Dwaraka seal made of conch-shell
Here is a backgrounder to the discovery of a turbinella pyrum (conch-shell) seal in Bet Dwaraka by SR Rao. Harivamśa states that Sri Kr̥ṣṇa directed every citizen to carry a seal (mudra) to gain entrance into Dwaraka city.
barad, balad'ox' rebus: bharata'alloy of copper, pewter, tin'; भरत bharata n A factitious metal compounded of copper, pewter, tin &c.; भरताचें भांडें bharatācē mbhāṇḍēṃ n A vessel made of the metal भरत; भरती bharatī a Composed of the metal भरत. (Marathi); baran 'mixed alloys' (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin), (Punjabi).
ranku'antelope' or melh'goat' rebus: ranku'tin'milakku, mleccha'copper';
konda 'young bull' rebus konda 'engraver, sculptor'; खोंड (p. 216) [ khōṇḍa ] m A young bull, a bullcalf. Rebus: खोदणी (p. 216) [ khōdaṇī ] f (Verbal of खोदणें ) Digging, engraving &c. 2 fig. An exacting of money by importunity. v लाव, मांड . 3 An instrument to scoop out and cut flowers and figures from paper. 4 A goldsmith's die.खोदणें (p. 216) [ khōdaṇēṃ ] v c & i (खोदणें Dug. 2 Engraved, carved, sculptured. खोदणावळ (p. 216) [ khōdaṇāvaḷa ] f (खोदणें ) The price or cost of sculpture or carving. Rebus: kō̃da -कोँद ।'kiln' (Kashmiri); kundana 'fine gold' (Kannada).singhin ‘spiny-horned’ rebus: singi ‘ornament gold’.![]()
Thus by the device of sāngaḍa'joined animal' rebus: sangara'trade' is signified in copper, tin and alloy metal of copper, pewter, tin.
Thus, the seal carried by a citizen of Dwaraka is an identifier of the profession, like a professional calling card. In this case, the seal signifies a trader in copper, tin and alloy metal of copper, pewter and tin called Bharata.
Similarly, other animal hieroglyphs signify other sangara, 'trade' categories."It was the discovery of a seal (photo, right) that convinced Dr. Rao he had found Krishna's city. The seal is engraved with the images of a bull, a goat and a unicorn in an unmistakable style--a motif he says is no doubt of Indus origin and goes back to the 16th or 17th century bce. It is a small, flat artifact, no bigger than the palm of your hand, carved from a conch shell. This, Rao believes, is a seal of free pass: only those carrying it were allowed to enter the fabled city. "There is a reference in the Mahabharata, " he explains, "that when Dvaraka was attacked by king Shalva, Krishna was not there. Upon his return, Krishna takes certain measures to defend the city. One of them is described to be a mudra seal, an identity that every citizen of Dvaraka must carry. It was the duty of the gatekeepers to make sure that absolutely nobody without this seal would have entered the city. This gave us reliable evidence to identify these ruins, where we found the seal, as Krishna's Dvaraka. Finding this mudra was very exciting." Skeptics point out, however, that the discovery of a single seal, which could even have come from another area, is not irrefutable evidence of the city's identity." (Behold the Holy City Where Krishna Was Prince, Mark Hawthorne (March 2008)
A quote from the book The Krishna Key by Mr Ashwin Sanghi. This is what is said by Krishna – it's a directive that every citizen of Dwaraka should carry a Mudra – or seal – as a mark of identification and it is the duty of the guards to see that every citizen carries the seal and that none without the seal are allowed to enter.
Among the objects recovered from the sea-bed that establish the submerged township's connection with the Dwaraka of the Maha-bharata was a seal (just 18mmx20mm) with the images of a bull, unicorn and goat engraved in an anticlockwise direction. "The motif is no doubt of Indus origin but the style shows considerable influence from Bahrain," writes Rao. "The bull, unicorn and goat motif on seals from mature Harappan levels of Kalibangan and Mohenjo Daro is distinct from that of Bet Dwaraka which belongs to the late Indus period." But the seal does corroborate the reference made in the ancient text, the Harivamsa, that every citizen of Dwaraka should carry a mudra as a mark of identifiction and none without a seal should enter it.