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Rakhigarhi seal. See for decipherment of hieroglyph-multiplexes : http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/rakhigarhi-seal-evidence-for.html This monograph discussed the decipherment of the inscription as a metalwork catalogue of swords, ingots and metal implements. This seal also shows a scarf on the neck of the rhinoceros or boar. This hieroglyph is read as: mirhhẽ ʻboarʼrebus: merhd'iron ore'.
kāṇṭāmṛgam is a Malayalam gloss which reinforces the 'rhinoceros' as a -mṛgam 'wild animal'. It is possible that the hieroglyph shown on the Rakhigarhi was read as: kāṇṭāmṛga.
The hieroglyph-multiplexes on the seal are depicted with such orthographic precision to render the semantics describing the products: ingots, swords, metal implements.
Hence, the proclamation on the inscription may be seen as a description of swords, weapons, metal implements made of hard alloy metal.
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Santali glosses.
Rakhigarhi seal. See for decipherment of hieroglyph-multiplexes : http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/11/rakhigarhi-seal-evidence-for.html This monograph discussed the decipherment of the inscription as a metalwork catalogue of swords, ingots and metal implements. This seal also shows a scarf on the neck of the rhinoceros or boar. This hieroglyph is read as: mirhhẽ ʻboarʼrebus: merhd'iron ore'.kāṇṭāmṛgam is a Malayalam gloss which reinforces the 'rhinoceros' as a -mṛgam 'wild animal'. It is possible that the hieroglyph shown on the Rakhigarhi was read as: kāṇṭāmṛga.
The hieroglyph-multiplexes on the seal are depicted with such orthographic precision to render the semantics describing the products: ingots, swords, metal implements.
Hence, the proclamation on the inscription may be seen as a description of swords, weapons, metal implements made of hard alloy metal.
Hieroglyph: dhaṭu 'scarf': *dhaṭa2 , dhaṭī -- f. ʻ old cloth, loincloth ʼ lex. [Drav., Kan. daṭṭi ʻ waistband ʼ etc., DED 2465]Ku. dhaṛo ʻ piece of cloth ʼ, N. dharo, B. dhaṛā; Or. dhaṛā ʻ rag, loincloth ʼ, dhaṛi ʻ rag ʼ; Mth. dhariā ʻ child's narrow loincloth ʼ.*dhaṭavastra -- .Addenda: *dhaṭa -- 2 . 2. †*dhaṭṭa -- : WPah.kṭg. dhàṭṭu m. ʻ woman's headgear, kerchief ʼ, kc. dhaṭu m. (also dhaṭhu m. ʻ scarf ʼ, J. dhāṭ(h)u m. Him.I 105).(CDIAL 6707)
Rebus: dhatu 'ore (esp. of red colour); dhatu = mineral (Santali): 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 ]Pa. dhātu -- m. ʻ element, ashes of the dead, relic ʼ; KharI. dhatu ʻ relic ʼ; Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ); -- Si. dā ʻ relic ʼ; -- S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f.(CDIAL 6773)
In this decipherment, an important hieroglyph-component was missed out. It relates to the 'scarf' shown on the neck of the rhinoceros.
Santali glosses.Origin of the gloss med 'copper' in Uralic languages may be explained by the word meD (Ho.) of Munda family of Meluhha language stream:
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)
— 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]
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’.
See: காண்டாமிருகம் kāṇṭā-mirukam , n. [M. kāṇṭāmṛgam.] Rhinoceros;
கல்யானை. The suffix -mṛga is cognate with mirhhẽ ʻboarʼ rebus: merhd 'iron ore',metallic (red) ore.
S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
November 20, 2015