This is an addendum to
1. 1. Dance-step as Indus Script hieroglyph, Bhirrana potsherd, Candi Sukuh sculptural frieze signifies metal http://tinyurl.com/ju88e3h2.Itihāsa. Mohenjodaro dancing girls' posture is ಕರಣ (Kannada) rebus: करण m. writer,scribe; a class whose occupation is writing, accounts https://tinyurl.com/yatjsetx
3. Gaṇeśa is Brāhmī scribe of Mahābhārata in the tradition of Indus Script cipher of Bronze Age https://tinyurl.com/y79j8rxp
This monograph presents Gaṇeśa's dance posture in Candi Sukuh and Badami sculptural friezes and explains it as an Indus Script hypertext: karaṇa 'dance posture' rebus karaṇa 'scribe'.
This Meluhha rebus rendering in Indus Script is an evocation of Gaṇeśa is a karaṇa 'scribe' of the Great Epic.
In Bharatiya Itihāsa, Gaṇeśa is a scribe of the Great Epic narrated by Veda Vyāsa..
Vyāsa narrating the Mahabharata to Gaṇeśa, his scribe, Sculptural frieze of Angkor Wat.
Santali glosses
Forge scene stele. Forging of a keris or kris (the iconic Javanese dagger) and other weapons. The blade of the keris represents the khaNDa. Fire is a purifier, so the blade being forged is also symbolic of the purification process central theme of the consecration of gangga sudhi specified in the inscription on the 1.82 m. tall, 5 ft. dia. lingga hieroglyph, the deity of Candi Sukuh.
The sculptural of Candi Sukuh narrative depicts Bhima as the blacksmith in the left forging the metal holding a steel sword on his right hand, Gaṇeśa in the center with a dance-step (med 'dance step' rebus: meD 'iron'), and Arjuna in the right operating bellows
Gaṇeśa as dancer on a Candi Sukuh sculpture in the context of smelting processes to produce steel swords.
karibha 'elephant's trunk' rebus: karba 'iron' ibha 'elephant' rebus: ib 'iron' PLUS meḍ 'dance-step' rebus: meḍ 'iron, metal, copper'.
Another rebus reading is sugested for the dancing Gaṇeśa. I suggest that the dance-step of Gaṇeśa is a dance posture specified by the term karaṇa.
The Natyashastra influenced other arts in ancient and medieval India. The dancing Shiva sculpture in Badami cave temples (6th–7th century CE), for example, illustrates its dance movements and Lalatatilakam pose (Archana Verma (2011). Performance and Culture: Narrative, Image and Enactment in India. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 10–12). Gaṇeśa in a dance-step, dance-posture. karibha, ibha 'elephant' rebus; karba, ib 'iron'. karaṇa 'dance step, dance posture' rebus: karaṇa 'scribe'. meṭṭu 'step' meḍ iron, मेधा, धन, मेधः' yajna.Indian dance (nritta, नृत्त) traditions have roots in the aesthetics of Natyashastra. The text defines the basic dance unit to be a karana, which is a specific combination of the hands and feet integrated with specific body posture and gait (sthana and chari respectively). Chapter 4 describes 108 karanas as the building blocks to the art of dance. The text states the various movements of major and minor limbs with facial states as means of articulating ideas and expressing emotions.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe (2005). Approaches to Acting: Past and Present. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 6–7.
Katherine Young; Arvind Sharma (2004). Her Voice, Her Faith: Women Speak on World Religions. Westview Press. pp. 20–21
Katherine Young; Arvind Sharma (2004). Her Voice, Her Faith: Women Speak on World Religions. Westview Press. pp. 20–21
Sunil Kothari; Avinash Pasricha (2001). Kuchipudi. Abhinav Publications, pp. 117–118.
Nina Mirnig; Peter-Daniel Szanto; Michael Williams (2013). Puspika: Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions: Contributions to Current Research in Indology Volume I. Oxbow, pp. 186–187; pp.174-177
Ananda Lal (2004). The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press, pp. 95–99.
Nina Mirnig; Peter-Daniel Szanto; Michael Williams (2013). Puspika: Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions: Contributions to Current Research in Indology Volume I. Oxbow, pp. 186–187; pp.174-177
Ananda Lal (2004). The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press, pp. 95–99.
Arrival of Heramba Gaṇeśa to write Mahābhārata announced in ādiparva:
http://sarit.indology.info/exist/apps/sarit/works/%C4%81diparva.html
सौतिरुवाच ।
एवमाभाष्य तं ब्रह्मा जगाम स्वं निवेशनम् ।
भगवान्स जगत्स्रष्टा ऋषिदेवगणैः सह ॥
ततः सस्मार हेरम्बं व्यासः सत्यवतीसुतः ॥
स्मृतमात्रो गणेशानो भक्तचिन्तितपूरकः ।
तत्राजगाम विघ्नेशो वेदव्यासो यतः स्थितः ॥
पूजितश्चोपविष्टश्च व्यासेनोक्तस्तदानघ ।
लेखको भारतस्यास्य भव त्वं गणनायक ॥
मयैव प्रोच्यमानस्य मनसा कल्पितस्य च ॥
श्रुत्वैतत्प्राह विघ्नेशो यदि मे लेखनी क्षणम् ।
लिखतो नावतिष्ठेत तदा स्यां लेखको ह्यहम् ॥
व्यासोऽप्युवाच तं देवमबुद्ध्वा मा लिख क्वचित् ।
ओमित्युक्त्वा गणेशोपि बभूव किल लेखकः ॥
ग्रन्थग्रन्थिं तदा चक्रे मुनिर्गूढं कुतूहलात् ।
यस्मिन्प्रतिज्ञया प्राह मुनिर्द्वैपायनस्त्विदम् ॥
अष्टौ श्लोकसहस्राणि अष्टौ श्लोकशतानि च ।
अहं वेद्मि शुको वेत्ति संजयो वेत्ति वा न वा ॥
तच्छ्लोककूटमद्यापि ग्रथितं सुदृढं मुने ।
भेत्तुं न शक्यतेऽर्थस्यं गूढत्वात्प्रश्रितस्य च ॥
सर्वज्ञोपि गणेशो यत्क्षणमास्ते विचारयन् ।
तावच्चकार व्यासोपि श्लोकानन्यान्बहूनपि ॥
तस्य वृक्षस्य वक्ष्यामि शाखापुष्पफलोदयम् ।
स्वादुमेध्यरसोपेतमच्छेद्यममरैरपि ॥
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायं वृत्तान्तं सर्वपर्वणाम् ।
इदं द्वैपायनः पूर्वं पुत्रमध्यापयच्छुकम् ॥
ततोऽन्येभ्योऽनुरूपेभ्यः शिष्येभ्यः प्रददौ प्रभुषष्टिं शतसहस्राणि चकारान्यां स संहिताम् ।
त्रिंशच्छतसहस्रं च देवलोके प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
पित्र्ये पञ्चदश प्रोक्तं रक्षोयक्षे चतुर्दश ।
एकं शतसहस्रं तु मानुषेषु प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
http://sarit.indology.info/exist/apps/sarit/works/%C4%81diparva.html
Trans. Om. Salutations to the auspicious destroyer of obstacles.
Ganesha's tusk and Mahabharata dictation
Puzzle: Where the story of Ganesh using his tusk as stylus to take Vyasa's dictation is to be found?
Dr. Prema Nandakumar has kindly provided the answer:
The information is given in the very first verse of Villi Bharatham and is quite famous as the "Kadavul Vaazhththu" (Prayer to the Divine). A rough/prosaic but literal translation would be:
"To make it firm as the fifth along with the four Vedas
On this sea-girt earth,
When the Mahabharata was spoken by the King of sages
Who possess unfading askesis and Truth,
Vinayaka wrote with the Mount Meru
As the cadjan leaf,
And His own tusk as the sharp stylus.
I salute Him with shoreless love."
"To make it firm as the fifth along with the four Vedas
On this sea-girt earth,
When the Mahabharata was spoken by the King of sages
Who possess unfading askesis and Truth,
Vinayaka wrote with the Mount Meru
As the cadjan leaf,
And His own tusk as the sharp stylus.
I salute Him with shoreless love."
(fifth along with the four Vedas -- Bharatah Panchamao Vedah; Vyasa is described as the king of sages; the sages are described as possessing unfading askesis and Truth (vaadaa thavam meymmai muni raajan); Mount Meru is described as "edu" which is palm or cadjan leaf).
Some copies of the work tack this and the following verse which is also a prayer to Vinayaka to the verses of praise by Villi's son Varantharuvaar that are always printed as a preface to the work.
References on Ganesha writing Mahabharata in Medieval Malayalam Texts
Tirunizhalmala (dated 1200-1300 AD)
by Govinnen (Govindan)
Commentary by M.M. Purushothaman Nair, Sandhya Books, Calicut University P.O., Kerala (1981)
(Page 100)
Commentary by M.M. Purushothaman Nair, Sandhya Books, Calicut University P.O., Kerala (1981)
(Page 100)
Invocation of Ganesha: Viyatan mozhiyum Paratatteyoru kompukontezhuttiTumaven (who wrote with a tusk, the Bharata spoken by Vyasa)
Bharatam Pattu (dated 1500 AD)
By Ayyanappilla Asan
Commentary by P.K. Narayana Pillai, National Book Stall, Kottayam, Kerala (1988)
song 2, Sambhava Parva, page 44
Praising Ganesha in the beginning of the text: The stylus for writing the holy Mahabharata is the six faced boy God (Subrahmanya)
(The story of Vyasa accepting Ganesha as his writer for Mahabharata with the permission of Brahma is famous - Note by commentator on page 44).
Commentary by P.K. Narayana Pillai, National Book Stall, Kottayam, Kerala (1988)
song 2, Sambhava Parva, page 44
Praising Ganesha in the beginning of the text: The stylus for writing the holy Mahabharata is the six faced boy God (Subrahmanya)
(The story of Vyasa accepting Ganesha as his writer for Mahabharata with the permission of Brahma is famous - Note by commentator on page 44).
Cherusseri Bharatham (Bharatagatha)
Authored by Ponathil Sankaran Nambiti during the reign of Udyavarman Kolathiri - M.E 621 to 640 (A.D 1446 to 1465)
Edited with an introduction by Chirakkal T. Balakrishnan Nair, Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Thrissur, Kerala (1974)
Chapter 1, page 3
Praising Ganesha in the beginning of the text: My lord, son of Sambhu (Siva) who kindly wrote this story, which removes all sins and grants salvation, with (his) tusk, please shower your kindness on me to enable me to complete this task without any worry or disease affecting me.
Edited with an introduction by Chirakkal T. Balakrishnan Nair, Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Thrissur, Kerala (1974)
Chapter 1, page 3
Praising Ganesha in the beginning of the text: My lord, son of Sambhu (Siva) who kindly wrote this story, which removes all sins and grants salvation, with (his) tusk, please shower your kindness on me to enable me to complete this task without any worry or disease affecting me.
(These lines refer to Ganesha, who wrote the verses of Mahabharata recited by Veda Vyasa, with a tusk on his right hand, on the leaves of Bhoorjara tree. The ancient Ganesha installation of the Velath Temple in Mayyil of North Malabar (Kannur District, Kerala) is based on the concept of the scribe of Mahabharata, page 26-27, introduction by the editor).
Kannassa Ramayanam
by Rama Panikkar (later half of fifteenth century)
VEdavyAsanenRa nAmamezhum dvijEndran
nhanamiyanRu conna purANamanRuyar paRuvatAgrE
nalamiyal konpu koNTezhutum GanEshane nhAn tozhunREn.
VEdavyAsanenRa nAmamezhum dvijEndran
nhanamiyanRu conna purANamanRuyar paRuvatAgrE
nalamiyal konpu koNTezhutum GanEshane nhAn tozhunREn.
I salute Ganesha who writes with the tusk on the tip of the mountain, the Purana spoken with knowledge by the Indra among brahmins, VedaVyasa.
Quoted by M. M. Purushothaman Nair in his commentary to Tirunizhalmala.
Compiled by A. Purushothaman (May 2005)
http://mahabharata-resources.org/variations/ganesha_mbh.html
Mahabharata - Southern Recension - Kumbhaghonam Edition
Gaṇeśa in R̥gveda ākhyāna, ākhyāyikā & Mahābhārata itihāsa explained in the context of Indus Script cipher
Gaṇeśa -- the leader of Marut Gaṇa, a scribe with dāt, an ivory stylus -- and Kṣṇadwaipāyana Vyāsa -- the black narrator, a Ganga-island dweller -- unite together after Gaṇeśa consents to be a scribe utteringom and together start with an invocation for success to Nara and Nārāyaṇa (nārāyaṇaṃ namaskṛtya naraṃ caiva narottamam; 1.1.0) and to goddess Sarasvatī (devīṃ sarasvatīṃ caiva tato jayam udīrayet; 1.1.0). Om is part of the iconography, pratimā, 'ādhyātmikā symbol' which refers to ātman (soul, self within) and Brahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge). So, they start with ओम् Om pratimā which is प्रणव, praṇava. Om is the last sound a Yogi hears before entering the state of Turīya level of language, script and reality. The mystic syllable is affirmation of something divine in the narration and scripted text of Mahābhārata.
Why does Gaṇeśa uttar Om assenting to be a scribe of Vyasa's oral narrative?
Om (ॐ) is the pratigara (agreement) with a hymn. Likewise is tatha (so be it) with a song. But Om is something divine, and tatha is something human.
— Aitareya Aranyaka 23.6
तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥
His word is Om.
— Yogasutra 1.27
See: Full text translation at
https://ia800607.us.archive.org/34/items/NatyaShastra/natya_shastra_translation_volume_1_-_bharat_muni.pdf
https://archive.org/stream/NatyaShastra/natya_shastra_translation_volume_1_-_bharat_muni#page/n87/mode/2up
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https://archive.org/stream/NatyaShastra/natya_shastra_translation_volume_1_-_bharat_muni#page/n87/mode/2up