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.

kammaTa is also a Pali word with the same meaning, attested by Mahavams'a.

Thus, these two pillars with hieroglyph hypertexts in Indus Script tradition, are two proclamations of services provided by artificers at the workshops of Besnagar. 

Confirmation for this decipherment is provided by Mahaavams'a, XXV, 28, which uses an expression: ayo-kammata-dvAra, translated as "iron studded gate" (of a city), but more accurately should translate as: iron mint gate. 

[quote] Ayas: not in the Dictionary. This word is always used for iron (see loha, below). Mahavamsa, XXV, 28, ayo-kammata-dvara, "iron studded gate " (of a city) ; ib., 30, ayo-gulath, " iron balls "; ib., XXIX, 8, ayo-jala, an iron trellis used in the foundations of a stfipa. Reference might have been made to the iron pillars at Delhi and Dhar, and the use of iron in building at Konarak. [unquote] (Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,  Indian Architectural terms, in: American Oriental Society, Vol. 48, 1928, pp.250-275).

The combined hypertext is signified by the expression, Śrivatsa, 'wealth, riches' in a metaphor as the "favourite of श्री, Divinity Lakshmi."

Thus, the hypertext atop the Sanchi Stupa torana with this combination of hieroglyphs signifies: iron alloy metalwork, mint artificer

Santali glosses