Sanchi Stupa Torana. sippi 'spathe of date palm' rebus: sippi 'artificer'. tāmarasa'lotus' rebus: tāmra'copper'. The lotus flanked by S-shaped curl pair: meḍhā  'curl' hieroglyph which signifies meḍ 'iron'; dula 'pair' rebus: dul'metal casting'.

I was stunned by the Bharhut and Sanchi toranas. The hieroglyphs which constituted proclamations on the gateways are recognizable as Indus Script hieroglyph-multiplexes (hypertexts).

Tatsama and tadbhava words in a comparative lexicon of Bharatiya languages (e.g. Indian Lexicon), establish the reality of Bharatiya sprachbund. It appears mlecchita vikalpa wass based on a artificer-lapidary-metalwork lexis of Prakrtam (i.e., vAk, spoken form of Samskrtam).

1. tAmarasa 'lotus' (tAmra); sippi 'palm spathe, mollusc' (s'ilpi 'sculptor'); eraka (arka 'copper, gold'); aya 'fish' (aya, ayas 'iron') khambhaṛā ʻfinʼ (kammaTa 'coiner, coinage, mint (Kannada); kariba 'trunk of elephant' ibha 'elephant' (ib 'iron' karba 'iron' (Kannada). Hence the proclamation as an advertisement hoardings by the Begram dantakara (ivory carvers) who moved to Bhilsa topes. There is an epigraph in Sanchi stupa which records the donations of dantakara to the dhAtugarbha (dagoba, stupa).

śilpin ʻ skilled in art ʼ, m. ʻ artificer ʼ Gaut., śilpika<-> ʻ skilled ʼ MBh. [śílpa -- ]
Pa. sippika -- m. ʻ craftsman ʼ, NiDoc. śilpiǵa, Pk. sippi -- , °ia -- m.; A. xipini ʻ woman clever at spinning and weaving ʼ; OAw. sīpī m. ʻ artizan ʼ; M. śĩpī m. ʻ a caste of tailors ʼ; Si. sipi -- yā ʻ craftsman ʼ.(CDIAL 12471) शिल्प [ śilpa ] n (S) A manual or mechanical art, any handicraft.शिल्पकर्म [ śilpakarma ] n (S) Mechanical or manual business, artisanship. शिल्पकार [ śilpakāra ] m or शिल्पी m (S) An artisan, artificer, mechanic. शिल्पविद्या [ śilpavidyā ] f (S) Handicraft or art: as disting. from science. शिल्पशाला [ śilpaśālā ] f (S) A manufactory or workshop. शिल्पशास्त्र [ śilpaśāstra ] n (S) A treatise on mechanics or any handicraft. शिल्पी [ śilpī ] a (S) Relating to a mechanical profession or art.(Marathi) శిల్పము [ śilpamu ] ṣilpamu. [Skt.] n. An art, any manual or mechanical art. చిత్తరువు వ్రాయడముమొదలైనపని. శిల్పి or శిల్పకారుడు ṣilpi. n. An artist, artisan, artificer, mechanic, handicraftsman. పనివాడు. A painter, ముచ్చి. A carpenter, వడ్లంగి. A weaver, సాలెవాడు. (Usually) a stonecutter, a sculptor, కాసెవాడు. శిల్పిశాస్త్రము ṣilpi-ṣāstramu. n. A mechanical science; the science of Architecture. చిత్రాదికర్మలనుగురించిన విధానము.(Telugu) சிப்பம்³ cippam, n. < šilpa. Architecture, statuary art, artistic fancy work; சிற்பம். கடிமலர்ச்சிப்பமும் (பெருங். உஞ்சைக். 34, 167).சிப்பியன் cippiyaṉ

,n. < šilpin. [T. cippevāḍu, K. cippiga, Tu. cippige.] 1. Fancy- worker, engraver; கம்மியன். (W.) 2. Tailor; தையற்காரன். (யாழ். அக.)சில்பி šilpi , n. < šilpin. See சிற்பி.சிலாவி³ cilāvi, n. prob. šilpin. Artisan; சிற்பி. சிற்பர் ciṟpar, n. < šilpa. Mechanics, artisans, stone-cutters; சிற்பிகள். (W.) சிற்பி ciṟpi, n. < šilpin. Mechanic, artisan, stone-cutter; கம்மியன். (சூடா.)  

skambhá1 m. ʻ prop, pillar ʼ RV. 2. ʻ *pit ʼ (semant. cf. kūˊpa -- 1). [√skambh]1. Pa. khambha -- m. ʻ prop ʼ; Pk. khaṁbha -- m. ʻ post, pillar ʼ; Pr. iškyöp, üšköb ʻ bridge ʼ NTS xv 251; L. (Ju.) khabbā m., mult. khambbā m. ʻ stake forming fulcrum for oar ʼ; P. khambh, khambhā,khammhā m. ʻ wooden prop, post ʼ; WPah.bhal. kham m. ʻ a part of the yoke of a plough ʼ, (Joshi) khāmbā m. ʻ beam, pier ʼ; Ku. khāmo ʻ a support ʼ, gng. khām ʻ pillar (of wood or bricks) ʼ; N. khã̄bo ʻ pillar, post ʼ, B. khām, khāmbā; Or. khamba ʻ post, stake ʼ; Bi. khāmā ʻ post of brick -- crushing machine ʼ, khāmhī ʻ support of betel -- cage roof ʼ, khamhiyā ʻ wooden pillar supporting roof ʼ; Mth. khāmh, khāmhī ʻ pillar, post ʼ, khamhā ʻ rudder -- post ʼ; Bhoj. khambhā ʻ pillar ʼ, khambhiyā ʻ prop ʼ; OAw. khāṁbhe m. pl. ʻ pillars ʼ, lakh. khambhā; H. khām m. ʻ post, pillar, mast ʼ, khambh f. ʻ pillar, pole ʼ; G. khām m. ʻ pillar ʼ, khã̄bhi, °bi f. ʻ post ʼ, M. khã̄b m., Ko. khāmbho, °bo, Si. kap (< *kab); -- X gambhīra -- , sthāṇú -- , sthūˊṇā -- qq.v.2. K. khambürü f. ʻ hollow left in a heap of grain when some is removed ʼ; Or. khamā ʻ long pit, hole in the earth ʼ, khamiā ʻ small hole ʼ; Marw. khã̄baṛo ʻ hole ʼ; G. khã̄bhũ n. ʻ pit for sweepings and manure (CDIAL 13639).

कर्मार [p= 259,3]m. an artisan , mechanic , artificer; a blacksmith &c RV. x , 72 , 2 AV. iii , 5 , 6 VS. Mn. iv , 215 &c

Sanchi and Bharhut stupa reliefs on a torana. Two mahouts ride on two elephants. One mahour carries a flagpost with a standard of 'srivatsa' hieroglyphmultiplex. This has been explained as metalcraftsmanship.

The entire frieze is devoted to cataloguing metalwork is reinforced by the following hieroglyphs shown on adjacent frames: 1. signifying metal ingot (ox-hide type); and 2. blacksmith at work in a smithy. In the context of the tāmrapaṭṭī ताम्र-पट्टी, the flanking srivatsa hieroglyph multiplex can be read rebus: aya'fish' rebus: aya, ayas 'iron, metal'; xolA 'tail' rebus: kolle 'blacksmith', kol 'working in iron', kole.l'smithy'. The srivatsa is: aya kole.l 'metal smithy'.

Section of a coping rail. 30.5x122 cm. 2nd cent. BCE Sunga. Bharhut. The Indian sculptural tradition, which began during the Indus Valley period, continued to flourish under the patronage of the early historical dynasties and is closely associated with the development of Buddhism. The major Buddhist monument of the Shunga dynasty was the Bharhut stupa in Madhya Pradesh. Although it did not survive to our time, many sculptural fragments from Bharhut exist in different collections around the world, among which the Indian Museum in Calcutta is the leader. The Cleveland Museum of Art has two sculptures from Bharhut, this section of a stupa's coping rail and a crossbar decorated with a lotus medallion on each side.The winding lotus stalk divides the central portion of the coping into compartments that alternate everyday genre scenes with representation of jewels. The stalk symbolizes a wish-fulfilling creeper (kalpa-lata or kalpa-vrksa), and the jewels are the auspicious symbol of abundance and wealth. The necklace on the left is of particular interest and consists of a large bead with two side pendants. The plain center bead is flanked by two side pendants in the form of triratna (three-jewels), a very popular early Buddhist symbol. The second jewel, on the right, is a regular five-string bead necklace.The genre scenes, from left to right, show a man beside an architectural enclosure trying to catch a small animal climbing the lotus stalk. The second scene shows a man (sadhu or ascetic type, with an elaborate coiffure of matted hair) seated beside a wood hut. He attends a fire at an open hearth, surrounded by the baskets of chapati(s) (bread pancakes) that he is baking. It should be remembered that this early phase of Buddhism, frequently referred to as "anicomic," predates the representations of Buddha in anthropomorphic from and employs the language of various symbols and scenes based on daily life.The frieze below the center section of the coping is decorated with a row of bells suspended from crossed chains--a motif typical of Bharhut. The upper portion of the coping,now missing, was almost certainly decorated with a frieze of a step-merlon pattern alternating with a stylized palm tree--another standard motif on Bharhut copings.The style of sculpture is characteristic of Bharhut: a relatively deep relief, but on oneplane, without graduation in depth. The figures are charmingly naive, wear minimal clothing, and are adorned with heavy jewelry, turbans, or hairdos. Their gestures are somewhat angular yet successfully convey movement. It is obvious that the artist tookgreat delight in their portrayal. CMA 1972.366

These semantic clusters indicate that the skambha 'pillar' and skambha 'wing' are also hieroglyphs and so depicted in Indus Script Corpora. This leads to a reasonable inference that the Atharva Veda SkambhaSukta (AV X.7) -- an extraordinary philosophical enquiry into the Ruda hieroglyph as linga, s'ivalinga is also embellished with a caSAla (wheatchaff godhUma, snout of boar, varAha) is an intervention to explain the phenomenon of pyrolysis (thermachemical decomposition) and carburization which infuse carbon into soft metal (e.g. wrought iron) to create hard metal. The snout of boar is also called pota, evoking the potR 'purifier' of Rigveda and hence the abiding metaphor of Bharatiya tradition venerating varAha as yagna purusha personifying the Veda.