Indus inscription: three-sided tablet with hieroglyphs: animals, a plant, a mountain, a copulating couple (m489)
In mlecchita vikalpa, ‘cypher writing’ of layered rebus-metonymy, the set of hieroglyphs denote a metalworkers’ guild. Technical specifications of the metalwork are detailed by hieroglyphs in the set.
Rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.)
Hieroglyph: meḍ ‘body’Hieroglyph: Ta. meṭṭu mound, heap of earth; mēṭu height, eminence, hillock; muṭṭu rising ground, high ground, heap. Ma. mēṭu rising ground, hillock; māṭu hillock, raised ground; miṭṭāl rising ground, an alluvial bank; (Tiyya) maṭṭa hill. Ka. mēḍu height, rising ground, hillock; miṭṭu rising or high ground, hill; miṭṭe state of being high, rising ground, hill, mass, a large number; (Hav.) muṭṭe heap (as of straw). Tu. miṭṭè prominent, protruding; muṭṭe heap. Te. meṭṭa raised or high ground, hill; (K.) meṭṭu mound; miṭṭa high ground, hillock, mound; high, elevated, raised, projecting; (VPK) mēṭu, mēṭa, mēṭi stack of hay; (Inscr.) meṇṭa-cēnu dry field (cf. meṭṭu-nēla, meṭṭu-vari). Kol. (SR.) meṭṭā hill; (Kin.) meṭṭ, (Hislop) met mountain. Nk. meṭṭ hill, mountain. Ga. (S.3 , LSB 20.3) meṭṭa high land. Go. (Tr. W. Ph.) maṭṭā, (Mu.) maṭṭa mountain; (M. L.) meṭā id., hill; (A. D. Ko.) meṭṭa, (Y. Ma. M.) meṭa hill; (SR.) meṭṭā hillock (Voc. 2949). Konḍa meṭa id. Kuwi (S.)metta hill; (Isr.) meṭa sand hill. (DEDR 5058)
Hieroglyph: barad ‘ox’ Rebus: bharat ‘pewter, copper, tin alloy’
Hieroglyph: miṇḍāl markhor (Tor.wali) meḍho a ram, a sheep (G.)(CDIAL 10120)Rebus: meḍ iron (Ho.) meṛed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda)
Hieroglyph: kondh ‘young bull’ Rebus: kondh ‘turner’
Hieroglyph: ibha ‘elephant’ Rebus: ib ‘iron’; ibbo ‘merchant’
Hieroglyph: ranga ‘buffalo’ Rebus: ranga ‘pewter’
Hieroglyph: badhia ‘rhinoceros’ Rebus: badhi ‘carpenter’
Hieroglyph: kol ‘tiger’ Rebus: kol ‘working in iron, smelter
Hieroglyph: kol krammara ‘tiger looking back’ Rebus: kol kamar ‘iron-working artisan’
Hieroglyph: patra ‘leaf’ Rebus: pattar ‘goldsmith/artisan guild’; hierolyph: loa ‘ficus religiosa’ Rebus: loh ‘metal, copper’; Hieroglyph: kūdī, kūṭī 'bunch of twigs' (Samskritam) Rebus: kuṭhi 'smelter' (Samskritam)
ranku ‘fornication, adultery’ (Telugu) Rebus: ranku ‘tin’ (Santali)
Hierolyph: kuṭharu ‘cock’ (VS xxiv,23, MaitrS.TS.v) kōtur कोतुर् or (Gr.Gr. 58) kōturu कोतुरु&below; । कपोतः m. (sg. dat. kōtaras कोतरस् ; f. nom. kōtürü कोत्&above;रू ), a pigeon or dove (wild or tame) (El.; L. 462,kotar; Rām. 93; K. 922, 947); N. of a sept of Kāshmīrī Brāhmaṇas. A cock pigeon is also nar-kōtur, and a hen is māda-kōtur (W. 17). kōtar-bāzkōtar-bāz कोतर्-बाज़् m. one who trains pigeons, a pigeon-fancier (W. 111).(Kashmiri)
Rebus: kuṭhāru ‘weapons-maker, armourer, writer’ (Samskritam)
meḷh ‘goat’ (Br.) Rebus: meṛha, meḍhi ‘merchant’s clerk (G.)
ayo ‘fish’ (Munda) Rebus: aya = iron (G.); ayah, ayas = metal (Skt.)
Hieroglyph: kāru a wild crocodile or alligator (Te.) Rebus: khār a blacksmith, an iron worker (cf. bandūka-khār) (Kashmiri)
• Combined cypher-text: ayakāra ‘fish+crocodile’ Rebus: ‘iron-smith’ (Pali)
Images sourced from: https://www.academia.edu/11686315/A_very_interesting_three_sided_Indus_tablet_covered_with_animals_a_plant_a_mountain_and_a_copulating_couple_may_have_been_used_for_religious_purposes
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
April 9, 2015