements fashioned from copper sheets are present at all the excavated Ahar-Banas sites except Purani Marmi…Although many scholars have noted the mineral wealth of the Aravalli Range, along which many Ahar-Banas sites are located, the number of copper objects discovered is surprisingly low…Misra suggested that the location of the furnace in the lowermost level indicated early knowledge of metallurgy…Copper technology at Gilund is also demonstrated by the presence of six vitrified fragments found in Middle to Late Chalcolithic trenches. They are blackened to the point that the flay has become like pumice, and one of the fragments still has what appear to be pieces of copper attached to the inside. It is likely that these fragments were once part of one or more crucibles used in the smelting of copper…copper technology was practiced by the inhabitants of Ahar-Banas sites in Rajasthan during the Chalcolithic.” (opcit., p.18) 
         Fragments of crucibles. Gilund.
         
         
         Gilund: copper objects: 1 knife, 1 chisel, fragment, 2 blade fragments
         
         
         Gilund copper finds: 2 rings, 1 kohl stick, 3 bangle fragments
         
         
         
         
         Humped bull figurines. Gilund. Source: Julie Hanlon, 2007, An Overview of the Antiquities from the 1999-2005 Excavations at Gilund, a Chalcolithic Site in Southeast Rajasthan, in: The Gilund Project:Excavations in Teresa P. Raczek and Vasant Shinde (eds), 2007, Regional Context. Proceedings of the 19th Meeting of theEuropean Association of South Asian Archaeologyin Ravenna, Italy, July 2007, p.14. Note: List of artifacts excavated from Gilund between 1999 to 2005 included 130 metal objects: Bangles Bells Blades Hoe fragments Nails Points Rings.
         "The so-called unicorn... with one horn, heart-shaped harness is the central element of more than 80% of the square stamp seals (of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa),with bison and elephants making up the next largest groups...two stamp seals from Kalibangan (K-34 and K-37) depict a goat (or markhor) with no inscription. Instead, they have a fish in the space in front of icon that is generally reserved for a standard or feeding trough in the standard Harappan animal seals ..."
         Copper/alloy metals mint, smithy/forge, smelter: Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. Signified by the symbol: Fin of fish khambhaṛā 'fin' ( Lahnda). ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' PLUS Tor. miṇḍ 'ram', miṇḍā́l 'markhor' (CDIAL 10310) Rebus: meḍ (Ho.); mẽṛhet 'iron' (Munda.Ho.) med 'copper' (Slavic) mlekh 'goat' Rebus: milakkhu 'copper' mleccha 'copper'.
         Hieroglyph: tail with three short strokes: kolA 'tail' Rebus: kol 'working in iron' kole.l 'smithy' kolom 'three' rebus: kolimi 'smithy, forge'.
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         (Marta Ameri, 2012, Regional diversity in the Harappan world: the evidence of seals, in: Connections and Complexity, New approaches in the archaeology of South Asia, ed. by S. Abraham, P.Gullapalli, TP Raczek, and UZ Rizvi, Walnut Creek, California, Left Coast Press, pp.355-374).
         
         Stepped cross seals with Indus Script hieroglyphs
         
         
         Hieroglyph: eruvai 'kite' Rebus: eruvai = copper (Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.); erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) Rebus: eraka = copper (Ka.) eruvai = copper (Ta.); ere - a dark-red colour (Ka.)(DEDR 817). eraka, era, er-a = syn. erka, copper, weapons (Ka.) The central dot in the cross (which signifies a fire-altar) is: goTa 'round' Rebus: khoT 'ingot'. gaNDA 'four' rebus: kanda.'fire-altar'.khamba 'wing' rebus: kammaTa 'mint'.

http://mathomathis.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-origin-of-indus-geometrical.html

Harappa Script in Ahar-Banas, Ancient Near East signifies Vedic culture & metalwork of Chalcolithic Age transiting to Bronze Age Mirror: http://tinyurl.com/j4exatr

Gregory L. Possehl, Vasant Shinde and Marta Ameri, 2004, The Ahar-Banas Complex and BMAC in: Man and Environment, XXIX (2):18-29: Abstract. This paper discusses the most recent discovery of more than hundred clay seals of the end of third and the beginning of second millennium BCE period in the excavations at Gilund in Rajasthan District of Mewar, Rajasthan and their significance in the long-distance trade links of the Chalcolithic people of Mewar in Central India. 

This is the only Chalcolithic site in India outside the Harappan domain producing evidence of impressed seals. Seals impressed with similar motifs have been reported from a number of sites of Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) that flourished in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is therefore proposed that there was interaction between the Chalcolithic people of Mewar and their contemporaries in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is obvious the Harappans played significant role as intermediaries in this interaction. This discovery, the first of its kind in the Chalcolithic levels in India, has far reaching implications on Indian History of the third and second millennium BCE. 

https://www.academia.edu/766089/The_Ahar-Banas_Complex_and_the_BMAC

Far-reaching indeed. This monograph carries the insights forward and establishes the cultural links of both areas with Veda culture and deciphers many Harappa Script hypertexts of both areas as metalwork of Bronze Age in transit from Chaocolithic Age. The sun motif of Gilund is Harappa Script Meluhha hieroglyph: arka ‘sun’ rebus: arka‘gold, copper’.

Gregory L. Possehl, Vasant Shinde and Marta Ameri, 2004, The Ahar-Banas Complex and BMAC in: Man and Environment, XXIX (2):18-29: Abstract. This paper discusses the most recent discovery of more than hundred clay seals of the end of third and the beginning of second millennium BCE period in the excavations at Gilund in Rajasthan District of Mewar, Rajasthan and their significance in the long-distance trade links of the Chalcolithic people of Mewar in Central India. These clay seals are unbaked and impressed with sun and a variety of floral motifs. This is the only Chalcolithic site in India outside the Harappan domain producing evidence of impresses seals. Seals impressed with similar motifs have been reported from a number of sites of Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) that flourished in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is therefore proposed that there was interaction between the Chalcolithic people of Mewar and their contemporaries in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is obvious the Harappans played significant role as intermediaries in this interaction. This discovery, the first of its kind in the Chalcolithic levels in India, has far reaching implications on Indian History of the third and second millennium BCE. 

Metaphors and hieroglyphs of ancient Bharatam related to the following are 

discussed in this monograph in the context of Harappa Script parallels in Ahar-Banas culture and Bactria Margiana Cultural Complex (BMAC) of the Bronze Age with the conclusion that the parallels are 1. Vedic culture continuum and 2.Meluhha metalwork rebus representations:

At the site of Gonur (BMAC), a remarkable Harappa Script seal was discovered.Ahar-Banas, in relation to Ganeshwar-Jodhpur, Maturre Harappan sites

Ancient Copper/Bronze Seal from Bactria. करडी (p. 78) karaḍī f (See करडई) Safflower: also its seed. करडेल (p. 78) karaḍēla n (करडई & तेल) Oil of Carthamus or safflower. करडई (p. 78) karaḍī f Safflower, Carthamus. 2 Its seed.rebus:  करडा (p. 78) karaḍā Hard from alloy–iron, silver &c.

This evidence of a seal indicating possible contact with Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization is reinforced by the links demonstrated between BMAC and Ahar-Banas cultures in this monograph. (karabha ‘elephant’ rebus: karba ‘iron’).

1. श्येन śyēna is a Veda metaphor related to yajna, soma yaga in particular. RV 1.80.2 refers to Soma as s’yenAbhRta (brought by s’yena). A variant of this veda tradition occurs as senmurw (< s’yenamRga) in Iran with Harappa Script ligatured hieroglyphs of jackal or peacock to signify, respectively, kol ‘working in iron’ and  marakaka loha ‘copper alloy, calcining metal’ .śyēná brings Soma(RV I.80.2)Translation (Griffith): 1. THUS in the Soma, in wild joy the Brahman hath exalted thee: Thou, mightiest thunder-armed, hast driven by force the Dragon from the earth, lauding thine own imperial sway.
   2 The mighty flowing Soma-draught, brought by the Hawk, hath gladdened thee,
   That in thy strength, O Thunderer, thou hast struck down Vṛtra from the floods, lauding thine own imperial sway.
2. Rudra is a Veda metaphor related to Skambha Sukta of AV (X.7,8) as a fiery pillar topped by  caṣāla, godhuma ‘wheat chaff’ carburization of soft metal to be infused with carbon to render the alloy metal hard. The octagoal shape of the pillar, Yupa is a tradition which is continued in the aniconic lingas and later ekamukha linga in association with a smelter as seen in a Bhuteshvar sculptural frieze.
3. The compartmented seals of BMAC compare with seals found in Ahar-Banas culture of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. The dominant hieroglyphs of .svastika and dottd circles are deciphered, respectively, as Meluhha Harappa Script rebus readings: jasta‘zinc’ and dhatu ‘mineral ore’.
   On svastika as Meluhha hieroglyph: see: https://www.academia.edu/15277151/Svastika_Indus_Script_hieroglyph_multiplex_hypertext_zinc_spelter_pewter_alloy sattiya ‘svastika’ rebus: sattva, jasta ‘zinc, pewter’.
   Following notes point to the essential similarity between Ahar-Banas artifacts and the finds from other sites of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. In particular, the seal showing a + shaped fire-altar may be explained as a Vedi. Similar hieroglyphs occur on Indus Script Corpora, for example the following:
   Kot Diji type seals with concentric circles from (a,b) Taraqai Qila (Trq-2 &3, after CISI 2: 414), (c,d) Harappa(H-638 after CISI 2: 304, H-1535   after CISI 3.1:211), and (e) Mohenjo-daro (M-1259, aftr CISI 2: 158). (From Fig. 7 Parpola, 2013).
   Distribution of geometrical seals in Greater Indus Valley during the early and *Mature Harappan periods (c. 3000 – 2000 BCE). After Uesugi 2011, Development of the Inter-regional interaction system in the Indus valley and beyond: a hypothetical view towards the formation of the urban society’ in: Cultural relations between the Indus and the Iranian plateau during the 3rd millennium BCE, ed. Toshiki Osada & Michael Witzel. Harvard Oriental Series, Opera Minora 7. Pp. 359-380. Cambridge, MA: Dept of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University: fig.7.
   I suggest that the ‘dotted circle’ signifies on Indus Script corpora: ḍāv ʻdice-throwʼ Rebus: dhāu ‘ore’.See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/evolution-of-brahmi-script-syllables.html?view=sidebar
   Evolution of Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- from Indus Script. Ur cylinder seal, Harappa tablet with 5 svastika deciphered. Evolution of Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- traced from Indus Script hieroglyph dotted circle, dām ‘rope (single strand or string?)’, dã̄u ʻtyingʼ, ḍāv m. ʻdice-throwʼ rebus: dhāu ‘ore’
   Brahmi script syllables ḍha-, dha- are derived from Indus Script hieroglyphs: dhāv ‘string, dotted circle’ rebus: dhāu‘ore’
   Button seal. Harappa. Fired steatite button seal with four concentric circle designs discovered at Harappa.  Sibri cylinder seal with Indus writing hieroglyphs: notches, zebu, tiger, scorpion?. Each dot on the corner of the + glyph and the short numeral strokes on a cylinder seal of Sibri, may denote a notch: खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m  A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.
   m0352 cdef
   The + glyph of Sibri evidence is comparable to the large-sized ‘dot’, dotted circles and + glyph shown on this Mohenjo-daro seal m0352 with dotted circles repeated on 5 sides A to F. Mohenjo-daro Seal m0352 shows dotted circles in the four corners of a fire-altar and at the centre of the altar together with four raised ‘bun’ ingot-type rounded features.
   Rebus readings of m0352 hieroglyphs:
     dhātu ‘layer, strand’; dhāv ‘strand, string’ Rebus: dhāu, dhātu ‘ore’
   1. Round dot like a blob — . Glyph: raised large-sized dot — (gōṭī ‘round pebble);goTa ‘laterite (ferrite ore)
   2. Dotted circle khaṇḍa ‘A piece, bit, fragment, portion’; kandi ‘bead’;
   3. A + shaped structure where the glyphs  1 and 2 are infixed.  The + shaped structure is kaṇḍ ‘a fire-altar’ (which is associated with glyphs 1 and 2)..
   Rebus readings are: 1. khoṭ m. ʻalloyʼgoTa ‘laterite (ferrite ore); 2. khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’; 3. kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar, consecrated fire’.
   Four ‘round spot’; glyphs around the ‘dotted circle’ in the center of the composition: gōṭī  ‘round pebble; Rebus 1: goTa ‘laterite (ferrite ore); Rebus 2:L. khoṭf ʻalloy, impurityʼ, °ṭā ʻalloyedʼ, awāṇ. khoṭā  ʻforgedʼ; P. khoṭ m. ʻbase, alloyʼ  M.khoṭā  ʻalloyedʼ (CDIAL 3931) Rebus 3: kōṭhī ] f (कोष्ट S) A granary, garner, storehouse, warehouse, treasury, factory, bank. khoṭā ʻalloyedʼ metal is produced from kaṇḍ ‘furnace, fire-altar’ yielding khaṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’. This word khaṇḍā is denoted by the dotted circles.

श्येन śyēna of Rigveda and senmurw of Iran

Meluhha language links to Indo-Iranian Senmurw, श्येन śyēna, शेन ‘hawk’ are matched by the parallel hypertexts/hieroglyphs between Harappa Script and BMAC artifacts signifying similar hypertexts/hieroglyphs (e.g. svastika, dotted circle, eagle with spread wings, fire-altar in + shape). The metaphors can be traced to Rigveda श्येन śyēna, ‘hawk’, given the conclusive chronology of Avestan tradition derived from Rigveda. See: N. Kazanas, 2011: Vedic and Avestan  http://www.omilosmeleton.gr/pdf/en/indology/Vedic_and_Avestan.pdf

Tocharian ancu ‘iron’ is cognate with amśu, ‘soma’ (Rigveda). See: Georges-Jean Pinault, 2006, Further links between the Indo–Iranian substratum in: Bertil Tikkanen & Heinrich Hettrich (eds.), 2006, Themes and Tasks in Old and Middle Indo-Aryan Linguistics, Delhi : Motilal Banarsidas Publishers. The ancu- amśu is paralleled by the imagery and metaphors of  śyena cognate simurw in Rigveda and Avestan (Sogdian) traditions, respectively. The links also point to the importance of Bronze Age metalwork which necessitated cross-cultural trade and interactions across Eurasia, say between Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization and Tocharian-speaking Mushtagh Ata and Rigveda  śyena-citi and simurv orthography of Sogdian Samarkand. Sogdia (/ˈsɔːɡdiə, ˈsɒɡ-/; Old Persian: Suguda-, صُتْ, New Persian: سُغْد, soghd) or Sogdiana (/ˌsɔːɡdiˈænə, ˌsɒɡ-/) was the ancient Indo-Europeancivilization of an Iranian people that at different times included territory located in present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan such as: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand,  Panjikent and Shahrisabz. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (i. 16). In the Avesta, Sogdiana is listed as the second best land that the supreme deity Ahura Mazda had created. (“Introductory Note,” in Guitty Azarpay, Sogdian Painting: the Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, pp 2–3, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogdia)

मूजवत्m. N. of a mountain VS. [p= 825,3]pl. N. of a people AV. S3Br. The mountain i perhaps a Himalayan peak of Xinjiang called Mushtagh Ata.

Soma is brought from Mujavat (perhaps Tocharian region, Himalayan mountain called Muthtagh Ata) by a Syena (RV I.80.2).श्येन śyēna m. a hawk , falcon , eagle , any bird of prey (esp. the eagle that brings down सोम to man) RV. &c; firewood laid in the shape of an eagle Sulbas.; (with or without इन्द्रश्य) N. of a सामन् A1rshBr. La1t2y.

The wings of senmurv: eraka ‘wing’ rebus: erako ‘moltencast’ arka‘gold, copper’ kammaṭ a ‘wing’ rebus: kammaṭ a ‘mint, coiner, coinage’.

śyēná m. ʻ hawk, falcon, eagle ʼ RV. Pa. sēna — , °aka — m. ʻ hawk ʼ, Pk. sēṇa — m.; WPah.bhad. śeṇ ʻ kite ʼ; A. xen ʻ falcon, hawk ʼ, Or. seṇā, H. sen, sẽ m., M. śen m., śenī f. (< MIA. *senna — ); Si. sen ʻ falcon, eagle, kite ʼ.(CDIAL 12674) Rebus: sena, heṇa ʻ thunderbolt: aśáni f. ʻ thunderbolt ʼ RV., °nī — f. ŚBr. [Cf. áśan — m. ʻ sling — stone ʼ RV.]

Pa. asanī — f. ʻ thunderbolt, lightning ʼ, asana — n. ʻ stone ʼ; Pk. asaṇi — m.f. ʻ thunderbolt ʼ; Ash. ašĩˊ ʻ hail ʼ, Wg. ašē˜ˊ, Pr. īšĩ, Bashg. “azhir“, Dm. ašin, Paš. ášen, Shum. äˊšin, Gaw. išín, Bshk. ašun, Savi išin, Phal. ã̄šun, L. (Jukes) ahin, awāṇ. &circmacrepsilon;n (both with n, not ṇ), P. āhiṇ, f., āhaṇ, aihaṇ m.f., WPah. bhad. ã̄ṇ, bhal. ´tildemacrepsilon;hiṇi f., N. asino, pl. °nā; Si. sena, heṇa ʻ thunderbolt ʼ Geiger GS 34, but the expected form would be *ā̤n; — Sh. aĩyĕˊr f. ʻ hail ʼ (X ?). — For ʻ stone ʼ > ʻ hailstone ʼ cf. upala — and A. xil s.v. śilāˊ — .(CDIAL 910).

A fragment of textile covering the relics of St.. Siviarda Byzantium, 11th cent.

Two Senmurv protomes, and Tanga between them; Bactric inscription “Pangu, his Majesty, the Lord” 7./8. CenturySenmurw on a silver plate. Iran, 7th cent. Source: https://www.pinterest.com/theofrastus/simurgh-senmurv/

Senmurv on plate.

Silk fragment with a senmurv Iran or Central Asia 700–800

 Brahmaputra river valley can relate to the remarkable fire-altar discovered in Uttarakashi: Syena-citi.“The ancient site at Purola is located on the left bank of river Kamal in District Uttarkashi. The excavation carried out by Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna University, Srinagar Garhwal. The site yielded the remains of Painted Grey Ware (PGW) from the earliest level along with other associated materials include terracotta figurines, beads, potter-stamp and the dental and femur portions of domesticated horse (Equas Cabalus Linn). The most important finding from the site is a brick alter identified as Syena chiti by the excavator. The structure is in the shape of a flying eagle Garuda, head facing east with outstretched wings having a square chamber in the middle yielded the remains of pottery assignable to circa first century B.C. to second century AD along with copper coin of Kuninda , bone pieces and a thin gold leaf impressed with a human figure identified as Agni.” http://www.asidehraduncircle.in/excavation.html

The first layer of a Vakrapaksa‐syena altar. The wings are made from 60 bricks of type “a,” and the body, head and tail from 50 type “b,” 6 of type “c” and 24 type “d” bricks. Each subsequent layer was laid out using different patterns of bricks with the total number of bricks equaling 200.“Sênmurw (Pahlavi), Sîna-Mrû (Pâzand), a fabulous, mythical bird. The name derives from Avestan mərəγô saênô ‘the bird Saêna’, originally a raptor, either eagle or falcon, as can be deduced from the etymologically identical Sanskrit śyena.”Senmurv on the tomb of Abbess Theodote, Pavia early 8th c. “Griffin-like .Simurgh (Persian: سیمرغ), also spelled simorgh, simurg, simoorg or simourv, also known as Angha (Persian: عنقا), is the modern Persian name for a fabulous, benevolent, mythical flying creature. The figure can be found in all periods of Greater Iranian art and literature, and is evident also in the iconography of medieval Armenia, the Byzantine empire , and other regions that were within the sphere of Persian cultural influence. Through cultural assimilation the Simurgh was introduced to the Arabic-speaking world, where the concept was conflated with other Arabic mythical birds such as the Ghoghnus, a bird having some mythical relation with the date palm, and further developed as the Rukh (the origin of the English word “Roc”).”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27305838@N04/4830444236/

See: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/simorg

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simurgh

Sassanid silk twill textile of a simurgh in a beaded surround, 6-7th c. CE

“The simurgh was considered to purify the land and waters and hence bestow fertility. The creature represented the union between the earth and the sky, serving as mediator and messenger between the two. The simurgh roosted in Gaokerena, the Hōm (Avestan: Haoma) Tree of Life, which stands in the middle of the world sea Vourukhasa. The plant is potent medicine, is called all-healing, and the seeds of all plants are deposited on it. When the simurgh took flight, the leaves of the tree of life shook making all the seeds of every plant to fall out. These seeds floated around the world on the winds of Vayu-Vata and the rains of Tishtrya, in cosmology taking root to become every type of plant that ever lived, and curing all the illnesses of mankind. The relationship between the simurgh and Hōm is extremely close. Like the simurgh, Hōm is represented as a bird, a messenger and as the essence of purity that can heal any illness or wound. Hōm – appointed as the first priest – is the essence of divinity, a property it shares with the simurgh. The Hōm is in addition the vehicle of farr(ah) (MP: khwarrah, Avestan: khvarenah, kavaēm kharēno) “[divine] glory” or “fortune”. Farrah in turn represents the divine mandate that was the foundation of a king’s authority.”

Archaeology in the landscapes of ancient Sogd has furnished us with a great amount of works of art, mainly from the early Middle Ages. Of highest value are the wall paintings from a palace hall (object 23, room 1) of the Sogdian ruler Varxuman at Samarqand (Afrasiab site)…

The western wall is the most important one in room 23/1 due to its position opposite the entrance. This feature seems to be common in Sogdian architectural layouts both of private main halls and palace throne rooms.

Who is figure no. 4 of the western wall? (page II)

The following proposal for an identification of figure 4 is certainly only an attempt. As we have seen, group A2 of delegates seems to belong to nations of the west. A second hint comes from the clothes of figure 4. The delicate ornamentation depicts fabulous beasts known as “Senmurvs”. Look below:

Left: The Senmurvs are set into an overall pattern of curved rhomboids.

Right: Close-up of the garment of figure 4

Originally more than hundred human figures must have been depicted on the walls of our room. Many of these persons are dressed with richly ornamented and multicoloured clothes. But it seems noteworthy that the Senmurv is, in contrary to other patterns, only to meet with figure 4 on the western wall.

The reason for that must be the symbolic nature of the Senmurv. Speaking of this creature we concentrate only on the “dog-peackock” as depicted on the Afrasiab murals. Doubtless it originates from Iranian symbolism. The most spectacular examples can be seen on the late Sasanian rock reliefs of Taq-e Bustan (Iran):

Left: Senmurvs as pattern on the caftan of a Sasanian king, Taq-e Bustan, Great Ivan, left wall.

Right: Senmurv in medaillon on the clothes of the heavy-armoured rider, Taq-e Bustan, Geat Ivan.

Comparing these images with the Senmurvs from Afrasiab we notice a striking similarity.

Apparently the Senmurv in Sasanian iconography was a symbol with intimate connection to kingship. Images concentrate on representations of royal persons and on royal silverware. Only in post-Sasanian times, when dynastic restrictions were lost, the Senmurv spread wide as a merely ornamental motif on Near and Middle Eastern textiles, metalwork, and so on.

Concerning the Afrasiab murals we have a general date within the limits of the Sasanian dynasty (i.e., before 652), as we have tried to explain on another page.

Therefore, if the Senmurv (i.e., the “dog-peacock”!) was a Sasanian royal emblem, his appearance on the Afrasiab murals should point to the same symbolic value. In other words: The “owner” of the symbol should represent a Sasanian king.

http://www.orientarch.uni-halle.de/ca/afras/text/w4b.htm

Wall panel with a Senmurv. Iran, Chal Tarhan. 7th-8th c. Stucco.Inv. Nr. 6642. Image of a quite similar panel which is in better condition that came from the same site, see British Museum, inv. no. ME 1973.7-25.3.

Sassanid silver plate of a simurgh (Sēnmurw), 7-8th c. CE. An exquisite and beautifully gilded Sassanid silver plate. The central creature within it is usually identified as the senmurw of Zoroastrian mythology which features the head of a snarling dog, the paws of a lion and the tail of a peacock. This object is today displayed in the Persian Empire collection of the British Museum.

Peacock-dragon or peacock-griffin? [Harappa Script rebus reading: maraka ‘peacock‘ Rebus marakaka loha ‘copper alloy, calcining metal’ कोला कोल्हा कोल्हें ‘jackal’ (Marathi) kōlupuli ‘tiger’ (Telugu) rebus: kolhe ‘smelter’ kol ‘blacksmith, working in iron’]

British Museum. Department: Middle East Registration number: 1922,0308.1 BM/Big number: 124095. Date 7thC-8thC (?) Description

Gilded silver plate with low foot-rim and centering mark on the underside; single line engraved around the outside of the rim, with a second engraved line defining the interior; hammered and lathe-turned, then decorated; interior shows a senmurw (a legendary dog-headed bird) facing left, a leaf hanging from its mouth; neck and lower portion of the wing are punched with an imbricated design; the breast is enriched with a foliated motif; the tail feathers are conventionally rendered by punching, the lowest portion concealed by a bold scroll in relief; below the tail, a branch of foliage projects into the field; the foliate border is composed of overlapping leaves, on each of which are punched three divergent stems surmounted by berries in groups of three. Old corrosion attack on part of the underside. Condition of gilding suggests that this is re-gilding. Dimensions : Diameter: 18.8 centimetres (rim)Diameter: 6.8 centimetres (interior, foot-ring)Diameter: 7.3 centimetres (exterior, foot-ring)Height: 3.8 centimetres

Volume: 450 millilitresWeight: 541.5 grammes.

Hammered gilt silver plate with a low circular foot ring measuring 7.3 cm. across at the base; centering mark and extensive traces of old corrosion attack on the underside; single line engraved around the outside of the rim, with a second engraved line defining the interior. The plate was made by hammering, and decorated through a combination of chasing and punching, with thick gilding over the background. Early published references to the raised portion being embossed separately and added with solder are incorrect, and only the foot ring is soldered on. XRF analysis indicates that the body has a composition of 92% silver, 6.9% copper and 0.45% gold, and the foot has a slightly different composition of 93.4% silver, 5.4% copper and 0.5% gold. The decoration is limited to the interior and shows a composite animal with a dog’s head, short erect mane, vertical tufted ears and lion’s paws, facing left with a foliate spray dangling from its open mouth like a lolling tongue; a ruff-like circle of hair or fur frames its face; the neck, muscular shoulders and lower tail feathers are punched with an imbricated or overlapping wave design resembling feathers or scales; the breast is enriched with a foliated motif; a pair of wings with forward curling tips rise vertically from behind the shoulders, with a broad rounded peacock-like tail behind decorated with a bold foliate scroll and conventionally rendered by punching; below the tail, a second branch of foliage projects into the field. The foliate border is composed of overlapping leaves, on which are punched three divergent stems surmounted by berries in groups of three.

This plate is said to have been obtained in India prior to 1922 when it was purchased in London by the National Art Collections Fund on behalf of the British Museum. It is usually attributed to the 7th, 8th or early 9th century, thus is post-Sasanian, Umayyad or early Abbasid in political terms. Initially described as a hippocamp, peacock-dragon or peacock-griffin, most scholars follow Trever’s (1938) identification of this as a senmurw (New Persian simurgh), or Avestan Saena bird (cf. also Schmidt 1980). The iconographic features of a senmurw include the head of a snarling dog, the paws of a lion and the tail of a peacock, with the addition of the plant motifs on the tail or hanging out of the mouth being allusions to its role in regenerating plants. This bird is described in Pahlavi literature as nesting “on the tree without evil and of many seeds” (Menog-i Xrad 61.37-42), and scattering them in the rainy season to encourage future growth (Bundahišn XVI.4). For this reason it was believed to bestow khwarnah (glory and good fortune), and particularly that of the Kayanids, the legendary ancestors of the Sasanians. This motif is first attested in a datable Sasanian context on the rock-cut grotto of Khusrau II (r. 591-628) at Taq-i Bustan, when it appears within embroidered roundels decorating the royal gown. The same motif recurs within a repeating pattern of conjoined pearl roundels depicted on silks from the reliquary of St Lupus and a tomb at Mochtchevaja Balka in the north Caucasus, a press-moulded glass inlay and vessel appliqué in the Corning Museum of Glass, metalwork, Sogdian murals, and the late Umayyad palace façade at Mshatta (e.g. Harper et al. 1978: 136, no. 60; Trever & Lukonin 1987: 115, pl. 73, no. 26; Overlaet ed. 1993: 270, 275-77, nos 119, 127-28). However, there are significant differences of detail between all of these, and a little caution is necessary before making definite attributions of iconography, date or provenance. Many of the features are also repeated on the depiction of a horned quadruped depicted on a 7th century plate in the Hermitage (Trever & Lukonin 1987: 117-18, pl. 106, no. 36); most recently, Jens Kröger has reiterated the possibility of an early Abbasid date for the present plate, and observed that the distinctive decoration on the tail resembles the split palmette motifs on early Abbasid and Fatimid rock crystal. Source:http://tinyurl.com/7wbzcxg

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/bvparishat/eIApod2G65U/5qggd_Kp3fkJ

Map shows compartment seals of BMAC and Ahar complex (drawing by H.al Ajmani after A. Uesugi, 2011, ‘Development of inter-regional interaction systems in the Indus valley and beyond: a hypothetical view towards the formation of an Urban Society, in: Osada, T. and M. Witzel eds., Cultural relations between the Indus and the Iranian plateau during the third millennium BCE, Cambridge, MA, pp. 359-80).

Distribution of concentric circle seals on South Asia (Source: ibid. A. Uesegi 2011* marks Mature Harappan context).

See: The Gilund Project  https://www.academia.edu/1813929/Indices_of_Interaction_Comparisons_between_the_Ahar-Banas_and_Ganeshwar_Jodhpura_Cultural_Complex

Ahar Banas complex and the BMAC: https://www.academia.edu/766089/The_Ahar-Banas_Complex_and_the_BMAC

See: https://www.academia.edu/766089/The_Ahar-Banas_Complex_and_the_BMAC

See: https://www.academia.edu/25187494/Evidence_of_Indus_seals_of_Ahar-Banas_culture_is_integral_to_the_Vedic_culture_of_Sarasvati_Sindhu_civilization Evidence of Indus seals of Ahar-Banas culture is integral to the Vedic culure of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. This is what I wrote about the insights provided by Marta Ameri in the Bharata-Iranian cultural links (reproduced below).

Evidence of Indus seals of Ahar-Banas culture is integral to the Vedic culture of Sarasvati_Sindhu civilization

manasataramgini ‏@blog_supplement  Seals from Afg of BMAC complex with motif shared with Ahar-Banas chalcolithic. Thanks for these exquisite images of seals (called compartmentalised seals) from BMAC.

eraka ‘wing’ Rebus: eraka ‘moltencast’ garuDa ‘eagle’ Rebus: karaDa‘hard alloy’; garuDa ‘gold’ (Samskritam)

Hieroglyph: eruvai ‘eagle’; synonym: गरुड ‘eagle’ eraka ‘wing’. Rebus: eruvai ‘copper’ (Tamil. Malayalam)+ करडा [ karaḍā ] Hard from alloy–iron, silver &c.  erako ‘moltencast’ Harappa seal h166A, h166B. Vats, 1940, Excavations in Harappa, Vol. II, Calcutta: Pl. XCI. 255              

वेदि [p= 1017,2] f. (later also वेदी ; for 1. 2. » col.2) an elevated (or according to some excavated) piece of ground serving for a sacrificial altar (generally strewed with कुश grass , and having receptacles for the sacrificial fire ; it is more or less raised and of various shapes , but usually narrow in the middle , on which account the female waist is often compared to it) RV. &cthe space between the supposed spokes of a wheel-shaped altar , S3ulbas.a stand , basis , pedestal , bench MBh. Ka1v. &c  

Hieroglyph/Rebus: kaṇḍ ‘fire-altar’ (Santali) kāṇḍa ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’ (Marathi)

वेदि  f. knowledge , science (» अ-व्°)

नाग nāga [p= 532,3] m. (prob. neither fr. न-ग nor fr. नग्न) a snake , (esp.) Coluber Naga S3Br. MBh. &c

नाग  nāga n. (m. L. ) tin , lead Bhpr. n. a kind of coitus L.

गरुड [p= 348,3] m. ( √2. गॄ Un2. iv , 155 , ” devourer ” , because गरुड was perhaps originally identified with the all-consuming fire of the sun’s rays) , N. of a mythical bird (chief of the feathered race , enemy of the serpent-race [cf. RTL. p.321] , vehicle ofविष्णु [cf. RTL. pp. 65 ; 104 ; 288] , son of कश्यप and विनता ; shortly after his birth he frightened the gods by his brilliant lustre ; they supposed him to be अग्नि , and requested his protection ; when they discovered that he was गरुड , they praised him as the highest being , and called him fire and sun MBh. i , 1239 ff. ; अरुण , the charioteer of the sun or the personified dawn , is said to be the elder [or younger cf. RTL. p.104] brother of गरुड ; स्वाहा , the wife of अग्नि , takes the shape of a female गरुडी = सुपर्णी MBh. iii , 14307 and 14343) Suparn2. TA1r. x , 1 , 6 MBh. &ca building shaped like गरुड R. VarBr2S. 

gāruḍa गारुड a. (–डी f.) [गरुडस्येदं अण्] 1 Shaped like Ga- ruḍa. -2 Coming from or relating to Garuḍa. –डः, –डम् 1 An emerald; राशिर्मणीनामिव गारुडानां सपद्मरागः फलितो विभाति R.13.53. -2 A charm against (snake) poison; संगृहीतगारुडेन K.51 (where it has sense 1 also). -3 A missile presided over by Garuḍa. -4 A military array (व्यूह) of the shape of Garuḍa. -5 Gold.

Ta. eruvai a kind of kite whose head is white and whose body is brown; eagle. Ma. eruva eagle, kite.(DEDR 818). Rebus: eruvai ‘copper’ (Tamil).

eṟaka ‘wing’ (Telugu) Rebus: erako ‘molten cast’ (Tulu) loa ‘ficus’; rebus: loh ‘copper’. Pajhar ‘eagle’; rebus: pasra ‘smithy’.

Hieroglyph: वज्र[p= 913,1] mfn. shaped like a kind of cross (cf. above ) , forked , zigzag ib. [cf. Zd. vazra , ” a club. “]

Rebus: वज्र[p= 913,1] mn. n. a kind of hard iron or steel L. mfn. adamantine , hard , impenetrable W.” the hard or mighty one ” , a thunderbolt (esp. that of इन्द्र , said to have been formed out of the bones of the ऋषिदधीच or दधीचि [q.v.] , and shaped like a circular discus , or in later times regarded as having the form of two transverse bolts crossing each other thus x ; sometimes also applied to similar weapons used by various gods or superhuman beings , or to any mythical weapon destructive of spells or charms , also to मन्यु , ” wrath ” RV. or [with अपाम्] to a jet of water AV. &c ; also applied to a thunderbolt in general or to the lightning evolved from the centrifugal energy of the circular thunderbolt of इन्द्र when launched at a foe ; in Northern Buddhist countries it is shaped like a dumb-bell and called Dorje ; » MWB. 201 ; 322 &c ) RV. &ca diamond (thought to be as hard as the thunderbolt or of the same substance with it) , Shad2vBr. Mn. MBh. &cm. a form of military array , Mn. MBh. &c (cf. -व्यूह)a kind of hard mortar or cement (कल्क) VarBr2S. (cf. -लेप)

m0451A,B Text 3235 

m1390Bt Text 2868 Pict-74: Bird in flight.

Elamite bird (eagle?) with spread wings on an axe-head from Tepe Yahya (Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C. and D.T. Potts. 2001. Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: The Third Millennium. Cambridge: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, p.216).

Two seals from Gonur 1 in thee  Murghab delta; dark brown stone ((Sarianidi 1981 b: 232-233, Fig. 7, 8) eagle engraved on one face.

“a fortified enclosure of mud and brick, comparable to the citadels of the Harappans, spread over 500 sq m. It was filled with ash and cowdung. A people called the Ahars had built it in Balathal near modern Udaipur some 4,500 years ago.

Carbon dating established that they had lived in and around the Mewar region in Rajasthan between 3,500 and 1,800 B.C. They were Mewar’s first farmers, older even than the Harappans. But why had they built a fort only to fill it with ash and cowdung? To solve the mystery, a team of Indian archaeologists excavating the site went on removing layer after layer of civilisation. …

Who Were The Ahars?

Sealings from Balathal (photos by M. Ameri cited as Fig 05 in: Marta Ameri, Changing patterns of Indo-Iranian interaction in the third and second millennia BCE as seen from the Ahar-Banas Culture).

There are 90 sites of Ahar – a ruralsociety. This village life emerged much before the mature Harappan era…In modern Rajasthan, Ahar sites have been reported in Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Bundi, Tonk and Ajmer dotting 10,000 sq km. “There is a commonality in all 90-sites located in South eastern Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh,” says Jaipur-based Rima Hooja, a scholar on Ahar culture…The excavations reveal a large number of bull figurines indicating the Ahar people worshipped the bull. At Marmi, a site near Chittorgarh, these figures have been found in abundance indicating it could be a regional shrine of the bull cult of this rural population. Discovery of cow-like figurines in Ojiyana, the first site found on the slope of a hill, has baffled archaeologists…

Decorated black-and-red pottery is a mark of Ahar culture distinct from the Harappan where the interiors of vessels was black. In Balathal, the black-and-red ware constitute only 8 per cent of the ceramic assemblage whereas in Ahar it is 70 per cent.,,Unlike other chalcolithic cultures which had stone tools, the Aharites made copper tools such as chisels, razors and barbed and tanged arrow heads, apparently for hunting. Probably, they had the advantage of access to copper from the Khetri mines and in the nearby Aravalli hills. There is evidence of copper melting too. Harappans probably imported copper ores and even finished copper goods from Ahar people…Balathal, for example, remained unoccupied until 300 B.C., when in the Mauryan era, some people re-occupied the sites. Lalti Pandey of the Institute of Rajasthan Studies says of these people that “they knew of iron smelting and manufactured iron implements”. Two iron smelting furnaces have been found in Balathal in this phase. It is around this period’s layer that the fifth skeleton was found.” — Rohit Parihar in http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ahar-culture-provides-clues-to-links-between-harappans-and-their-predecessors/1/232800.html 

“Ahar” and “Ahir” are variant of the Sanskrit term Abhir, which means nomad, “one who wanders about” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahar_caste Ahar are Yadava. “Yadu was the eldest son of Yayati  It is written in the Vishnu Puran that he did not inherit his father’s throne. He, therefore, retired towards Punjab and Iran. He had five sons out of whom Except Satjit and Krishna, three remained childless.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahir A variant spelling Ahir is a Prakrit form of the Samskrtam word, Abhira  .

See: https://www.academia.edu/27296997/Indus_Script_Gonur_Tepe_seal_hypertexts_on_anthropomorphs_deciphered_Sarasvati-Ganga_Doab_Bronze_Age_Revolution_and_spread_of_Copper_Hoard_Culture_into_Bactria

Varaha: Two Indus Script inscribed anthropomorphs of Ancient Bharatam copper complexes are deciphered as seafaring metalsmiths, merchants…

The decipherment is consistent with the archaeological finds of Bhirrana-Kalibangan-Karanpura-Ahar-Banas complex as Vedic Sarasvati civilization metalwork continuum of Bharatam Janam (RV 3.53.12), ‘metalcaster folk’.

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

Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India Offers Surprising New Evidence For Cultural Complexity in Little-known Ahar-Banas Culture, Circa 3000-1500 B.C.E

Ahar-Banas culture finds point to copper/iron metalwork during the Chalcolithic period.

Iron points and nails from Gilund.

“The copper objects discovered at Gilund invite comparisons to the copper assemblages of Ahar, Balathal and Ojiyana…Implements fashioned from copper sheets are present at all the excavated Ahar-Banas sites except Purani Marmi…Although many scholars have noted the mineral wealth of the Aravalli Range, along which many Ahar-Banas sites are located, the number of copper objects discovered is surprisingly low…Misra suggested that the location of the furnace in the lowermost level indicated early knowledge of metallurgy…Copper technology at Gilund is also demonstrated by the presence of six vitrified fragments found in Middle to Late Chalcolithic trenches. They are blackened to the point that the flay has become like pumice, and one of the fragments still has what appear to be pieces of copper attached to the inside. It is likely that these fragments were once part of one or more crucibles used in the smelting of copper…copper technology was practiced by the inhabitants of Ahar-Banas sites in Rajasthan during the Chalcolithic.” (opcit., p.18)

Fragments of crucibles. Gilund.

Gilund: copper objects: 1 knife, 1 chisel, fragment, 2 blade fragments

Gilund copper finds: 2 rings, 1 kohl stick, 3 bangle fragments

पोळ [pōḷa] ‘zebu‘ m A bull dedicated to the gods, marked with a trident and set free; rebus:. पोळ [pōḷa] ‘magnetite, ferrite ore’. Humped bull figurines. Gilund. Source: Julie Hanlon, 2007, An Overview of the Antiquities from the 1999-2005 Excavations at Gilund, a Chalcolithic Site in Southeast Rajasthan, in: The Gilund Project:Excavations in Teresa P. Raczek and Vasant Shinde (eds), 2007, Regional Context. Proceedings of the 19th Meeting of theEuropean Association of South Asian Archaeologyin Ravenna, Italy, July 2007, p.14. Note: List of artifacts excavated from Gilund between 1999 to 2005 included 130 metal objects: Bangles Bells Blades Hoe fragments Nails Points Rings.

“The so-called unicorn… with one horn, heart-shaped harness is the central element of more than 80% of the square stamp seals (of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa),with bison and elephants making up the next largest groups…two stamp seals from Kalibangan (K-34 and K-37) depict a goat (or markhor) with no inscription. Instead, they have a fish in the space in front of icon that is generally reserved for a standard or feeding trough in the standard Harappan animal seals …”

(Marta Ameri, 2012, Regional diversity in the Harappan world: the evidence of seals, in: Connections and Complexity, New approaches in the archaeology of South Asia, ed. by S. Abraham, P.Gullapalli, TP Raczek, and UZ Rizvi, Walnut Creek, California, Left Coast Press, pp.355-374).

Note: The ‘unicorn’ is a hypertext composed of young bull + pannier + one horn + rings on neck. All hieroglyph components read rebus in Meluhha language:  कोंद kōnda ‘engraver, lapidary setting or infixing gems’ is a phonetic variant of a worker with gold and lathe: kunda ‘fine gold, lathe.’ खोंड  [khōṇḍa] m A young bull, a bullcalf. (Marathi) खोंडा [khōṇḍā] m A कां बळा of which one end is formed into a cowl or hood; खोंडरूं (p. 216) [ khōṇḍarūṃ ] n A contemptuous form of खोंडा in the sense of कांबळा -cowl. (Marathi) khōṇḍa A tree of which the head and branches are broken off, a stock or stump Rebus: kõdār ‘turner’ (Bengali); kõdā ‘to turn in a lathe’ (Bengali). koḍiya ‘rings on neck‘, koḍ ‘horn’ rebus: koḍ ‘workshop’. కోడియ (p. 326) kōḍiya కోడె (p. 326) kōḍe  [Tel.] n. A bullcalf. kodeduda. A young bull (Telugu) (NOTE: the hieroglyph is a hypertext composed of young bull, one horn, pannier (a कां बळा ‘sack’ of which one end is formed into a cowl or hood), rings on neck.)

Stepped cross seals with Indus Script hieroglyphs

Hieroglyph: eruvai ‘kite’ Rebus: eruvai = copper (Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.); erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) Rebus: eraka = copper (Ka.) eruvai = copper (Ta.); ere – a dark-red colour (Ka.)(DEDR 817). eraka, era, er-a = syn. erka, copper, weapons (Ka.) The central dot in the cross (which signifies a fire-altar) is: goTa ’round’ Rebus: khoT ‘ingot’. gaNDA ‘four’ rebus: kanda.’fire-altar’.khamba ‘wing’ rebus: kammaTa ‘mint’.

On the sculpture of Rudra posted by Manasataramgini on twitter,  vArAhI, is shown on the right-register frieze. This is the clearest, unambiguous link to Veda.

manasataramgini‏@blog_supplement

A v.rare depiction of pashupati-shiva with a central antelope head surrounded by 8 mAtR^i-s including vArAhI.

manasataramgini‏@blog_supplement

Image of rudra, umA & skanda from kuSANa temple at was 1ce an important shaiva-kShetra in suvastu: modern Malakand in TSP

Rudra is depicted with three heads; on the right, one face shows Rudra  as a rishi. On the left, third face shows Rudra as an antelope. This antelope is a Harappa Script hieroglyph read rebus: mr̤eka, melh‘goat‘ (Telugu. Brahui) Rebus: melukkha ‘milakkha, copper’; mleccha-mukha ‘copper’ (Samskrtam).

Copper/alloy metals mint, smithy/forge, smelter: Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. Signified by the symbol: Fin of fish khambhaṛā ‘fin’ ( Lahnda). ayo ‘fish’ rebus: aya ‘iron’ ayas ‘metal’ PLUS Tor. miṇḍ ‘ram’, miṇḍā́l ‘markhor’ (CDIAL 10310) Rebus: meḍ (Ho.); mẽṛhet ‘iron’ (Munda.Ho.) med ‘copper’ (Slavic) mlekh ‘goat’ Rebus: milakkhu ‘copper’ mleccha ‘copper’.

Hieroglyph: tail with three short strokes: kolA ‘tail’ Rebus: kol ‘working in iron’ kole.l ‘smithy’ kolom ‘three’ rebus: kolimi ‘smithy, forge’.

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).

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2017/03/indus-valley-urban-tag-contested-full.html

"More than 90 sites of the Ahar culture have been identified to date. The main distribution seems to be concentrated in the river valleys of Banas and its tributaries. A number of sites with Ahar culture level are also found from Jawad, Mandsaur, Kayatha and Dangwada in Madhya Pradesh state. In Rajasthan, most of the sites are located in Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Ajmer, Tonk and Bhilwara districts, which include, Ahar, Gilund, Bansen, Keli, Balathal, Alod, Palod, Khor, Amoda, Nangauli, Champakheri, Tarawat, Fachar, Phinodra, Joera, Darauli, Gadriwas, Purani Marmi, Aguncha and Ojiyana."

Dr. Rima Hooja, Ahar culture: an introduction (2000)

http://www.serindian.com/sa-research/sa0aa21.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahar-Banas_culture

2,700 Year Old Yogi in Samadhi Found in Indus Valley Civilization Archaeological Site

The 2,700 year old skeletal remains of an ancient yogi sitting in samadhi have been found in an Indus valley civilization archaeological site located at Balathal, Rajasthan.

Many Indus Valley seals depict pictures of yogis sitting in lotus position. Here are two examples showing ancient yogis sitting in meditation and keeping their hands on their knees as done in modern yoga meditations. If we see the skeletal remains of the yogi above, we can note that his fingers are in gyana mudra (with thumb touching index finger), resting on his knees as well.

Balathal is an archaeological site located in Vallabhnagar tehsil of Udaipur district of Rajasthan state in western India. This site, located 6 km from Vallabhnagar town and 42 km from Udaipur city, was discovered by V. N. Misra during a survey in 1962-63. Excavation began in 1994 jointly by the Department of Archaeology of the Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Pune and the Institute of Rajasthan Studies, Udaipur.

The following article provides some information on the archaeological excavations done at Balathal.

Piecing the Ahar Puzzle by Rohit Parihar

Excavation of sites from the 4,500 year old Ahar culture provide clues to the link between the Harappans and their predecessors.

That it existed at all was a surprise – a fortified enclosure of mud and brick, comparable to the citadels of the Harappans, spread over 500 sq m. It was filled with ash and cowdung. A people called the Ahars had built it in Balathal near modern Udaipur some 4,500 years ago.

Carbon dating established that they had lived in and around the Mewar region in Rajasthan between 3,500 and 1,800 B.C. They were Mewar’s first farmers, older even than the Harappans. But why had they built a fort only to fill it with ash and cowdung? To solve the mystery, a team of Indian archaeologists excavating the site went on removing layer after layer of civilisation.

The mystery deepened. They found five skeletons, four in layers between 2,000 B.C. and 1,800 B.C. That was the age of stone and copper, the chalcolithic age. This was the first time human skeletons had been found at any Ahar site. The Ahars, it had been thought, cremated their dead. And the Harappans buried theirs.

Who Were The Ahars?

There are 90 sites of Ahar – a rural society. The recent round of excavations is establishing that Ahar culture and Harappan civilisation were different though contemporary and related. This village life emerged much before the mature Harappan era.

Harappa’s progress in the mature Harappan period (2,500 B.C.) helped the rural Ahar people to flourish and develop their own township and stone and brick houses. On the scale of civilisation, they emerged far ahead of other chalcolithic cultures in the subcontinent.

And they may be the missing link to show how the Indus people made such a quantum leap from small rural communities to an advanced civilisation.

Ahar culture flourished predominantly in the Mewar region of Rajasthan, on the eastern side of the Aravallis, and in undulating rocky plateaus and plains along the Banas river and its tributaries.

In modern Rajasthan, Ahar sites have been reported in Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Bundi, Tonk and Ajmer dotting10,000 sq km. “There is a commonality in all 90-sites located in South eastern Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh,” says Jaipur-based Rima Hooja, a scholar on Ahar culture.

Their name comes from a mid-1950s excavation led by R.C. Aggarwal, former director of archaeology, Rajasthan, at Ahar near Udaipur. A few years later, one excavation was carried out at Gilund in Rajsamand and then the focus shifted to the Harappans.

The Deccan College, Pune and Institute of Rajasthan Studies, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur turned their attention to Ahar culture in 1994 and began excavations in Balathal. Deccan College and the University of Pennsylvania began digging in Gilund in 1999 and the Jaipur circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began excavation at Ojiyana in Bhilwara in 2000. And discoveries began pouring in.

Gwen Robbins, a biological anthropologist from the University of Oregon, USA, in her ongoing preliminary analysis of the bones, found the first skeleton uncovered was of a male. Dead at the age of 50, he suffered from a joint disease and had lost all but four of his teeth at least five years before death. On closer inspection of the remains, a left mandible and a few cranial fragments were found to be of a second individual aged 35 whose sex couldn’t be determined.

The third skeleton was of a female approximately 35 years of age.The fourth was of a 35-year-old woman, and it caught the archaeologists’ interest. It had been buried with a small earthen lota (pot) near the head. Why was the lota there? “I am certain that the fortified enclosure had a ritual function,” says Dr V.N. Mishra, former principal of the Deccan College, who led the excavations: “You don’t find such selective burials in cow dung and ash anywhere else.”

The fifth skeleton, from a different era, was of an adult male 35 to 40 years old, and had been buried in a seated position that resembles the modern samadhi burial of sadhus who renounce the world. The ritual of burial in ash and cowdung raises the need to look at related traditions in present-day Hindu communities such as Gosain and Jogi which bury their dead.

Were They Cow Worshippers?

The excavations reveal a large number of bull figurines indicating the Ahar people worshipped the bull. At Marmi, a site near Chittorgarh, these figures have been found in abundance indicating it could be a regional shrine of the bull cult of this rural population. Discovery of cow-like figurines in Ojiyana, the first site found on the slope of a hill, has baffled archaeologists.

Cow-worship was not a known Ahar practice. “There are no humps and we can see small teats,” B.R. Meena, superintendent, asi Jaipur circle, who undertook the excavation, says, “These are certainly cows.” Other archaeologists suspect them to be bull calves but insist if further studies prove these to be cows, one could infer that the cow was a revered animal and the Hindu practice of treating the cow as a holy animal can thus be of pre-Aryan antiquity.

There is no other evidence of idol worship or Harappan religious practices like worship of the mother goddess. The Harappans flourished in a far larger area, along the alluvial plains of the Indus and its tributaries, by the Saraswati, in Baluchistan and in the relatively semi-arid environment of

Kutch and Saurashtra and the sandy south-western plains of Gujarat. But there is evidence that the Ahar people may have had links with Gujarat’s Harappans.

Did The Harappans Learn From Them?

The technique of decoration in pottery known as “reserved slip” which was seen only in a few shards at the Harappan sites of Mohenjodaro and Surkotada in 2,400B.C. is a very common feature at Balathal.

This technique consists of putting a second slip over the earlier (lower) slip on the pot and then removing it in thin bands before it completely dries up. This produces various kinds of motifs like straight and wavy bands and criss-cross patterns in two colours. Says V.S. Shinde of Deccan College: “The Harappans apparently borrowed this technique from Balathal.”

Speculation about intense fire-modelling activity has been supported by the discovery of kilns at Ahar sites. The coarse pottery in the earliest levels of excavations confirms that Ahar culture grew independently of Harappans. In later levels, fine deluxe ware of three varieties was found.

Decorated black-and-red pottery is a mark of Ahar culture distinct from the Harappan where the interiors of vessels was black. In Balathal, the black-and-red ware constitute only 8 per cent of the ceramic assemblage whereas in Ahar it is 70 per cent.

Balathal apparently imported this ware from other Ahar sites. Tan ware, mainly dishes and dishes-on-stand very similar to those of the Harappans, and thin red ware appear only in the “fortification phase” of Ahar civilisation and suggest contact with the Harappans of Gujarat.

An unusual discovery last year was a set of six clay pots arranged inside a large clay jar in Balathal. Of the six pots three are large black-and-red bowls decorated with geometric designs in white. One of the other vessels contained steatite beads and flowers both of which were used for stringing into necklaces. “This, to me, is a lady’s jewellery box,” says Mishra.

Unlike other chalcolithic cultures which had stone tools, the Aharites made copper tools such as chisels, razors and barbed and tanged arrow heads, apparently for hunting. Probably, they had the advantage of access to copper from the Khetri mines and in the nearby Aravalli hills. There is evidence of copper melting too. Harappans probably imported copper ores and even finished copper goods from Ahar people.

Were They The First Planners?

If Balathal surprised archaeologists with its skeletons, Gilund has excited them with its massive burnt-brick structures. A sand, clay and lime mix was used as plaster. Even Balathal and Ojiyana had sun-dried mud-brick and stone structures and fortifications. The findings club Ahar sites in the same category as the Harappans who were, until now, the only known pre-iron people known to have used these techniques.

In stone structures, mud bricks were often used to raise partition walls. In Balathal, the 2,500 B.C. fortification phase reveals a succession of stone structures inside the fortification and below the wall that ran around the residential complex.

There are high-built stone platforms on the eastern edge. This implies that people knew of stone architecture when the settlement began around 3,500 B.C. though fortification began later. Wooden beams and rafters made the roof, capped by mud in case of stone walls and by thatch in case of smaller structures of wooden posts and mud walls.

Mud and cow dung were used as plaster – as villagers use them even today. Locally available granite and gneiss rock were used in construction and the average size of stone blocks was 25 cm long, 20 cm wide and 15 cm thick.

The mud bricks were often of the same length but narrow and slimmer. As the copper tools were too small for quarrying, people apparently heated rocks with fire to create cracks and poured water to loosen the stones, using stone hammers and copper and wooden wedges to remove the stone blocks.

The Balathal and Gilund settlements also show incipient planning with a wide street and a narrow lane dividing the residential complexes. At Balathal, there are remains of a wall that probably surrounded the residential complex and a fortified structure in the centre of the habitation.

Like Harappan citadels, it is built over mud-brick platforms, and fortification walls are broadened towards the base. Gilund had long and wide parallel walls. Shinde who began excavations at the site with a University of Pennsylvania team says, “Gilund is emerging as an urban centre of the Aharites.” One complex is of 8,000 sq ft, and there are more like it around.

Apparently, it was controlling the settlements around it with its own organisational set-up of a chiefdom-based society but the construction activity was influenced by Harappa. Says Shinde: “The Harappans did help them flourish but the farmers retained their culture intact.” Chairman of the Archaeological Society of India S.P. Gupta says, “The Harappan model of city planning has a clear impact here.”

It was a mixed economy based on farming, stock raising, hunting, fowling and fishing. There was sufficient agricultural surplus to undertake fortifications as in Balathal. P.K. Thomas and P.P. Joglekar of Deccan College studied animal remains and found domesticated animals accounted for 73 per cent of bones, sheep and goat 19 per cent, buffalo only 3 per cent.

Wild animals such as nilgai and blackbuck constituted 5 per cent. Remains of pig, fish, turtle and molluscs were also found. A large number of bones were charred and split open, perhaps to extract arrows. M.D. Kajale of the same college found that the cultivated plants included wheat, barley, lentil, common pea,finger millet and Italian millet.

Hooja points out that at Ahar, rice was also grown. The rotis were made, as they are today, on earthen tawas, food cooked on U-shaped chulhas, and lentils and cereals grounded in pounders and querns – handmills of stone.

What Happened To Them?

Aharites abandoned the sites in 1,800 B.C., a period by when Harappa had also declined. Apparently, it was climatic changes or natural calamities that compelled Aharites to quit farming which might not have remained remunerative in that area. Their economies must have been hit by the decline of Harappa too. So either they left for other places for farming or took to cattle and stock raising.

Balathal, for example, remained unoccupied until 300 B.C., when in the Mauryan era, some people re-occupied the sites. Lalti Pandey of the Institute of Rajasthan Studies says of these people that “they knew of iron smelting and manufactured iron implements”. Two iron smelting furnaces have been found in Balathal in this phase. It is around this period’s layer that the fifth skeleton was found.

In Mewar, there is a long and continuous history of human habitation. It seems that influenced by Ahar culture, hunter-gatherer-herders of the region took to farming and became the forerunners of today’s rural society in southern Rajasthan.

Mishra says others took to stock breeding and became Gadris (shepherds)and Rabaris (camel breeders). Then there are communities like the Gemetis, Meghwals and Bawarias who continue to practise their traditional occupation of hunters to this day. Some of them used to eat carrion until a few decades ago.

The odhnis of Gameti women bear a tell-tale resemblance to the trademark red-and-black pottery of Ahar culture. And evidence of the folk religion of the Ahars survives among the Kalbelias, the community to which the dancer Gulabo, famed in Rajasthani folklore, belonged. The Ahars aren’t dead. They still live among us.

http://www.indiadivine.org/2700-year-old-yogi-samadhi-found-indus-valley-civilization-archaeological-site/

Location map of Kanmer (After Fig. 1 in: 

Kanmer. A large number of bead-making goods — 150 stone beads and roughouts, 160 drill bits, 433 faience beads and 20,000 steaite beads — were found here, indicating the site's importance as an industrial unit. Agatequarries were also located at a distance of 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanmer

Kanmer

Kanmer: Ancient Village or Settlement in India 

Distribution and concentration of the sites of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization

Excavation revealed that the Kanmer site had been surrounded by large walls of stone.

The Indus civilization (2600 BC - 1900 BC) is one of the four great ancient civilizations. It is known for its cultural and technological achievements—its characteristic seals and scripts, fortified settlements and sewage systems—and also for its brief tenure. Indus cities and culture spread over 680,000 km2 along the Indus and Ghaggar rivers and into Gujarat in Western India, yet its urban phase lasted for only 700 years, a much shorter period than any of its contemporaries. Drawing on archaeology, Indology, and paleo-environmental study, project members compose social and environmental histories of several Indus civilization cities in order to determine whether environmental factors were the cause of their short life and rapid decline...

See decoding of Seal impressions of Kanmer.

Major Achievements

Excavations at Kanmer and Farmana have been immensely successful. In addition to uncovering a number of structures, including a citadel with rock walls (photo 2) and diverse artefacts, excavation teams found three pendants with Indus script (photo 3) and other Indus seals with and without Indus script. These artifacts provide important data for continued efforts to decipher the Indus writing system. In Farmana, where buildings made of sun-dried bricks were found in previous excavations, a large-scale burial ground was discovered (photo 1) as were grains of rice, which have rarely been found in Indus sites. Each of these findings makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the society, culture and subsistence system of the eastern Indus...

The identical Indus seal is stamped on one side of each pendant and different lettered script is found on the reverse.

Simulation based on bathymetric data suggests that Indus period sea level was about two meters higher than in present day Gujarat. If correct, the cities which are currently found inland would have earlier been located along the coast.

Future Activities

Major excavations at the sites in Kanmer and Farmana were completed in 2008. The activities of MCRG members now shift to the analysis of obtained data. As of 2009, principal field activities will involve core sampling at Rara Lake and in the Maldives that may confirm our hypotheses of the Ghaggar and Gujarat sites. SSRG will carry out pollen and pitholith analysis on data already obtained from the excavations. Several human bones were discovered in the Farmana excavation, and a new research group specializing in DNA analysis will be formed for their analysis. In sum, our efforts are now directed towards synthesis of the findings of individual research groups in order to develop a robust description of the climate and subsistence systems of the Indus period. Source: http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/project/H-03.html

19th Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA), Hanoi, 29th November - 5th December 2009

Abstract

EXCAVATION AT KANMER, GUJARAT, INDIA

Kharakwal, J.S. Institute of Rajasthan Studies, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur, India

Rawat, Y.S. State Department of Archaeology, Gujarat, India

Osada, Toshiki Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto. Japan

Kanmer (Bakarkot), a multicultural site, is located in Rapar tehsil of Kachchh district of Gujarat, India. Our controlled excavations have yielded five-stage cultural sequence at the site. Period I (i.e. Kanmer I) was marked by coarse and fine varieties of Red Ware, the latter often painted in bichrome. The charactristic Anarta material of course appears in the upper levels of this brown sandy clay deposit. Kanmer II (or Period II) is  characterised by residential structures and a strong fortification associated with the Harappan material similar to the urban phase of Dholavira. The bichrome and monochrome  pottery of Kanmer I, particularly one with a greyish or blackish surface,

gradually disappears in these levels whereas Anarta types continue. A large variety of Red Ware (e.g., Red Slipped, Black Slipped, Cream, Buff, Reserve Slipped, Coarse Red Ware and Local Ware) is predominant in this phase. Apart from these, Black-and-Red Ware and Reserve Slipped ware have also been found. This deposit is further divided into Kanmer II A and II B on the basis of appearance of new material, i.e.,Ahar type white painted Black-and-Red and Gritty Red Ware in Kanmer II B. Besides pottery, a variety of beads of semi precious stones, drill bits, rough outs and raw material, beads of faience, terracotta and paste, gold and shell and weights, seals, seal impressions, terracotta cakes and dices also mark the Harappan deposit. The remains of Kanmer III were identified as Late Harappan, which were found resting directly upon the urban phase settlement without any distinct cultural break. It appears that during this post-urban phase people did not maintain the fort wall, though several pottery types continue with some change in shape and surface treatment.

The site was reoccupied by the Early Historic (Iron Age) people after the desertion of the Harappans. Their deposit has been identified as cultural period Kanmer IV. During this period a variety of Red Ware including Red Polished Ware, Rang Mahal type Red Ware, Roman Amphorae and some West Asian pottery has been found at the site. A number of potter's kilns belonging to this period were discovered in the south central part of the mound. The last cultural level i.e., Kanmer V belonging to the Mediaeval period, was marked by residential structures and large numbers of storage pits.

The site has yielded varied faunal and floral remains. Cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare), bread-wheat (Triticum aestivum), dwarf-wheat (Triticum sphaerococcum), rice (Oryza sativa), field-pea (Pisum arvense), and green-gram (Vigna radiata) besides cotton (Gossypium arboretum/herbaceum) are in the collection. Perhaps rice appeared at the site during the Late Harappan phase.

The site has yielded evidence of both winter and summer crops. The faunal remains include mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and molluscan species. Among the domestic animals, cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig and horse were identified. More than a dozen wild animals were identified in the collection, including the nilgai, antelopes, deer, carnivores, rodents and elephant.

kalyanaraman 5 Nov. 2009

Excavation at Kanmer revealed that the site was enclosed by massive stone-built perimeter walls. http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/project/4FR-3.html

Kanmer, Rapar taluka, Kutch, Gujarat, India

Kanmer is a small settlement of Indus Civilization. It has five fold cultural sequence i.e., Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, Late Harppan, Historic and Medieval. The site is being excavated jointly by Department of Archaeology, Inst. Rajasthan Studies, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udiapur, India, Gujarat State Department of Archaeology, India and Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto under the general direction of J.S. Kharakwal, Y.S. Rawat and Toshiki Osada.

submitted by 

j.S. kharakwal 19 April 2007

Early iron age in South Asia: Gregory Possehl and Praveena Gullapalli (1999) 

Excerpts from the article:

“There are four principal archaeological assemblages that document the Early Iron Age in South Asia: the Gandharan Grave Culture, the Painted Grey Ware Assemblage, the Pirak Assemblage, and the Megalithic Complex (although Chakrabarti [1992] points a six region division). The early iron from these assemblages has been dated to the first half of the first millennium BCE, with some dates circa 1000 BCE. (Nagaraja Rao 1971; Gaur 1983)…Painted Grey Ware sites extend from the Bahawalpur region of Pakistan east across the Punjab into Uttar Pradesh in India…The ceramic wares of the Painted Grey Ware assemblage are quite different from those of the Harappan and Post-urban Harappan that precede the assemblace in northern India and Cholistan…Jagat Pati Joshi and his tem…their excavations at Bhagawanpura and Dadheri have found evidence for Post-urban Harappan occupations followed by an overlap between the Post-urban Harappan and the Painted Grey Ware (Joshi 1976, 1978, 1993). Thus the historical gap that once existed separating the Early Iron Age culture from those of the preceding Bronze Age in northern India and Pakistan has now been closed and there is good evidence for cultural continuity between the two periods…Number of Painted Grey Ware sites: Bahawalpur 14, Punjab 108, Haryana 258, Rajasthan 101, Uttar Pradesh 218…The Megaliths of South Asia are an immense field of study…The connections have not yet been sorted out for this complex…Archaeological stratigraphy, radiocarbon dates, and the study of associated materials inform us, however, that the earliest Megaliths in the subcontinent date from somewhat early in the first or in the very late second millennium, and are associated with the early mass production of iron…Numbers of megalithic sites in Peninsular India by state (From Deo 1985-89): Tamil Nadu 389, Karnataka 300, Kerala 188, Andhra Pradesh 147, Maharashtra 90, Pondicherry 3…The earliest iron implements associated with the Peninsular Indian Megalithic are simple implements such as arrowheads, daggers, and domestic vessels. They are associated with the transitional times between the Megalithic Complex and the preceding South Indian Neolithic. There is solid evidence for cultural continuity in the region during this shift in metal technology (Shaffer 1995). The earliest date for iron in the region (ca. 1100 BCE) is from the Neolithic/Megalithic Period of Hallur on the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka (Nagaraja Rao 1971, 1981)…Excavations at Gufkral in the Vale of Kashmir by the Archaeological Survey of India (Indian Archaeology, A Review 1981-82: 19-25) have revealed a ‘Megalithic’ occupation associated with iron…

Radiocarbon dates for Gufkral Period II, Megalithic iron age

Lab. No. Calibrated date BCE (1d CAL) (Calib-3 program)

BS-434            2195 (2035) 1900

BS-431            1885 (1747) 1677

BS-433            2131 (1945) 1779

BS-371            1888 (1747) 1674

…These dates would push back the widespread use of iron into the beginnings of the second millennium BCE. There is an underlying Neolithic at Gufkral, however, and we know almost nothing about the nature and amount of iron found in Period II. Could we be documenting an instance of ‘Bronze Age Iron’ in the subcontinent here?...

Bronze age iron in India

Bronze Age iron and Metalithic sites.

S.No	Iron Age Sites	14C/ TL/ OSL Dates
1	Ahar [ Rajasthan]	2124 – 1707 BC [IB], 1871 – 1526 BC [IC]The Calibrated points for IB and IC be considered 2100 and 1900 BC
2	Gufkral [Kashmir]	1850- 1550 BC
3	Peshawar and Chitral [ Northwest]	1000 BC / Gandhara grave culture- 1800 BC
4	Nagda, Eran, Dangwada [Malwa]	c. 2000 – 1750 BC, 1500 BC Calibrated,Nagda, 1100BC [ un calibrated]
5	Vidarbha	c. 1000 BC
6	Hallur, Veerapuram,  Kumaranahalli, Watgal - IIB[Deccan]	Hallur- 1378 BC, 1255 BC [14C ], Veerapuram – 1525 BC, 1295 BC [14 C], KumaranaHalli – 1470 BC, 1410 BC, 1350 BC, 1160 BC [ TL ], Watgal- IIB- c.2300- 2000 BC , IIC- 2000 BC, IV- c.1500BC
7	*Adichanallur,[TamilNadu]	3000± 700, 3400± 700, 3160±600, 2700±600, 2600±500, 2500±530, 1920±350 BP [OSL ]
8	Bahiri,  [West Bengal]	1200- 1000 BC
9	Golbai Sasan [Orissa]	1100- 900 BC
10	Barudih,[Jharkhand]	1401 – 837 BC
11	Dadupur, Jakherea, Raja – Nal- Tila, Malhar, Belan Valley, Jhusi- Allahabad, Lohuradeva, [UP]	1700 BC,[Dadupur], 1882- 1639 BC, [Malhar] 2012 – 1742 BC, [ Raja- Nal- Tila], c. 1300 BC [Belan Valley,Jhusi- 1100 BC, Lohurdeva- 1200/1100 BC [Calibrated]
Source	Indian Archaeology*NIOT	Author: D.K Chakravarti*OSL dates:R.K.Gartia, Manipur University

Four types of anthropomorphs have been discovered so far from the Sarasvati-Ganga River Basins. One type includes the ligature of varāha, which is an Indus Script hieroglyph, among other hieroglyphs such as one-horned young bull, ram, fish.

Type IV Anthropormorph standing inscribed with one-horned young bull and ligatured with head of a boar

A composite copper anthropomorphic figure along with a copper sword was found by Dr. Sanjay Manjul, Director, Institute of Archaeology at the Central Antiquity Section, ASI, Purana Qila in 2005. This composite copper anthropomorph is a solitary example in the copper hoard depicting a Varaha'boar' head. The Anthropomorphic figure, its inscription and animal motif that it bears, illustrate the continuity between the Harappan and Early Historical period.

Hieroglyph: mẽḍhā 'curved horn', miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep; mē̃ḍh 'ram' Rebus: Медь [Med'] (Russian, Slavic) 'copper'.

मृदु, मृदा--कर 'iron, thunderbolt'  मृदु mṛdu 'a kind of iron' मृदु-कार्ष्णायसम्,-कृष्णायसम् soft-iron, lead.

Santali glosses.

Sa. <i>mE~R~hE~'d</i> `iron'.  ! <i>mE~RhE~d</i>(M).

Ma. <i>mErhE'd</i> `iron'.

Mu. <i>mERE'd</i> `iron'.

  ~ <i>mE~R~E~'d</i> `iron'.  ! <i>mENhEd</i>(M).

Ho <i>meD</i> `iron'.

Bj. <i>merhd</i>(Hunter) `iron'.

KW <i>mENhEd</i>

@(V168,M080)

http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/austroasiatic/AA/Munda/ETYM/Pinnow&Munda

— Slavic glosses for 'copper'

Мед [Med]Bulgarian

Bakar Bosnian

Медзь [medz']Belarusian

Měď Czech

Bakar Croatian

KòperKashubian

Бакар [Bakar]Macedonian

Miedź Polish

Медь [Med']Russian

Meď Slovak

BakerSlovenian

Бакар [Bakar]Serbian

Мідь [mid'] Ukrainian[unquote]

http://www.vanderkrogt.net/elements/element.php?sym=Cu 

Miedź, med' (Northern Slavic, Altaic) 'copper'.  

One suggestion is that corruptions from the German "Schmied", "Geschmeide" = jewelry. Schmied, a smith (of tin, gold, silver, or other metal)(German) result in med ‘copper’.

ayo meḍh 'metal merchant' ayo mēdhā 'metal expert' 

PLUS  karṇika 'spread legs' rebus: karṇika कर्णिक 'steersman'.

barāh, baḍhi 'boar' vāḍhī, bari, barea 'merchant' bārakaśa 'seafaring vessel'.

eka-shingi 'one-masted' koḍiya ‘young bull’, koṭiya 'dhow', kũdār 'turner, brass-worker'.

Thus, Type IV anthropomorph with Indus Script hieroglyphs signifies a steersman/helmsman, metals expert, metals turner (brass worker), metals merchant with a dhow, seafaring vessel.

Daimabad seal. Note:  karṇika 'helmsman' is also signified by the hieroglyph: rim-of-jar: kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' rebus 2: karNI 'supercargo' -- a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale.

Type III Anthropomorph seated with upraised arm

Photograph of one of the 6 Madarpur anhropomorphs (After Fig. 1 in: R. Balasubramaniam, et al, 2002, Studies on ancient Indian OCP period copper, in: IJHS 37.1, pp. 1-15). http://www.dli.gov.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/2000616d_1.pdf

eraka 'upraised arm' rebus: eraka 'copper'.

ayo meḍh 'metal merchant' ayo mēdhā 'metal expert' 

PLUS kamaDha 'penance' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'. 

Type III anthropomorph with Indus Script hieroglyphs signifies a copper worker, metals merchant with mint 

Type II Anthropomorph, seated

Seated position of Anthropomorph.

Seated position if signifying penance, the rebus reading is: kamaDha 'penance' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage.

meḍh 'iron' mRdu 'iron' med 'copper' (Slavic) PLUS meḍh 'merchant' mēdhā 'expert' 

PLUS kamaDha 'penance' rebus: kammaTa 'mint, coiner, coinage'. '

Thus, Type II anthropormph signifies a copper/iron merchant with mint

Type I Anthropomorph, Standing with fish inscription

Sheorajpur (Inv. No O.37a, State Museum of Lucknow. 

ayo 'fish' mẽḍhā 'curved horn' meḍḍha 'ram' rebus: ayo meḍh 'metal merchant' ayo mēdhā 'metal expert' karṇika 'spread legs' rebus: karṇika कर्णिक 'steersman'.

Thus, Type I anthropomorph signifies a steersman (of seafaring vessel), metals expert, metals merchant.

Mirro: http://tinyurl.com/zgzv5e5

‘Turtle’ hieroglyphs on Indus Script signify wealth, metalwork

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‘Turtle’ hieroglyphs on Indus Script signify wealth, metalwork  

 

"Front view of Meiolania platyceps fossil 

Meiolania ("small roamer") is an extinct genus of cryptodire  

turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene, with the last relict populations at New Caledonia which survived until 2,000 years ago.

The animal was rather large, measuring 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length, making it the second-largest known nonmarine turtle or tortoise, surpassed only by Colossochelys atlas from Asia, which lived in the Pleistocene. It lived in Australia and New Caledonia. Remains have also been found on the island of Efate in Vanuatu, associated with settlements from the Lapitaculture...When the first fossil remains (a vertebra) were found, they were originally thought to be from a large monitor lizard, similar to, but smaller than Megalania, so the genus was named accordingly. Later, when more remains were found, it was realized that the "small roamer" was actually a turtle, and not a lizard. Synonyms include Miolania and Ceratochelys."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiolania

Pictorial motif 69 (Mahadevan concordance). Tortoise/turtle of Indus Script Corpora. 

There are examples of copper plates with the pictorial motifs of large turtles combined back to back, as a pair to signify: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting'.

m1528Act

m1529Act2920

m1529Bct

m1532Act

m1532Bct

m1534Act

m1534Bct

1703 Composition: 

Two horned heads one at either end of the body. Note the dottings on the thighs which is a unique artistic feature of depicting a turtles (the legs are like those of an elephant?). The body apparently is a combination of two turtles with heads of  turtles emerging out of the shell and attached on either end of the composite body.

Copper tablet type B18, B17b. Tortoise with mirror duplicaes.

B17a, B17b, B18

Hieroglyph: two large turtles joined back to back. Thus, signifying meta casting using cire perdue (lost-wax) technique of creating mirror image metal castings from wax casts.

The hieroglyph multiplex on m1534b is now read rebus as: dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS  kassa 'turtle' rebus: kãsā'bell-metal' kamaṭha'turtle' rebus: kãsā kammaṭa'bell-metal coiner, mint, portable furnace'.

kamaṭha crab, tortoise (Gujarati); ‘frog’ (Skt.); rebus:  kammaṭa ‘mint’ (Kannada)kampaṭṭam ‘coiner, mint’ (Tamil).கமடம், [ *kamaṭam, ] s. A turtle, a tortoise, ஆமை (Winslow Tamil lexicon) కమఠము [ kamaṭhamu ] kamaṭhamu. [Skt.] n. A tortoise.

Rebus: కమటము [ kamaṭamu ] kamaṭamu. [Tel.] n. A portable furnace for melting the precious metals. అగసాలెవాని కుంపటి. Allograph: कमटा or ठा [ kamaṭā or ṭhā ] m (कमठ S) A bow (esp. of bamboo or horn) (Marathi). Allograph 2: kamaḍha ‘penance’ (Pkt.)  Rebus:  Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner. (DEDR 1236)

m1532b On another copper tablet, the emphasis is clearly on the turtle's shell like that of Meiolania's shell.

On copper tablet m1543, the correct identification of the animal heads will be turtle species comparable to Meiolania, a horned large turtle of New Guinea.

Hieroglyph: kassa‘turtle’: kacchapa m. ʻ turtle, tortoise ʼ MBh. 2. *kacchabha -- . [By pop. etym. through kaccha -- for kaśyápa -- VS. J. Charpentier MO xxvi 110 suggested equivalence in MIA. of kassa -- = kaccha -- to explain creation of kacchapa -- ~ kassapa -- . But K. kochuwu, unless a loan from Ind., points to *kakṣapa -- , which would make the formation earlier.] 1. Pa. kacchapa -- m. ʻ tortoise, turtle, °pinī -- f., Pk. kacchava -- m., °vī -- f., K. kochuwu m. (see above), S. kachãũ, °chū̃ m., L. kachū̃ m., P. kacchū, kacchūkummã̄ m. (< kūrmá -- 1), N. kachuwā, A. kācha, B. kāchim, Or. kechu, °cho, kẽchu, kaï˜cha, °ca, kachima, °cima, Mth. kāchu, Bhoj. Aw. lakh. kachuā; H. kachuā, °chwā m., °uī, °wī f. ʻ tortoise, turtle ʼ, kach -- mach m. ʻ dwellers in the water ʼ (< mátsya -- ) whence kacch, kach m. ʻ turtle, tortoise ʼ, M. kāsav, kã̄s° m., Ko. kāsavu. 2. Pk. amg. kacchabha -- , °aha -- m., °bhī -- f.; Si. käsum̆bu, °ubu H. Smith JA 1950, 188; -- G. kācbɔ m., °bī f. with unexpl. retention of -- b -- and loss of aspiration in c. Addenda: kacchapa -- . 1. A. kācha (phonet. -- s -- ) ʻ tortoise ʼ AFD 217. 2. *kacchabha -- (with -- pa -- replaced by animal suffix -- bha -- ): Md. kahan̆bu ʻ tortoise -- shell ʼ.(CDIAL 2619)

Rebus: OMarw. kāso (= kã̄ -- ?) m. ʻ bell -- metal tray for food, food.

kaṁsá1 m. ʻ metal cup ʼ AV., m.n. ʻ bell -- metal ʼ Pat. as in S., but would in Pa. Pk. and most NIA. lggs. collide with kāˊṁsya -- to which L. P. testify and under which the remaining forms for the metal are listed. 2. *kaṁsikā -- .1. Pa. kaṁsa -- m. ʻ bronze dish ʼ; S. kañjho m. ʻ bellmetal ʼ; A. kã̄h ʻ gong ʼ; Or. kãsā ʻ big pot of bell -- metal ʼ; OMarw. kāso (= kã̄ -- ?) m. ʻ bell -- metal tray for food, food ʼ; G. kã̄sā m. pl. ʻ cymbals ʼ; -- perh. Woṭ. kasṓṭ m. ʻ metal pot ʼ Buddruss Woṭ 109. 2. Pk. kaṁsiā -- f. ʻ a kind of musical instrument ʼ; K. kanzü f. ʻ clay or copper pot ʼ; A. kã̄hi ʻ bell -- metal dish ʼ; G. kã̄śī f. ʻ bell -- metal cymbal ʼ, kã̄śiyɔ m. ʻ open bellmetal pan ʼ. kāˊṁsya -- ; -- *kaṁsāvatī -- ? Addenda: kaṁsá -- 1: A. kã̄h also ʻ gong ʼ or < kāˊṁsya -- . (CDIAL 2576) It is possible that the word in Tamil for ‘gold, money’ is cognate with these etyma of Indian sprachbund: காசு³ kācu , n. prob. kāš. cf. kāca. [M. kāšu.] 1. Gold; பொன். (ஆ. நி.) 2. Necklace of gold coins; அச்சுத்தாலி. காசும்பிறப்புங்கலகலப்ப (திவ். திருப்பா. 7). 3. An ancient gold coin = 28 gr. troy; ஒருபழையபொன்னாணயம். (Insc.) 4. A small copper coin; சிறுசெப்புக்காசு. நெஞ்சேயுனையோர்காசாமதியேன் (தாயு. உடல்பொய். 72). 5. Coin, cash, money; ரொக்கம். எப்பேர்ப்பட்டபலகாசாயங்களும்(S.I.I. i, 89). 6. Gem, crystal bead; மணி. நாண்வழிக்காசுபோலவும் (இறை. 2, உரை, பக். 29). 7. Girdle strung with gems; மேகலாபரணம். பட்டுடைசூழ்ந்தகாசு (சீவக. 468). 8. (Pros.) A formula of a foot of two nēr acaiveṇpā; வெண்பாவின்இறுதிச்சீர்வாய்பாட்டுள்ஒன்று. (காரிகை, செய். 7.) 9. The hollow in the centre of each row of pallāṅkuḻi; பல்லாங்குழியாட்டத்திற்காய்கள்சேர்தற்குரியநடுக்குழிகள்.

1)      కంచరవాడు (p. 224) kañcaravāḍu kanṭsu. n. Bell metal. కంచుకుండ a bowl or vessel or bell metal. కంచువాద్యము a cymbal made of bell metal. కంచుతీసినట్లు as... 
2) కంచము (p. 223) kañcamu kanṭsamu. [Tel.] n. A metal plate or dish. కంచుకంచము a dish made of bell metal. మాకంచములోరాయివేసినాడు he threw a stone into our place, i.e., took away our bread, he disturbed us. మందకంచము a dish which as a rim. ఆకుకంచము a dish which has none. 

2)      ) కంసర (p. 227) kaṃsara or కంసలల kamsara. [Tel.] n. Smithery; working in gold: adj. Of the goldsmith caste. కంసలది a woman of that caste. కంసలపని the business of a gold-smith. 

3)      కంసము (p. 227) kaṃsamu kamsamu. [Skt.] n. Bell metal.కంచు. 
4) కాంస్యము (p. 265) kāṃsyamu kāmsyamu. [Skt.] n. Bell metal. కంచు. 

4)      కంసాలి (p. 227) kaṃsāli or కంసాలవాడు kamsāli. [Tel.] n. A goldsmith or silversmith. 

5)       కంచరవాడు (p. 224) kañcaravāḍu or కంచరి kanṭsara-vaḍu. [Tel.] n. A brazier, a coppersmith. కంచుపనిచేయువాడు. కంచరది a woman of that caste. కంచరిపురుగు kanṭsari-purugu. n. A kind of beetle called the death watch. కంచు kanṭsu. n. Bell metal. కంచుకుండ a bowl or vessel or bell metal. కంచువాద్యము a cymbal made of bell metal. కంచుతీసినట్లు as bright or dazzling as the glitter of polished metal. Sunbright. ఆమెకంచుగీచినట్లుపలికె she spoke shrilly or with a voice as clear as a bell. 

 కాంచనము (p. 265) kāñcanamu kānchanamu. [Skt.] n. Gold. కాంచనవల్లి a piece of gold wire. కాంచనాంబరముtissue, gold cloth. 

Kāñcana काञ्चन a. (-नी f.) [काञ्च्-ल्युट्] Golden, made of gold; तन्मध्येचस्फटिकफलकाकाञ्चनीवासयष्टिःMe.81; काञ्चनंवलयम्Ś.6.8; Ms.5.112. -नम् 1 Gold; समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनःBg. 14.24. (ग्राह्यम्) अमेध्यादपिकाञ्चनम्Ms.2.239. -2 Lustre, brilliancy. -3 Property, wealth, money. (Apte).  kāñcaná ʻ golden ʼ MBh., n. ʻ gold ʼ Mn.Pa. kañcana -- n. ʻ gold ʼ, °aka -- ʻ golden ʼ; Pk. kaṁcaṇa<-> n. ʻ gold ʼ; Si. kasuna ʻ gold ʼ, kasun -- ʻ golden ʼ. (CDIAL 3013) காஞ்சனம்¹ kāñcaṉam , n. < kāñcana. Gold; பொன். (திவா.)  కాంచనము (p. 265) kāñcanamu kānchanamu. [Skt.] n. Gold. కాంచనవల్లి a piece of gold wire. కాంచనాంబరము tissue, gold cloth. 

The hieroglyph multiplex on m1534b is now read rebus as: dula'pair' rebus: dul 'cast metal' PLUS kassa 'turtle' rebus: kãsā'bell-metal' kamaṭha'turtle' rebus: kãsā kammaṭa'bell-metal coiner, mint, portable furnace'.

Gulf of Khambat may possibly be derived from the ancient mints of the region, during the Bronze Age Sarasvati Civilization.

Map of Giant Tortoises: light blue on South Asia for Colossochelys Which seems to have persisted in pockets including in Indonesia up to the end of the Ice Ages (Green Squares), plus the  Madagscar area group of Tortoise islands, where some still survive, and  Meiolania Islands offshore of Australia,  where the turtles survived into the postglacial period but were killed off in Ancient times.

https://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.in/2011/11/giant-turtle-that-bears-world-on-its.html?m=1

A giant turtle (of what was thought to be an extinct species) has been found on Pacific island in 2010 CE !!

https://www.wired.com/2010/08/last-giant-land-turtle/

कंस[p= 241,1] mn. ( √कम् Un2. iii , 62), a vessel made of metal , drinking vessel , cup , goblet AV. x , 10 , 5 AitBr. S3Br. &c; a metal , tutanag or white copper , brass , bell-metal

S. Kalyanaraman Sarasvati Research Centre July 13, 2017

NaMo, prevent annual Assam floods, create National Water Grid, take flood waters through interlinked rivers to drought-prone areas

July 13, 2017, 6:36 am

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Kiren Rijiju undertakes aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Assam

PTI | Updated: Jul 13, 2017, 06:33 PM IST
LAKHIMPUR: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday undertook an aerial survey of flood-hit districts in Assam, where the death toll due to the deluge has mounted to 45.



The minister of state for home was accompanied by officials of the National Disaster Response Force, NITI Ayog and National Disaster Management Authority.



Before the survey, Rijiju met district administration officials in Lakhimpur, which has been hit the hardest by floods, and visited deluge-ravaged Pasnoi Baolidan village.



More than 3 lakh people have been marooned by flood waters in Lakhimpur district alone.

Though rains eluded the district over the last two days, the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are flowing above the danger mark in several areas.



Lakhimpur district officials briefed the minister on the relief operation being conducted in the district.

They told him that the water level has started receding.

Kiren Rijiju 

✔@KirenRijiju

This is the condition of North Lakhimpur & Majuli at this point of time. I'm on aerial as well as spot visit now.

1:02 PM - 13 Jul 2017

 
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Heavy rainfall in upper catchment area of Arunachal Pradesh as well as Lakhimpur increased the water level of all the 14 rivers and their tributaries in the district.



Ranganadi, Dikting and Singra rivers swelled up after a huge quantity of water was released from NEEPCO dam in Yazuli, the district officials told Rijiju.



A total of 431 villages in seven revenue circles have been inundated by the deluge and as many as 3,27,729 people are bearing the brunt of floods in Lakhimpur.



"Twenty relief camps and 205 health camps have been set up in the district," an official said.

Rijiju asked the district administration to expedite the relief operation as there has been no rain in the last two days.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rijiju-undertakes-aerial-survey-of-flood-hit-areas-in-assam/articleshow/59576868.cms

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Many meanings of the Hindu Temple -- Pankaj Saxena

July 13, 2017, 6:11 pm

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http://indiafacts.org/many-meanings-hindu-temple/

Saving West Bengal from Bamboo Mamata -- Minhas Merchant

July 13, 2017, 8:53 pm

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WORSE than the Left? How Mamata's brand of appeasement politics has damaged West Bengal's social fabric

By Minhaz Merchant

PUBLISHED: 22:34 BST, 12 July 2017 | UPDATED: 22:34 BST, 12 July 2017

+5

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee 

It takes a lot of effort to make the Left look good. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has done just that.

The Left ruined West Bengal in a 34-year-long nightmare that drove industry from the state, allowed the India-Bangladesh border to become porous, and created deep social divisions.

Power

Mamata has topped that. When she stormed to power in 2011, she promised change. Her first and most sensible step was appointing economist Amit Mitra, a former secretary-general of FICCI, as West Bengal's finance minister.

Mitra has turned the state's finances around with major tax reforms and efficient revenue collection.

The rest of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has proved an unmitigated disaster. 

Mamata's communal brand of politics has converted West Bengal into a tinderbox. 

The week-long Basirhat riots were the culmination of years of Muslim appeasement which have emboldened radicalised Muslims to unleash violence on Hindus unhindered by a communalised and impotent police force.

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Communal tensions have flared-up once again in the Basirhat district in Bengal

The Calcutta High Court has thrice upbraided the Mamata government for Muslim appeasement that damages the state's social fabric.

Consider this stinging order Justice Dipankar Dutta passed on October 6, 2016: 'There has been a clear endeavour on the part of the state government to pamper and appease the minority section of the public at the cost of the majority section without there being any plausible justification.

The reason is, however, not far to seek. To put it curtly, the state government has been irresponsibly brazen in its conduct of being partial to one community.'

Now consider the behaviour of Dipendu Biswas, the TMC MLA who represents the Basirhat Dakshin constituency.

One of the victims of the recent violence, Sutapa Dey, told a daily newspaper: 'Our MLA, Dipendu Biswas, accompanied the police, making sure that our boys were picked up.

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Mamata's communal brand of politics has converted West Bengal into a tinderbox

'When the Muslims attack us, the police just sit quietly, and if we do anything, they come and arrest us. Mamata was insulted just because the Governor said something that is right… what about us, are we not insulted?'

Biswas has denied his role in the communal violence but another witness Piyali Haldar claimed last week: 'For the last three days, we have been enduring attacks by Muslims… Our shops have been looted.

'My family lost goods worth Rs 2.5 lakh… The police are raiding our homes to look for arms. Let them raid Muslim homes and see the cache of arms they bring from across the border.'

Yet another local resident, Sumanto Sarkar, added: 'We have never ever seen anything like this before… If it wasn't for us, Dipendu Biswas would never have become an MLA.

'And now he is picking up our boys, siding with the Muslims… I voted for the Trinamool in the last election. But never again.'

Juggernaut

Mamata appears not to fear the law. She fears only electoral defeat. As long as she locks in the 28 per cent Muslim bloc vote and a small percentage of the floating Hindu vote, she is assured of a vote share of over 40 per cent.

In a multi-cornered fight that the 2021 assembly election will be, a 40 per cent vote share guarantees a landslide.

The Left, the Congress and the BJP will divide the rest of the vote, giving the TMC a disproportionate number of assembly seats as it did in 2016.

The BJP hopes to stop the TMC juggernaut in 2021 - but can it?

A pro- Muslim Mamata didn't swing enough Hindu votes towards the BJP in 2016 when it won just 10.3 per cent vote share and three seats.

The TMC received 44.9 per cent vote share and 211 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.

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Eye witnesses said many were beaten up, cars were torched in Basirhat

But more Muslim-instigated riots like Basirhat and the growing fear that West Bengal is falling under the influence of Islamist radicalism could alter the electoral math in 2021.

The BJP's cynical strategy is reverse-polarisation. The BJP succeeded in reverse-polarising Hindus against Akhilesh Yadav's Muslim-Yadav coalition in Uttar Pradesh and won by a landslide.

The party knows West Bengal is very different. But its growing focus on eastern India - the Northeast, Odisha and Bengal - shows where its strategy is heading.

Inroads

The BJP is largely a party of the north and the west.

To make inroads in the east and the south it has to target a vulnerable Karnataka in 2018, plug away in Kerala and Telangana, back Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu, use the NDA-backed North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to embrace the rest of the Northeast, and challenge the BJD in Odisha.

The holdout? West Bengal.

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Troops on patrol in the Basirhat district in West Bengal

However, Mamata could be walking into a mousetrap here. She can't rein in Muslim radicals because her electoral base might collapse.

But if she doesn't, and communal riots targeting Hindus spread, reverse-polarisation in favour of the BJP is inevitable. The losers? The Left and the Congress.

The former has little but Marxist obscurantism to offer Bengal's youth.

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The latter has even less to offer under a dysfunctional dynasty. If West Bengal's electoral politics becomes semibinary with the TMC and the BJP at two opposite poles and the Left and the Congress relatively marginalised, Mamata's 45 per cent vote share could dip.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4690478/How-Mamata-s-appeasement-politics-damaged-West-Bengal.html#ixzz4mm5Vcwq2 

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Given West Bengal's demographics and the Left's strong cadre-based presence, the change though may take place far more slowly than it has in, for example, Uttar Pradesh.

The long-term math, however, spells danger for the TMC. As the embers of Basirhat continue to smoulder, she may rue the electoral cost of her communal politics.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4690478/How-Mamata-s-appeasement-politics-damaged-West-Bengal.html

Indian astronomers discover Sarasvati, new supercluster of galaxies of 20 m billion suns (Full text)

July 13, 2017, 9:18 pm

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Indian scientists discover new supercluster of galaxies, call it Saraswati

Full text of paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1707.03082.pdf

What is the Saraswati supercluster?

Shubashree Desikan

JULY 14, 2017 18:57 IST

Indian astrophysicists discovered a massive supercluster of galaxies.   | Photo Credit: PTI

Recently, a group of scientists from IUCAA (Pune), IISER (Pune), NIT Jamshedpur and Newman College (Thodapuzha) announced that they have discovered a very large “supercluster” of galaxies. They have named it Saraswati. Here is a brief explainer on the discovery and its background.The newly discovered Saraswati supercluster is 600 million light years across

What are galaxy clusters? How big are they?

Galaxies are like the building blocks of the universe, they contain a huge number of stars, something like 100 billion at a count. Galaxy groups can have three to 20 galaxies, the richest systems are called clusters (like the Virgo cluster) which can have several hundred galaxies.

Superclusters are clusters of clusters. They can have as few as two clusters, and superclusters with two to four clusters are common. Saraswati has 42.

Within superclusters, clusters are connected by filaments and sheets of dark matter with galaxies embedded in them.

It is supposed that the galaxies are born in the filaments and then migrate towards the intersection of the filaments where they are assimilated into clusters.

What are superclusters?

These are the largest coherent structures seen in the universe. Firstly there are clusters of galaxies together with associated gas and dark matter. Large groups of such clusters, linked by filaments, separated by voids together form the superclusters. Though initially a supercluster was used to describe groups of two-four clusters, now it is understood that much larger superclusters, comprising clusters that number an order of magnitude higher, exist. The first such large supercluster to be discovered was the Shapley supercluster.

How does the Saraswati supercluster compare with the Milky Way?

The newly discovered Saraswati supercluster is 600 million light years across. The Milky Way is 150,000 light years across.

Where does the supercluster Saraswati lie in the sky?

The supercluster Saraswati lies in the Stripe 82 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It is about 4000 million light years away from us. It is in the constellation of Pisces.

What is “Stripe 82 region of SDSS”?

SDSS stands for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This is an ambitious plan to make a digital 3D map of the universe. Started in 2000, it has, over eight years, mapped more than a quarter of the sky. It has mapped nearly 930,000 galaxies. The SDSS has found nearly 50 million galaxies so far.

In its third phase, SDSS-III, which started in 2008 and ended in 2014, gave out sets of data that were released in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It produced a map of the North galactic cap which stretched to 7500 square degrees and of three stripes in the South Galactic Cap which added to 740 square degrees. The central stripe is known as Stripe 82.

What is the significance of this discovery? Is there a puzzle posed by the discovery of Saraswati?

Spotting a supercluster which is 4000 million light years away means that you are looking at light that has come in from four billion years ago. This is because a light year is the distance travelled by light in one year. Since the universe is believed to be 13.8 billion years old, this means we are looking at light from when the universe was about 10 billion years old, just about 70% of its present age.

This poses a puzzle. According to present theories, it is difficult for such a huge galaxy to have formed so early in the universe’s lifetime.

When was the term Galaxy cluster first used, in what context?

In 1926, Harlow Shapley and Adelaide Ames were the first to coin the term “cluster” to describe a collection of galaxies. They used this to describe the Coma-Virgo region. The term “Virgo cluster” was first used by Edwin Hubble and Milton Humason in 1931.

Is there any special way of discovering a supercluster? For instance, a star has a definite boundary, but how do you discern the boundaries of a supercluster?

It is very hard to outline the boundaries of a supercluster. It is done by studying maps such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in an exceedingly detailed manner. In the context of Saraswati supercluster, the astronomers could delineate 43 clusters of galaxies connected by a network of filaments.

Is Saraswati the first supercluster that Indians have discovered? Which was the first?

Professor Somak Raychaudhury, who is presently director of Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, had discovered a supercluster as part of his PhD thesis work at University of Cambridge. It was named “Shapley Supercluster,” after the American astronomer Shapley who first coined the term cluster. Shapley’s work in measuring the extent of galaxies is remarkable and a part of extending the Copernican programme – establishing that the earth is not the centre of the universe.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/what-is-the-saraswati-supercluster/article19279697.ece?homepage=true

The extremely large supercluster of galaxies is as big as 20 million billion suns.

PTI

New Delhi, July 13, 2017 | UPDATED 23:52 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

• 1

  The galaxy is 10 billion years old
• 2

  PhD student Shishir Sankhyayan discovered it
• 3

  Supercluster has over 40 clusters

A team of Indian astronomers has discovered an extremely large supercluster of galaxies -- as big as 20 million billion suns -- which they have named Saraswati, Pune-based Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) said today.

This is one of the largest known structures in the neighbourhood of the universe, 4,000 million light-years away from Earth and roughly more than 10 billion years old, IUCAA said.

Its mass extends over the scale of 600 million light years, it said.

Scientists of this institute were also involved in the path-breaking discovery of gravitational waves last year.

The supercluster was discovered by Shishir Sankhyayan, a PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, Pratik Dabhade, IUCAA research fellow, Joe Jacob of the Newman College, Kerala, and Prakash Sarkar of the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur.

Their findings were published in the latest issue of The Astrophysical Journal, the premier research journal of the American Astronomical Society.

"Superclusters are the largest coherent structures in the cosmic web. They are a chain of galaxies and galaxy clusters, bound by gravity, often stretching to several hundred times the size of clusters of galaxies, consisting of tens of thousands of galaxies," the IUCAA said in a statement.

Sankhyayan said this "newly-discovered Saraswati supercluster" extends over a scale of 600 million light-years and may contain the mass equivalent of over 20 million billion suns.

A cluster could roughly have galaxies ranging from 1000 to 10,000. A supercluster could have clusters ranging from 40 to 43, he added.

"Our own galaxy is part of a supercluster called the Laniakea supercluster," the IUCAA said.

Joydeep Bagchi from IUCAA, the lead author of the paper in the journal, and co-author Sankhyayan said they were "astonished to spot this giant wall-like supercluster of galaxies", visible in a large spectroscopic survey of distant galaxies, known as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Sankhyayan said the data was then analysed, following which the discovery was made.

"This supercluster is clearly embedded in a large network of cosmic filaments traced by clusters and large voids," Bagchi said.

He said previously "only a few comparatively large superclusters" had been reported, such as the Shapley Concentration or the Sloan Great Wall in the nearby universe.

"The Saraswati supercluster is far more distant," Bagchi said.

The two hoped that the work would help shed light on "perplexing questions" like how such matter-density clusters had been formed billions of years ago.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/scientists-discover-saraswati-supercluster-galaxy/1/1001616.html

Saraswati: An Extremely Massive ~ 200 Megaparsec Scale Supercluster

Joydeep Bagchi, Shishir Sankhyayan, Prakash Sarkar, Somak Raychaudhury, Joe Jacob, Pratik Dabhade

(Submitted on 10 Jul 2017)

Here we report the discovery of an extremely massive and large supercluster (called Saraswati) found in the Stripe 82 region of SDSS. This supercluster is a major concentration of galaxies and galaxy clusters, forming a wall-like structure spanning at least 200 Mpc across at the redshift z≈0.3. This enormous structure is surrounded by a network of galaxy filaments, clusters, and large, ∼40−170 Mpc diameter, voids. The mean density contrast δ (relative to the background matter density of the universe) of Saraswati is ≳1.62 and the main body of the supercluster comprises at least 43 massive galaxy clusters (mean z=0.28) with a total mass of ∼2×1016M⊙. The spherical collapse model suggests that the central region of radius ∼20 Mpc and mass at least 4×1015M⊙ may be collapsing. This places it among the few largest and most massive superclusters known, comparable to the most massive `Shapley Concentration' (z≈0.046) in the nearby universe. The Saraswati supercluster and its environs reveal that some extreme large-scale, prominent matter density enhancements had formed ∼4 Gy in the past when dark energy had just started to dominate structure formation. This galactic concentration sheds light on the role of dark energy and cosmological initial conditions in supercluster formation, and tests the competing cosmological models.

Comments:	19 pages, 15 figures, and 1 table. Accepted for publication and press release in ApJ
Subjects:	Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
Cite as:	arXiv:1707.03082 [astro-ph.CO]
	(or arXiv:1707.03082v1 [astro-ph.CO] for this version)

Submission history

From: Shishir Sankhyayan [view email]
[v1] Mon, 10 Jul 2017 23:38:02 GMT (1654kb)

https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03082

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Alloy metal weapons of R̥gveda. Tradition of metalwork is documented in Indus Script corpora.

July 13, 2017, 11:50 pm

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https://tinyurl.com/y82mseot

पवि [p= 611,2] m. (perh. orig. " brightness , sheen " ; cf. पावक and Un2. iv , 138 Sch.) the tire of a wheel (esp. a golden tire on the chariot of the अश्विन्s and मरुत्s) RV. AitA1r.; the metallic point of a spear or arrow ib.; the iron band on a सोम-stone ib.; an arrow Nir. xii , 30; a thunderbolt Naigh. ii , 20; speech ib. i , 11 fire L.
वज्र [p= 913,1] mn. " the hard or mighty one " , a thunderbolt (esp. that of इन्द्र , said to have been formed out of the bones of the ऋषि दधीच or दधीचि [q.v.] , and shaped like a circular discus , or in later times regarded as having the form of two transverse bolts crossing each other thus x ; sometimes also applied to similar weapons used by various gods or superhuman beings , or to any mythical weapon destructive of spells or charms , also to मन्यु , " wrath " RV. or [with अपाम्] to a jet of water AV. &c ; also applied to a thunderbolt in general or to the lightning evolved from the centrifugal energy of the circular thunderbolt of इन्द्र when launched at a foe ; in Northern Buddhist countries it is shaped like a dumb-bell and called Dorje ; » MWB. 201 ; 322 &c ) RV.&c; m. a form of military array , Mn. MBh. &c (cf. -व्यूह); m. a kind of column or pillar VarBr2S.; m. a kind of hard mortar or cement (कल्क) VarBr2S. (cf. -लेप); n. a kind of hard iron or steel L.; mfn. shaped like a kind of cross (cf. above ) , forked , zigzag ib. [cf. Zd. vazra , " a club. "]

अयस् [p= 85,1] n. iron , metal RV. &c; an iron weapon (as an axe , &c ) RV. vi , 3 ,5 and 47 , 10gold Naigh.; steel L. ; ([cf. Lat. aes , aer-is for as-is ; Goth. ais , Thema aisa ; Old Germ. e7r , iron ; Goth. eisarn ; Mod. Germ. Eisen.]) This lexeme is likely to signify an alloy metal (pyrites).

अंशु [p= 1,1] a point , end; a ray , sunbeam. A cognate word is añcu'iron' (Tocharian)

Source: A Dictionary of Tocharian B.: Revised and Greatly Enlarged, 2013. By Douglas Q. Adams, Rodopi, p.85

It is likely that most of the weapons mentioned as follows are made of metal of the Bronze Age:

वर्मन् [p= 926,2]n. (or m. Siddh. ; fr. √1. वृ) " envelope " , defensive armour , a coat of mail RV. &c; a bulwark , shelter , defence , protection ib. (often at the end of the names of क्षत्रियs)

सेना [p= 1246,2] f. (fr. √2. सि) a missile , dart , spear RV. AV.; an army , armament , battle-array , armed force (also personified as wife of कार्त्तिकेय ; ifc. also n(सेन).)RV. &c; a small army (consisting of 3 elephants , 3 chariots , 9 horse , and 15 foot); a kind of title or addition to the names of persons (also names of courtezans) Sa1h. (cf. Pa1n2. 4-1 , 152 &c)

आ-युध [p= 149,1] n. a weapon RV. AV. VS. R. Mn. MBh. Ragh. &c; implement AV. x , 10 , 18 AitBr. Kaus3.; gold used for ornaments L.

सृक [p= 1245,1] m. (usually derived fr. √ सृ , or सृज् ; but rather from an obsolete √ सृक् , " to be pointed ") an arrow , spear RV.

चक्र [p= 380,3] n. (Ved. rarely m. ; g. अर्धर्चा*दि ; fr. √ चर्? ; √1. कृ Pa1n2. 6-1 , 12 Ka1s3. ) the wheel (of a carriage , of the Sun's chariot [ RV. ],of Time [i , 164 , 2-48] ; °क्र्/अं- √चर् , to drive in a carriage S3Br. vi) RV. &c; a discus or sharp circular missile weapon (esp. that of विष्णु) MBh. R. Sus3r. Pan5cat. BhP.; "a form of military array (in a circle) " » -व्यूह; a troop of soldiers , army , host MBh. (ifc. f(आ). , iii , 640) BhP. i , ix Ca1n2.

अङ्कुश [p= 7,2] mn. a hook , especially an elephant-driver's hook

पाश [p= 623,3] m. (once n. ifc. f(आ). ; fr. √3. पश्) a snare , trap , noose , tie , bond , cord , chain , fetter (lit. and fig.) RV. &c

आष्ट्रा f. a prick or goad for driving cattle (= अष्ट्रा q.v.) Ka1t2h.; अष्ट्रा [p= 117,1] f. a prick or goad for driving cattle (regarded as the badge of the agriculturist Kaus3. ) RV. ; [Zd. astra1 ; Lith.akstinas.]

असि [p= 120,2] m. ( √2. अस्) , a sword , scimitar , knife (used for killing animals) RV. AV. &c

निश (शा) रणम् Killing, slaughter.; निशानम् Sharpening, whetting. -Comp. -पट्टः a whet stone.

शक्ति[p= 1044,2] a spear , lance , pike , dart RV. &c (also शक्ती g. बह्व्-ादि); a sword

ऋष्टि a [p= 226,3] f. a spear , lance , sword RV. AV. iv , 37 , 8 ; 9 ; viii , 3 , 7 ; ([cf. O. Pers. arstis ; Zd. arsti.])

परशु [p= 589,2] m. a hatchet , axe , the axe of a woodcutter; a thunderbolt

वाशि [p= 947,1] m. " roaring " , fire or the god of fire Un2. iv , 124 Sch.; वाशी[p= 947,2] f. (also written वासी ; accord. to some connected with √ व्रश्च्) a sharp or pointed knife or a kind of axe , adze , chisel (esp. as the weapon of अग्नि or the मरुत्s , and the instrument of the ऋभुs , while the परशु or axe is that of त्वष्टृ) RV. AV. MBh.

वासि or वासी f. a carpenter's adze L. (cf. वाशी).

धनुस् [p= 509,2] n. (m. g. अर्धर्चा*दि ; cf. धनु) a bow RV. &c

बाण [p= 727,2] m. or वाण्/अ ( RV. ) , ब्/आण ( AV. ; later more usually वाण q.v.) a reed-shaft , shaft made of a reed , an arrow RV. &c; a partic. part of an arrow L.बाणाf. the hind part or feathered end of an arrow L.

बुन्द [p= 735,1] m. an arrow RV. (= इषु Nir. )

इषु a [p= 168,3]mf. an arrow RV. AV. VS. MBh. Ragh. S3ak. &c; इष् to impel , incite , animate , promote RV. AV. VS. S3Br.[p= 168,3]

शर [p= 1056,2]m. (fr. √ शॄ " to rend " or " destroy ") a sort of reed or grass , Saccharum Sara (used for arrows) RV. &c; ; an arrow , shaft Mun2d2Up. Mn. MBh. &c

सायक [p= 1207,3] mfn. intended or fitted to be discharged or hurled RV. ( Naigh. ii , 20);m. (in RV. also n.) a missile , arrow RV. &c; m. a sword MBh. R.; a dagger

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weapons in the R^igveda excluding vajra/didyu
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
July 14, 2017

Why the Left desperately needs IIT Madras -- Jyotirmaya Tripathy

July 14, 2017, 7:52 am

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Why the Left desperately needs IIT Madras

| 14 Jul 2017

| Onkareshwar Pandey, Editor In Chief, NOP

Why the Left desperately needs IIT Madras 

• By Jyotirmaya Tripathy 

Now that the dust has settled, tempers have worn out and blood has congealed after the beef festival at IIT Madras (IITM), it is time for some analysis. But before I begin, it should be emphasised that the recent government notification banning cattle trade for slaughtering purposes in cattle markets does not deprive anybody of his/her right to consume beef. In the same vein, it should be iterated that the recent beef festival and the subsequent brawl between two students of IIT Madras led to physical injury to both (not to one, as a large section of media in its over zealousness asserted). 

The urgency to recapture educational institutions: 

The problem, to my mind, lies not in the imaginary beef ban, but reflects a crisis within the Left parties to stay relevant, combined with the realisation that their hitherto unchallenged authority in universities is up for resistance and that their unidirectional obsolete narratives are subject to counter narratives of development and hope. The IITM controversy is a manifestation of that crisis and the brouhaha over the incident is an effort to take control of another institutional space. 

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ascent to power, the Left parties’ sway over institutions is fast loosening at the national level. This is supplemented with the realisation that in states like Kerala, in spite of a history of Left rule, there are indications of BJP’s rise at the cost of Left parties. It is common knowledge that the average Left voter in Kerala is a Hindu voter, where as the Congress led constellation is backed by ‘secular’ and minority voters.It may be recollected that the former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, to consolidate his Hindu vote base, had spoken against love jihad and the Islamist design on Kerala society and had echoed the sentiments of the honorable Kerala High Court. 

Declining power in universities and BJP’s slow but consistent gain not only impoverishes the Left vote bank, but also demotivates the Left cadre to protect their constituency. It also robs the Left intellectuals of institutional privileges to legitimate their ways of seeing things as reality. Guided events like beef festival may help cling on to a receding Hindu vote base in Kerala who would like to have freedom over food, but more importantly, creates an impression that the Left student bodies are doing something to fight ‘fascist’ forces. 

The beef festival had its unusual share of media coverage thereby making the event a performance of sorts. Within minutes of the brawl in the IITM dining hall, there were stories about right wing members assaulting a progressive cosmopolitan beef festival participant peacefully exercising his right in a Jain mess. Posters/photos of the affected student’s bruised and swollen face were flashed everywhere; the painful, yet pensive, mien of the victim was the perfect shot for the left-liberal class declaring the arrival of doomsday. In contrast, the other student was nowhere to be seen, the news of his broken arm nowhere covered;he remained invisible under the epithets of ‘ABVP worker’ and ‘right wing agent’. The well-oiled PR machinery of the festival organisers, guided by a few faculty members,was in full force creating a climate of imminent danger to Indian democracy. Even more eye-catching was Kerala Chief Minister demanding justice for the student from his state and the CPI General Secretary visiting the student in the hospital thereby establishing that the Left has larger designs on IIT Madras, and that the beef festival was managed by Left parties. If the incident established anything, it is the angst of ‘progressive’ groups to control public discourses. It also establishes that far from being spontaneous response to central ruling, the beef festival was a highly choreographed spectacle signaling that ‘we still exist’. 

IIT Madras as the new frontier: 

For Left parties, who have enjoyed power and privilege at educational institutions through their student bodies and through control of research institutions, IITs have remained the last frontier, something that can be gazed at with admiration and wonder, but cannot be breached. They are the El Dorado or a sone ki chidiya with far more influence and symbolic value in the public eye and are characterised by their direct contribution to society through innovation and social entrepreneurship. The IITs are known for their academic excellence and rigour; their alumni network, research funding and their impact on people’s lives have been the envy of universities, and the desire to control this space through student groups is understandable. They are high value targets and can catapult any interest group into national prominence and assure maximum publicity. 

Among IITs, IITM is uniquely placed where a sizeable number of students come from a Left ruled state and take leadership in manufacturing social consciousness among students. On top of that,particular masters programs in IITM abounding with students from a particular regional background, their faculty with degrees from the left-bastion of a university in the national capital make IITM the new war front whose takeover will offset Left’s loss elsewhere. Though represented as a movement against the centre’s diktat on food choices by ‘liberal’ student groups, beef festivals betray the ignorance of the central rule and expose the design of handful participants to hijack other students’ ability to conceptualise freedom differently. These festivals are never about freedom over food choice, but to taunt the cultural beliefs of the silent majority and are an open incitement to violence. It seems, the IITs,originally designed to create human resources for Indian industry, are the new sites for Left’s experiment with student politics, and its victory in IITM will subvert the very idea of IITs and will be a betrayal of their mission. 

(Writer Jyotirmaya Tripathy is a member of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. Views expressed are personal.) 

http://www.newobserverpost.com/NewsDetail.aspx?Article=275

US Federal court rules lawsuit challenging California curriculum's unconstitutional denigration of Hinduism will move forward

July 14, 2017, 6:14 pm

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http://www.capeem.org/docs/OrderMTDJuly2017.pdf

Federal court rules lawsuit challenging California curriculum's unconstitutional denigration of Hinduism will move forward FREMONT, CA JULY 14, 2017 Yesterday afternoon, United States District Court Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco issued an order denying part of California state officials' motion to dismiss the Complaint brought by California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) and three parents of California schoolchildren that challenges the unconstitutional denigration of Hinduism in the state's Curriculum Standards and Framework. State officials sought dismissal of all four of the constitutional claims and the Court granted the dismissal of three of them. The claim that the curriculum violates the First Amendment's command that government cannot denigrate a religion will go forward. The Court held that "the allegations [in the Complaint] support a reasonable inference that a reasonable and informed sixth grader would consider the content of the Standards and the Framework to have a primary effect of conveying a message of disapproval of Hinduism." Glenn Katon, the attorney for CAPEEM and the parents, was pleased that they would be able to proceed to gather additional evidence and prove that the State's inferior treatment of Hinduism violates the First Amendment. "The Court's ruling that we have stated a valid constitutional claim is an important step toward getting the State to treat Hinduism with the same care and dignity that its curriculum gives to other faiths." "The Court's acknowledgment of the harm the current curriculum does to Hindu children is very important to us," said Arvind Kumar, a Director for CAPEEM. "We're hopeful this case will lead to changes that will prevent that harm from continuing." The Court's decision can be found here. For media inquiries, contact Glenn Katon at media@capeem.org or (510) 463-3350. CAPEEM is a 501(c)(3) organization with tax id 56-2565521 and can be reached at CAPEEM PO Box 1283 Fremont, CA 94538 USA. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Genetics & Aryan migration, Anil Kumar Suri points to serious data flaws in MB Richards et al archaeo-genetic study

July 14, 2017, 6:56 pm

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Genetics And Aryan Migration: Setting The Record Straight (Once Again)

Anil Kumar Suri

- Jul 14, 2017, 7:53 pm 
A remarkable article by Anil Kumar Suri who points out serious data flaws in MB Richards et al archaeo-genetics study. It is time to review the policies of so-called peer-reviewed journals which publish papers without proper review. Serious data flaws by researchers will likely render the entire field of archaeo-genetics suspect. The entire field will lose credibility because of some misconceived and erroneous data analyses by some geneticists.   S. Kalylanaraman, Sarasvati Research Center

SNAPSHOT

The Hindu’s Readers’ Editor A S Panneerselvan has attempted to defend Tony Joseph’s article on genetics and the Aryan migration theory.

Panneerselvan in his defence of Joseph, and Joseph, in his response to the geneticists’ article, appear to evade fundamentally important points.

Here, Anil Suri scrutinises the arguments offered in both the articles and responds. 

The Hindu’s Readers’ Editor A S Panneerselvan has attempted to defend Tony Joseph’s article on genetics and the Aryan migration theory from some of the points made by me earlier in Swarajya. By now, senior geneticists Drs Gyaneshwer Chaubey (whose disagreement with Joseph’s article I had referenced in my piece) and K Thangaraj have published a detailed rebuttal to Joseph’s optimistic claims, principally that geneticists have now “converged” on the answer to whether an Indo-Aryan immigration to the subcontinent did actually happen, which is that there is now “sure-footed” proof of such immigration.

Panneerselvan in his defence of Joseph, and Joseph, in his response to the geneticists’ article, appear to evade fundamentally important points that go against their narrative, and, when all else fails, bluster their way through. The arguments they use may perhaps confound the general reader. I therefore try to scrutinise their arguments afresh. Panneerselvan also tries to deflect attention from my criticism by levelling a bizarre accusation at me, and I shall set the record straight on this.

Spin over facts

For starters, Joseph had said, “...this theoretical structure (of Ancestral North Indian, ANI/Ancestral South Indian, ASI – parenthesis mine, for clarity) was stretched beyond reason and was used to argue that these two groups came to India tens of thousands of years ago, long before the migration of Indo-European language speakers that is supposed to have happened only about 4,000 to 3,500 years ago.” Now, the genetic affinity between some North Indians and Europeans has been known for a long time, and had been attributed to an ancient common ancestry rather than the more recent migrations of the Indo-Aryan type. So, when Joseph did not care to specify who exactly he was accusing of this “stretching”, he was choosing spin over facts. Tellingly, Panneerselvan does not address this criticism of mine either. As I wrote in my article, it was in a 2011 peer-reviewed scientific publication, whose authors included Thangaraj, the one who had originally proposed the ANI/ASI construct, and Chaubey, that this conclusion was arrived at. They have now pointed this out themselves in their article in The Hindu.

Why cite selectively?

The 2011 findings of Chaubey, Thangaraj et al are again corroborated by a recent paper by Partha Majumdar and co-workers (Mondal et al, 2017), who also differed from Reich’s 2016 hypothesis of recent migrations into the subcontinent, as I said in my earlier article. Interestingly, this paper was published at almost exactly the same time as the Martin Richards paper (Silva et al, 2017) that Joseph relies on to argue in favour of an Indo-Aryan migration. Significantly, the Majumdar paper has the virtue of analysing many Indian tribal populations for the first time in addition to data from the 1000 Genomes project, which makes their data set superior to the rather narrow database of Silva et al, who focused mostly on South Asians living in the United Kingdom and the United States (see the article by Chaubey and Thangaraj for why this is so). Since Joseph emphasises the importance of newer and better data, it is puzzling why he dwells on Silva et al and doesn’t even mention other studies like that of Majumdar. Indeed, Joseph may play up what he chooses to, but how exactly did he arrive at his claim of “unambiguous” conclusions and “convergence” of opinions?

This is Joseph’s actual sin: the selective exclusion of divergent schools of thought from his narrative.

I cannot help repeating the question I asked in my earlier article: did Joseph leave out the opinions of scientists that did not go with the narrative he was trying to present (as he seemed to have done with Chaubey), or did he just not even seek their opinion at all? Again, he is free not to interview experts with differing perspectives. But then, to claim that they have all converged on a conclusion would be taking liberties with the truth. Would this come under the ambit of due diligence that Panneerselvan talks about in his defence of Joseph? I sincerely hope Joseph does not claim he was not aware of the 2011 Chaubey/Thangaraj and 2017 Majumdar papers, for that would imply sloppy homework.

Science fail

Panneerselvan makes a truly bizarre statement when he says that I have not provided any statements from Chaubey “to validate his disapproval of the study”, and that “...Suri’s article does not throw up a single specific objection of Dr Chaubey either to the study of which he is a part, or to the extensive interview with Peter Underhill that was cited in Mr. Joseph’s article.” It is unclear why Panneerselvan (and Joseph?) think Chaubey disagrees with a scientific publication of which he is a co-author; if he had, he would probably have asked not to be included in the list of authors – as he indeed did in the case of Silva et al – or placed a different position on record in a subsequent publication. And if I had said such a thing, I am sure he would have written to Swarajya by now accusing me of attributing false statements to him.

I have already highlighted this point in my previous article, and repeat it now: the 2015 Underhill paper says,“We caution against ascribing findings from a contemporary phylogenetic cluster of a single genetic locus to a particular pre-historic demographic event, population migration, or cultural transformation. ....our data do not enable us to directly ascribe the patterns of R1a geographic spread to specific prehistoric cultures or more recent demographic events.”

Why would Chaubey disagree with these conclusions?

Let me put it in another way: Joseph claims Underhill has now changed his views. To what, exactly?

Joseph’s appalling response to the geneticists

Joseph writes that the geneticists say “that ‘Out of India’ is a possible explanation for the genetic spread that we observe,” and further accuses them of making “no reference to a single peer-reviewed genetic study that makes a serious case for ‘Out of India’.” I am at a loss for whether this is a calculated straw man argument or just downright silly. One fails to see where the geneticists have backed one direction of migration or the other. They have only alluded to the well-known fact that genetic similarities exist between some Indian populations and Europeans, which imply some migrations in or out of India (we don’t know the direction, or even time, yet), but nothing so far suggests the hypothetical Indo-Aryan one (last para).

Also, why does Joseph point fingers at Chaubey and Thangaraj? The very paper that Joseph tries to present as gospel, Silva et al, makes this statement: “Gene flow at this time (Bronze Age – parenthesis mine for clarity) was clearly bi-directional, as seen in the expansion west of lineages M5a2a4, U2c1b + 146 and M3a1b + 13105).”

Indian R1a strand not derived from the Central Asian – the fatal flaw in Joseph’s narrative

As I said in my earlier article, fundamentally, to argue that the predominant R1a strand found in India is the result of gene flow from Central Asia; the former should be derived from the latter, which is not the case. Chaubey and Thangaraj have stated this themselves in their article now (third-last paragraph). This effectively knocks the bottom out of pretty much everything Joseph was trying to argue. Although this is a very simple (and crucial) point, Joseph misses it altogether (second paragraph of his reply). Panneerselvan too beats around the bush while evading this basic point.

Chaubey and Thangaraj have also re-emphasised that many tribal communities carry high frequencies of R1a, a fact I stated earlier in my article. For good measure, the geneticists add that their own (as yet unpublished) findings are that many R1a branches show a very early presence in India. This is one of the reasons why, as the geneticists said, sampling is so crucial – again, a point that eludes Joseph completely, leading him to write that “under-representation ceases to be a material issue”.

It is worth repeating: we have better data today than we did years ago, but as it stands today, there is no case for an Indo-Aryan immigration into the subcontinent.

Virtue signalling

Panneerselvan tries to claim the high moral ground for Joseph when he says, “… one cannot cite earlier papers, when the discipline was at its formative phase, to disprove the contemporary findings when the discipline has become robust with substantial amount of additional data and analytical tools. This repudiates the basic rules that govern science and knowledge production.” However, as we have seen, Joseph appears to have relied on spin to downplay findings that do not agree with his narrative (Singh et al, 2011), and plain ignored other recent findings that he found similarly uncomfortable (Majumdar). He tries to spin the 2015 Underhill paper his way, but unfortunately Underhill’s very cautious and carefully worded statements in his interview to Joseph don’t quite acquire the desired colour. One is not entirely convinced by the simplistic ‘Recent Papers vs. Old Papers’ scenario that Joseph and Panneerselvan are trying to present it as – it appears to be a clear case of cherry-picking of evidence to build a narrative.

Also, Panneerselvan does not bother to explain why Joseph came to regard one 2017 paper (Silva) to be worthy of note, but not another published at exactly the same time, which arrived at a different conclusion (Majumdar), and indeed how he went on to claim that one conclusion had been “unambiguously” arrived at.

Panneerselvan’s comment also seems to betray an ignorance of the peer-review process. Recent papers do not automatically supersede older ones. They may use better data and/or technology, but may be flawed in their analysis or interpretations. We do not know if a publication has been previously rejected by other journals, and, if so, why peer reviewers had found it unsatisfactory. In any case, it takes a long time, and usually a good deal of corroboration by others, for the peer community to be convinced by any publication. Joseph’s enthusiasm in trying to paint the barely months-old Silva et al paper like it is the final word on the topic is touching, but a great deal of time needs to pass before we know how much acceptability it has gained.

What the experts say

It is precisely to gauge what the peer-community thinks of the paper that Joseph should have made an effort to obtain the views of a cross-section of scientists like Drs Lalji Singh, K Thangaraj and Richard Villems, who had previously concluded that there was no genetic evidence for an Indo-Aryan migration. Also, as with any open scientific problem, scientists may continue to pursue further studies to confirm or refine their own previous conclusions, and may still be in the process of publishing these new findings. Such new studies may well end up corroborating their earlier conclusions – indeed it is evident from the geneticists’ article in The Hindu that such is their case.

If he had talked to other experts, they might also have pointed him to what appear to be rather obvious flaws in Silva et al. For instance, they regard only Y-chromosome haplogroups H, K2a1 and C5 as native to South Asia from before the Holocene. However, high incidence of the ancestral form of haplogroup R2, for instance, is found in both Indo-European and Dravidian speakers and tribal communities, and extremely low frequencies in Central Asia, ruling out the possibility of it having entered the subcontinent during the Holocene. But Silva et al claim R2 entered India from West Eurasia.

Using similar arguments, if we classify haplogroups C5, H, H1, L1, R2, H0, H2 as South Asian, G1, G2, J1, J2, R1b as West Eurasian and C3, K2, N, O2, O3, Q1a, Q1b as East Eurasian, and, keeping R1a as unclassified for now, re-plot the ancestry contributions of the sampled South Asian populations shown in Figure 3(c) in Silva et al, notice how much difference it makes. The difference is so wide that one needn’t apply any statistical test. And this is without taking into account the problem of limited sampling of mostly expatriates referred to above. How did the peer reviewers who waved this paper through miss the prima facie questionable conclusion that the Dravidian (Telugu and Tamil) speakers sampled had nearly 70 per cent West Eurasian ancestry, indeed more than the Gujarati (Indo-European) speakers?

Lastly, given the rather brief rebuttal from the geneticists, one would like to know if, in the interests of fairness, they were allowed a sufficiently detailed article by The Hindu’s editors – unrealistic word limits are an obvious editorial ruse for suppressing uncomfortable points of view.

Also Read: Genetics Might Be Settling The Aryan Migration Debate, But Not How Left-Liberals Believe

https://swarajyamag.com/ideas/genetics-and-aryan-migration-setting-the-record-straight-once-again

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Corruption of politicians. Mahagatbandhan or taking voters for a ride?

July 14, 2017, 8:04 pm

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Saturday , July 15 , 2017

Options for allies ready for break

Dipak Mishra

Lalu Prasad enters his 10 Circular Road residence after arriving from Ranchi. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh Patna, July 14: Janata Dal United leaders today acknowledged that the Grand Alliance was split down the middle, just when and how the last rites will be consummated are probably only a matter of logistics and form. Will the split happen tomorrow? The day after? In a week, possibly after the presidential poll? A month? Patna is a thick swirl of speculation, but the inevitability of the break is increasingly not part of any uncertainty. The Congress, one learns, is trying to negotiate a truce between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, but JDU sources said the chief minister's stand was unequivocal: zero tolerance on matters of corruption. "The only thing that is sure is that the alliance between the JDU and RJD is over. It has come to a point of no return. Both the JDU and RJD have dug in their heels over Tejashwi Yadav and both refuse to budge an inch. The JDU wants his ouster and the RJD wants him to continue. There is very little that the Congress can do even if it wishes to broker a truce. Even if a truce is worked out, it will be meaningless as there would be complete lack of trust between the two," a senior JDU leader said on the condition of anonymity. Just how the cookie will crumble is anybody's guess. Conversations The Telegraph had with sources in all the three parties threw up the following scenarios: • Tejashwi Yadav agrees to resign and RJD nominates another person to replace him. The Grand Alliance government remains intact. Despite the RJD remaining adamant, now they have to concede space to Nitish if they want the alliance to survive. There are already talks about giving Tejashwi an "honourable exit" so that his political future is not damaged. The RJD would not like Nitish to set a deadline for his resignation but allow him to choose a time to announce his exit with a "bang", for example after making a speech in the Assembly accusing the Narendra Modi regime of filing cases against him with a "political motive". • Nitish sacks Tejashwi. The Monsoon session of the legislature is set to commence from July 28 and the chief minister would not like to be seen sitting with a deputy who has been charged with corruption. If he doesn't act, it will send a message to the people that he is being lenient to Tejashwi whereas he gave no time to other ministers he removed in the past. Already politicians like Jitan Ram Manjhi are taunting Nitish for giving Tejashwi time to resign - Manjhi was forced to quit within four hours of his swearing-in as minister after his name figured in an FIR. Sacking Tejashwi could trigger outrage in the RJD, but JDU leaders feel their ally will not pull out of the alliance and with time, the dust will settle. However, there is a chance that all RJD ministers could resign en masse and choose to support Nitish's government from outside in a bid to keep the BJP away. In that case, JDU sources indicated, Nitish would prefer to resign himself as he knows that outside support will lead to a lame duck government and there would be constant frictions with the RJD. • Nitish goes back to the NDA. JDU leader K.C. Tyagi has already hinted that they were more comfortable when they were with the BJP. On Friday, Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, while maintaining that Nitish switching to the NDA will be good for Bihar, warned the chief minister that trying to ride two boats simultaneously will be suicidal. However, going back to a BJP now controlled by Modi and Amit Shah will not be easy for Nitish who will not be in a position to dictate terms as he used to when he was NDA chief minister. It will also be tougher for Nitish to negotiate a deal with a party which aims to have its own chief minister in 2020. But at the same time, the BJP would like to see the end of the Grand Alliance before 2019 as that would give the party a chance to retain its seats from Bihar in the Lok Sabha poll. Also, the collapse of the Mahagathbandhan will have a demoralising impact on talks for a grand alliance against Modi at the national level for the 2019 poll. • Nitish resigns. The chief minister has been getting feedback from his leaders and party workers that the alliance with the RJD was adversely affecting the existing vote base of the JDU and his own image. His return to the BJP will, however, damage his reputation as a man who stands by his statements as he had parted ways with the BJP on the issue of communalism and Narendra Modi's projection as PM. The RJD, which is eager to remain in power, could renegotiate a deal with him without Tejashwi and will obediently toe his line in the future. This extreme case, however, has its dangers. The Centre may impose President's rule in Bihar and decide if it wants to dissolve the House or keep it in abeyance. Nitish's track record in elections so far suggests he will need either Lalu or the BJP to sail through.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170715/jsp/frontpage/story_162028.jsp

Indus Script hieroglyphs on Kassite hypertexts on kudurrus are sacred memories of Bronze Age artisanal activities

July 15, 2017, 2:29 pm

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Mirror: https://tinyurl.com/y9umwwld

Kassite kudurrus signify many Indus Script hieroglyphs/hypertexts as sacred memories from the Script tradition. This hypothesis is validated in this monograph from the evidence of symbols used on about 50 kudurrus from the Bronze Age Ancient Near East sites including Susa.

Background note on cultural contacts between Indo-Aryan and Kassites/Mitanni

"That there was a migration of Indo-European speakers, possibly in waves, dating from the 2nd millennium bce, is clear from archaeological and epigraphic evidence in western Asia. Mesopotamia witnessed the arrival about 1760 bce of the Kassites, who introduced the horse and the chariot and bore Indo-European names. A treaty from about 1400 bce between the Hittites, who had arrived in Anatolia about the beginning of the 2nd millennium bce, and the Mitanni empire invoked several deities—Indara, Uruvna, Mitira, and the Nasatyas (names that occur in the Rigveda as Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and the Ashvins). An inscription at Bogazköy in Anatolia of about the same date contains Indo-European technical terms pertaining to the training of horses, which suggests cultural origins in Central Asia or the southern Russian steppes. Clay tablets dating to about 1400 bce, written at Tell el-Amarna (in Upper Egypt) in Akkadian cuneiform, mention names of princes that are also Indo-European."

https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Early-Vedic-period#ref485125

One suggestion is that Kassites are Kāśyas, the founders of Kāśī, the region of Vāranāsi first mentioned in the Paippalada version of the Atharvaveda. "...some Kassite king names, which are evidently Indic (for example: Shuriash = Surya, Maruttash = Marut, Inda-Bugash = Indra-Bhaga), we can understand that they were also influenced by Hurrians or perhaps by the Medes, that in a later period were the owners of the Zagros and appointed the Magi as their priestly caste. Such kind of alliances between Sumerian/Subarian tribes and Indo-Aryan peoples seem to have been very common, and even achieved in taking control of the whole Mesopotamia during that period: the Kassite kingdom in the south preceded about 90 years the Mitanni kingdom in the north, and survived it for other 90 years." http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Huns.htm "The fifth king among the Kassite dynasty took the name Abirattas’ (abhi-ratha ‘facing chariots (in battle)’. (T. Burrow, The Sanskrit Language , London, Faber and Faber, 1955)...Mr. Kak in his paper makes a number of points:

(http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/zoro.pdf )

a) Following the collapse of the Sarasvati – river based economy around1900 BC, groups of Indians might have moved West and that might explain the presence of the Indic Kassites and the Mitanni in West Asia .

b) The old Vedic religion survived for a fairly long time in corners of Iran. The evidence of its survival comes from the daiva-inscription of Khshayarshan (Xerxes) (486-465 BC).

c) The ruling groups-Kassite and Mitanni – represented a minority in a population that spoke deferent languages. They, however, remained connected to their Vedic traditions. They were neighbors to the pre-Zoroastrian Vedic Iran . In addition, there were other Vedic religion groups in the intermediate region ofIran which itself consisted of several ethnic groups.

d) As per the Mitanni documents , the pre-Zorastrian religon in Iran included Varuna. Since Mitra and Varuna are partners in the Vedas, the omission of Varuna from the Zoroastrian lists indicates that Zarathushtra might be from the borderlands of the Vedic world where the Vedic system was not fully in place. e) The pre-Zoroastrian religion of is clearly Vedic. Zarathushtra’s innovation lay in his emphasis on the dichotomy of good and bad The Zoroastrian innovations did not change the basic Vedic character of the culture in Iran. The worship ritual remained unchanged, as was the case with basic conceptions related to divinity and the place of man." https://sreenivasaraos.com/2012/08/31/the-rig-veda-and-the-gathas-revisited/comment-page-1/

There is a reference to a wheelwright (chariot-maker) in a Susa sculptural frieze with Indus Script hypertext expressions.

kātī, 'spinner' rebus: khātī 'wheelwright'. The fish is ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati)ayas 'alloy metal' (R̥gveda) baṭa 'six' rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace'. kola 'tiger' (see tiger paws of stools) rebus: kol 'working in iron'.

​

A fragment called 'spinner' is a relief of bitumen mastic from Susa. Young woman spinning and servant holding a fan. Fragment of a relief known as "The spinner". Bitumen mastic, Neo-Elamite period (8th century B.C.–middle of the 6th century B.C.). Found in Susa. F ig. 141 La Fileuse (Lady spinning) Bitumen compound. H 9.3 cm. W. 13 cm. Neo-Elamite period, ca. 8th -7th century BCE. Susa. Sb 2834 (Louvre Museum) Excavated by J. de Morgan.  Sb2834. http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/spinner

 The plain-text message of the sculptural frieze is: copper alloy metal mintwork of Meluhha wheelwright

Hieroglyph (cipher-text): Spinner (kātī) lady rebus khātī 'wheelwright‘

kola ‘tiger’rebus: kol ‘working in iron’ kolhe ‘smelter’

kulya 'fly whisk' rebus: kulya n. ʻ receptacle for burnt bones of a corpse ʼ MBh., A. kulā ʻwinnowingfan, hood of a snake ʼ; B. kul, °lā ʻ winnowing basket or fan ʼ; Or.kulā ʻ winnowing fan ʼ, °lāi ʻsmall do. ʼ; Si. kulla, st. kulu -- ʻ winnowing basket or fan ʼ.(CDIAL 3350) Rebus: kolle 'blacksmith' kol 'working in iron, blacksmith'. kolhe ‘smelter’

Malt. kanḍo stool, seat. (DEDR 1179) Rebus: kaṇḍ 'fire-altar' (Santali) khāṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans and metal-ware' (Marathi)

Hieroglyph: Pk. ṭaṁka -- m., °kā -- f. ʻ leg ʼ, S. ṭaṅga f., L. P. ṭaṅg f., Ku. ṭã̄g, N. ṭāṅ; Or. ṭāṅka ʻ leg, thigh ʼ, °ku ʻ thigh, buttock ʼ. 2. B. ṭāṅ, ṭeṅri ʻ leg, thigh ʼ; Mth. ṭã̄g, ṭãgri ʻ leg, foot ʼ; Bhoj. ṭāṅ, ṭaṅari ʻ leg ʼ, Aw. lakh. H. ṭã̄g f.; G. ṭã̄g f., °gɔ m. ʻ leg from hip to foot ʼ; M. ṭã̄g f. ʻ leg ʼ(CDIAL 5428).Rebus: A. ṭāṅī ʻ wedge ʼ  ṭaṅkaśālā -- , ṭaṅkakaś° f. ʻ mint ʼ lex. [ṭaṅka -- 1, śāˊlā -- ] N. ṭaksāl, °ār, B. ṭāksāl, ṭã̄k°, ṭek°, Bhoj. ṭaksār, H. ṭaksāl, °ār f., G. ṭãksāḷ f., M. ṭã̄ksāl, ṭāk°, ṭãk°, ṭak°. -- Deriv. G. ṭaksāḷī m. ʻ mint -- master ʼ, M. ṭāksāḷyā m. Brj. ṭaksāḷī, °sārī m. ʻ mint -- master ʼ. (CDIAL 5434)

aya, ayo ‘fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' PLUS khambhaṛā ʻfish-finʼ rebus: kammaṭa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada) Note: कान्त kānta -अयसम् the loadstone ‘magnetite’; कृष्ण-अयसम्,’crude or black iron’; लोहा* यस ‘any metal mixed with copper , (or) copper’ Br. Ka1tyS3r. लोहित lōhita -अयस् n. copper; -कृष्ण a. dark-red. Thus, ayas means ‘iron, metal’.

baṭa six' Sh.gil. băṭ m. ʻstoneʼ, koh.băṭṭ m., jij. baṭ, pales. baṭ ʻmillstoneʼ; K. waṭh, dat. °ṭas m. ʻround stoneʼ, vüṭü f. ʻsmall do.ʼ; L. vaṭṭā m. ʻstoneʼ, khet. vaṭ ʻrockʼ; P. baṭṭ m. ʻa partic. weightʼ, vaṭṭā, ba°m. ʻstoneʼ, vaṭṭī f. ʻpebbleʼ; WPah.bhal. baṭṭ m. ʻsmall round stoneʼ; Or. bāṭi ʻstoneʼ; Bi. baṭṭā ʻstone roller for spices, grindstoneʼ. [CDIAL 11348] rebus: bhaṭa 'furnace‘. Numeral bhaṭa 'six' is an Indus Script cipher, rebus bhaṭa ‘furnace’; baṭa 'iron'.

This relief has remarkable Indus Script hieroglyphs and has been called a Rosetta Stone of Indus Script cipher. One characteristic feature of the hieroglyph-multiplex is the use of a numerical semantic determinative. Six round objects are shown on a fish. In this pictorial, fish is a hieroglyph. Numeral six is a hieroglyph. Together, the Indus Script cipher is: aya 'fish' Rebus: ayas 'metal' goṭ 'round' Rebus: khoṭ 'alloy' PLUS  bhaṭa 'six' Rebus:  bhaṭa 'furnace.' Thus, the hieroglyph-multiplex proclaims the message: aya khoṭ bhaṭa 

'metal (alloy) furnace'. Similar examples of the significance of 'six' numeral as a cipher from Ancient Near East are presented to signify phrases such as: meḍ bhaṭa 'iron furnace'.  करडा karaḍā bhaṭa 'hard alloy furnace'.

Ancillotti demonstrate that Kassite is originally an Indo-Aryan language. (A. Ancillotti, La lingua dei Cassiti, Milan, 1981.) (Encyclopaedia Iranica does not find this convincing). 

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kassites  However, Indo-Iranian immigrations are noted:"Early impact of an immigrating Indo-Iranian group is suggested by a small, but linguistically and culturally significant, number of terms. These include šuriias “sun god,” Old Indo-Aryan *sūrya, and the personal name Abi-rattaš, with Indo-Iranian *ratha “chariot,” which reflects the new technology of warfare. Otherwise the linguistic affiliation of these peoples is uncertain." http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iran-vii5-kassite The association of Kassites and Indo-Aryans is clearly related to horse-riding and riding chariots (as noted also in the Indo-Aryan manual on horse-trainining by Kikkuli). "Kikkuli was the Hurrian "master horse trainer" (assussanni, virtually Sanskrit aśva-sana-) of the land Mitanni" (^LÚA-AŠ-ŠU-UŠ-ŠA-AN-NI ŠA KUR ^URUMI-IT-TA-AN-NI) and author of a chariot horse training text written in the Hittite language, dating to the Hittite New Kingdom (around 1400 BCE). The text is notable both for the information it provides about the development of Indo-European languages and for its content...CTH 284 consists of four well preserved tablets or a total of 1080 lines. The text is notable for its Mitanni (Indo-Aryan) loanwords, e.g. the numeral compounds aiga-, tera-, panza-, satta-, nāwa-wartanna ("one, three, five, seven, nine intervals",^[11] virtually Vedic eka-, tri-, pañca- sapta-, nava-vartana. Kikkuli apparently was faced with some difficulty getting specific Mitannian concepts across in the Hittite language, for he frequently gives a term such as “Intervals” in his own language (somewhat similar to Vedic Sanskrit), and then states, “this means…” and explained it in Hittite" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikkuli  

This is consistent with the postulate of an Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni. "Some theonyms, proper names and other terminology of the Mitanni are considered to form (part of) an Indo-Aryan superstrate, suggesting that an Indo-Aryan elite imposed itself over the Hurrian population in the course of the Indo-Aryan expansion....Sanskritic interpretations of Mitanni names render Artashumara (artaššumara) as Arta-smara "who thinks of Arta/Ṛta" (Mayrhofer II 780), Biridashva (biridašṷa, biriiašṷa) as Prītāśva "whose horse is dear" (Mayrhofer II 182), Priyamazda (priiamazda) as Priyamedha "whose wisdom is dear" (Mayrhofer II 189, II378), Citrarata as citraratha "whose chariot is shining" (Mayrhofer I 553), Indaruda/Endaruta as Indrota "helped by Indra" (Mayrhofer I 134), Shativaza (šattiṷaza) as Sātivāja "winning the race price" (Mayrhofer II 540, 696), Šubandhu as Subandhu 'having good relatives" (a name in Palestine, Mayrhofer II 209, 735), Tushratta (tṷišeratta, tušratta, etc.) as *tṷaišaratha, Vedic Tveṣaratha "whose chariot is vehement" (Mayrhofer I 686, I 736). Archaeologists have attested a striking parallel in the spread to Syria of a distinct pottery type associated with what they call the Kura-Araxes culture." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitanni-Aryan

With this background of links between Syria/Kassites with Indo-Aryan, it is instructive to find many Indus Script hieroglyphs on Kassite kudurrus.

Examples of Kassite kudurru hypertexts deploying Indus Script hieroglyphs are presented in this monograph.

Scorpion hieroglyph on a kudurru. Indus Script: bicha'scorpion' Rebus: bica 'hematite, sandstone ferrite ore'

Hooded snake on kudurrus. Indus Script: phaṇi 'cobra hood' rebus: phaṇi'lead or zinc'; paṇi'merchant, marketplace'.

Turtle atop a temple on kudurru. Indus Script: kamaṭha 'turtle' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' 

1. Ram atop temple on a kudurru. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) meḍho a ram, a sheep (Gujarati)(CDIAL 10120) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ'iron' (Munda.Ho.) meḍh 'helper of merchant' (Prakrtam) 

Fish-anthropomorphs. Indus Script: ayo 'fish' rebus: aya'iron'ayas'alloy metal'

Goat-fish-fin hypertext. Indus Script: ayo'fish' rebus: aya 'iron'ayas'alloy metal' PLUS khambhaṛā fish-fin' rebus: kammaṭa'mint, coiner, coinage' PLUS mr̤eka, melh 'goat' (Telugu. Brahui) Rebus: melukkha 'milakkha, copper'. meḍh 'helper of merchant' (Prakrtam) The expression signifies a copper-metal (iron) mint, smith/merchant.

Moonhieroglyph on a kudurru. Indus Script: مر ḳamar A قمر ḳamar, s.m. (9th) The moon. Sing. and Pl. See سپوږمي or سپوګمي (Pashto) rebus: kamar 'artisan, smith' (Santali)

Arrow atop a temple. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l'smithy, forge' PLUS Oriya. kāṇḍa, kã̄ṛ ʻstalk, arrow ʼ(CDIAL 3023). ayaskāṇḍa 'a quantity of iron; kāṇḍa  'implements'NOTE: The Indus Script expression kole.l which signifies a temple is significant. Since kole.l  is a smithy, forge', the activities related to metalwork gain sacredness and veneration as products realized in a temple. Hence, the Kassite kudurrus equate metalwork hieroglyphs and express veneration of ancestors who were metalworkers with divinities (as signified on the hieroglyphs used on kudurrus). The divinities for Kassites are: (1) Anu, (2) Enlil, (3) Ea, (4) Ninmakh, (5) Sin, (6) Nabu, (7) Gula, (8) Ninib, and (9) Marduk.

Tiger-head atop a temple. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS kola'tiger' rebus: kol'working in iron'

Rim-of-jar (upside down) atop temple. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS karṇika, kanka 'rim of jar' Rebus: karṇI 'supercaro, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale'.'

A rod (signifying 'one') atop temple. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS koḍa'one' rebus: koḍ'workshop'

Sun's rays hieroglyph on kudurrus. Indus Script: arka 'sun' rebus: arka, eraka 'copper'. 

 Star hieroglyph on kudurru. Indus Script: mēḍhaमेढ 'polar star' (Marathi) rebus: मृदु mṛdu, mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Samskrtam, Santali. Mu.Ho.)

Black drongo atop a pillar on a kudurru. Indus Script: pōlaḍu 'black drongo' signify polad 'steel' PLUS skambha 'pillar' rebus: kammaṭa 'mint', coiner, coinage 

 Duck atop a temple on a kudurru. Indus Script: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS karaṇḍa'duck' (Sanskrit) karaṛa'a very large aquatic bird' (Sindhi) Rebus: करडा [karaḍā] Hard from alloy--iron, silver &c. (Marathi) 

Tree atop a temple on a kudurru. Indus Script:kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS kuṭhi a sacred, divine tree, kuṭi 'temple'; kuṭhi 'smelter' 

Tree and bull on a kudurru. Indus Script: kuṭhi a sacred, divine tree, kuṭi 'temple'; kuṭhi 'smelter' PLUS ḍhaṅgaru, ḍhiṅgaru m. ʻlean emaciated beastʼ(Sindhi) Rebus: dhangar ‘blacksmith’ (Maithili)  

kudurru stones of the Kassite Period (circa 1530-1155/1160 BCE) includes the following hieroglyphs:

Meli-Šipak kudurru, 1186–1172. pr. Kr. Goat-fish

mushhushshu.

Kudurru fragments. With mushhushshu.

Lion

Furrow 

Scorpion-Archer

Hired-Man 

Goat-Fish

Limestone kudurru reign of Marduk-nadin-ahhe: the boundary-stone consists of a block of black limestone, which has been shaped and rubbed down to take sculptures and inscriptions. Culture/period: Middle Babylonian Date: 11thC BC From: Babylon (Asia, Middle East, Iraq, South Iraq, Babylon) Materials: limestone Technique: carved British Museum number: 90841

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351632683381152064/

Meli-Shipak kudurru.

"Unfinished" Kudurru Kassite period, attributed to the reign of Melishipak (1186-1172 BC). Susa, Iran (where it had been taken as war booty in the 12th century BC). Limestone.

Kudurru recording the bequest of land by Marduk-zâkir-šumi to Ibni-Ištar on behalf of the Eanna temple in Uruk [i 1]
Reign	c. 855 – 819 BC
Predecessor	Nabû-apla-iddina
Successor	Marduk-balāssu-iqbi

Limestone boundary-stone (kudurru) from the time of Nabu-mukin-apli

Unfinished kudurru (boundary marker) with a horned serpent (symbol of Marduk) around pillar at bottom. The most proeminent gods are featured as symbols. The space for the inscription was left unused.White limestone Kassites era, found in Susa Found by J. de Morgan. Accession No. Sb25 Louvre Museum.

Kudurru "inachevé"  Époque kassite, attribué au règne de Meli-Shipak (1186-1172 av. J.-C.)  Découvert à Suse où il avait été emporté en butin de guerre au XIIe siècle avant J.-C. Calcaire Sous les anneaux du serpent qui s'enroule sur le sommet sont figurées les principales divinités du panthéon sous forme de symboles. Au-dessous, un cortège de dieux musiciens et d'animaux. Murs et tours crénelées encadrent l'emplacement réservé à une inscription qui n'a jamais été gravée. Un serpent cornu, emblème du dieu Marduk, entoure la base.

Fouilles J. de Morgan  Département des Antiquités orientales http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=24649  “Kudurru or a boundary stone from Babylon dating back to 1099-1082 BCE. The Kudurru was found at the Temple of Esagila in Babylon. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD.

What are kudurrus? They are stelas or stone (or clay) slabs (called nargus or asumittu, "inscribed slab," and abnu, "stone." by the Babylonians) with inscriptions, generally of land grants, boundary markers.

Ignace Gelb et al detailt the functions of the kudurrus as documents of land tenure systems of the Bronze Age. [Ignace Gelb, Piotr Steinkeller, and Robert Whiting Jr., 1991, Earliest Land Tenure Systems in the Near East: Ancient Kudurrus by Ignace Gelb, Piotr Steinkeller, and Robert Whiting Junior (1989-1991, 2 Parts: Part 1: Text, Part 2: Plates)].

Giorgio Buccellati details field and/or temple placement of kudurrus. (Giorgio Buccellati, 1994, The Kudurrus as Monuments in: Cinquante-deux reflexions sur le Proche-Orient ancien offertes en hommage a Leon de Meyer, Pages 283-291).

Kathryn Slanski presents an 'administrative' view on the purpose of kudurrus. (Kathryn Slanski, 2000, Classification, Historiography and Monumental Authority: The Babylonian Entitlement Narus (Kudurrus), in: Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Volume 52, 2000, Pages 95-114).  

Brinkman provides an economic interpretation that kudurrus were not legal documents - but mere commemoration/markers of the acquisition of land (perpetual income). (John Brinkman, 2006, Babylonian royal land grants, memorials of financial interest, and invocation of the divine, in: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient [JESHO], Volume 49, 2006, Pages 1-47).

[quote]Kudurru was a type of stone document used as boundary stones and as records of land grants to vassals by the Kassites in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 12th centuries BCE.^[1] The word is Akkadian for "frontier" or "boundary" (cf. Hebrew: גדר‎ gader, fence, boundary; Arabic: جدر‎‎ jadr,

 جدار jidar 'wall'; pl. جدور judūr). The kudurrus are the only surviving artworks for the period of Kassite rule in Babylonia with examples kept in the Louvre, the British Museum, and the National Museum of Iraq. he kudurrus recorded the land granted by the king to his vassals as a record of his decision. The original kudurru would be stored in a temple while the person granted the land would be given a clay copy to use as a boundary stone to confirm legal ownership. The kudurrus would contain symbolic images of the deities who were protecting the contract, the contract, and the divine curse that would be placed on a person who broke the contract. Some kudurrus also contained an image of the king who granted the land. As they contained a great deal of images as well as a contract, kudurrus were engraved on large slabs of stone.[unquote] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudurru 

http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/index1.html This is a remarkable website with many details about kudurrus  and annotated bibliographies. Gary D. Thompson who is the author of the website notes: "Some 15 Sumerian kudurrus dating to the Uruk III period (circa 3100-2900 BCE) and Early Dynastic II-III period (circa 2900-2600 BCE) are known. Early kudurrus have been recovered from Sumerian locations that include Lagash, Nippur, Adab, and Ur. All these locations were subject to Semitic influence.

Source: Aspects of the early history of the Kassites and the archaeology of the Kassite Period in Iraq (c. 1600-1150 BC) by Tim Clayden (1989 (Volume 1, Pages 157-158), 2 Volumes; Unpublished PhD Thesis; Wolfson College, Oxford).

"Daniel potts makes the point that: divine symbols also appear in oaths and legal texts where, in taking the oath, the oath-taker swears by the symbol of a particular god/goddess. One example given is the depiction on the stele of vultures. (source: mesopotamian civilization: the material foundations by daniel potts (1997, page 193).) The stele known as the stele of the vultures is a monument from the early dynastic iii period (2600–2350 bce) in mesopotamia. It was erected in 2450 bce by this king of the city-state of lagash to commemorate his victory over the city of umma. The stele was originally carved out of a single slab of limestone but only seven fragments are known today. The fragments were found at tello (ancient girsu) in southern iraq in the late 19th-century and are now on display in the louvre." http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

"Source: Aspects of the early history of the Kassites and the archaeology of the Kassite Period in Iraq (c. 1600-1150 BC) by Tim Clayden (1989 (Volume 1, Pages 167-168), 2 Volumes; Unpublished PhD Thesis; Wolfson College, Oxford). The goddess Išhara is identified with label on a kudurru recovered from Susa. Regarding Sb 31: No 64; Sb is the prefix number from the French excavations at Susa.

The scorpion was a common symbol during the First Dynasty of Babylon and also the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Seleucid periods. The scorpion symbol appeared on cylinder seals and also has been found carved on a stone bowl dated to the reign of King Rimus of Akkad (circa 2200 BCE).

According to F. Wiggerman, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts (1992, Page 180), the appearance of the scorpion-man dates at least to the 3rd-millennium BCE, and is associated with the sun-god. (There are several traditions of scorpion men.) A scorpion-man could be depicted as an archer in a number of hybrid (composite) combinations. The picture of a scorpion is very common on kudurrus and there sometimes occurs a what is termed a "scorpion-archer." (The later constellation Sagittarius = a centaur with bow and arrow.) There are several different depictions of a centaur archer on kudurru. A strange hybrid (composite) creature as archer appears on a kudurru (BM 80858) alongside the goddess Gula and her dog. It comprises a half man (human head and arms holding a stretched bow, a scorpion's body and tail, and bird's feet. The representation of a 2-headed centaur archer that is a half-man, half horse with wings, and 2 tails - one a scorpion tail - is both early and late. It appears at the top of a Kassite dynasty kudurru in the British Museum and also appears on a Hellenistic/Seleucid period stamp seal. The late stamp seal image is interpreted as a depiction of the zodiacal constellation Sagittarius. All of the signs of the zodiac can be recognised on stamp seal designs of the Hellenistic period. (See: Catalogue of Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum by Terence Mitchell and Ann Searight (2008 Page 218, and also see Pages 238-239).) For a recent study of Babylonian composite figures see: Composite Beings in Neo-Babylonian Art by Constance Gane (unpublished PhD thesis, 2012)." 

http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

"Kudurru of King Marduk-zakir-shumi (854-819 BCE) with interesting iconography (including a fox). Underneath the serpent do we have the scorpion constellation and the Pleiades or Išhara and her 7 children the Sebetti/Sibitti (the 7 benevolent demon gods)? Peter van der Veen (2008) has pointed out the '7 dots' (commonly symbolising the Pleiades) do not appear on Kassite kudurrus, but only on post-Kassite Babylonian kudurrus from year 8 of Nabu-shuma-ishkun (circa 760-746 BCE) and Shamash-shum-ukin (667-648 BCE). The 7 dots (2 horizontal rows of 3 plus 1 to the right) are an Assyrian convention of rendering the sibitti. Only later were the 7 sibitti/sebittu associated with the Pleiades." http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

"Several views of VA 3031 dating to reign of Nabu-shuma-ishkun (circa 760-746 BCE). VA 3031 (VAS 1 36/VS 1, 36) from Borsippa is tablet shaped. The 7 dots (2 horizontal rows of 3 plus 1 to the right) are in this post-Kassite period associated with the Pleiades. (Peter van der Veen (2008) has pointed out the '7 dots' (commonly symbolising the Pleiades) do not appear on Kassite kudurrus, but only on kudurrus from year 8 of Nabu-shuma-ishkun (circa 760-746 BCE) and Shamash-shum-ukin (667-648 BCE)." http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

Kassite dynasty, about 1186-1172 BC
From Sippar, southern Iraq

The gift of farmland to a senior Babylonian official

The cuneiform text records an extensive royal gift of farmland (50 gur) by Meli-Shipak (reigned 1186-1172 BC), a king of the Kassite dynasty ruling Babylonia, to Khasardu, the son of Sume. The land was situated on the bank of the Royal Canal. The deed was drawn up in the presence of seven high officials who are listed in the cuneiform inscription by name. The stone is given its own name in the text as: 'O Adad [the storm god], mighty lord, bestow abundant streams'. As is typical with documents of this type, the text ends with curses against anyone who ignores the legal contents or damages the stone. The columns of writing are presented as if on the walls of a fortress.

Further protection is given by thirteen gods who are invoked to guard the document. In addition, eighteen divine symbols are carved on the upper part of the kudurru. These include a figure with twisting legs and a two-headed, two-tailed winged centaur, a precursor of Sagittarius, drawing a bow.

Height: 51 cm
Width: 24 cm http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru5.htm

Is scorpion a constellation symbol?

http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

"Kudurru, (Akkadian: “frontier,” or “boundary”), type of boundary stone used by the Kassites of ancient Mesopotamia. A stone block or slab, it served as a record of a grant of land made by the king to a favoured person.

The original kudurrus were kept in temples, while clay copies were landowners. On the stone were engraved the clauses of the contract, the images or symbols of the gods under whose protection the gift was placed, and the curse on those who violated the rights conferred. The kudurrus are important not only for economic and religious reasons but also as almost the only works of art surviving from the period of Kassite rule in Babylonia (c. 16th–c. 12th century bc)." https://www.britannica.com/topic/kudurruDivin

"Some kudurrus are known for their portrayal of the king, etc., who consigned it. Most kudurrus portray Mesopotamian gods, which are often portrayed graphically in segmented registers on the stone. Nazimaruttash's kudurru does not use registers. Instead, graphic symbols are used. Nineteen deities are invoked to curse the foolhardy individual who seeks to desecrate it. Some are represented by symbols, such as a goat-fish for Enki or a bird on a pole for Papsukkal, a spear-head for Marduk or an eight-pointed star for Ishtar. Shamash is represented by a disc." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazimarutta%C5%A1_kudurru_stone 
Bible: Proverbs 22:28 “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.”

Kudurru de Melishipak

Autor: 
Fecha: II Milenio
Museo: Museo Nacional del Louvre
Características: 68 cm. altura
Estilo: Mesopotamia
Material: Arenisca
Copyright: (C) ARTEHISTORIA

The kudurru of Melishihu (1186-1172 BCE). Register V has 3 symbols including a snake and a scorpion.     

Kudurru of Mellishihu.Louvre.

Kudurru of Melishihu. Louvre, Paris. Boundary markers for property are a very old concept. They are mentioned in the Bible: Proverbs 22:28 “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.”

The stone shown above is even older, it is a Kudurru, a small stone stele recording a royal gift of land, from ancient Babylonia, and the concept is exactly the same as a boundary stone. The word is Akkadian for “frontier” or “boundary”. This kudurru is from the reign of King Melišipak (1186–1172 BC) at the Louvre. It records a land grant to his son, Adad-šuma-u?ur or Meliši?u. Meli means servant or slave, Šipak was a moon god, but Ši?u was possibly one of the Kassite names for Marduk, patron God of Babylon. On the front of the stele is represented the entire pantheon of gods who preserve the order of the world. The artist has used a formula that was later to be developed on other kudurrus, presenting the symbols associated with each deity in hierarchical rows. On the reverse side is cuneiform writing describing the gift and the responsibilities to the king as a result of the gift. This is followed by a section calling down a divine curse on anyone who opposed the gift. The gift was thus not only recorded and displayed for all to see, but also placed under divine protection. Because stone was precious in Babylon, the original was kept in a temple and clay replicas were placed on the land.

Melišipak kudurru-Land grant to Hunnubat-Nannaya. Louvre, Paris

In the kudurru pictured above King Melišipak, with his hand over his mouth as a sign of respect, is shown presenting his daughter to the goddess Nannaya. As noted above, the crescent moon représents the god Sîn, the sun representing the god Shamash and the star (Venus) representing the goddess Ishtar. His daughter ?unnubat-Nana(ja) was the recipient of a land grant, which her father had purchased on her behalf, disproving a theory of Kassite feudalism that all land belonged to the Monarch. With the exception of the relief shown above, there are no further inscriptions. The surface is hammered, suggesting the original inscriptions have been removed, perhaps by the Elam King Shutruk-Nakhunte.

Melli-shipak Kudurru

Unfinished Kudurru from the Reign of Melishipak, found in Sousa. Louvre, Paris

Unfinished Kudurru from the Reign of Melishipak, found in Sousa. Louvre, Paris

The kudurru pictured above is unfinished, without text. You can see some of the same now familiar symbols at the top. In the top row, the crowns with six rows of horns placed on the altars are the emblems of Anu, the sky god, and Enlil, the air god. To the left, the ram's head and the goatfish representing Ea, the god of fresh water, and Ninhursag, the earth goddess. To the right, the sun of Shamash and the star (Venus) of Ishtar. At the bottom you can see the scales of the Chtonian underworld snake winding around the stone and in the picture to the right, you can see the head and tail. Also on this view you can see three symbols on the third row, the plow of Ningirsu followed by the birds of Shuqamuna and Shumalia, the divine couple of the Kassite pantheon. At the top is Marduk, represented by a horned dragon, Adad, shown with a storm on an alter and Nabu, Marduk's son and the god of scribes, represented by a tablet and calamus. The middle row is very unusual. It depicts a procession of eight figures, all carrying bows and wearing the horned crowns that mark them out as gods, probably minor deities. Seven of the figures are bearded gods, playing the lute and accompanied by animals. A goddess playing the tambourine and possibly dancing follows them. These emblems were difficult to interpret, even for the ancients who sometimes inscribed the name of the gods symbolized next to the symbols themselves.

Babylonia at the Time of the Kassites

These kudurrus are important because they are the only surviving artworks for the period of Kassite rule in Babylonia. They were found in Susa, capital city of ancient Elam. They were taken when the Elam King Shutruk-Nakhunte, who had married the eldest daughter of King Melišipak, sacked Babylon and took them back to Elam as spoils of war. Cruel and fierce, the Elamites finally destroyed the dynasty of the Kassites during these wars (about 1155), often lamented by the poets of Babylon.

The Kassites first appeared during the reign of Samsu-iluna (1749–1712 BC), son of Hammurabi (see my post on the Code of Hamarabi) of the First Babylonian Dynasty and after being defeated by Babylon, moved to control the city-state of Mari. Babylon was invaded and captured by the Hittite king Mursilis in about 1595 BC, but he mysteriously soon left Babylon and returned to Hattusas. The Kassite ruler, Agum II, filled this power void establishing the Kassite dynasty in Mesopotamia that was to last until about 1157 BC. Some undetermined amount of time after the fall of Babylon to, the Kassites established a new Babylonian dynasty. The Hittites had carried off the idol of the god Marduk, but the Kassite rulers regained possession, returned Marduk to Babylon, and made him the equal of the Kassite Shuqamuna. They went on to to conquer the southern part of Mesopotamia, roughly corresponding to ancient Sumer and known as the Dynasty of the Sealand by 1460 BC. The Kassites restored the ancient temples of Nippur, Larsa, Ur, and Uruk, while their scholars were preserving the literature in Akkadian, the standard language of the Near East for a millennium. Much of what we know about the Kassites comes from tablets found in Nippur. A new capital west of Baghdad, Dur Kurigalzu, competing with Babylon, was founded and named after Kurigalzu I (c. 1400-c. 1375).

Dur Kurigalzu, Iraq

The Kassites rapidly adopted the Babylonian language, customs, and traditions. They introduced the use of small stone steles known as kudurrus, a tradition maintained by later dynasties until the 7th century BC. Surprisingly no inscription or document in the Kassite language has been preserved. Kassite kings established trade and diplomacy with Assyria, Egypt, Elam, and the Hittites, and the Kassite royal house intermarried with their royal families. There were foreign merchants in Babylon and other cities, and Babylonian merchants were active from Egypt (a major source of Nubian gold) to Assyria and Anatolia. But the catastrophic collapse at the end of the bronze age was starting to dramatically unfold with many of the cities of the Levant experiencing destruction. During the reign of Kashtiliash IV (1232-1225), Babylonia waged war on two fronts at the same time, against Elam and Assyria, ending in the invasion and destruction of Babylon by Tukulti-Ninurta of Assyria (Chronicle of Tukulti-Ninurta I) perhaps around 1225 BC. The situation had improved by the time of King Melišipak, but during his reign Emar in Syria (Mitanni, an ally of Egypt) was sacked in 1187 BC and and the Hittite capital of Hattusa was burnt to the ground sometime around 1180 BC.

Bronze Age Collapse

Between 1206 and 1150 BCE, the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria, and the New Kingdom of Egypt in Syria and Canaan interrupted trade routes and severely reduced literacy. From Greece to Egypt, the social and political system of the Bronze Age collapsed. Amid war and chaos, the great palaces of the ancient Greek kings and the strong fortress of Troy were destroyed. Hittite rule in Asia Minor was ended forever, and the Hittites disappeared from history. The cities of Cyprus and Syria (Mitanni) were destroyed. A mysterious group, the Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed around the eastern Mediterranean, causing political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory. Egypt fought against them for its very existence. The battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC was the first contact of Egypt with the Sea Peoples. Subsequently Ramesses III, the second king of the Egyptian 20th Dynasty, who reigned for most of the first half of the 12th century BC, was forced to deal with a later wave of invasions of the Sea Peoples, and by the way won. Ramses tells us that, having brought the imprisoned Sea Peoples to Egypt, he “settled them in strongholds, bound in my name. Some scholars suggest it is likely that these “strongholds” were fortified towns in southern Canaan, which would eventually become the five cities (the Pentapolis) of the Philistines.

These were not typical invasions but rather a mass migration from places unknown. The invaders, that is, the replacement cultures, apparently made no attempt to retain the cities' wealth but instead built new settlements of a materially simpler cultural and less complex economic level on top of the ruins, particularly in Canaan. The fact that several civilizations around 1175 BCE collapsed has led suggestion that the Sea Peoples may have been involved in the end of the Hittite, Mycenaean and Mitanni kingdoms.

Canaan After 1175 BC

Many, but not all, of the Canaanite cities were destroyed, international trade collapsed, and the Egyptians withdrew. At the end of this period a new landscape emerges: the northern Canaanite cities still existed, more or less intact, and became the Phoenicians; the highlands behind the coastal plains, previously largely uninhabited, were rapidly filling with villages, largely Canaanite in their basic culture but without the Bronze Age city-state structure; and along the southern coastal plain there are clear signs that a non-Canaanite people had taken over the former Canaanite cities while adopting almost all aspects of Canaanite culture, the Philistines and the Jewish states of Judah and Israel. The Arameans never had a unified nation; they were divided into small independent kingdoms across parts of the Near East, particularly in what is now modern Syria. By contrast, the Aramaic language came to be the lingua franca of the entire Fertile Crescent, by Late Antiquity developing into the literary languages such as Syriac and Mandaic (see my post on the Syriac Church). Arameans are mostly defined by their use of the West Semitic Old Aramaic language (1100 BC–AD 200), first written using the Phoenician alphabet, over time modified to a specifically Aramaic alphabet. The 2nd and 3rd centuries were the golden age of Palmyra, home to the Arameans, when it flourished through its extensive trading and favored status under the Romans.

A really nice article on the Kassites can be found on the Encyclopaedia Iranica: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kassites

https://traveltoeat.com/babylonian-kudurru-at-the-louvre-2/
Commemorative stone stela (kudurru) set up in honour of Adad-etir, an official of the Marduk Temple, by his son Marduk-balassu-iqbi. From the Temple of Marduk in Babylon. Granite. from 900 until 800 BCE Length: 38 cm (15 in). Width: 27 cm (10.6 in). Thickness: 12.7 cm (5 in). British Museum.. Accession No. ME 90834

Kudurru recording Eanna-shum-iddina's land grant, British Museum. Eanna-shum-iddina was a governor in the Sealand Dynasty of Babylon in the middle of the second millennium BC. Sealand was the region of southern Iraq, of the Tigris-Euphrates-(Mesopotamia) along the coast. Eanna-shum-iddina is known to have made at least one Kudurruboundary stone.

The "Eanna-shum-iddina kudurru" was a land grant to Gula-eresh, witnessed by his surveyor Amurru-bel-zeri.

The British Museum dates this kudurru to 1125-1100 BC:

Walters Art Museum no. 2110 kudurru A "kudurru," the Akkadian term for boundary stone, combines images of the king, gods, and divine symbols with a text recording royal grants of land and tax exemption to an individual. While the original was housed in the temple, a copy of the document was kept at the site of the land in question. This example was found at the temple of Esagila, the primary sanctuary of the god Marduk. The king Marduk-nadin-ahe is depicted with his left hand raised in front of his face; he wears the tall Babylonian feathered crown and an elaborately decorated garment with a honeycomb pattern. On the top are a sun disk, star, crescent moon, and scorpion, representing deities who witnessed the land grant and tax exemption. A snake-dragon deity emerges from a row of altars shaped like temple façades along the back.

Tablet of Shamash
Material	Limestone
Size	Length: 29.2 cm, Width: 17.8 cm
Created	888-855 BC
Present location	British Museum, London. Room 55.
Registration	ME 91000

Kudurru recording the bequest of land by Marduk-zâkir-šumi to Ibni-Ištar on behalf of the Eanna temple in Uruk [i 1]
Reign	c. 855 – 819 BC

Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, enfeoffs(makes a legal agreement with) a vassal. From the original in the Altes Museum, Berlin. Marduk-apla-iddina II (cuneiform spelling ᴰMES.A.SUM-na; in the Bible Merodach-Baladan, also called Marduk-Baladan, Baladan and Berodach-Baladan, lit. Marduk has given me an heir) was a Chaldean prince who usurped the Babylonian throne in 721 BC and reigned in 722 BC--710 BC, and 703 BC--702 BC.

"The kudurrus (in Akkadian "limit") were stelae to verify the donation of lands for the benefit of a community or important personage. 

They delimitd properties granted by the king of Babylon. These are legal documents with the names and positions of the 

magistrates and the king, the owners and their offices. They are protected by the gods engraved on them." -- Dra. Ana Ma Vazquez Hoys 

http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurrusnueva_general.htm

1.A boundary stone recording a royal gift of land.I I Dinastía de Isin, h, 1099-1082 a.C. De  Babilonia, sur  Iraq. Museo Británico ANE 90840 2. The Establisher the Boundary forever.I I  Dinastía de Isin, h, 1099-1082  De Babilonia, sur  Iraq. Museo Británico ANE 90841 3.A legal statement about the ownership of a piece of land.Museo Británico, ANE 102485 4.A legal statement about the ownership of a piece of land.Museo Británico, ANE 108835 5.Dinastía kasita , h. 1186-1172 a.C. De Sippar, sur Iraq, Museo Británico, ANE 90829 6.Babilonia, h. 1125-1104 a.C. De Sippar, sur Iraq. Museo Británico ANE 90858,  7. Babilonia, h.978-943 BC De Sippar, sur  Iraq.A legal statement about the ownership of some land.Museo Británico ANE 90835 8.Kudurru de Melishipak.Museo del Louvre

Die Babylonischen Kudurru-Reliefs p.21

See: http://cmaa-museum.org/kudurru.pdf

Excerpted from: http://benedante.blogspot.in/2015/10/in-name-of-mesopotamian-gods.html

In the Name of the Mesopotamian Gods

This magnificent object is a Kudurru, a carved stone used to mark a royal land grant. Old books call them "boundary stones", but they were kept in the palace or temple archives, not placed out on the borders of the grant. This one comes from Babylon, the Second Dynasty of Isin, 1157-1025 BC; I found it in an online exhibit at the California Museum of Ancient Art.

This stone is carved of black limestone, 16.5 inches tall (42 cm). The designs are full of significance. On the front:

the Mesopotamian pantheon is presented. The four great gods come first. Anu ("father of the gods" and god of heaven) and Enlil (god of wind, kingship and the earth), are shown as a multi-horned divine crown each on its own temple facade. Then Ea (god of water, magic and wisdom), is shown as a curved stick ending in a ram's head atop a temple facade pulled by the foreparts of a horned goat. Above the first two deities, a female headdress in the shape of an omega sign, symbolizes Ninhursag ("mother of the gods" and goddess of fertility).

Reverse:

The leading Babylonian god, Marduk, and his son Nabu, appear next. A triangular spade pointing up and a scribe's wedge-shaped stylus, respectively, each sits atop a temple facade pulled by the foreparts of a snake-dragon known as a Mushus. All five temple facades float on fresh, underground waters known as the Apsu or the Deep. Following these divinities, we find the mace, perhaps a local war god, the scepter with double lion heads of Ninurta (god of war), the arrow, a symbol of the star Sirius, and the two-pronged lightning bolt of Adad. This storm god is called by the similar name Haddad in the Levant. The running bird Papsukkal (minister of the gods, associated with the constellation Orion), is followed by the scorpion Ishara (goddess of oaths), the seated dog Gula (goddess of healing) and a bird on a perch, symbolizing both Shuqamuna and Shumalia (patron deities of the Kassite royal family).

Top:

The top of the kudurru, representing the heavens, is surrounded and enclosed by the body of a large snake. Nirah (the snake god) encompasses four astral deities the crescent moon of Sin (the moon god), a multi-rayed circular sun disc of Shamash (the sun god), a star inside a disc for Ishtar (the goddess of love -especially sexuality- and war) and the lamp of Nusku (the god of fire and light). Ishtar, considered the most important Mesopotamian female deity, is associated with the morning and evening star, the planet Venus.

http://cmaa-museum.org/meso01.html The website of the California Museum of Ancient Art includes the following excerpted document introducing kudurrus:
http://cmaa-museum.org/kudurru.pdf

A Gathering of the Gods - the Power of Mesopotamian Religion

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Article on Kudurru(1.12MB)

Mesopotamian Black Limestone Kudurru
Mesopotamia; Second Dynasty of Isin, 1157-1025 BC; Height 16.5 inchesThe upper section of this finely polished black limestone kudurru is decorated in intricately carved raised relief with symbols and sacred animals representing a large group or "gathering" of Mesopotamian gods and goddesses. Kudurrus, sometimes referred to as "boundary markers," were actually land grant documents used by kings to reward their favored servants. These monuments were set up in temples to record royal land grants. The full force of the Mesopotamian pantheon was utilized both to witness and guarantee the land grant by carving the symbols and sacred animals of the deities on the kudurru. In the shape of a cylindrical ovoid, this particular kudurru was not inscribed, perhaps because the person who was to receive the land grant died before it could be finalized, or because the king changed his mind and decided not to make the land grant after all. Each kudurru is unique; a good deal of variation exists in the number and choice of deities which appear.
Front:On this standing monument, the Mesopotamian pantheon is presented. The four great gods come first. Anu ("father of the gods" and god of heaven) and Enlil (god of wind, kingship and the earth), are shown as a multi-horned divine crown each on its own temple facade. Then Ea (god of water, magic and wisdom), is shown as a curved stick ending in a ram's head atop a temple facade pulled by the foreparts of a horned goat. Above the first two deities, a female headdress in the shape of an omega sign, symbolizes Ninhursag ("mother of the gods" and goddess of fertility).
Reverse:The leading Babylonian god, Marduk, and his son Nabu, appear next. A triangular spade pointing up and a scribe's wedge-shaped stylus, respectively, each sits atop a temple facade pulled by the foreparts of a snake-dragon known as a Mushus. All five temple facades float on fresh, underground waters known as the Apsu or the Deep. Following these divinities, we find the mace, perhaps a local war god, the scepter with double lion heads of Ninurta (god of war), the arrow, a symbol of the star Sirius, and the two-pronged lightning bolt of Adad. This storm god is called by the similar name Haddad in the Levant. The running bird Papsukkal (minister of the gods, associated with the constellation Orion), is followed by the scorpion Ishara (goddess of oaths), the seated dog Gula (goddess of healing) and a bird on a perch, symbolizing both Shuqamuna and Shumalia (patron deities of the Kassite royal family).
Top:The top of the kudurru, representing the heavens, is surrounded and enclosed by the body of a large snake. Nirah (the snake god) encompasses four astral deities the crescent moon of Sin (the moon god), a multi-rayed circular sun disc of Shamash (the sun god), a star inside a disc for Ishtar (the goddess of love -especially sexuality- and war) and the lamp of Nusku (the god of fire and light). Ishtar, considered the most important Mesopotamian female deity, is associated with the morning and evening star, the planet Venus.

Kudurru, grant deed by Neubchadnezzar I (1125-1104 BCE), Sippar. "This kudurru is of the time of Nebuchadnezzar I (1124-1103 a.C.). At the top, the astral symbols of Sin, Ishtar and Shamash, in the next row, the three tiaras of the gods Anu, Enlil and Ea. Below, Marduk, Nabu and Ninhursag. Then Zababa, Nergal, a warrior god and Shuqamuna and Shumalia. Below is the goddess Ninmah next to a scorpion-man (guardian of the underworld). In the last row is Adad, Nusku, the scorpion of the goddess of the conjugal bed Ishkhara and a turtle, another representation of Ea. In the upper left corner, there is also a serpent, probably representing Ningishzidda god of the underworld." http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru9.htm 
Boundary stone called a kudurru Nebuchadnezzar I, ( U of Penn Museum; Heidel,

Kudurru of Gula The Kudurru of Gula is a boundary stone (Kudurru) for the Babylonian goddess Gula. Gula is the goddess of healing. It is from the 14th century - 13th century BC Kassite Babylonia, and is located at the Louvre.

The Kudurru of Gula shows Gula seated on her chair with her dog adjacent. Another side of the kudurru has registers representing symbols of gods, and also sections of cuneiform text.

Kudurru of Gula-Eresh, Goddess of Medicine, Kassite dynasty, Babylon " Sin, Ishtar and Shamash, Anu and Enlil's tiaras, Ninhursag's uterus, Ea's turtle and Marduk's hoe. Around it is a snake that surrounds the scene from the left. In the bottom row is Ninurta's mace, Gula's dog, Ishkhara's scorpion, and Nabu's wall." http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru10.htm 

"In this kudurru is seen first the goat of Ea, and the tiaras of Anu and Enlil. In the lower row we have the spear of Marduk, and the stylus of Nabu. In the last row, Adad, Gula, Ninurta, Zababa, Shuqamuna and Shumalia, Papsukkal and Nusku." http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru11.htm

The Enlil-bānī land grant kudurru is an ancient Mesopotamian narû ša ḫaṣbi, or clay stele, recording the confirmation of a beneficial grant of land by Kassite king Kadašman-Enlil I (ca. 1374–1360 BC) or Kadašman-Enlil II (1263-1255 BC) to one of his officials. It is actually a terra-cotta cone, extant with a duplicate, the orientation of whose inscription, perpendicular to the direction of the cone, in two columns and with the top facing the point, indicates it was to be erected upright, (on its now eroded base), like other entitlement documents of the period.

The kudurru of Kaštiliašu' is a fragment of an ancient Mesopotamian narû, or entitlement stele, recording the legal action taken by Kassiteking Kaštiliašu IV (ca. 1232–1225 BC) over land originally granted by his forebear Kurigalzu II (ca. 1332–1308 BC),^[1] son of Burna-Buriaš II to Uzub-Šiḫu or -Šipak in grateful recognition of his efforts in the war against Assyria under its king, Enlil-nirari. Along with the Tablet of Akaptaḫa, these are the only extant kudurrus from this king’s short eight-year reign and were both recovered from Elamite Susa, where they had been taken in antiquity, during the French excavations under Jacques de Morgan at the end of the nineteenth century and now reside in the Musée du Louvre.

The tablet of Akaptaḫa, or Agaptaḫa, is an ancient Mesopotamian private commemorative inscription on stone of the donation of a 10 GURfield (about 200 acres)^[1] by Kassite king Kaštiliašu IV (ca. 1232 BC – 1225 BC) to a fugitive leatherworker from Assyrian-occupied Ḫanigalbat in grateful recognition of his services provisioning the Babylonian army with bridles (pagumu, a loanword from Hurrian or perhaps Kassite) .

The Land grant to Ḫunnubat-Nanaya kudurru is an ancient Mesopotamian entitlement narû recording the gift of forty GUR (around a thousand acres) of uncultivated land and control over three settlements by Kassite king Meli-Šipak to his daughter and the provision of exemptions from service and taxation to villages in the region guaranteed with a sealed tablet given to her, presumably to make the land transfer more palatable to the local population. It was excavated by a French archaeological team under the auspices of Jacques de Morgan at the turn of the twentieth century at Susa where it (excavation reference Sb 23) was found with a duplicate (reference Sb 24). It had been taken as booty by Elamite king Šutruk-Naḫḫunte after his 1158 BC campaign that brought about the demise of the regime of Babylonian king Zababa-šuma-iddina, the penultimate monarch of the Kassite dynasty. It is significant in that it shows the king making a second bequest with land he purchased to provide for his beneficiary, contradicting the earlier view of Kassite feudalism, where all land belonged to the monarch.

The Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina kudurru is a grey limestone 0.7-meter tall ancient Mesopotamian narû or entitlement stele recording the gift of four tracts of cultivated land with settlements totaling 84 GUR 160 qa by Kassite king of Babylon, Meli-Šipak (ca. 1186–1172 BC ), to a person described as his servant (arassu irīm: “he granted his servant”) named Marduk-apla-iddina, who may be his son and/or successor or alternatively another homonymous individual. The large size of the grant together with the generous freedom from all territorial obligations (taxation, corvée, draft, foraging) has led historians to assume he was the prince. There are thirty six kudurrus which are placed on the basis of art-history to Meli-Šipak's reign, of which eight are specifically identified by his name.

The estate of Takil-ana-ilīšu kudurru is an ancient Mesopotamian white limestone narû, or entitlement stela, dating from the latter part of the Kassite era which gives a history of the litigation concerning a contested inheritance over three generations or more than forty years. It describes a patrimonial redemption, or "lineage claim," and provides a great deal of information concerning inheritance during the late Bronze Age. It is identified by its colophon, asumittu annītu garbarê šalati kanīk dīnim, “this stela is a copy of three sealed documents with (royal) edicts”^[1] and records the legal judgments made in three successive reigns of the kings, Adad-šuma-iddina (ca. 1222–1217 BC), Adad-šuma-uṣur (ca. 1216–1187 BC) and Meli-Šipak (ca. 1186–1172 BC).^[2] It is a contemporary text which confirms the sequence of these Kassite monarchs given on the Babylonian king list and provides the best evidence that the first of these was unlikely to have been merely an Assyrian appointee during their recent hegemony over Babylonia by Tukulti-Ninurta I, as his judgments were honored by the later kings... As was customary on such monuments, various deities were invoked to curse any party who might dispute the legal decision recorded on the kudurru. These included Anu, Enlil, and Ea (evil eye), Sîn, Šamaš, Adad and Marduk (tearing out the foundation); Ningursu and Bau (joyless fate), Šamaš and Adad (lawlessness); Pap-nigin-gara (destruction of the landmark), Uraš and Ninegal (evil); Kassite deities Šuqamuna and Šumalia (humiliation before the king and princes), Ištar (defeat); all the named gods (destruction of the name).

The Stele of Meli-Šipak is an ancient Mesopotamian fragment of the bottom part of a large rectangular stone edifice engraved with reliefs and the remains of Akkadian and Elamiteinscriptions. It was taken as spoil of war by Elamite king Šutruk-Naḫḫunte I during his invasion of Babylonia which deposed Kassite king Zababa-šuma-iddina. It was one of the objects found at Susabetween 1900 and 1904 by the French excavation team under Jacques de Morgan that seems to have formed part of an ancient Museum of trophies, or ex-voto offerings to the deity Inšušinak, in a courtyard adjacent to the main temple.

The Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru is an ancient Mesopotamian narû, or entitlement stele, recording the gift (irīmšu) of 18 bur 2 eše^[1] (about 120 hectares or 300 acres) of corn-land by Kassite king of Babylon Marduk-apla-iddina I (ca. 1171–1159 BC) to his bēl pīḫati(inscribed ^lúEN NAM and meaning "person responsible"), or a provincial official.^[2] The monument is significant in part because it shows the continuation of royal patronage in Babylonia during a period when most of the near East was beset by collapse and confusion, and in part due to the lengthy genealogy of the beneficiary, which links him to his illustrious ancestors.

Boundary stone (kudurru)

Babylonian, about 978-943 BC
From Sippar, southern Iraq

A legal statement about the ownership of some land

This kudurru records a legal settlement of the title to an estate in the district of the city of Sha-mamitu which had formerly been the property of Arad-Sibitti and his family, but had passed through marriage to the family of Burusha, the jewel-worker.
According to the cuneiform inscription, for several years previously there had been friction between the two families, and the claim to the land was contested. The text traces the history of the feud between the families. After citing the legal evidence for the transfer of the estate to Burusha's family, it lists the payment of 887 shekels of silver by which Burusha secured ownership of the land. Typically, the text ends with curses on anyone who would destroy or steal the stone. Nineteen divine symbols protect the document while the individuals shown are named as the king of Babylon, Nabu-mukin-apli (978-943 BC), facing Arad-Sibitti and his sister.


Length: 26 cm
Width: 20 cm
Height: 50 cm http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru7.htm


Hinke's artwork for the divine symbols on the top of the Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru " This piece comes from the reign of Marduk-apal-iddina I (1171-1159 a.C.). The drawing is the projection of the upper part of the kudurru (adapted from The Ancient Orient, by Mario Liverani). It emphasizes the serpent coiled around the axis. The numbers indicate: 1- Sin, 2- Ishtar, 3- Shamash, 4y 5- Anu and Enlil, 6- Ea, 7-Gula, 8-Ishkhara, 9-Ninurta, 10-Zababa, 11-Nabu, 12-Nergal , 13- Nusku, 14- Adad, 15- Marduk, 16- Papsukkal, 17- Shuqamuna and Shumalia and 18- Ishtaran, god of justice." http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurru12.htm

Kudurru del rey kasita  Mellishipak II (Mellishikhu) 1188-1174 av. J.-C.

SIN(Luna) SHAMASH(Sol) Tiaras de Anu y Enlil Nergal(León con cetro) Marduk(Dragón) Nabu(Estilete) Adad(Rayo sobre toro de la tempestad) Papsukkal(ave) Ninghizzida(Serpiente) ISHTAR(Estrella) EA(cabra-pez)  Ninhursag(útero) Zababa(Cetro) Ninurta(Cetro cabeza pantera) Gula(Perro) Nusku(Lámpara) Ningirsu(Arado) Shuqamuna y Shumalia(ave sobre trípode) Ishara(Escorpión)

SIN(Luna) SHAMASH(Sol) Tiaras de Anu y Enlil Nergal(León con cetro) Marduk(Dragón) Nabu(Estilete) Adad(Rayo sobre toro de la tempestad) Papsukkal(ave) Ninghizzida(Serpiente) A.In the top row, from left to right, The lunar crescent moon Sin (Nanna for the Sumerians), . The star of Venus representing Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna, goddess of love and war) . And the solar disk of the god Shamash (Utu Akkadian, god of justice B. In the lower row we see the crowns (tiaras) on altars of the gods Anu (An) and Enlil, And then the goat-fish of the god Ea (Enki). Next to it is the uterus on an altar of the mother goddess Ninhursag.  C. In the next row we see a winged lion with the double-headed lion scepter of the god of the underworld Nergal, .cele with bird head of the god of war Zababa And the scepter with panther head of the god Ninurta. D. In the next row we have the spear-hoe of the Babylonian god Marduk on an altar, placed on a mushhushshu dragon, . Another dragon carrying the stiletto of Nabu, god of wisdom son of Marduk, And the dog of the goddess of health Gula. E. In the last row we have the ray on a bull of the god of the storm Adad (Ishkur), The stylus of Nabu, The lamp of the god of fire Nusku, The Ningirsu plow, The bird of the messenger god Papsukkal  And the bird on tripod of the divine couple cottage Shuqamuna and Shumalia,  The snake of Ninghizzida And the Ishara Scorpion. A.In the top row, from left to right, The lunar crescent moon Sin (Nanna for the Sumerians), . The star of Venus representing Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna, goddess of love and war) . And the solar disk of the god Shamash (Utu Akkadian, god of justice B. In the lower row we see the crowns (tiaras) on altars of the gods Anu (An) and Enlil, And then the goat-fish of the god Ea (Enki). Next to it is the uterus on an altar of the mother goddess Ninhursag.  C. In the next row we see a winged lion with the double-headed lion scepter of the god of the underworld Nergal, .cele with bird head of the god of war Zababa And the scepter with panther head of the god Ninurta. D. In the next row we have the spear-hoe of the Babylonian god Marduk on an altar, placed on a mushhushshu dragon, . Another dragon carrying the stiletto of Nabu, god of wisdom son of Marduk, And the dog of the goddess of health Gula. E. In the last row we have the ray on a bull of the god of the storm Adad (Ishkur), The stylus of Nabu, The lamp of the god of fire Nusku, The Ningirsu plow, The bird of the messenger god Papsukkal  And the bird on tripod of the divine couple cottage Shuqamuna and Shumalia,  The snake of Ninghizzida And the Ishara Scorpion. A.In the top row, from left to right, The lunar crescent moon Sin (Nanna for the Sumerians), . The star of Venus representing Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna, goddess of love and war) . And the solar disk of the god Shamash (Utu Akkadian, god of justice B. In the lower row we see the crowns (tiaras) on altars of the gods Anu (An) and Enlil, And then the goat-fish of the god Ea (Enki). Next to it is the uterus on an altar of the mother goddess Ninhursag.  C. In the next row we see a winged lion with the double-headed lion scepter of the god of the underworld Nergal, .cele with bird head of the god of war Zababa And the scepter with panther head of the god Ninurta. D. In the next row we have the spear-hoe of the Babylonian god Marduk on an altar, placed on a mushhushshu dragon, . Another dragon carrying the stiletto of Nabu, god of wisdom son of Marduk, And the dog of the goddess of health Gula. E. In the last row we have the ray on a bull of the god of the storm Adad (Ishkur), The stylus of Nabu, The lamp of the god of fire Nusku, The Ningirsu plow, The bird of the messenger god Papsukkal  And the bird on tripod of the divine couple cottage Shuqamuna and Shumalia,  The snake of Ninghizzida And the Ishara Scorpion. http://www2.uned.es/geo-1-historia-antigua-universal/MESOPOTAMIA/kudurrusnueva_general.htm ISHTAR(Estrella) EA(cabra-pez)  Ninhursag(útero) Zababa(Cetro) Ninurta(Cetro cabeza pantera) Gula(Perro) Nusku(Lámpara) Ningirsu(Arado) Shuqamuna y Shumalia(ave sobre trípode) Ishara(Escorpión)

Kassite-era kudurrus, in approximate chronological order:

• Enlil-bānī land grant kudurru
• Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone
• Kudurru of Kaštiliašu
• Tablet of Akaptaḫa, an entitlement narû, or "stele", of a similar character
• Land grant to Ḫunnubat-Nanaya kudurru
• Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I by Meli-Shipak II
• Estate of Takil-ana-ilīšu kudurru
• Land grant to Ḫasardu kudurru
• Stele of Meli-Šipak
• Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru
• Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru
• Kudurru of Gula

Post-Kassite kudurrus:

• Kudurru for Ritti-Marduk
• Eanna-shum-iddina kudurru
• Marduk-nadin-ahhe kudurru
• Sun God Tablet
• Marduk-zakir-šumi I kudurru
• Marduk-apal-iddina II kudurru

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

A legal statement about the freeing of taxes and obligations.

The cuneiform text of this kudurru describes the military services of Ritti-Marduk to King Nebuchadnezzar I (1125-1104 BC) during a campaign in Elam (to the south-east of Mesopotamia) in retaliation for Elamite raids in northern Babylonia. The campaign was carried out in summer and the Babylonian army suffered considerably from the heat and lack of water. Ritti-Marduk, the Captain of the chariots, led the attack against the Elamites.
The text sets out the details of how Nebuchadnezzar rewarded Ritti-Marduk by freeing the towns of Bit-Karziyabku, of which Ritti-Marduk was head-man, from the jurisdiction of the neighbouring city. His reward included giving the inhabitants freedom from all taxation, from forced labour, and from liability to arrest by imperial soldiers. It also prevented the billeting of imperial soldiers on the towns.
The texts list thirteen high officials who were present at the granting of the charter, and invokes nine gods to protect the monument. There are also twenty divine symbols carved in relief.
Height: 64 cm
Width: 18 cm

• Kudurru for Ritti-Marduk

Back of the kudurru (boundary stone) for Ritti-Marduk, white limestoneBabylonian kudurru of the late Kassite period found near Baghdad by the French botanist André Michaux (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
Kudurru of Nazi-Maruttash
Meli-Šipak presents his daughter to the goddess Nannaya
Deed recording the grant of fifty GUR of corn-land by Kassite king Meli-Šipak to Ḫa-SAR-du, an official, in the British Museum.

Thirteen gods are invoked by name together with "all the gods whose names are portrayed on this narû." These are represented by eighteen icons arranged around the conical top.

The god Marduk is pictured twice, once by a kusarikku holding a spade, and once with a marru or tasseled spade in front of the kusarikku. Ea may be represented both by the south wind and a ram-headed crook.^[2] Šuqamuna and Šumalia, the Kassite deities associated with the investiture of kings are portrayed by a bird on a perch. Several of the symbols are widely attested icons of their gods such as the lunar disc for Sîn, solar disc for Šamaš, the lightning-fork for Adad, the lamp for Nusku, the leaping dog for Gula, the mace with twin lion-heads for Nergal, the eagle-headed mace for Ninurta, the eight-pointed star for Ištar, and the coiled snake for Ištaran.

The Stele of Meli-Šipak identified by a colophon provided by Ellamite king Šutruk-Naḫḫunte.
The limestone stele is engraved with towers, crowning battlements and separating a crenelated wall fortification below, where there is an archway in the lower of perhaps three registers. At least one row of divine symbols appears in an upper register. A human figure dressed in an ornate fringed robe and a high crown of feathers, faces a ship. A standing nude figure has been intentionally chiseled away


Detail from the Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru

 Land grant to Marduk-zākir-šumi kudurru

The monument is a large rectangular block of limestone with a base of 51 by 30.5 cm and a height of 91 cm, or around 3 foot, with a broken top making it the tallest of the extant kudurrus^[3] and has intentionally flattened sides.^[4] It was recovered from the western bank of the Tigrisopposite Baghdad^[5] and acquired by George Smith for the British Museum while on his 1873–74 expedition to Nineveh sponsored by the Daily Telegraph. It was originally given the collection reference D.T. 273 and later that of BM 90850. The face has three registers featuring eighteen symbolic representations of gods (listed below identifying the corresponding deity) and the back has three columns of text (line-art pictured right).

First register:

• Crescent moon, Sîn
• Solar disc, Šamaš
• Eight-pointed star, Ištar
• Lamp, Nusku
• Walking bird, Bau
• Eagle/vulture-headed mace, Zababa
• Lion-headed mace, Nergal
• Squatting dog, Gula
• Scorpion, Išḫara
• Reversed yoke on a shrine, Ninḫursag

Second register:

• Bird on a perch, the Kassite deities Šuqamuna & Šumalia
• Reclining ox beneath lightning fork, Adad
• Spear-head behind horned dragon, Marduk
• Wedge supported by horned dragon before shrine, Nabû

Third register:

• Horned serpent spanning register, uncertain
• Turtle, uncertain
• Ram-headed crook above goat-fish, Ea
• Winged dragon stepping on hind part of serpent, uncertain

The land grant was situated west of the river Tigris in the province of Ingur-Ištar, one of perhaps twenty-two pīḫatus or provinces known from the Kassite period,^[6] and was bordered by estates belonging to the (house of) Bīt-Nazi-Marduk and Bīt-Tunamissaḫ, perhaps Kassite nobility.

The land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina at the Louvre. Like most kudurrus, it portrays Mesopotamian gods graphically in segmented registers on the stone. In this case the divine icons number twenty-four in five registers, rather more than usual.

The iconic representations of the gods, where they are known, are given in the sequence left-to-right, top-to-bottom:

Two depictions of hybrid centaur archers on Kassite period kudurrus. On the left is the so-called bird-man centaur drawing a bow, and on the right is a winged horse-man centaur drawing a bow. Kudurru image on left is on a side of BM 90858. It is a limestone kudurru from ancient Sippar. It records the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (Second Dynasty of Isin) granting Šitti-Marduk freedom from taxation for services rendered during his invasion of Elam. Kudurru image on right is on a side of BM 90829. It is a limestone Kassite period (1186 BCE-1172 BCE) kudurru from ancient Sippar. There are numerous symbols carved onto the kudurru. The text contains a deed of gift of corn-land by Meli-Shipak to Khasardu.

BM 90858. White limestone kudurru for Ritti-Marduk (late 12th-century BCE).

The identification of the scorpion representations on kudurrus with the goddess Išhara is enabled through accompanying inscriptions. Assured representations of Išhara as a scorpion are identified by kudurru inscriptions dating to the 12th-century BCE. Išhara appears as a scorpion together with an inscription of her name on the registers/panels of the late Kassite kudurrus of Meli-Shipak (1188-1174 BCE) and Marduk-apla-iddina I (1173-1161 BCE). An additional 45 kudurrus depict a scorpion, but with no identifying inscription. (See: Seidl (1989; Pages 156-157).) Išhara is associated with the goddess Gula. Gula is usually the wife of Ninurta. The title of Pa-bil-sag was "vicegerent [= delegated earthly representative] of the Nether World," and he was also identified as the husband of Gula.

BM 102485 (see illustration at top of page) records a land grant to a man named Gula-eresh by Eanna-shum-idina (the governor of Sealand). The square box directly underneath the scorpion symbol represents the altar supporting the scorpion symbol of the goddess Išhara. (Consult Ursula Seidl (1989) or Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie. (Dritter Band 3, 1957-1971, Pages 483-490.)

The names provide no aid to interpret what is meant. Gir.tab simply means scorpion. Pa.bil.sag as the name of the centaur cannot be interpreted because it never occurs in any other context. (The hybrid (composite) loosely described as "scorpion archer" or "scorpion-tailed bird-man" is identified as Pabilsag.) The interpretation is given that the "scorpion-tailed bird-man" drawing a bow has a feathered body - or is wearing a feather robe. It is reasonably suggested that the scorpion-man is somewhat distinct from the "scorpion-tailed bird-man" and similar. Implying that the scorpion and centaur were not distinct is a mistake. The symbol of the scorpion-archer is identified with Ninurta the fiery god of war and the south wind. Ninurta (depicted as an archer with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion) standing on the back of a monster has also been identified with the planet Saturn. Pabilsag was identified with the god Ninurta.

http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-6.html

.

from "Civilisations of the Ancient Near East"
chapter
"Ancient Mesopotamian Religious Iconography"
by Anthony Green

Principal apotropaic figures

note: "Fig.1" relates to "Principal symbols of deities"





1.human-headed winged or wingless bull,
Early Dynastic - Achaemenid,
commonly identified as lamassu/šedu. The wingless form may sometimes be a form of kusarrikku "bison" 
(but cf.no.9).





2.human-headed winged lion,
Middle-Assyrian - Neo-Assyrian
commonly identified as šeedu (or aladlammû)





3.dog, sitting or standing (cf. Fig.no.22)
Old Babylonian - Late Babylonian,
kalbu "dog" (as protective type)





4.horned snake (see Fig.1 no. 25),
Akkadian?/Kassite - Neo-Assyrian,
bašmu/ušumgallu, "poisonous snake"





5.(snake-)dragon (=Fig.1, no.30)
Akkadian - Selekuid
mušḫuššu "furious snake"





6."lion-dragon (=Fig.1,no.31),
Akkadian - Late Babylonian,
possibly ûmu naa´iru "roaring weather-beast"





7.goat-fish (=Fig.1, no.32),
Neo Sumerian - Selekuid,
suḫurmašû carp-goat





8.long-haired hero,
Uruk/Early Dynastic - Islamic,
lahmu "hairy" Originally associated with the water-god Enki/Ea, later apparently transfered to Marduk (often holds Fig.1, no.8) or protective in a general way.





9.bull-man,
Early Dynastic II - Achaemenid,
kusarikku "bison(-man)" originally associated with the sun-god Shamash





10.scorpion-man,
Early Dynastic III - Selekuid,
girtablullû "scorpion-man". Associated with sun-god Shamash





11."lion-humanoid" (upright leonide man),
Kassite - Selekuid,
uridimmu "mad lion" (literally "mad canine").





12."lion-garbed figure" (human-bodied figure in a lion´s pelt and mask),
Neo-Assyrian,
Possibly the god Latarak ( and human imitations).





13.lion-demon,
Akkadian/Old Babylonian - Selekuid,
ugallu "big weather-beast."





14.lion-centaur,
Middle-Assyrian - Neo-Assyrian,
urmaḫlullû "lion-man"





15.merman,
Neo-Sumerian - Selekuid,
kulullû "fish-man"
mermaid,
Old Babylonian - Late Babylonian (probably?. influencing greek and european art)
kuliltu "fish-woman"





16."fish-garbed figure" (human-bodied figure in a fish-skin),
Kassite - Selekuid,
apkallu "sage" (in fish-guise)





18.griffin-demon,
Middle Assyrian (with andecedents from Early Dynastic III?) - Selekuid,
apkallu "sage" (in bird-guise)





18.antropomorphic god with bucket and cone,
Middle-Assyrian - Neo-Assyrian,
possibly apkallu "sage" (in human guise)





19.antropomorphic goddess with ring of beads,
Neo-Assyrian,
it has been suggested that this is connected with Narudu, sister of the Sebittu, or with the goddess Ishtar





20.antropomorphic god with axe and dagger,
Neo-Assyrian,
Sebittu "Seven(gods)"





21.antropomorphic god with axe and mace,
Neo-Assyrian,
the netherworld-god Meslamtaea; an identical pair may be the twin gods Meslamtaea and Lugal-Irra





22.smiting god
Neo-Assyrian(with entecedents from Old Babylonian) - Late Babylonian,
possibly the god Lulal





23.bowlegged dwarf,
Neo-Assyrian (with Old Babylonian antecedents?) - Late Babylonian,
ritual dancer(?)/demon like Egyptian Bes





24.gignatic monstrous human figure,
Old Babylonian - Late Babylonian,
the demon Khuwawa/Khumbaba





25.canine/leonine demon,
Neo-Assyrian - Late Babylonian,
the god Pazuzu

"Aššur 

Assyrian god, the eponymous deity of the capital Aššur who became the
national god of Assyria.
The origin of the name is unknown. He seems to have been a local
mountain god of the Semitic population of northern Mesopotamia (bel
šaduabeh) and known as such from texts since the Ur III period. With the
rise of the political power of Assyria, Aššur was promoted to a supreme
rank among the gods, taking on the characteristics of several other
gods, such as Enlil, Anu and Šamaš. This process recalls the elevation of
Marduk in Babylon. An Assyrian version of the Enuma Eliš replaces
the name of Marduk by Aššur, who was at the same time equated with
Anšar. The worship of Aššur survived in northern Mesopotamia until
the third century AD.
The Assyrian monarch had a special relationship to this god whom he
served as the first priest of Aššur and who was directly responsible for the
exercise of kingship, in analogy to the role of Anu and Enlil in Babylon.
Aššur seems to have had no official consort before the reign of
Sennacherib (7th C BC), when Ninlil appears as his wife. On the other
hand, Ištar of Aššur or of Nineveh are also mentioned as wives of the
great Assyrian god.
His iconographical image, which appears on various Assyrian reliefs
and obelisks, shows a winged sun-disc containing a bearded deity holding
a bow.
Tallqvist 1932; Ebeling, RLA I 1932, 196–8; Dhorme 1969; Mayer 1997"

http://enenuru.proboards.com/thread/361/deities-ancient-mesopotamia-overview

Hypertexts of Indus script, Ujjain, śrīvatsa (tri-ratna) intertwined on svastika symbols on ancient coins ca. 200 BCE

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https://tinyurl.com/y9gh5t8b

This monograph derives plain text expressions from cypher texts on ancient Indian coins (with 1. Ujjain symbol; and 2. svastika+śrīvatsa (tri-ratna) hypertext).

Ujjain symbol on ancient India coins

Expanded Ujjain symbol on ancient India coins intertwined with svastika symbol

What do these hypertext expressions of Indus Script signify?

śrīvatsa (tri-ratna) 

khambhaṛā'fish-fin' rebus: Ta. kampaṭṭam coinage, coin. Ma. kammaṭṭam, kammiṭṭam coinage, mint. Ka. kammaṭa id.; kammaṭi a coiner.(DEDR 1236)  ayo kammaTa dvAra, 'metal mint gateway'. cf. Mahavamsa, XXV, 28, ayo-kammata-dvara, "iron studded gate "

Four 'dotted circles' 

 gaṇḍa 'four' rebus: khaṇḍa 'implements'  PLUS dhāū 'strand' rebus: dhātu 'mineral ore, element'

Dotted circle

This hieroglyph becomes a framework for rebus-metonymy rendering of iron-worker or iron-smelter's work with  धाव [ dhāva ] m f A certain soft, red stone > धातु 'minerals or ferrite ores' which were identified in three categories: magnetite, hematite, ilmenite. hence, workers with धाव [ dhāva ], धातु were called धावड [ dhāvaḍa ] 'smelters of iron';धावडी [ dhāvaḍī ] 'relating to iron'. 

A 19th century account about Dhavads as blacksmiths is given in the context of census of craftsmen in Bombay Presidency, Konkan in particular:

“Of Craftsmen, there are nine classes with a strength of 11,330 souls or 6.2 per cent of the whole Hindu population. Of these 2100 were Mithgavdas, saltmakers; 175 were Koshtis, weavers, found only in the villages of Tulas and Kasal; 1380 Telis, oilmen; 1210 Sonars, goldsmiths; 2100 Kumbhars, potters; 475 Dhavads, blacksmiths; 3760 Sutars, carpenters; 30 Shimpis, tailors; and 100 Chitaris, painters. Rising Early in the morning they are soon at work and keep working till noon. After a meal and a two hours’ rest they begin again and continue till the evening, when after supper they go early to bed. All except the goldsmith are poor, and most of the saltmakers, oilmen, and weavers, and some carpenters and potters eke out their earnings by field work. Getting little help from their wives and children they carry on their work on the humblest scale with no stock in hand, and making articles only when ordered. The estimated monthly charges of a family of four persons, a man, his wife and two children, are, for a goldsmith, about Pound 1 10s. (Rs. 15); for a carpenter from 16s. to Pound 1 (Rs. 8 – Rs. 10); and for a mason from 10s. to 12s. (Rs. 5-Rs.6).” (Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, 1880, Volume 10, Govt. Central Press, Bombay, p.415).

The semantic evolution of the lexis related to dhāvaḍa 'iron-smelters of ancient times' -- an expression also explained orthographically by strands of rope --is traceable from expressions of Indian sprachbund.

Dhavad is an expression derived from the root: धा [ dhā ] which means, 'time, turn' and is used as a suffix to signify numeral counts: एकधा, द्विधा, त्रिधा, चतुर्धा. This root semantics explains why the morphemes of the phoneme dhā- gets three meanings: 1. धाऊ [ dhāū ] m f A certain soft and red stone (which yields iron after smelting); 2. धातु [ dhātu ] 'A primary or elementary substance, a mineral'; 3. धातु [ dhātu ] in grammar 'the root of a verb.' 

 The choice of 'dotted circle' in an early writing system to signify syllable tha in Brahmi is perhaps derived from the root phoneme: धा [dhā]. It is unclear if the same 'dotted circle' hieroglyph connotes the word:  धाऊ [ dhāū ] m f A certain soft and red stone (which yields iron after smelting). In Indus Script decipherment the 'dotted circle' has been read rebus: kandit 'bead' Rebus: kanda 'fire-altar'.

In Rigveda, the derived morpheme धातु [ dhātu ], derived from root dhā- is explained as 'strand of rope' or 'element': dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ Mn., ʻ ashes of the dead ʼ lex., ʻ *strand of rope ʼ (cf.tridhāˊtu -- ʻ threefold ʼ RV., ayugdhātu -- ʻ having an uneven number of strands ʼ KātyŚr.). [√dhā](CDIAL 6773)

Svastika

sattva 'svastika hieroglyph' rebus: sattu (Tamil), satta, sattva (Kannada) jasth जसथ् ।रपु m. (sg. dat. jastas ज्तस), zinc, spelter; pewter; zasath ् ज़स््थ् ्or zasuth ज़सुथ ्। रप m. (sg. dat. zastas ु ज़्तस),् zinc, spelter, pewter (cf. Hindī jast). jastuvu; । रपू्भवः adj. (f. jastüvü), made of zinc or pewter.(Kashmiri). 

Thus, the two coins are hypertext expressions:

Plain text expression: dhātu  khaṇḍa 'minerals' +'implements'

जसथ् jasath'zinc, spelter, pewter' PLUS dhātu  khaṇḍa  'minerals' +'implements' PLUS  kammaṭa 'mint, coiner, coinage' (Plain text expression: jasath dhātu  kammaṭa).

S. Kalyanaraman 

Sarasvati Research Center

July 16, 2017

Indo-Aryan, vaidika ārya (steppes homeland) warfare, conquests & religion of Rāmāyāṇa, Ṛgveda -- mānasa-taraṁgiṇī

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Some words on “para-Rāmāyāṇa-s”-I

Posted on August 12, 2016by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

I use the hybrid Greek-Sanskrit word para-rāmāyāṇa for all rāma-kathā-s other than that of Vālmīki. These span a great diversity of literature going back to relatively early times in Indo-Aryan tradition. Lots of people have said a lot of things on this matter and we are hardly going to review any of that here. The Rāmāyaṇa itself is enigmatic in some ways. There is no allusion to the main characters of the epic in the Vedic corpus just like the central pāṇḍu heroes of the Mahābhārata. Yet the late Vedic tradition belonging to the Paippalāda branch of the Atharvaveda remembers king Hiraṇyanābha Kauśalya a descendant of Rāmacandra Aikṣvākava. On the other side a remote dynastic predecessor of Rāma emperor Trasadasyu is one of the greatest heroes of the ṛgveda. Another mighty dynastic predecessor who is remembered in the ṛgveda is emperor Bhajeratha Aikṣvākava who is known by his more widely used name as Bhagīratha from the time of the Samaveda brāhmaṇa-s. Another great hero and dynastic predecessor of Rāma who is remembered in the RV is emperor Mandhātṛ. The founder of this dynastic throne Ikṣvāku appears as a rājarṣi in the RV. However, of the later occupants of the famed Ikṣvāku throne we know little from Vedic literature, which often talks of the occupants of the thrones of the Kuru and the Pañcāla. This, we suspect, reflects the dynamics of the invasions and the subsequent conquest of the sub-continent by the Indo-Aryans warriors coming in from their ultimate homeland in the steppes – Ikṣavāku group branched away from the pañcajana group and moved eastwards without major participation in the later Vedic consolidation of the śrauta ritual. However, their hero Rāmacandra was to have a major impact of Hindu tradition from his para-Vedic sphere.

The first of the para-rāmāyaṇa-s is the Rāmopākhyāna of Mārkaṇḍeya from the Mahābharata. Many have suggested that this mini-Rāmāyaṇa was the precursor of Vālmīki’s text. We however feel this is rather incorrect. The Rāmopākhyāna has several text fragments in common with Vālmīki while being just over 700 verses in length in its most basic form reconstructed by Sukthankar. Thus, we posit that it simply represents a para-Rāmāyaṇa tradition that might have branched off by contraction from an earlier “Ur-Vālmīki-rāmāyaṇa from which the extant Vālmīki text also evolved subsequently as part of the epic system (by epic system I mean the phase when the two national epics were similarly handled by a common set of transmitters, probably sūta-s, as evidenced by a certain similarity in phrase usages between them). It also appears that the rāmāyaṇa itself was orally transmitted longer than the rāmopākhyāna itself. The Rāmopākhyāna has feel of of being a “refresher” for people who knew the general rāmāyaṇa story and we suspect this prior knowledge was due to the existence of an earlier Vālmīki text that was widely known at that time. It is important to note that the mahābhārata repeatedly uses rāmāyaṇa as a source of metaphors and allusions but not vice versa. Hence, there is no reason to give into a white indological assertion that the Rāmāyaṇa is a post-Mahābhārata tradition. However, we do suspect that the old Vālmīki that was around at the time of the Mahābhārata’s old composition was distinct from the current version.

The Rāmopākhyāna has several distinct features from Vālmīki-s version; hence, we suspect that it had already branched off and preserved as a separate tradition again providing indirect evidence for the antiquity of the original Vālmīki. Its notable features includes:

-The god Tvaṣṭṛ is said to have made Sītā specially as a wife for Rāma. This is a reflection of the Vaidika tvaṣṭā rūpāṇi piṃśatu; tvaṣṭā rūpeva takṣyā; tvaṣṭā rūpāṇi hi prabhuḥ…
-No mention of any putrakāmeṣṭi for the birth of the four Ikṣvāku princes.
-Viśravas has 3 wives: Puṣpotkaṭā who bears Rāvaṇa and Kumbhakarṇa; Mālinī who bears Vibhiṣaṇa; Rākā bears Khara and śūrpankhā as twins.
-While well-versed in the śruti, with the exception of Vibhiṣaṇa, they were paradoxically anti-brāhmaṇa.
-Vibhiṣaṇa joined the yakṣarāṭ Kubera who made him the lord of the rakṣas-es who were under him (they are alluded to in the Vaidika ritual to Kubera specified in the Taittirīya-śruti )
-The remaining piśāca-s and man-eating rakṣas-es elected Rāvaṇa as their overlord. He is said to have 1.4*10^8 piśāca-s and 2.8*10^8 rakṣas under his command.
-Brahmā sent the gandharva woman Dundubhi to be born as the hunchback to set the rāmāyaṇa in motion.

-Rāvaṇa meets Mārīca at Gokarṇa, a Rudra-tīrtha to recruit him for his cause.
-Rāmā pursuing the golden deer is described with the simile of him looking like Rudra pursuing the stellar deer with his bow.
-Rāma kills Vālin with a huge bow with a mechanical device (yantra; a cross-bow?).
-Sītā informs the ape Hanūmat of an old respected rakṣas known as Avindhya who had told her of the emperor of the apes and his councillers.
-No indications that Vibhīṣaṇa was in Lankā with Rāvaṇa. He simply arrives with his four ministers and joins hands with Rāma against his brothers.
-Many apes suggest crossing the sea by means of boats but Rāma goes for the causeway strategy arguing that they did not possess sufficient boats for landing a huge army in Lankā.
-Rāma places his ape and bear force in the midst of a forest in Lankā so that they would have ample supplies.
-A simile of Añgada smashing four rakṣas-es like a tiger in conflict with four hawks.
-The bears under their king Jāmbavant are explicitly described as being sloth bears.
-Several imp-like piṣāca-s launched the first wave of attack named: Parvana, Pūtana, Jambha, Khara, Krodhavaśa, Hari, Praruja, Aruja and Praghasa who were invisible to the apes and bears. But Vibhīṣaṇa broke their invisibility and they were killed by the vānara-s.

-Rāvaṇa is said to have arrayed his troops in the battle formation invented by the great bhārgava of yore Uśanas Kāvya. Rāma arrayed his troops using the method of the god Bṛhaspati.
-Vibhīṣaṇa kills Prahasta (in VR the great ape Nīla kills him). Battle between Dhūmrākṣa and Hanūmat is described as being like that between Indra and Prahlāda.
-Kumbhakarṇa leads the assault accompanied by the brothers of Dūṣaṇa named Pramathin and Vajravega. He captures Sugrīva. Lakṣmaṇa pursues him and after a fierce fight kill him with brahmāstra. Then Hanūmat and Nala kill the other two rakṣas-es.
-After the fall of Kumbhakarṇa, Megannāda enters the field and after a fierce fight became invisible in the sky and struck down Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with his missiles. Then he tied them with his magical arrow net. Vibhīṣaṇa having successfully accomplished victory against the rakṣas on another front came to the place and seeing the fallen heroes revived them by using the prajñāstra. Then Sugrīva treated them using the viśalya herb and mantra-s. The coming of Garuḍa is not found in the original Rāmopākhyāna. It was only inserted into some recensions – it is clearly an interpolation without basis because the preceding text of the Rāmopākhyāna does not talk of the nāgapāśa.
-Then Vibhiṣaṇa informed Rāma that Kubera has sent a guhyaka with magic water that will allow them to see invisible objects. Upon applying the water to their eyes the ikṣvāku brothers and the apes and bears were able to see the invisible Meghanāda. Under the guidance of Vibhīṣaṇa, Lakṣmaṇa then attacked Meghanāda and after a fierce fight fired three āgneya weapons that respectively cut his bow-wielding hand, the other hand which was holding a naraca missile and finally his head.

-Rāvaṇa then wanted to kill Sītā but Avindhya persuaded him from doing so and urged him to go and fight Rāma directly. After a some fierce fighting with the army of Sugrīva, Rāvaṇa started emitting numerous warriors from his body who resembled Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Rāma saw through this illusion and killed the impostor Rāma-s while directing Lakṣmaṇa to kill those who looked like him.
-Then Indra sent down his own chariot with his charioteer Mātali. Rāma this time thought it to be an illusion of Rāvaṇa and did not want to board the car. However, Vibhśaṇa informed him that it was no illusion and really Indra’s chariot.
-In course of the great battle that followed the vānara-s scattered in terror from the fury of Rāvaṇa but Rāma finally deploying the mighty brahmāstra “turned Rāvaṇa to plasma” for the lack of a better usage. The Sanskrit goes thus:

sa tena rākṣasa-śreṣṭhaḥ sarathaḥ sāśva-sārathiḥ |
prajajvāla mahājvālenāgninābhi-pariṣkṛtaḥ ||

He the lord the rākṣasa-s with his car, horse and charioteer were set ablaze by [the brahma missile] and surrounded with a great fiery conflagration.

tataḥ prahṛṣṭās tridaśāḥ sagandharvāḥ sacāraṇāḥ |
nihataṃ rāvaṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā rāmeṇākliṣṭa-karmaṇā ||

Thus, seeing Rāvaṇa slain by Rāma of unperturbed deeds, the gods with the gandharva-s and cāraṇa-s were gladdened.

tatyajus taṃ mahābhāgaṃ pañca bhūtāni rāvaṇam |
bhraṃśitaḥ sarvalokeṣu sa hi brahmāstratejasā ||

By the energy of the brahma missile the five elements abandoned him [Rāvaṇa] of great opulence and he was deprived of all the worlds.

śarīra-dhātavo hy asya māṃsaṃ rudhiram eva ca |
neśur brahmāstra-nirdagdhā na ca bhasmāpy adṛśyata ||

All his bodily substances, indeed his flesh and blood, were burnt by the brahma missile such that not even ash was seen.

-Rāma then conferred Lankā on Vibhīṣaṇa. He along with Avindhya came out bringing Sītā.
-Rāma then tells Sītā that she is free and may go wherever she would like. He says that he has done his duty of freeing her but irrespective of whether she was chaste or not he was not going to consort with her again.
-The gods then arrived in person and Sītā swore by the elements constituting her body that she was pure. This was confirmed by the gods Vāyu, Agni and Varuṇa. Then the god Brahmā explained to Rāma that Sītā had been protected from being raped upon abduction by Rāvaṇa due the curse of Nalakūbara the son of Kubera.
-Then the ghost of Daśaratha appeared and congratulating Rāma asks him to return to Ayodhyā with Sītā. There is no Agniparīkṣa of Sītā in the original Rāmopākhyāna. It has been inserted into a regional variant and is clearly an insertion for it simply does not fit with the rest of the coherent narrative of this part.
-Rāma then bows to all the deva-s and Kubera and confers boons on the demon Avindhya and the demoness Trijaṭā for being good to Sītā.
-The gods offered Rāma boons: He asks for firm adherence to dharma, invincibility in battle and restoration of the lives of the apes killed in the battle. They also offered the yellow-eyed ape Hanūmat the boon of life as long as the Rāmāyaṇa is known, and access to divine food and drink.

-Rāma and his retinue then crossed the ocean by the same bridge by which the came to Lankā and on reaching the other shore he rewarded the apes richly for their services.

-The with the Puṣpaka air-ship he returned to Kishkindha with just Sugrīva and Vibhīṣaṇa to show it to Sītā and install Aṅgada as the crown-prince.

-Upon being united with Bharata, Rāma was crowned the king by Vāmadeva and Vasiṣṭha. After which he respectfully returned the Puṣpaka airship to Kubera.

In conclusion, the upākhyāna clearly represents a distinct tradition but generally recapitulates all the key elements of the extant VR. Notably, in the this version Vibhīṣaṇa is a major positive figure – he does not appear a like traitor, having joined Kubera early in his life he plays a major role in the war. Lakṣmaṇa-s profile is also higher in this version. No special role is allotted to Hanūmat such as bringing the medicinal mountain from the Himālaya or in the war to the exclusion of the rest. Yet, he is recognized as a key figure for his reconnaissance leap to Lankā.
https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/some-words-on-para-ramaya%E1%B9%87a-s-i/

The Rāmāyaṇa and a para-rāmāyaṇa in numbers-I: epic as religion

Posted on February 12, 2017by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

This note may be read as part of our studies on the Rāmāyaṇa and para-Rāmāyaṇa-s of which an earlier part is presented here.

A study of the epic in Indo-European tradition suggests that there were two registers of the old Indo-European religion. While today both of them survive together with any vigor only among the Hindus, until not too long ago these registers showed some survival even among their Iranian cousins. From these it is apparent the first register is the “high religion” which manifests as śrauta and smārta performance. Among the ārya-s this further evolved into other manifestations as seen in the tantra-s of the sectarian traditions. Nevertheless, the Vedic base remained the model for most of these later developments. On the other hand the lay manifestation of religion was by the medium of the epic or itihāsa-s in India. Their religious value elsewhere in the Indo-European world was apparent in Greece. Indeed, in the classical Greco-Roman confluence the last attempt of reviving the religion by emperor Julian, which was being swept away by the “Typhonic” evil of the preta-moha, involved a focus on the religious facet of the Homeric epics.

In both India and Greece there are two epics, which have numerous parallels in their motifs, and resonate even in their overall themes. However, in India each has a distinct character. The Rāmāyaṇa is what might be termed “the universal epic of ideals.” The Mahābhārata is on the other hand our national epic, the epic of the first ārya nation in India, the foundation on which the modern Hindu nation rests. The Iranians have a comparable national epic in the form of the Kśathāya-nāmag and its precursors but apparently lack the universal epic. Among the Greeks to an extent the Iliad probably played a national role but tended towards the universal in the later phase. It was the universal epic, the Rāmāyaṇa, which was the vehicle of the ārya-dharma beyond boundaries of Jambudvīpa. In its role as the foundation of the “lay religion” it was remarkably tenacious and withstood the assault of the other Abrahamistic evil in the form the marūnmāda in Indonesia. It also served as a means of preserving the ārya-dharma in both India and in the east against the assault of the Aryan counter-religions promulgated by the naked-one and the ground-toucher. Indeed, in India the powerful force of the itihāsa-s was realized by successors of both these heterodox promulgators, who either attacked the itihāsa-s or tried to have people not attend their exposition.

The remainder of this note we shall look at the Rāmāyaṇa via numbers, which was part of my self-discovery of its key religious facet. Most importantly, it reveals something about the deep layers of the ārya-dharma and its evolution over time. Before we get started, a few caveats should be stated upfront: The texts I am using are the so-called “critical editions” of the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata for the first para-Rāmāyaṇa, the Rāmopākhyana of Mārkaṇḍeya. These critical editions have their faults but are available in electronic form and are thus amenable to semi-automatic text analysis by regular expression searches. Almost all of these analysis were performed by means of such. The Heidelberg system has a very sophisticated text-parsing mechanism for several Sanskrit works but I did not use it except for one word search (inspired by an interlocutor on Twitter), which will be discussed as part of another note, as it was not quite compatible with my command line pipeline. So my system could have some deficiencies but manual checking of the results shows that it is largely correct and the magnitudes should be taken as genuinely representative. In general for this activity you need to have a good knowledge of the various names of the gods, characters and weapons used in the text. Although not a paṇḍita, being a brāhmaṇa, I believe that I have a level of command of this as a reasonable representative of my varṇa should, so the results might be taken as generally reliable. Finally, I am aware that in white indological circles some work in this direction has been done by the likes of Brockington. However, I did not consult his papers as I wanted to have my own unbiased experience of the data and conclusions from it. More generally, wherever there is tractable data I believe that an educated man should analyze it himself rather than wholly relying on hearsay of others.

First we shall look at the gross features of the Rāmāyaṇa (Figure 1):

Figure 1

-The text has seven kāṇḍa-s, which are composed of multiple sarga-s, which in turn are composed of śloka-s. The Ayodhyā, Yuddha and Uttara have much more than median number of sarga-s and śloka-s.
-However, it is notable that except for Yuddha the other kāṇḍa-s have a nearly constant median śloka count per sarga (~24-27). This was the likely count maintained by Pracetas and his son Vālmīki the original composers of the Rāmāyaṇa for a typical kāṇḍa, probably aiming to be around 25 śloka-s. The Yuddha in contrast is longer both in terms of number of sarga-s and also the number of śloka-s per sarga. Clearly, this is a distinct composition suggesting that a different style was adopted on purpose for the military narratives typical of Indo-European epics. Unlike the median, the mean śloka count per sarga is higher with anomalies for both the Yuddha and Sundara. We shall take a closer look at this in Figure 2

Figure 2.

-Here we see the actual frequency distribution of the sarga length across the Rāmāyaṇa and per kāṇḍa in śloka-s: Here the differences are more apparent.
-The first three kāṇḍa-s are “tighter” in distribution with modal sarga length close to the median length. The Kiṣkindhā shows some divergence in the form of a fat tail with several sarga-s in of great length (40-70 śloka-s).
-The Sundara is most unusual in having a bimodal distribution with short sarga-s peaking less than 20 in length and longer ones peaking around 35. This pattern suggests a deliberate compositional shift perhaps reflecting the peculiar nature of the Sundara as an avenue for display of poetic beauty.
-The Yuddha is clearly distinct with the general peak and median length being shifted to being between 30 and 40. There is also a sizable fraction of very long sarga-s above 40 going all the way to well over 80. This again emphasizes the distinctness of the battle narratives where the long recitations perhaps appealed to the war-like ancient ārya audience who might have been in similar battles in their own lives.
-Finally, Uttara shows a typical median distribution of sarga length with a major fraction of sarga-s distributed around this value. However, it is distinct in showing a bimodality with two peaks one with length between 10-20 śloka-s and another with length between 40-45 śloka-s. This suggests a certain composite character with the shorter sarga-s probably representing the several short narratives included in it and the long ones relating to battle-sequences comparable to the Yuddha.

Now coming to the core issue of religion we shall look at the frequency of occurrence of the gods in the Rāmāyaṇa (Figure 3)

Figure 3

-It is apparent that Indra is literally the leader of the gods. He occurs nearly twice as frequently as the next contender Prajāpati or Brahmā. He is the standard for all comparisons and the hero of the Rāmāyaṇa is frequently likened to him. Indeed, there is a the tacit understanding that Indra used his māyā to take the form of a man in order to slay Rāvaṇa. This is suggested by Mandodarī’s lament upon her husband’s death:

atha vā rāma-rūpeṇa vāsavaḥ svayam āgataḥ |
māyāṃ tava vināśāya vidhāyāpratitarkitām || R 6.99.10

Or indeed Indra himself appeared in the form of Rāma,
for ruining and slaying you using impenetrable illusion.

Thus, it is hinted that Indra, who right in the Ṛgveda is famous for his māyā, uses it to kill the rakṣas.

Now again, though the core kāṇḍa narrative itself mentions Rāma taking the weapons of Viṣṇu from Agastya, in the preamble it is mentioned that they were the weapons of Indra himself.

agastyavacanāc caiva jagrāhaindraṃ śarāsanam |
khaḍgaṃ ca paramaprītas tūṇī cākṣaya-sāyakau || R 1.1.34c

At Agastya’s words Rāma verily took up Indra’s bow,
sword and the excellent inexhaustible quiver.

Of course the grand finale of the Yuddhakāṇḍa has Rāma ride the chariot of Indra steered by Mātali himself and using Indra-s weapons:

sahasrākṣeṇa kākutstha ratho ‘yaṃ vijayāya te |
dattas tava mahāsattva śrīmāñ śatrunibarhaṇaḥ ||

O descendant of Kakutstha, the slayer of foes, one of great strength and opulence, the thousand-eyed Indra has given for your victory this chariot.

idam aindraṃ mahaccāpaṃ kavacaṃ cāgni-saṃnibham |
śarāś cādityasaṃkāśāḥ śaktiś ca vimalā śitāḥ ||R 6.90.9-6.90.10

[He has also given] this great bow of Indra and his armor which glow like fire,
as also these arrows blazing like the sun and this bright sharp spear.

Finally, to slay Rāvaṇa he is said to use the missile made by Brahmā. But even here it is a mighty missile made by Brahmā in the manner of Tvaṣṭṛ in the Veda for Indra to conquer the three worlds:

brahmaṇā nirmitaṃ pūrvam indrārtham amitaujasā |
dattaṃ surapateḥ pūrvaṃ triloka-jayakāṅkṣiṇaḥ || R 6.97.5c

[The missile] was formerly made by the god Brahmā of immeasurable might for the sake of Indra. It was given to the lord of the gods [Indra] when he formerly sought to conquer the three worlds.

The missile itself has characteristics that are clearly suggestive of the vajra of Indra:
“ratha-nāgāśva-vṛndānāṃ bhedanaṃ kṣiprakāriṇam |R 6.97.8c”
The swift acting [missile] was the smasher of [entire] troops of chariots, elephants and horses.
“dvārāṇāṃ parighāṇāṃ ca girīṇām api bhedanam |R 6.97.9”
It was capable of smashing its way through through bar-reinforced doors and also mountains”

Tellingly it is described as “vajrasāram” (imbued with the essence of the vajra), and “yama-rūpam” (of the form of Yama). The latter epithet directly recalls the the first person statement of Indra in the 10th maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda where he says that he wields a missile that is like Yama himself.

The deployment of this missile by Rāma on Rāvaṇa is again thus described thus:

sa vajra iva durdharṣo vajrabāhu-visarjitaḥ |
kṛtānta iva cāvāryo nyapatad rāvaṇorasi ||

The missile, difficult to defend against like the vajra hurled by the arm of Indra, unstoppable like the causer of death (Yama), hit Rāvaṇa on his chest.

Thus struck Rāvaṇa fell:

gatāsur bhīmavegas tu nairṛtendro mahādyutiḥ |
papāta syandanād bhūmau vṛtro vajrahato yathā || R 6.97.021

His life-breath having departed the lord of the nairṛta-s of fierce speed and great luster fell from his battle-car to the ground like Vṛtra struck by the vajra.

Thus, to the ancient ārya audience this recitation would have immediately evoked the imagery of the Ṛgveda, where Indra’s heroic deeds in battle are praised in the ritual.
In conclusion, this makes it is clear that the original Rāmāyaṇa was composed in a setting where the aindra flavor of the ārya-dharma was the still the main expression of the religion. It is indeed likely that that it was tacitly implied that Rāma was a manifestation of Indra in human form to kill Rāvaṇa.

Now what about the rest of the Vaidika pantheon. Was it like the late Vedic age or the saṃhitā-s themselves?

-We see considerable prominence for Sūrya, Vāyu, Viṣṇu, Yama, Rudra in addition the Prajāpati/Brahmmā. However, the Aśvin-s, the Marut-s, the distinct āditya-s are not prominent. Agni has a moderate presence although primarily in the sense of poetic similes. This suggests that period of composition while still marked by Aindra dominance was one which was probably positionally distinct and temporally much later than the saṃhitā period. Of the prominent deities the indistinct solar deity suggests the rise of the new Indic solar cult with links to the older Āditya system but certainly very distinct in its manifestation with parallels to those seen in the Iranian world.

–The prominence of Vāyu is related to his association with Indra in battle against the dānava-s, a feature which was prominent in both the Veda and the para-Vedic tradition. The latter is partly reflected in the Rāmāyaṇa and also relates to the importance of his son, Hanumat in the epic. We should mention here that in counting Vāyu we have almost entirely avoided including the incidental occurrence of his name as a epithet of Hanumat. A similar situation accounts in part of the prominence of Viṣṇu; however, his story has more which will be further discussed below. If Indra is identified with Rāma, and the role of Vāyu is taken by Hanumat, then it is rather obvious that the place of Viṣṇu is taken by Lakṣmaṇa. The Rāmāyaṇa makes this obvious in the statement:

vikramiṣyati rakṣaḥsu bhartā te saha-lakṣmaṇaḥ|
yathā śatruṣu śatrughno viṣṇunā saha vāsavaḥ || 6.024.029c

Your husband [Rāma] with invade the rakṣas with his brother Lakṣmaṇa even as the foe-killing Indra against his foes along with Viṣṇu.
or:

sa dadarśa tato rāmaṃ tiṣṭhantam aparājitam |
lakṣmaṇena saha bhrātrā viṣṇunā vāsavaṃ yathā || R 6.87.9

He then saw the undefeated Rāma standing with his brother Lakṣmaṇa like Indra with Viṣṇu.

Like in the Veda the most frequently referred act of Viṣṇu are three world-conquering strides suggesting that this old motif was still of great importance in the age of the Rāmāyaṇa rather than later elements like his incarnations or battles with certain demons. His weapon, the cakra is frequently mentioned, unlike in the Veda, where other gods are described as wielding it but not Viṣṇu. This suggests that the Rāmāyaṇa marks a stage after the saṃhitā period where the cakra became established as the favored weapon of Viṣṇu. However, it does preserve the memory of Indra’s cakra mentioned in the śruti in R 1.26.5. Notably, Viṣṇu is mentioned as killing the demon Naraka in a conflict which was perhaps coupled with Indra’s battle with Śambara:
śambaro devarājena narako viṣṇunā yathā | R 6.57.7

Thus is appears possible that this exploit of Viṣṇu was transferred to his avatāra Kṛṣṇa in a later retelling of the legend. Indeed, the whole Kārṣṇī retelling has Viṣṇu only thinly veiled by the Yadu hero.

-Of the other gods, Garuḍa and Kubera despite having a presence in the Veda are not prominent there beyond specific rituals. Nevertheless, even there, there is an under-current that they had a role of some note in household rituals. Their importance clearly comes out in the Rāmāyaṇa. In particular it is clear that the whole epic has a frame that tries to highlight the might of Rāvaṇa as the expense of Kubera, implying that he was an important deity of the time. He is named as one of the great regal gods along with kings Varuṇa and Yama and his greatness is repeatedly mentioned. This importance of Kubera, as we have seen before has a strong para-Rāmāyaṇa tradition too as laid out in the Rāmopākhyāna. Notably, in that relatively short text he is 3rd most frequently mentioned deity (Figure 4) suggesting that his importance was visible throughout the whole early phase of the Rāmāyaṇa tradition.

Figure 4

His importance is also implied by his airplane the Puṣpaka playing a notable role in the epic. His son Nalakūbara is also seen as cursing Rāvaṇa resulting in the protection of Sitā’s chastity upon her abduction. Kubera is also described as providing a secret missile to Lakṣmaṇa in his dream that allowed him to counter the Yama weapon of Meghanāda in their final encounter.

lakṣmaṇo ‘py ādade bāṇam anyaṃ bhīma-parākramaḥ |
kubereṇa svayaṃ svapne yad dattam amitātmanā ||

Lakṣmaṇa of fierce valor also deployed another missile, which given [to him] by the incomparable Kubera himself in a dream.

When the two missiles collided a great explosion is said to have taken place with a fire breaking out as they neutralized each other – in a sense implying that Kubera is no less than the god of death in his might.

-Yama in the Ṛgveda is strictly associated with the context of the funerary and ancestor rituals. However, there is again the under-current in the other saṃhitā-s that he was an important deity in regular existence as the god of death. This role of his in the Rāmāyaṇa is rather prominent and both in terms of numbers and the way he is referred to as a great king suggests that he was an important god in the ārya-dharma of the time. The death-dealing rod of Yama and entering his abode are common similes.

-Prajāpati: This deity is hardly present in the core clan-specific works of Ṛgveda – he is mentioned only twice outside of maṇḍala-10. But in maṇḍala-10 he has already risen to being the supreme deity in certain sūkta-s. He is conceived as both the overlord deity as well as the protogonic “golden-egg”. Now this would suggest that he was a late-emerging deity, probably specifically in the Indic setting after the ārya-s had left their ancestral steppe regions. However, we do not think this is the case. Comparisons with protogonic deities in the Greek realm suggest that such a deity predated the Greco-Aryan split. Rather we posit that he was not a key protogonic deity of the normative Indo-European pantheonic system but was the focus of one of several Indo-European cults outside the standard polytheism. Some deities who were part of the standard polytheism were also foci of such extra-normative cults but others like Prajāpati were solely cultic to start with. In both India and Greece the proponents of such protogonic deities started acquiring great prestige and religious centrality. In India this is reflected in the late Ṛgveda of the maṇḍala-10 and the brāhmaṇa-s where we witness the meteoric rise of Prajāpati. In the process of his rise he began to eat into the dominance of Indra, the head deity of the standard IE model.

In the itihāsa-s his ectype Brahman is likewise prominent as the head of the pantheon, though he is already beginning to face competition from the radiations from the cultic foci around Skanda, Rudra and Viṣṇu. What we see in the Rāmāyaṇa is that he is without any close competitor the second most frequently mentioned deity (Figure 3). His prominence in this itihāsa seems to be similar to what we see in the brāhmaṇa-s: As a deity at the head of the pantheon Brahman shares the position with Indra, but his prominence is clearly eating into that of Indra. This suggests two possible scenarios: 1) He was already a prominent figure from the very beginning of the Rāmāyaṇa tradition and his “power-sharing” with Indra is reflective of the parallel scenario in the brāhmaṇa-s were he had already risen to the highest rank. Thus this would imply that both aindra and prājāpatya memes were already active as the epic was being composed. 2) The Rāmāyaṇa as proposed above was primarily an aindra epic and Brahman secondarily encroached on Indra’s share in an independent replay of what happened in the brāhmaṇa-s.

On historical grounds we favor the second scenario. A comparison of the nāstika productions of the ground-toucher and the naked-one’s cults clearly indicate that at their time the prājāpatya strand of the religion was primarily among brāhmaṇa “intellectuals”. This intellectual link continued to later times when we see mathematical and scientific authors like Āryabhaṭa and Brahmagupta invoke Brahman as their deity (contrast with older scientific tradition in the Caraka-saṃhitā where Indra is dominant). The rest of the people in large part seem to have still followed the aindra religion until pretty late in Indian history with some competition from the other cultic foci mentioned above. This is indicated by the fact that the two nāstika teachers accepted this aindra mainstream as their background and mention the prājāpatya tradition primarily in the context of their brāhmaṇa rivals. Notably, in the first of the many Rāmāyaṇa of the jaina-s, the Paumacariyaṃ, Vimalasūri explicit calls out the stupidity of the āstika versions on grounds of their denigration of the great god Indra. This historical background would imply that the prājāpatya-s first rose as a dominant force inside the Vedic intellectual circles. The mark of this rise was first seen in the brāhmaṇa texts. Then as the prājāpatya-s “conquered” the intellectual landscape they extended their influence to more “secular” intellectual activities such as the itihāsa-s and mathematics/science. This was when Brahman came to prominence in the Rāmāyaṇa tradition. However, by the time the purāṇa-s started taking shape in their extant form, the other cultic sectarian foci had radiated enough to catch up and supersede Brahman. Of the old cultic foci, Skanda after an initial rise faded away. In contrast, Viṣṇu and Rudra came up to Brahman and soon overtook him to the point that despite the three of them being acknowledge as a trinity Brahman sunk to the “junior” position of the trinity. In part the tale of him having no temples might reflect the inability of the intellectual-centered Prājāpatya system to capitalize on the rising āgama-dharma, despite an early attempt hinted by the Atharvaveda pariśiṣṭa-s.

So what do the numbers from the text tell us? First looking at the Rāmopākhyāna we find that Brahman/Prajāpati has gone ahead of Indra (Figure 4). It was created by an author(s) who were clearly Prājāpatya and did not see any need to emphasize or maintain the position of Indra beyond what was absolutely unavoidable. What this tells us is that the Rāmāyaṇa tradition passed through a distinct phase after its original composition where Prajāpati had become important in it and it was in this phase that the fork leading to the Rāmopākhyāna was created. More tellingly, this proposal is supported when we look at the by kāṇḍa counts of key deities (Figure 5: shown as percentage of verses featuring particular deva). Here we see that Brahman has a peculiar distribution that is distinct from that of Indra and Vāyu. While the latter two show clear kāṇḍa-specific differences, they are more uniformly distributed across the kāṇḍa-s. In contrast the occurrences of Brahman show a significantly higher occurrence in the Bāla and Uttara kāṇḍa-s while being greatly under-represented in the rest. We know that both these kāṇḍa-s were clearly subject to reshaping after the core epic was composed because they try to explain things which were not clear elsewhere in the epic (e.g. the origin of the heroes and villains of the text). This together with the above observation clinches the case for the second of the above proposals: after the original epic in an aindra form was composed the Prājāpatya-s refashioned it by primarily redacting the first and last kāṇḍa-s.

Figure 5

-Viṣṇu again: Two other major deities show a similar of kāṇḍa-wise pattern of distribution as Brahman: Viṣṇu and Rudra. Importantly, they are minor in their presence in the Rāmopākhyana (Figure 4). This suggests that the vaiṣṇava and śaiva redaction occurred later than the forking of the Rāmopākhyāna and acted in manner very similar to the prājāpatya action before them. That they were also directly in conflict with each other is suggested by the fight between Rudra and Viṣṇu which is inserted into the bāla-kāṇḍa. Another key point is that the vaiṣṇava material show no strong hints of the avatāra doctrine nor the early pāṅcarātrika tradition which is strong in the Mahābhārata. This suggests that the vaiṣṇava redaction comes from an early stream of the sect that underwent further evolution by time of the redaction of the Bhārata.

-Rudra: In the Rāmāyaṇa has his characteristic features of being dark-throated, three-eyed, with braided locks (Kapardin), having a bull as his banner/vehicle, holding a great bow, having Umā for this wife and displaying great ferocity. His destruction of the Tripura-s is frequently mentioned. Additionally, his slaying of Andhaka gets multiple references. These references frequently come in kāṇḍa-s 2-6 suggesting that they are indeed the ancient similes involving the deeds of Rudra. E.g.

sa papāta kharo bhūmau dahyamānaḥ śarāgninā |
rudreṇaiva vinirdagdhaḥ śvetāraṇye yathāndhakaḥ || R 3.29.27

He, Khara, fell to the ground being burnt by the fire of the missile even as Andhaka [fell] burnt down by Rudra in the White Forest.

Most of these features have direct or indirect reference in the Veda, often going back to the oldest layers. However, we do not hear of his exploits made prominent in the purāṇa-s like the killing of Jalandhara or Śaṅkhacūda. Thus Rudra in the Rāmāyaṇa has not changed in any notable way from his Vedic form.

-Finally one may note that in this Kāṇḍa-wise distribution Kubera is mostly uniform across kāṇḍa except for the uttara – paralleling Vāyu to an extent. This we believe suggests his ancient and intrinsic importance to the text with the Uttara merely serving as a receptacle for lore relating to him and Vāyu.

In conclusion, we can say with some confidence that the great Rāmāyaṇa of sage Vālmīki was originally an epic encapsulating the popular register of the Indo-European religion as manifest among the Indians – the ārya-dharma. Its heroes were set in the mold of the great deities Indra (Rāma and Vālin), Vāyu (Hanumat), Viṣṇu (Lakṣmaṇa), Kubera (perhaps some of the Kuberian element transferred to Vibhīṣaṇa), the opaque popular Āditya (Sugrīva), with simile-linkages to Rudra and the Maruts (encompassed in Hanumat). Despite the later sectarian redactions starting from the prājāpatya-s casting it in different light, it retained this ancient religious spirit of the ārya-dharma. It was this that erupted forth like the great ape Hanumat to animate the Hindus in their life and death struggle against the unadulterated evil of Mohammedanism when they seemed all but lost. That is why a memorial to the epic should be built at Ayodhyā after destruction of all marūnmatta elements in the holy city.

https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/the-ramaya%E1%B9%87a-and-a-para-ramaya%E1%B9%87a-in-numbers-i-epic-as-religion/

The Rāmāyaṇa and a para-Rāmāyaṇa in numbers-II: Evolving early Indo-Aryan warfare

Posted on July 16, 2017by mAnasa-taraMgiNI

This article might be read in as a continuation of this earlier one. The methods/caveats mentioned therein apply here too. Some of the counts mentioned in this article might be approximate but should be generally in the correct range, i.e. errors < 15%.

The Ṛgveda is the oldest extant Indo-European text (This position of ours is contrary to that of most mainstream western academics and their imitators who privilege Hittite texts as the oldest extant IE text. While we hold the view that proto-Anatolian was the first Indo-European language to branch off we do not think that the Hittite texts from West Asia are the earliest extant expressions of the IE people). While the RV’s primary concerns are the rituals of the ārya-s directed to their gods it incidentally preserves several features of early Aryan life. We can clearly see that cows, chariots and horses were of enormous importance: An approximate count indicates at least: 354 sentences mentioning the horse by its common name aśva; 586 sentences mentioning the cow by its common name go; 639 sentences mentioning the chariot by its common name ratha. On the other hand common words for a dwelling amount to 167 (gṛha; 97; dama 53; chardis: 17). Place names are very rare, while rivers, seas, pastures, mountains, trees and forests find common mention. Our ancestors offered a seat of grass to the gods, barhiṣ, mentioned at least 155 times, a practice we continue to follow to this date in our rituals. They had continuously lit fires into which oblations were made. These features emphatically indicate that they were a mobile people living in higher latitudes in grasslands with great rivers and gigantic water bodies that qualified as seas. We even hear of fire within the sea. Importantly, they were a war-like people. Common words indicative of conflict occur at least 572 times: the root yudh indicating battle (71); samar- indicating military encounter (28); pṛtanā, battle (97); śatru, enemy (98); different kinds of weapons specific or generic (278). This count of weapons excludes the weapons used by the gods like vajra, didyu and the like.

Figure 1

In order to understand early Indo-Aryan warfare we need a closer look at these weapons. Figure 1 shows a breakdown of various implements of war in the ṛgveda. Of these several are generic references to weapons: āyudha (weapon; 60); heti (missile; 11); vadhar (killer weapon; 11). There are 23 references to senā which could mean a missile or an army. Beyond these there are specific references to particular weapons. The maximum number of references are to bows (dhanus) and arrows (74). The most common words for arrows are: 1) the word of proto-Indoeuropean vintage śara, the cognate of English arrow and iṣu, which is shared by the Greco-Aryan clade of Indo-European. The former may occur in derived forms like śarva or śaryhan. The word cāpa or kārmuka for bow and bāṇa for arrow, which are common in the later dialect of Sanskrit, are respectively nonexistent or found only once (that too in a potentially late mantra). The divine weapons known as astra-s which are common in the itihāsa and purāṇa are not mentioned in the RV, though the term brahma-saṃśita for an arrow does imply the same kind of weapon. A rare word bunda for arrow, probably of non-Aryan origin is used only twice in the whole RV by the Kāṇva-s. The RV does offer us some details about the arrows used by the early ārya-s. For example, we know they used both horn and metal arrow heads; the latter in particular appear to have been combined with poison. The horn arrow heads were lashed to the shafts with leather strips.

After bows and arrows, the next most frequently mentioned weapon is the ṛṣṭi, a lance that was primarily used for jabbing. It seems to have been transferred to Dravidian as īṭī. The śakti was a comparable weapon which was hurled but it is rather infrequent in the RV. Then two types of axes are mentioned the vāśī and the paraśu. The vāśī has been a bit of a mystery. Recently, Finnish indologist Asko Parpola, otherwise known for some outrageous theories on Indian prehistory, proposed rather reasonably that it might be identified with a related set of weapons found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus valley, Tepe Hissar III in Iran and Zeravshan in Central Asia. He also notes that the word was transmitted early on to Dravidian as vacci – a very plausible hypothesis. Based on these identified we suspect that this weapon was indeed a battle-pick that latter went out of vogue among the Indo-Aryans. In contrast, the word paraśu of PIE provenance seems to have persisted and gained in importance over the earlier vāśī. Another triad of weapons, the cakra (the discus), the aṅkuśa (the hook) and the pāśa (the lasso), find mention in the RV and continued to be used in steppe warfare through the Mongol period. The cakra was widely used in India down to early modern times (e.g. mahārāja Ranjit Singh and Rājpūt-s). There are medieval accounts of how skillful cakra wielders like rājpūt-s could slice limbs with it. The latter two were effective in striking at chariot warriors or cavalry from infantry positions. The word varman meaning body-armor indicates that the Indo-Aryans wore protective gear in their battles. The word is sometimes juxtaposed with śarman meaning helmet (homologous “helm”) but this word is not counted here because it is also very frequently used as a metaphor for protection offered by the gods. They also wore a hastaghna (arm-guard) which protected the arm from the released bowstring.

Notably, the words for swords (niṣaṅga and asi) are rare. Indeed some have even questioned if niṣaṅga even originally meant a sword. Another word sṛka went out of vogue in later times but from the context it clear that it had a slashing edge. It could be interpreted as a billhook-like weapon. This rarity of the sword is a clear indicator of a very early age of the RV when most fighting was done from mobile chariot platforms, and probably to a lesser extent from horseback or the foot. While some close contact might have occurred in combat when weapons like the axes might have been used, most fighting focused on deploying projectile weapons and probably lances from the chariot platform while in motion. Thus mobility and volume of fire were one key elements in the RV warfare. On the other hand the text mentions at least 26 times pūr and at least 31 times varūtha meaning forts and fortified positions of both the ārya-s and their enemies. We also believe that the Varūtrī goddesses were guardian deities associated with such fortifications (perhaps leading to the later Durgā). The RV talks of demolition of fortifications of enemies. Elsewhere in the Veda (e.g. the legend of the destruction of the Tripura by the god Rudra) we hear of siege warfare. So a second aspect of early Aryan warfare was defensive use of fortified positions and offensive operations to take such forts. This feature remained an constant feature of Hindu warfare until the destruction of the last Hindu empire by the English, a conflict which featured destruction of ancient forts by the latter.

While across the sphere of their spread the Indo-Europeans settled in their new lands succeeded by their tradition tactics developed on the steppes there were also shifts in their methods of warfare and preferences of weapons. Thus, we witness a mixture of old survivals and new features. In Greece the older element is seen in the form of the importance of the poisoned arrows of Herakles, and skilled archery of Teucer, Philoctetes, who inherited Herakles’ missiles, and Odysseus. However, the heroes of the Trojan war predominantly use javelins and swords as infantry fighters indicating a shift in method. In Rome too archery declined to a degree, which in the end proved to the detriment of the Romans in some of their encounters with the Iranians, where whole legions were crushed. We see similar shifts among the Celts, where in the epic of Cúchulainn we find the rise in importance of the spear, sword, staff and lasso.

To look at the shifts in India we turn from the RV to the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki. It is a great battle epic clearly from a time much later than the RV. By this time the ārya-s had settled firmly in India and had completed the first phase of their expansion across the subcontinent. While to the casual observer the fights of the Rāmāyaṇa with the apes and rakṣas-es might appear fantastic much of the warfare recorded therein has a very conventional Indo-Aryan system to it. It shares with the Greek Iliad the amphibious assault on the enemy position. However, in the Hindu case the assault it self was rather conventional involving a land army and a causeway across the water. In other ways it retains a lot of the elements of the old ārya warfare: the predominant use of archery, the great chariot fight between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, the invasion of the fortified positions of Lankā along with firing of the fortified city (c.f. the god Agni destroying the forts of the dasyu-s for the Pūru warriors in the RV). However, when we look at the actual weapons listed in the Rāmāyaṇa we note the emergence several distinctive new features (Figure 2).

Figure 2

The conservative element of warfare in India and greater Iran is illustrated by some of the old methods remaining strong; this is seen in the dominant role of archers in Rāmāyaṇa. Further, bows and arrows remain the most commonly mentioned weapons although there are interesting changes in the words for them. The word śara remains the most common word for arrow but the old word iṣu which was as frequent in the RV now fades away in the R. Notably, bāṇa rises in frequency to be second most common word for arrow in the R. Similarly, the words cāpa and kārmuka, which are unknown in the RV, become common if not as frequent as the old dhanus in the R. Given that we have established archery to be central to old Indo-Aryan warfare, one may ask regarding the origin of these new words bāṇa, cāpa and kārmuka. We believe that these words were likely acquired by the ārya-s from the earlier inhabitants of India, perhaps the original people of the Sindhu-Sarasvati region. The importance of archery to Indo-Aryan warfare was what probably allowed the survival of these words within Sanskrit during the Aryanization of the Sindhu-Sarasvati region. Interestingly, the Yajurveda saṃhitā-s preserve two peculiar words for bow: dālbhūṣī (Kaṭha-saṃhitā) and drumbhūlī (Maitrāyaṇīya-saṃhitā). Their relationship is evident but they are noticeably different between the two saṃhitā-s and clearly have a non-Aryan origin. This difference in pronunciation in the two related texts indicates that ārya-s had acquired a native word and were trying to render it as closely as possible in Sanskrit. This suggests that the original word might have had a form like d-x-bhū-x-ī. We suspect that this was the word for bow in the naiṣāda language which was spoken by the people of Niśāda chiefs like Guha of R and Naḍa Naiṣidha (the original form of the name Nala Naiṣāda in the itihāsa) in the śatapatha brāhmaṇa. Memetic retentions of these early Aryanization events of tribals might also be seen in the survival of a form of the aindra religion among the Rathva tribes. Indeed, the tribal groups with good archery skills might have been quick to Aryanize as those skills provided them with military employment in the Aryan system.

We also note that the R specifically mentions several different types of arrows such as the: bhalla- an arrow with a large heavy head; ardhacandra- with a crescent head; kṣūra- with a blade-like head; śalya- with a single point head; añjalika- with a broad head; naraca – a short bolt-like arrow. Such heads are also seen in later Indian and Mongol warfare. For example, Timur was slashed using arrows similar to the ardhacandra or the kṣūra which led to his limp. Finally, the we have the frequent mention of the term astra. Beyond meaning a missile it also implied special weapons presided over various Vedic deities and other entities like snakes. It is possible that some of these were ultimately special physical weapons – earlier versions of the incendiary, explosive and poison weapons mentioned in the Mauryan age Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. Consistent with the use of such weapons in the Mauryan age we have an account of Apollonius of Tyna recorded by his biographer Flavius Philostratus of Athens. He says that if Alexander had penetrated beyond the Vipāśā river he might have not been able to take the fort of Indians even if had 10000 Achilles-es and 30000 Ajax-es with him. He then narrates a tale of how Herakles of Egypt and Dionysus were defeated by such weapons from this fort during their invasion of India:

“It is related, anyhow, that Herakles of Egypt and Dionysus after they had overrun the Indian people with their arms, at last attacked them in company, and that they constructed engines of war, and tried to take the place by assault; but the sages, instead of taking the field against them, lay quiet and passive, as it seemed to the enemy; but as soon as the latter approached they were driven off by rockets of fire and thunderbolts which were hurled obliquely from above and fell upon their armor. It was on that occasion, they say, that Herakles lost his golden shield, and the sages dedicated it as an offering, partly out of respect for Herakles’ reputation, and partly because of the reliefs upon the shield. For in these Herakles is represented fixing the frontier of the world at Gadira, and using the mountains for pillars, and confining the ocean within its bounds.”2.33; translated by F.C. Conybeare.

The old lasso (pāśa) still remains prominent and so does the battle axe (paraśu; also paraśvadha) but the vāśī has entirely become otiose. A notable change from the RV in the R is the rise of prominence of the sword now going by at least 3 unambiguous names asi, khaḍga, and nistriṃśa. The sword is used prominently in the conflicts described in the text and there is no doubt it was rising in importance as a weapon. Yet it is clear that it has not attained that exalted position it accorded in the ākhyāna of the sword seen in the Mahābārata. Importantly, together with the sword we see the leather shield (carma), which indicates the classic mode of Indian sword combat involving parrying with the shield and slashing and thrusting with the sword had fallen in place between the days of the RV and R. We also witness the rise of a new weapon paṭṭiśa whose interpretation is confused. Some have taken it to be an axe-like weapon i.e. a halberd which commonly depicted as a weapon of Rudra and Skanda on early Indian coins. Others based on its etymology (paṭṭi band or strap) interpret it to be a sling which was widely used in ancient warfare. Yet others based on the medieval name (daṇḍapaṭṭa) interpret it as a flexible sword. It has indeed been used in this sense by the chroniclers of the great rājan Śivājī. Now the epic and paurāṇika accounts describe warriors cutting heads with the paṭṭiśa. This indicates that it was a sharp-edged weapon. Whereas Cāṇkaya groups it with the axe suggesting its identification with a halberd, we have an unambiguous medieval description:

paṭṭiśaḥ pum-pramāṇas syāt dvidhāras tīkṣṇa-śṛṅgakaḥ ।
hasta-trāṇa-samāyukta-muṣṭiḥ khaḍga-sahodaraḥ ॥
The paṭṭiśa is of length of a man, is double-edged with a sharp tip.
Its handle has a hand-guard [and is] called the brother of the sword.

This description unambiguously indicates that it was indeed seen as no different from the daṇḍapaṭṭa used by the Marāṭhā-s. Hence, we may provisionally identify it with the same.

The next major development in the R with respect to the RV is rise of numerous club-like weapons. The most prominent of these are: the gadā- the mace; parigha- club with round head; musala– pestle; tomara- battle-flail; mudgara- battle-hammer. The gadā, like the cakra also has an Iranian cognate gadhā but is not seen in the RV. This is a notable point that would be discussed further more generally below. Some translators see the vajra of Indra and other gods as a mace (e.g. Jamison and Bereton translation of Ṛgveda). In support of such an identification one may point to the use of the cognate Iranian word gurz

As with clubs the R also shows a proliferation of spear-like weapons. The ṛṣṭi recedes into anonymity while its place is taken by the śūla. The only mention of the śūla in the RV is not as a weapon but as a sacrificial spike. In R its displacement of the ṛṣṭi suggests that it was used in a similar capacity as a jabbing pike. The śakti greatly rises in prominence as a hurled javelin. The new spear-like weapons include the frequently mentioned prāsa which from medieval sources is known to be over 2 meters in length with sharp points at both ends. From the account of the battle fought by Rāvana’s son Narāntaka against the army of apes, who is described as riding his horse like the god Kumāra his peacock, it is clear that the prāsa was used from horseback. The other new weapon finding rare mention in the R is the kunta which from medieval sources is a lance with a multi-flanged head.

Finally, this brings us to two weapons the bhindipāla and the śataghni. The former is described thus in medieval sources:

bhindipālas tu vakrāṅgo namraśīrṣo bṛhac chiraḥ ।
hasta-mātrotsedha-yuktaḥ kara-sammita-maṇḍalaḥ ॥
tribhramaṇam visargaś ca vāmapāda-puras saran ।
pādaghātāt ripuhaṇo dhāryaḥ pādāta-maṇḍalaiḥ ॥

The bhindipāla has a curved body with bent, broad head.
It is an arm’s length and its circular part is a span in diameter.
It is released by whirling three times and placing the left foot forward.
It is held by infantry array and slays the enemy by breaking the foot[soldiers].

From this it is clear that it was a sling or a bullet thrower-like device that hurled stone or metal bullets similar to those that have been found in the Bhita excavations or at Roman battle sites.

The śataghni is somewhat more enigmatic. It already finds mention in the Taittirīya āraṇyaka of the Yajurveda. From some epic descriptions it is a spiked mace – thus the term śata-ghni should interpreted as a killer [weapon] with a hundred [spikes] – a description explicit in the Mahābharata. It is however also mentioned in the context of yantra-s on fortifications right from the Rāmāyaṇa. Further, they are conceived of being of large size as trees. For e.g. in the battle fought by Kumbha the son of Kumbhakarṇa we hear:

abhilakṣyeṇa tīvreṇa kumbhena niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ |
ācitās te drumā rejur yathā ghorāḥ śataghnayaḥ || R 6.63.33 (“critical”)
The trees (hurled by the ape Sugrīva) studded by the sharp arrows aimed and shot by Kumbha shone like terrible śataghni-s.

Descriptions such as these indicate that the śataghni-s also meant large multi-spiked bolts which were hurled from fortifications. This might hence justify the alternative interpretation of the name as śata-ghni, hundred-killer.

The above observations indicate that despite the overall conservative retention of old Aryan military technique and technology by the Indo-Aryans, between the RV and R, there was a clear shift, which in part reflects the peculiar requirements of the conflicts in forest India and the island stronghold of Rāvaṇa, and in part actual changes in military technique. Thus, the philological shifts which we detect in the R reflect both changes on the “on the ground” as well as the new environment of the ārya-s. This is seen in the form of the greater use of certain words for weapons of Indo-European or Indo-Iranian vintage as well as adoption of non-Indo-european terminology. How do we interpret these changes?

First, we know from the historical period that Greeks, Iranics and Indians served are mercenary fighters in each others armies often even against their own coethnics. Likewise, during the rise of the first Mongolian Khaganate of the Huns we find interactions across ethnic groups like the Altaics and the Iranics due to hostage taking and apprenticeship. This subsequently manifested as mixed hordes, which we observe among the Huns, combining Altaic and Iranic elements. This continued down to the Chingizid times where the great Kha’khan amalgamated armies of Turkic, Tungoosic, and remnant Iranic groups with his own Mongol hordes. These phenomena can hence be extrapolated back to the early historic/prehistoric times among the Indo-Europeans. Thus the deployment of multi-ethnic armies would explain how several words for weapons from non-IE sources were absorbed into Sanskrit. While some of these might have happened in the steppes and their border zones, as posited above the remaining likely happened as the ārya-s absorbed the older Sindhu-Sarasvati and niṣāda peoples in India. This we suspect explains the rise in prominence of words like bāṇa, cāpa and kārmuka.

Second, in the historical period India witnessed the invasions of Iranic Shakas, Pahlavas and Kushanas who were linguistic and religious cousins of the Indo-Aryans. Even earlier there was the invasion of the yavana-s and later the Huns. Most of these groups had a degree of religious and linguistic relationship to the Indo-Aryans. Thus, we can also extrapolate this scenario to prehistory where multiple religiously and linguistically related groups invaded India in separate waves. We observe faint linguistic echoes of this in the form of the precariously poised Kalasha who were distinct branch within the Indo-Iranian clade. The kentum substratum in Bangani hints at other such more distant waves. Finally, philological evidence in the form the śalva-s and the Pāṇḍava-s, and the rise of the kaumāra religion also indicate that the Ṛgveda ārya-s where not the only Indo-Aryan group to invade India. There were others that followed which, while Indo-Aryan, appear to have likely retained a closer proximity to the Iranic branch. A legendary motif also supports such a link: The greatest hero of the old Zoroastrian tradition in the Avesta was Keresāspa who likely had a high position even in the greater Iranic world. He was a warrior priest associated with what it is today Afghanistan who is said to have killed a gigantic Śuśna-like demon as well as the gandarewa (Iranic cognate of gandharva). Notably, his Indo-Aryan cognate Kṛśāśva does not appear in the Veda which is temporally closer to the Avesta. However, he appears in Rāmāyaṇa as a major even if only fleetingly mentioned figure. In the R he is described as the father of all weapons which he gave to Viśvāmitra who in turn gave them to Rāma. Interestingly, on the Iranian side too Keresāspa possesses special mighty weapons. Later Iranian tradition remembers their mighty hero Raosta-takhma (later Iranian Rostam/Rustam) receiving the weapons of Keresāspa with which he performs great deeds even as Rāma in India. We posit that this motif was carried by a secondary wave of Indo-Iranians entering India after the earlier ārya-s of the RV. It is the military influence of these later waves that likely caused the dominance of the use of śara over iṣu and also made the gadā a prominent weapon (incidentally also the favored weapon of Keresāspa). It is of interest to see if molecular evidence from ancient DNA might in anyway corroborate the multiple invasion model. In the least it does place support in favor of a relatively early entry of the first Vaidika ārya-s into India.

Lastly, we may note that, like with agricultural terms, there is hardly any evidence for loans from early Dravidian into early Indo-Aryan. However, we do find them in the opposite direction. This does strain the view that the Dravidians were the pre-Aryan occupants of the Sindhu-Sarasvati-Ganga region. Rather the Dravidians either invaded later and separately via a southern route or always occupied a southern position and came in contact with the ārya-s only later. Whatever the case, the weight of the evidence suggests that the early Dravidians upon contact with the ārya-s were quick to adopt similar military and organizational strategies. It even appears that they too might have been pastoralists with some proclivity for mobile archery. Thus, they seem to have become part of the “Aryan-system” in the subcontinent right from the inception, which in part allowed them retain their distinctness unlike the original SSV peoples. However, this is necessarily an indirect inference because the Dravidian sources themselves are of much later provenance in the form of the earliest Tamil poems like the Puranānūru.

https://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/the-ramaya%E1%B9%87a-and-a-para-ramaya%E1%B9%87a-in-numbers-ii-evolving-early-indo-aryan-warfare/

Pattanam: by BS Harishankar -- Kumar Chellappan reviews 'manufacured history' by Left & Church

July 15, 2017, 10:58 pm

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Sunday, 16 July 2017 | Kumar Chellappan

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Pattanam

Author- BS Harishankar

Publisher- Bharateeya Vichara Kendram, Rs 250

This book discusses multiple aspects that have repudiated the theory that there existed a port city at Pattanam along the West Coast of Kerala dating back to the 8th century BC, writes KUMAR CHELLAPPAN

An effort by a section of historians in South India to ‘manufacture history’ with the aid of unscientific tools have come crashing down exposing the ulterior motives behind the controversial Pattanam excavation in Kerala.

Pattanam: Constructs, Contexts and Interventions, a new book authored by Dr BS Harishankar, an archaeologist, discusses multiple aspects that have repudiated the theory  that there existed a port city at Pattanam along the West Coast of Kerala which the historians of Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR) claim as an international trade diaspora dating back to the 8th century BC. The excavators are virtually silent on internal trade with South India.

“The Pattanam port is an edifice on which the Left historians want to build up their arguments that there existed a large township and urban realm at Pattanam much before the Christian era. The effort is to impose a belief on us that St Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, was the one who led the first settlement in the region,” said R Nagaswamy, former director of Tamil Nadu Archaeology and former vice-chancellor of Kanchipuram University. According to Nagaswamy, the theory that St Thomas had come to India is contested by the church itself with Benedict 16, former Pope, refusing to accept St Thomas as history.

While the KCHR historians collaborated with Universities in Europe and USA in the excavation held at Pattanam, they were careful not to include Archaeological Survey  of India, and Indian institutions in the project. They claim that Pattanam is the ancient Muziris. Eminent archaeologists and historians  such as DK Chakrabarti, MGS Narayanan, T Sathyamurthy, A Sundara and R Nagaswamy have criticised from the beginning, the process of excavation and hasty conclusions.

But the last nail on the coffin of the Pattanam theory was driven by scientists of the elite Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay — near Mumbai and the National Institute of Oceanography at Kochi — who have neither collaborated with KCHR nor vindicated their claims of a port city at Pattanam. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has already tried to unravel the process of mud banks in Kerala during monsoons which has greatly enhanced maritime trade in the past. “Marine and palaeo-hydrological studies rule out the possibilities of a port city, wharf or township   that existed at Pattanam. It is for the ASI and the Institute of Marine Archaeology to conduct dredging at offshores in Kodungalloor to find remains of a port,” writes Harishankar in his book.

The claims by the KCHR historians that there existed a cosmopolitan civilisation at Pattanam much before the first  century AD, has upset the Tamil archaeologists and historians who has done yeomen research to reveal the origin of Sangam Era literature including Cilappathikaram. If the claims made by the Church sponsored Pattanam excavations are to be believed, the entire history of South India has to be re-written.

But what stands out in Harishankar’s book are the diverse reasons that there is no basis either scientifically or archaeologically what the KCHR historians have found out. “The area where they excavated does not qualify to be a spot where excavations could be done since stratigraphy   has been badly tampered due to monsoons, floods, erosion and construction activities. The ASI is the only body in India which is competent to authorise such excavations,” says Harishankar.

At the same time, author Harishankar also points out the fact that archaeology is a scientific tool with which one cannot infer convenient results. Plant remains from Pattanam have been given to Spices Board under the ministry of commerce and industry and which holds no prior experience in this field. Carbon dating has been done abroad when India has premier institutes. Further, modern historians in KCHR with no former experience in field archaeology cannot excavate a site such as Pattanam using unbridled foreign funds, and a crew of  Biblical scholars.

Scientists of the BARC have tracked the course of river Saraswati through Radio Isotope studies in the past. When they tell that there is no sufficient proof on Pattanam, all that the Lefts and the Church could do is to dig further to manufacture some history. Both are experts and “leaders” in the segment of manufacturing history to suit their convenience.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition/agenda/books/behind-a-controversy.html