Sitting postures on Sarasvati civilization artefacts

The language evolution is indigenous from proto-vedic times on the banks of River Sarasvati (Mleccha, Bha_s.a_, Prakrits, Des’i, Chandas), Rivers Tapati and Narmada (close to Bhimbhetka caves and Nahali language-speakers), along the Indian Ocean Rim (Tamil, Austric or Austro-asiatic) and River Ganga (Munda)

Glyph: kamad.ha, kamat.ha, kamad.haka, kamad.haga, kamad.haya = a type of penance (Pkt.lex.)

Buffalo's horns. Gumla, NW Frontier province. After Sankalia 1974: 354, fig. 88: b (=b), c (=c)

Buffaloes sitting with legs bent in yogic a_sana. Susa Cc-Da, ca. 3000-2750 BC, proto-Elamite seals: (a-c) After Amiet 1972: pl. 25, no. 1017 (=a); and Amiet 1980a: pl. 38, nos. 581-2 (b-c)

m0305AC 2235 Pict-80: Three-faced, horned person  (with a three-leaved pipal branch  on the crown with two stars on either side), wearing bangles and armlets. Two stars adorn the curved buffalo horns of the seated person with a plaited pigtail. The pigtail connotes a pit furnace:

Glyph: kamad.ha, kamat.ha, kamad.haka, kamad.haga, kamad.haya = a type of penance (Pkt.lex.)

kamat.amu, kammat.amu = a portable furnace for melting precious metals; kammat.i_d.u = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Te.lex.) ka~pr.aut., kapr.aut. jeweller's crucible made of rags and clay (Bi.); kapr.aut.i_ wrapping in cloth with wet clay for firing chemicals or drugs, mud cement (H.)[cf. modern compounds: kapar.mit.t.i_ wrapping in cloth and clay (H.); kapad.lep id. (H.)](CDIAL 2874). kapar-mat.t.i clay and cowdung smeared on a crucible (N.)(CDIAL 2871).

kampat.t.tam coinage, coin (Ta.); kammat.t.am, kammit.t.am coinage, mint (Ma.); kammat.i a coiner (Ka.)(DEDR 1236) kammat.a = coinage, mint (Ka.M.) kampat.t.a-k-ku_t.am mint; kampat.t.a-k-ka_ran- coiner; kampat.t.a- mul.ai die, coining stamp (Ta.lex.)

An archer is kamadha; a person sitting in a yogic posture is kamadha (Pali) The rebus is: kammata = portable gold furnace (Telugu). The meaning conveyed by penance itself can be composed as a glyph: a person seated in a yogic posture. kamad.ha, kamat.ha = a type of penance (Pkt.). This word can also be imaged like a ficus leaf,: kamat.ha (Skt.) or a bat, kabat.a (Ka.)

This sound of this word evokes meanings related to tools of trade of a professional artisan : kamat.a = a portable furnace for melting precious metals (Te.) kamat.ha_yo = a learned carpenter or mason, working on scientific principles (G.) kammat.i_d.u = a goldsmith, a silversmith (Te.) kampat.t.am = mint (Ta.)

Rebus substantive: samanom = an obsolete name for gold (Santali) hom = pom, hem = gold; hombat.t.al = a golden cup; hombara.ni = a gold jar or vase; hombar-e = go gild; hombesavu = gold soldering (Ka.) hem = a medicinal garden plant with yellow heads of flowers, spilanthes semella (Ka.) hon, honnu = gold (Ka.) honnu = gold, an old gold coin; honnittad.i = a kind of brass which has the appearance of gold (Te.) somn.a = gold (Pkt.); son.n.a = golden (Pali); suvarn.a = of bright colour, golden (RV); gold (AV); sovnakay, so_nakai, somnakay = gold (Gypsy)(CDIAL 13519) soni = jeweller (Bi.)(CDIAL 13623). Concordant with Rigveda ‘soma’ !

m1181A2222 Pict-80: Three-faced, horned person  (with a three-leaved pipal branch  on the crown), wearing bangles and armlets and seated, in a yogic posture, on a hoofed platform Glyph: camman.am, cappan.am = sitting cross-legged (Ta.); camman.am = id. (Ma.)(DEDR 2350).

A sinuous tree with short leaves. Terracotta tablet. Harappa H95-2523 (After Fig. 6.3 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]. Nausharo. Jar with three papal leaves. Period 1D, 2600 – 2550 BCE [After Samzun, 1992, Fig. 29.4, no.2; cf. Fig. 6.4 in JM Kenoyer, 1998]

Harappa. Two tablets. Seated figure or deity with reed house or shrine at one side. Left: H95-2524; Right: H95-2487.

Harappa. Planoconvex molded tablet found on Mound ET. A. Reverse. a female deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant and below a six-spoked wheel; b. Obverse. A person spearing with a barbed spear a buffalo in front of a seated horned deity wearing bangles and with a plumed headdress. The person presses his foot down the buffalo’s head. An alligator with a narrow snout is on the top register. “We have found two other broken tablets at Harappa that appear to have been made from the same mold that was used to create the scene of a deity battling two tigers and standing above an elephant. One was found in a room located on the southern slope of Mount ET in 1996 and another example comes from excavations on Mound F in the 1930s. However, the flat obverse of both of these broken tablets does not show the spearing of a buffalo, rather it depicts the more well-known scene showing a tiger looking back over its shoulder at a person sitting on the branch of a tree. Several other flat or twisted rectangular terracotta tablets found at Harappa combine these two narrative scenes of a figure strangling two tigers on one side of a tablet, and the tiger looking back over its shoulder at a figure in a tree on the other side.” [JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 115].

Slide 142. Molded tablets from Trench 11 sometimes have impressions on one, two, three or four sides. This group of molded tablets shows the complete set of motifs. One side is comprised entirely of script and has six characters, the first of which (on the very top) appears to be some sort of animal. A second side shows a human figure grappling with a short horned bull. A small plant with at least six branches is discernible behind the individual. The third panel portrays a figure seated on a charpoy or throne in a yogic position, with arms resting on the knees. Both arms are covered with bangles, and traces of a horned headdress and long hair are visible on some of the impressions. A second individual, also with long hair and wearing bangles, is seated on a short stool to the proper left of the individual on the "throne." The fourth panel shows a deity standing with both feet on the ground and wearing a horned headdress. A branch with three pipal leaves projects from the center of the headdress. Bangles on seen on both arms.

Harappa. A series of small tablets. A. man fighting a short-horned bull; a small plant with six branches; b. seated figure in yogic posture with arms resting on knees; both arms covered with bangles; traces of a horned headdress and long hair are visible on some impressions; a second individual, also with long hair and wearing bangles, sits on a short stool; ; c. standing deity with horned headdress with a curved branch with three projecting leaves; bangles visible on both arms; d. inscription with six signs; the first sign appears to be some form of an animal; the last shows a person.

Glyph: saman.a = ascetic (Pali.Pkt.); s’raman.a, s.aman.a (KharI.); s’raman.a = ascetic, religious mendicant (S’Br.)(CDIAL 12683). Root: s’ram = weary (Skt.); s’rama = labour (RV)(CDIAL 12682). Thus, s’raman.a can be semant. interpreted as a worker, a labourer. In the context of samanom ‘gold’ (Santali), s’raman.a may be elaborated as a goldsmith. Such an artisan can be represented glyptically by an ascetic, or a yogi in penance (as a horned person seated on a platform).

Elephant (ibha)

Tiger (kol)

Ibex, pair (ul.e, bar.ea)

Antelope (ranku)

Hayrick, pair (kundavum, bar.ea)

Buffalo (kad.a)

Rhino (kag)

M304A broken seal

Fragmentary horn seen on pedestal

Restored glyph (Huntington)

cu_l.a ‘tiger’s mane’

cu_d.a ‘bracelets’

krammara ‘look back’

Rebus: kamar ‘smith’

http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/Projects/Iconographic%20Discussions/harrapan%20seals/Harappan%

Apart from many seated figures on seals and tablets, there are also seated figures on toys and statuettes.

Slide 207 Tablet with inscription. Twisted terra cotta tablet (H2000-4441/2102-464) with a mold-made inscription and narrative motif from the Trench 54 area. In the center is the depiction of what is possibly a deity with a horned headdress in so-called yogic position seated on a stool under an arch.

gumat.a, gumut.a, gumuri, gummat.a, gummut.a a copula or dome (Ka.); ghumat.a (M.); gummat.a, gummad a dome; a paper lantern; a fire-baloon (H.Te.); kummat.t.a arch, vault, arched roof, pinnacle of a pagoda; globe, lantern made of paper (Ta.)(Ka.lex.); gummaṭ m. ‘dome’ (P.) CDIAL 4217

Other glyphs (glyphemes): gúlma— m. ‘clump of trees’ VS., gumba— m. ‘cluster, thicket’ (Pali); gumma— m.n. ‘thicket’ (Pkt.); S. gūmbaṭu m. ‘bullock's hump’; gumbaṭ m., gummaṭ f. ‘bullock's hump’ (L.) CDIAL 4217

rebus: kumpat.i = ban:gala = an:ga_ra s’akat.i_ = a chafing dish, a portable stove, a goldsmith’s portable furnace (Te.lex.) kumpiṭu-caṭṭi chafing-dish, port- able furnace, potsherd in which fire is kept by goldsmiths; kumutam oven, stove; kummaṭṭi chafing-dish (Ta.). kuppaḍige, kuppaṭe, kum- paṭe, kummaṭa, kummaṭe id. (Ka.) kumpaṭi id. (Te.) DEDR 1751. kummu smouldering ashes (Te.); kumpōḍ smoke.(Go) DEDR 1752.

ko_lemmu = the backbone (Te. Lex.)

kolmo ‘rice plant’ (Santali) Kharia <kolom>

(D``^sheaf''. #17211.

Thus, the glyphs of either a kneeling adorant (emphasizing the backbone) or a rice plant ligatured to the headdress of a person, is connoted by the phoneme: ko_lemmu or kolmo. Both glyphs are hieroglyphs.

Rebus: konimi = black- smith; Gowda); kolimi =a furnace; kolimi-titti =bellows used for a furnace (Te.lex.) kolime= furnace (Ka. kolime, kolume, kulame, kulime, kulume, kulme fire-pit, furnace (Ka. kolimi furnace (Te. pit (Te. kolame a very deep pit (Tu.).

Why does the figure at the bottom of the table (often called the ‘kneeling adorant’ in corpuses) connote the backbone?

A variant of Sign 48 (Mahadevan sign list) is Sign 47 Sign 47 is recognized on a pottery graffiti at Sanur megalithic site. (cf. B.B. Lal, 1960. From Megalithic to the Harappa: Tracing back the graffiti on pottery. Ancient India, No.16, pp.4-24.) Mahadevan also sees a link with an isolated sign occurrence on pottery graffiti at Mangudi. (Excavations at Mangudi, 2003. Department of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu.)

That this glyph connotes the ribs of the backbone is established in I. Mahadevan (Murukan in the Indus Script) Late Harappan Period at Kalibangan, the comparative glyph is a large-sized graffiti on pottery (See Fig.4 in the plate of Fig. 1-9). http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=194 Figure 6 is a pottery graffiti found in a megalithic burial at Sanur in Tamilnadu of circa 1^st millennium BCE, from B.B. Lal, Pl. XXXI B-1(Megalithic) symbol No.47. The symbol also occurs in Pl. IIIA-1,3 and Pl. XXX B-1. Lal compares the Indus sign and the Megalithic symbol (Pl. XXXI B) and notes: "In the case of Sanur (rare examples elsewhere also) three symbols occur in such close proximity to one another as to give the impression of a record. It may however be added that the three symbols interchange their positions on different pots producing all possible combinations" (Lal B.B. 1960. From Megalithic to the Harappa: tracing back the graffiti on pottery. Ancient India, 16, pp. 4-24). “An exceptional variant of Sign 48 is found deeply incised (pre-firing) on the concave inner surface of a shallow terracotta dish (Fig.8).13 This variant depicts the deity with a large head and the backbone with four ribs 'inside the body'… A unique seal, probably Late Harappan, found on the surface at Kalibangan, depicts a seated skeletal deity occupying the entire field (Fig.9).14 This pictorial representation may thus be classified as the 'field symbol' equivalent of Sign 48. The deity is facing right (in the original seal), leaning forward. He has a large head and a massive jaw jutting forward. The complete ribcage is shown in clear detail with almost all the ribs in position, curving naturalistically on either side of the backbone. The deity appears to be holding a ladle (?) in his right hand. His knees are drawn up and he seems to be squatting on his haunches… The details are clearly visible in the highly enlarged photograph of the seal published in Swami Oamanda Saraswati 1975, Ancient Seals of Haryana (in Hindi). Rohtak.Pl. 275.” (I. Mahadevan, ibid.)

Wearing uttariyam, right-shoulder bare

Slide 46 (Harappa.com). Male (front).

Seated male figure with head missing (45, 46). On the back of the figure, the hair style can be partially reconstructed by a wide swath of hair and a braided lock of hair or ribbon hanging along the right side of the back.
A cloak is draped over the edge of the left shoulder and covers the folded legs and lower body, leaving the right shoulder and chest bare. The left arm is clasping the left knee and the hand is visible peeking out from underneath the cloak. The right hand is resting on the right knee which is folded beneath the body.
Material: limestone Dimensions: 28 cm height, 22 cm width
Mohenjo-daro, L 950 Islamabad Museum

Terracotta toy, Mohenjodaro.

Thanks to Mayuresh Kelkar for the following note:

Article uploaded to the files section (of Indiaarchaeology yahoogroup). URL:

http://tinyurl.com/yok39h
Sculpture of a seated Acharya found at Mohenjodaro. Material: white, low fired steatite Dimensions: 17.5 cm height, 11 cm width Mohenjo-daro, DK 1909 National Museum, Karachi, 50.852 Marshall 1931: 356-7, pl. XCVIII

Terracotta toys show yogic asanas: 1-4, from Harappa; 5-6, from Mohenjo-daro.

The Indus Valley Origin of a Yoga Practice byYan Y. Dhyansky Artibus Asiae, Vol. 48, No. 1/2 (1987), pp. 89-108 doi:10.2307/3249853

me~t = eye (Santali) [The dotted circle could be rebus: min.d.a, hero; min.d. ‘iron’]. Enlarged portion of the seal m-1186 taken from Huntington. Dotted circles offered to the person standing in the ‘pipal’ vessel connote ‘iron’.

S. Kalyanaraman 27 June 2007

http://sarasvati2.googlepages.com/seatedfigures.doc

Signboard on the North Gate leading to the walled Dholavira. Courtesy ASI.

There is a glyph common to the Dholavira sign board, to the epigraph on the horned-tiger seal and the glyph on the button seal of Harappa. The glyph is a ‘lid, cover’ for a pot: ^ Lexemes: ad.aren, d.aren lid, cover (Santali) Rebus: aduru ‘native metal’ (Ka.). It is possible to unravel many substratum lexemes of Mleccha (Meluhhan) and at the same time, decode the epigraphs; the key is to unravel the dialectical continuum of the linguistic area circa 5500 years Before Present. Since the cultural traits of the civilization which evolved about 5500 years Before Present are present even today in Bharat, the languages of Bharat constitute the data set for decoding lexemes of such a dialectical continuum. A remarkable cultural trait which continues into the historical periods of Bharat is the use of copper plates to record epigraphs as property transactions. The epigraphs are the artifacts created by artisans of the Sarasvati civilization, the metal workers who recorded the ownership of the furnaces and trade in a civilizational resource: stones, metals and minerals. This hypothesis on language, writing system and function served by the epigraphs, will be tested further in a separate volume of the Saptathi Sarasvati, the septet of 7 volumes on Sarasvati.

era, er-a = eraka = ?nave; erako_lu = the iron axle of a carriage (Ka.M.); cf. irasu (Ka.lex.) Metal: akka, aka (Tadbhava of arka) metal; akka metal (Te.) arka = copper (Skt.) erka = ekke (Tbh. of arka) aka (Tbh. of arka) copper (metal); crystal (Ka.lex.)

erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) agasa_le, agasa_li, agasa_lava_d.u = a goldsmith (Te.lex.)

Tin could have come from Meluhha (Sarasvati Civilization area)

The discovery of two pure tin ingots in a ship-wreck near Haifa has produced two “Rosetta”stones to decode the “Indus script”. The epigraphs on the tin ingots have been deciphered as related to ranku “antelope”, “liquid measure”; read rebus: ranku 'tin'. As J.D. Muhly noted, the emergence of Bronze Age trade and writing system may be two related initiatives which started approximately in the Third Millennium B.C. It is surmised that the maritime-trade links between Ugarit and Meluhha might have extended from Crete to Haifa. Linking archaeology and philology is a challenging task. What language could the writings on Haifa tin ingots be? The breakthrough invention of alloying may have orthographic parallels of ligatured signs and ligatured pictorial motifs (such as a bovine body with multiple animal heads, combination of animal heads, combination of lathe and furnace on a standard device, ligaturing on a heifer, damr.a -- unicorn -- with one curved horn, pannier, kammarsala). A ligature of a tiger's face to the upper body of a woman is also presented in the round. The Sumerian myth Enki and the World Order has Enki exclaiming: 'Let the magilum-boats of Melukkha transport gold and silver for exchange!' Enki and Ninkhursag (lines 1-9, Tr. by B. Alster) has references to the products of Melukkha: 'The land Tukrish shall transport gold from Kharali, lapis lazuli, and bright...to you. The land Melukkha shall bring carnelian, desirable and precious, sissoo-wood from Magan, excellent mangroves, on bigships! The land Markhashi will (bring) precious stones, dus'ia-stones, (to hand) on the breast, mighty, diorite-stones, u-stones, s'umin-stones to you!'

urseal6 Cylinder seal; BM 122947; U. 16220 (cut down into Ur III mausolea from Larsa level; U. 16220), enstatite; Legrain, 1951, No. 632; Collon, 1987, Fig. 611.Humped bull stands before a plant, feeding from a round manger or a bundle of fodder (or, probably, a cactus); behind the bull is a scorpion and two snakes; above the whole a human figure, placed horizontally, with fantastically long arms and legs, and rays about his head.

t.agara = taberna montana (Skt.)

takaram tin, white lead, metal sheet, coated with tin (Ta.); tin, tinned iron plate (Ma.); tagarm tin (Ko.); tagara, tamara, tavara id. (Ka.) tamaru, tamara, tavara id. (Ta.): tagaramu, tamaramu, tavaramu id. (Te.); t.agromi tin metal, alloy (Kuwi); tamara id. (Skt.)(DEDR 3001). trapu tin (AV.); tipu (Pali); tau, taua lead (Pkt.); tu~_ tin (P.); t.au zinc, pewter (Or.); taru_aum lead (OG.); tarvu~ (G.); tumba lead (Si.)(CDIAL 5992).

ran:ga, ran: pewter is an alloy of tin, lead and antimony (an~jana) (Santali).

ran:ga ron:ga, ran:ga con:ga = thorny, spikey, armed with thorns; edel dare ran:ga con:ga dareka = this cotton tree grows with spikes on it (Santali) [Note the thorns on the round object in front of the bull on the Ur cylinder seal impression – U 16220]

adaru d.angra ‘zebu bull’ (Santali); rebus: aduru ‘native metal’ (Ka.); aduru = gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru = ore taken from the mine and not subjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddha_nti Subrahman.ya’ S’astri’s new interpretation of the Amarakos’a, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330); adar = fine sand (Ta.); adaru = a sparkle (Te.); ayir – iron dust, any ore (Ma.)

d.hangar ‘smith’ (H.)

bali = iron stone sand (Santali) bal = to bore a hole, or to puncture, with a red ho iron (Santali) [Note: the dotted circle may denote rebusError! Bookmark not defined.: bali ‘iron stone sand’.]

Two tin ingots with Sarasvati epigraphs

Two other rosetta stones are the two late bronze age tin ingots from the harbor of Haifa, Israel contain glyphs used in epigraphs of Sarasvati civilization!

The picture of these two ingots was published by J.D. Muhly [New evidence for sources of and trade in bronze age tin, in: Alan D. Franklin, Jacqueline S. Olin, and Theodore A. Wertime, The Search for Ancient Tin, 1977, Seminar organized by Theodore A. Wertime and held at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., March 14-15, 1977]. Muhly notes:"A long-distance tin trade is not only feasible and possible, it was an absolute necessity. Sources of tin stone or cassiterite were few and far between, and a common source must have served many widely scattered matallurgical centers. This means that the tin would have been brought to a metallurgical center utilizing a nearby source of copper. That is, copper is likely to be a local product; the tin was almost always an import...The ingots are made of a very pure tin, but what could they have to do with Cyprus? There is certainly no tin on Cyprus, so at best the ingots could have been transhipped from that island... What the ingots do demonstrate is that metallic tin was in use during the Late Bronze Age...rather extensive use of metallic tin in the ancient eastern Mediterranean, which will probably come as a surprise to many people." (p.47)

Sign 249 Sign 252 and variants

This pictograph clearly refers to an antelope as depicted on the Mohenjodaro copper plate inscription: (m-516b shown).

Sign 182 is a stylized glyph denoting a ram or antelope: tagar (Skt.); rebus: takaram ‘tin’ (Ta.)

da~_t.u = cross over; da.t.- (da.t.-t-) to cross (Kol.); da_t.isu – to cause to pass over (Ka.); da.t.- (da.t.y-) to cross (mark, stream, mountain, road)(Ko.); ta_t.t.uka to get over or through (Ma.); ta_n.t.u = to cross, surpass (Ta.)(DEDR 3158).

On each ingot, there are two signs as shown below:

  [Let us refer to these signs as, 'antelope' and X]

[Let us refer to these signs as, X and 'mould' or ‘liquid measure’].

Liquid measure: ran:ku; rebus: ran:ku = tin; rebus: ran:ku = antelope. Thus both liquid measure glyph and antelope glyphs are graphonyms (graphically denoting the same rebus substantive: ran:ku, ‘tin’.

X glyph which is common to epigraphs on both the tin ingots may refer to an ‘ingot’ or a dha_tu ‘mineral’. upadha_tu an inferior metal, a semi-metal: svarn.am ma_ks.ikam ta_rama_ks.ikam tustham ka_syam rati sindu_ram s'ila_jatu (Skt.)(Skt.lex.) siddha-rasa quick-silver (Ka.lex.) siddha-dha_tu quick-silver (Skt.); ore (as gold) (Ka.lex.) cittam < kit.t.a iron dross (Ta.lex.) siddha-patra hemp-leaves for smoking etc. (Ka.lex.) dha_tu strength, courage (Ka.); dha_tu-ged.u strength to be impaired or be gone; to become deprived of strength or courage (Ka.); dha_tunas.t.a loss of strength (Ka.)(Ka.lex.) The semant. ‘strength’ points to the dha_tu being tin since the addition of tin as an alloy strengthened copper. sapta-dha_tu, tridha_tu ‘seven/three elements’ are recurrently occurring compound lexemes in R.gveda.

In RV 6.044.23 the term used is: tridha_tu divi rocanes.u = ‘three-fold amr.tam hidden in heaven’ is the metaphor; and in RV 8.044.12 the term is: tridha_tuna_ s’arman.a_.

takar sheep, ram, goat (Ta.); tagar ram (Ka.); tagaru (Tu.); tagaramu, tagaru (Te.); tagar (M.)(DEDR 3000).

m0516Atm0516Bt 3398 [Copper tablet; side B perhaps is a graphemic representation of an antelope; note the ligatured tail comparable to the tail on m273, b012 and k037] ri_r. high mountain (WPah.)(CDIAL 10749a)

c-023 Seal. Double-axe + other arms and armour me_n.d.ha = ram (Skt.)(CDIAL 10310). me_l.h goat (without etymology)(Brahui); mr..e_ka (unknown meaning)(Te.); me_~ka = goat (Te.)(DEDR 5087). Rebus: med. 'iron' (Mundari)

mer.ed, me~r.ed iron; enga mer.ed soft iron; sand.i mer.ed hard iron; ispa_t mer.ed steel; dul mer.ed cast iron; i mer.ed rusty iron, also the iron of which weights are cast; bicamer.ed iron extracted from stone ore; balimer.ed iron extracted from sand ore; mer.ed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Mu.lex.)

mer.go, mer.ho = adj. rimless (vessels); mi_r.u_ adj. Brimless, rimless (vessels having no outstanding lip); mi_r.u_ bat.ite han.d.i emok do ban: jutoka = it will not do to serve beer with a rimless brass cup (it will not run out properly); mi_r.u_ celan: = a brimless earthenware vessel; me_r. = border, edge (H.) (Santal.lex. Bodding)  mi_d.u~ = having rims turned over (G.)(CDIAL 10120). 

Liquid measure: ran:ku; rebus: ran:ku = tin (Santali).

ra~_go buffalo bull (Ku.N.)(CDIAL 10559). ra~_kat. big and boorish (M.)(CDIAL 10538). cf. ran:ka slow, dull (Skt.)(CDIAL 10538

Glyphs showing mating scenes

r-an:ku, ran:ku = fornication, adultery (Te.lex.)

A bullmating with a cow. Seal impression (BM 123059). From an antique dealer in Baghdad. Cf. Gadd 1932: no. 18.

Shown together with scorpions, the reading may refer to a smelting furnace used for iron or native metal: bica ‘scorpion’ (Assamese); bica = stone ore containing iron (Mu.) [Sand containing iron ore is has a distinct lexeme: bali (Mu.); rebus: bali ‘bull’ (Skt.)] bali_varda = a bull (Skt.lex.) bel [Hem. Des. ba-i-li_ fr. Skt.] a bull; a bullock; an ox (G.lex.) 

A symbolism of a woman spreading her legs apart, which recurs on an SSVC inscribed object. Cylinder-seal impression from Ur showing a squatting female. L. Legrain, 1936, Ur excavations, Vol. 3, Archaic Seal Impressions.

kut.hi, kut.i (Or.; Sad. kot.hi) (1) the smelting furnace of the blacksmith; kut.ire bica duljad.ko talkena, they were feeding the furnace with ore; (2) the name of e_kut.i has been given to the fire which, in shellac factories, warms the water bath for softening the lac so that it can be spread into sheets; to make a smelting furnace; kut.hi-o of a smelting furnace, to be made; the smelting furnace of the blacksmith is made of mud, cone-shaped, 2’ 6” dia. At the base and 1’ 6” at the top. The hole in the centre, into which the mixture of charcoal and iron ore is poured, is about 6” to 7” in dia. At the base it has two holes, a smaller one into which the nozzle of the bellow is inserted, as seen in fig. 1, and a larger one on the opposite side through which the molten iron flows out into a cavity (Mundari.lex.)

kut.hi = pubes. kola ‘foetus’ [Glyph of a foetus emerging from pudendum muliebre on a Harappa tablet.] kut.hi = the pubes (lower down than pan.d.e) (Santali.lex.) kut.hi = the womb, the female sexual organ; sorrege kut.hi menaktaea, tale tale gidrakoa lit. her womb is near, she gets children continually (H. kot.hi_, the womb) (Santali.lex.Bodding)

Language and culture as intertwined, continuing legacies

The legacy of Bharatiya language community is consistent with the other cultural facets of legacy of Bharatam Janam (Bharatiya language community).

• Legacy of architectural forms
• Legacy of metallurgy and the writing system on punch-marked coins
• Legacy of continued use of cire perdue technique for making utsava bera (bronze murti)
• Legacy of the writing system on Sohgaura copper plate
• Legacy of glyphs continuing on as.t.amangalaha_ra
• Legacy of the writing system on Bharhut ligatures
• Legacy: S’rivatsa glyph metaphor; S'rivatsa and s'risuktam
• Legacy: Engraved celt tool of Sembiyan-kandiyur with Sarasvati hieroglyphs: calling-card of an artisan
• Legacy of s’ankha (turbinella pyrum) industry
• Legacy of sindhur worn by ladies on the parting of the hair
• Legacy of worshipping s’ivalinga as a metaphor of the summit of Mt. Kailas (Manasarovar)
• Legacy of acharya wearing uttariyam leaving right-shoulder bare
• Legacy of yoga and form of respectful greeting ‘namaste’ and form of addressing a person respectfully as: arya, ayya (Ravana is also referred to as arya in the Great Epic Ramayana)

This legacy is evidenced by the legacy of mlecchita vikalpa as a writing system, thus enabling the decoding of Sarasvati hieroglyphs or decipherment of the Indus Script.

(This note is based on: S. Kalyanaraman, 1982, Indian Lexicon, available on the internet at http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati; Kalyanaraman, S., 1988, Indus Script: A bibliography, Manila; S. Kalyanaraman, 2004, Sarasvati, an encyclopaedic work in 7 volumes: Sarasvati: Civilization; Sarasvati: R.gveda; Sarasvati: River; Sarasvati: Bharati; Sarasvati: Technology; Sarasvati: Language ; Sarasvati: Epigraphs, Bangalore, Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smarak Samiti; S. Kalyanaraman, 2006, Bharatiya Languages -- History and Formation of Jaati-bhaasha -- Mlecchita Vikalpa – Sarasvati hieroglyphs (Decipherment of Indus Script), Bangalore. Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav) Apte Smaraka Samiti which includes Protovedic Continuity Theory of Bharatiya Languages http://protovedic.blogspot.com and a comprehensive corpus of inscriptions of Sarasvati civilization – Indus Script). Cf. S. Kalyanaraman, 2006, Bronze age trade and writing system of Meluhha (Mleccha) evidenced by tin ingots from the near vicinity of Haifa, presented in: Bronze Age Trade Workshop in Fifth International Conference on Archaeology of Ancient Near East, April 2006 http://jitnasa.india-forum.com/Docs/icaane_workshop.pdf)

S. Kalyanaraman, Ph.D.,Sarasvati Research Centre, Akhila Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalana Yojana, Chennai 600015 kalyan97@gmail.com 27 June 2007

Sarasvati (mleccha) hieroglyphs (Indus Script)

Abstract

About 4000 epigraphs have been discovered as related to the Saravati-Sindhu (Harappa) Civilization. About 2000 archaeological sites (that is, 80% of the total number of 2600 sites) are found on the banks of River Sarasvati (Ghaggar). Epigraphs have been discovered only on 42 sites. The epigraphs use pictorial signs and pictorial motifs. Treating these as pictorial writing, the glyphs are read as hieroglyphs. Because the majority of the civilization sites are on the Sarasvati River basin, Indus Script epigraphs are referred to as Sarasvati hieroglyphs. These are read as the repertoire of mints, smithy and metalsmiths using mleccha (meluhha), the spoken language of the linguistic area of Bharatam from circa 6500 BCE to the present-day.

Discovery sites of Sarasvati hieroglyphs

Over 45 sites where objects with epigraphs have been discovered – dated circa 3300 BCE to 1500 BCE. The Sarasvati hieroglyph discovery sites extend from Tepe Gawra on Tigris river on the west to Alamgirpur on Yamuna river on the east; from Altin Tepe in the north -- east of Caspian Sea (south of Turkmenistan) to Maski on Krishna river on the south.

Neolithic and Harappan period settlements in the cradle of the Sarasvati Civilization. The delta area is now called Rann of Kutch. [After KS ValdiyaError! Bookmark not defined., 2002, Fig. 1.3]

In 2006, a stone celt with Sarasvati hieroglyphs has been discovered on the banks of Kaveri river (Sembiyan Kandiyur). Two ingots with Sarasvati hieroglyphs have also been discovered in a shipwreck in Haifa (Mediterranean).

Old Indic or Proto-Bharatiya Lingua Franca or parole (spoken tongue)

There are hundreds of lexical isolates attested in ‘Indo-Aryan’ which are not found in other branches of Indo-European. These are clearly a substratum layer of Old Indic which was spoken by the people of Bharat on the Sarasvati-Sindhu river basins and on the coastal settlements of Sindhu sa_gara (Arabian Sea). Some of these people were called Meluhhan in Mesopotamian texts. The Austroasiatic components of this substratum have to be resolved further in the context of (1) ancestors of Brahui and Elamite; and (2) other Austroasiatic groups such as those in the Brahmaputra (Lohitya)-Meghna-Barak river basins and around the Bay of Bengal.

The lingua franca (or parole, spoken tongue) of Bharat circa 5000 years ago is hypothesized as a continuum of dialects, evolving in tandem with the cultural setting and technological innovations.

There is evidence of a substrate language of anient Sumer; this language could be located in Bha_rata in the contemporaneous Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization ca. 3500 -2500 BCE. Like the influence of Celtic on ancient Gaul, Sumerian shows signs of a substrate language in the use of professional names such as sanga 'priest', simug 'blacksmith'; craftsman like nangar 'carpenter', a:gab 'leather worker'; agricultural terms, like engar 'farmer', apin 'plow' and absin 'furrow'. ur 'millstone' (Sumerian); ur-al 'mortar' (Ta.); ulu_khala (Skt.) ili 'sesame' (Sumerian), ellu/u_lu 'sesame oil' (Akkadian); el., el.l.u 'Sesamum indicum' (Ta.); tila, jar-tila 'sesame' (Vedic)(Blazek, V. and C. Boisson, The Diffusion of Agricultural Terms from Mesopotamia. Archiv Orientalni 60, 1992, 16-37) It is possible that IE *kwe-kw-lo- ‘wheel’ may be related to Sumerian gilgul 'wheel'; (GIS-); gigir 'wagon'. a_n.i which occurs in the R.gveda as ‘lynch pin’ is considered foreign to both Dravidian and Vedic. IE rota ‘rotate’ may also relate to urut.t.u ‘roll’; urul. ‘roll’ (Ta.) tambira = copper (Pkt.) tibira = merchant (Akkadian)

Epigraphs are not names of ‘owners’

Though the corpus is limited, it is notable that there is a substantial number of duplicate inscriptions; this is confirmed from the recent report of excavations at Harappa (1993 to 1995 and 2000 seasons). Obviously, the inscriptions do not represent ‘names’ of owners. The inscriptions could simply be ‘functions’ performed by or the ‘professional title’ of the person who carried the inscribed object on his or her wrist (or as a pendant attached to a necklace) or the list of objects he/she was invoicing for trade (as bill of lading or simply possessions of property items listed).

Bharatiya tradition continues in copperError! Bookmark not defined. plate inscriptions and neolithic pottery motifs

The Sohgaura copper plate refers to a pair of kos.t.ha_ga_ra (dva_ra kot.t.haka); the two storehouses described as tri-garbha (i.e. having three rooms) are illustrated on line 1. (Fleet, JRAS, 1907). The illustrations indicate that the three rooms are in three storeys, with supporting pillars clearly seen. The inscription refers to the junction of three highways named Manavati, in two villages called Dasilimita and Usagama. The storehouses were made at this junction for the goods of people using the highways, which are indicated in line 3 by mentioning the three places to and from which they led. One of the names give is reognized by Fleet as Chanchu. (Fleet, JRAS, 63, 1894 proceedings, 86, plate, IA 25. 262; cf. Sohgaura copper plate/B.M. Barua. The Indian Historical Quarterly, ed. Narendra Nath Law. Reprint. 41) Some glyphs on line 1: kut.hi = tree; rebus: kut.hi = smelting furnace; kos.t.ha_ga_ra = storehouse; s'u_la = spear; cu_l.a = kiln; kan.d.kanka = rim of jar; rebus: copper furnace; bat.a = quail; rebus: kiln.

Hieroglyphs on the Sembiyan Kandiyur stone celt

Engraved celt tool of Sembiyan-kandiyur with Sarasvati hieroglyphs: calling-card of an artisan.

http://www.tn.gov.in/misc/Archaeological_discovery.htm

The first symbol from the left is Sign 47. This matches with the megalithic symbol identified by BB Lal, who notes: "In the case of Sanur (rare examples elsewhere also) three symbols occur in such close proximity to one another as to give the impression of a record. It may however be added that the three symbols interchange their positions on different pots producing all possible combinations" (B.B. Lal, 1960. From Megalithic to the Harappa: Tracing back the graffiti on pottery. Ancient India, No.16, p.23).

From L. Sign 47 (backbone)

ko_lemu ‘backbone’ (Te.)

kolame ‘deep pit’ (Tu.); kolame, kolme ‘smithy’ (Ka.); kolla ‘furnace’(Te.)

Sign 342 (rim of jar)

kanka = rim of pot (Santali) Rebus: kan:ka = a metal (Pali); kan- = copper(Ta.) kanaka = gold; kanaka_dhyaks.a = superintendent of gold, treasurer (Skt.) kan-n-a_r, blacksmiths, coppersmiths (Ta.)

kan.d.a = a pot of certain shape and size (Santali) Rebus: kan.d. = altar, furnace (Santali)

Sign 367 (Fig-leaf ligatured)

Allographs of a leaf sign, ligature with crab sign [After Parpola, 1994, fig. 13.15]

kampat.t.am ‘mint’ (Ta.)

kamar.kom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmar.a_ (Has.), kamar.kom (Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.)

kama_t.hiyo = archer; ka_mat.hum = a bow; ka_mad.i_, ka_mad.um = a chip of bamboo (G.) ka_mat.hiyo a bowman; an archer (Skt.lex.)

Glyph: kamat.hi_, ka_mat.hum a bow (G.); kamat.ha a tortoise, a bamboo (Skt.)

Sign 301 (eyelash)

mendi_ = eyelashes (Halbi); kandl mindig (pl.) eyelash (Kol.); mindi, mindi_ (Go.); kon.d.a-min.di eyelid, eyelash (Go.)(DEDR 4864). mitn.e~ = to close the eyes (M.)(CDIAL 10119).

Glyph: me_d.i glomerous fig tree, ficus racemosa (Ka.); ficus glomerata (Te.); me_r.i id. (Ko.)(DEDR 5090). [Thus lo ‘iron’ + me_d.i ‘iron implement’ may be both phonetic determinants reinforcing the substantive (‘iron’) indicated by the glyph: ‘leaf’.]

med. ‘iron’ (Santali. MundariError! Bookmark not defined.) me~r.he~t iron; ispat m. = steel; dul m. = cast iron; kolhe m. iron manufactured by the Kolhes (Santali); mer.ed (Mun.d.ari); med. (Ho.)(Santali.lex.Bodding) 

It is hypothesised that the inscriptions on copper plates and the symbols on punch-marked coins made in the mints of smiths are the work of inheritors of the Sarasvati brazier-smithy-tradition.

[Pl.8, Local Tribal coin symbols: Ujjayini, Tripuri, Ayodhya, Almore, Pa_n~ca_la, Arjuna_yana (1-3), Ra_janya (3,6,8), Uddehika, Audumbara, Kun.inda, Kuluta, Vr.s.n.i, Yaudheya, Ks.atrapa, S’a_tava_hana]

Hieroglyphs and frequencies of occurrence on epigraphs

One-horned heifer with a pannier

1159 + 5 (with two horns)

Short-horned bull

95 +2 (in opposition)

Zebu or Bra_hman.i bull

54

Buffalo

14

Elephant

55 + 1 (horned)

Tiger (including tiger looking back)

16 + 5 (horned)

Boar

39 + 1 (in opposition)

Goat-antelope

36 + 1 (flanking a tree)

Ox-antelope

26

Hare

10 +1 (object shaped like hare)

Ligatured animal

41

Alligator

49

Fish

14 (objects shaped like fish)\; fish also a sign

Frog

1

Serpent

10

Tree

34 + 1 (leaves); leaf also a sign

tebr.a, tebor. = thrice (Santali

ta(m)bra = copper. (Pkt.); tibira = copper merchant (Akkadian)

Dotted circle

67

ghan:ghar ghon:ghor ‘full of holes’ (Santali); rebus:. kan:gar ‘portable furnace (K.)

Svastika

23 rebus:. satthiya_ ‘dagger, knife’ (Pkt.) satva 'zinc' (Ka.)

Endless-knot

Double-axe

4

14 (inscribed objects shaped like axe)

Standard device (lathe, portable furnace)

19

Rimmed narrow-necked jar

1395

Fish signs

1241

Leaf signs

100

Spoked wheel

203

Cart frame + wheels

26

Sprout (or, tree stylized)

800

Water-carrier

220

Scorpion

106

Claws (of crab)

130 + 90 (shaped like pincers)

Arrow (spear)

227

Rimless, wide-mouthed pot

350

Frequency range

No. of signs

Total sign occurrences

Percentage

Cumulative percentags

1000 or more

1

1395

10.43

10.43

999-500

1

649

4.85

15.28

499-100

31

6344

47.44

62.72

99-50

34

2381

17.81

80.53

49-10

86

1833

13.71

94.24

9-2

152

658

4.92

99.16

Only once

112

112

.84

100.00

Thus, only 67 signs account for a total of 80.53 percent of all occurrences of signs on inscribed objects.[After MahadevanError! Bookmark not defined., 1977: 17].

The frequencies in parenthesis are based on Mahadevan conordance (which excludes objects that do not contain a 'sign'); the actual numbers will be higher based on the more comprehensive Parpola photo corpus which includes inscriptions containing only pictorials.

Seals (1814)

Tablets (in bas-relief or inscribed) (511)*[including Seal Impressions]

Miniature tablets (of stone, terracotta or faience) (272)

Copper tablets (plates) (135)

Bronze implements/weapons (11)

Seal Impressions*

Pottery graffitii (119)

Ivory or bone rods (29)

Inscribed on stone, bracelets (or, bangles), Ivory plaque, Ivory dice, Carnelian tablet, Terracotta ball, Brick (15)

Display-board (Dholavira or Kotda with 10 signs, possibly atop a gateway) (1)

Some examples from Hieroglyph Sign List showing the glyptic nature of writing:

(After Mahadevan)

Janajaati bhaasha (mleccha)

An ancient system of writing in vogue in Bharat, is referred to as mlecchita vikalpa, one of the 64 arts to be learnt and listed in Va_tsya_yana’s Ka_masutra. Mlecchita Vikalpa means: ‘writing in cipher.’ A cipher or code can be created through a system of glyphs, called rebus.

All words are semantic indicators. ella_ccollum porul. kur-ittan-ave_ (Tol. Col. Peya. 1)

The formula in this rebus methodology is:

Image = Sound = Meaning

Rebus (Latin: ‘by means of things’) is a graphemic expression of the phonetic shape of a word or syllable. Rebus uses words pronounced alike (homophones) but with different meanings. Sumerian script was phonetized using the rebus principle. So were the Egyptian hieroglyphs based on the rebus principle.

The rebus system of writing, thus, is governed by the organizing principle: all glyphs are phonetic indicators or phonetic determinants.

Janajaati-bhaasha is Bharatiya language community; des’i areal versions (regional dialects).

Mleccha vaacas, aarya vaacas

There is no reference in ancient texts to ‘Dravida’ as a language group. It appears that 'dravida' according to Patanjali's Mahabhashya simply means a group of people or region where tamarind is part of the staple food habit. It has nothing to do with language or people's ancestry. Tamarind (tamarindus indica) comes from the Arab word meaning: tamar hindi, that is, date from Hindusthan. O.Fr. tamarinde (15c.), from Arabic tamr hindi, lit. "date of India." First element cognate with Heb. tamar "palm tree, date palm." Naming a region based on flora is not uncommon. For example, jambu-dvi_pa comes from the word jambu which is a tree native to tropical regions of western Bharatam. There can be speculation if the word damira (early form of Dravida) is also related to 'tamar' palm (Hebrew). In Sus'ruta, the word used for trees with acid leaves is: amla-varga (flora such as lime , orange , pomegranate , tamarind , sorrel) . What could the etymology of the word amla be? In Munda, ti.tin, tentur-i means 'tamarind'.

Hanuman speaks to Sita in the language of the common man (ma_nus.am va_kyam arthavat)

Hanuman meets Sita (Ramayana Sundarakanda, in Indian art)

A thrilling moment in Bharatiya tradition and ethos is when Hanuman meets Sitadevi in As’okavana of Lanka and hands over the ring of S’rirama and assures Sitadevi that S’rirama is coming to take her back.

Hanuman deliberates on what language he should use while addressing Sita.

16 antaram tv aham āsādya rāks.asīnām iha sthitah
śanair āśvāsayis.yāmi santāpabahulām imām

17 aham hy atitanuś caiva vanaraś ca viśes.atah
vācam codāharis.yāmi mānus.īm iha samskr.tām
18 yadi vācam pradāsyāmi dvijātir iva samskr.tām
rāvan.am manyamānā mām sītā bhītā bhavis.yati
19 avaśyam eva vaktavyam mānus.am vākyam arthavat

mayā sāntvayitum śakyā nānyatheyam aninditā

“To win her ear with soft address

And whisper hope in dire distress

Shall I, with an extreme Vaanara body, choose

The Sanskrit men delight to use?

If as a man of Bra_hman.a kind

I speak the tongue by rules refined

The lady, yielding to her fears,

Will think ‘tis Ravana’s voice she hears.

I must assume my only plan –

The language of a common man.”

[Adapted from Ralph T. Griffith’s translation of Valmiki Ramayana – Book V, Canto XXX, Hanuman’s deliberation; Muir comments in Sanskrit Texts, Part II, p. 166: ‘(the reference to language of a common man) may perhaps be understood not as a language in which words different from Sanskrit were used, but the employment of formal and elaborate diction.’ Yes, indeed, Samskr.tam as aryavaacas was differentiated from Prakrit as mlecchavaacas only by formality and grammatical refinement of diction.]

In this passage, the reference to the language of a common man is a reference to mleccha- vaacas (Prakrit) as distinct from arya-vaacas (refined Samskr.tam which was the refined language spoken by Ravana, the Bra_hman.a king of Lanka).

Ma_nus.am va_kyam arthavat, ‘meaningful speech of the common man’, deliberated Hanuman and spoke to Sita in the lingua franca of the linguistic area. The objective of this work is to delineate such a language of the common man: mlecchavaacas (ja_tibha_s.a_).

The words bha_s.a_, va_cas are semantic cognates of the lexemes of Austric: basoG ‘to speak, to say’, basoG-bi ‘to answer (a call)’, just as the Austric word jel.jal is cognate with Tamil word col: jel, zel ‘to say, to speak, to answer: jel.jal, zel.zel ‘’to discuss, to converse’. The semantic cluster may be seen from the following lexemes of Bharatiya language family: semantic cluster ‘speak; language’: bha_s.a_ speech (Mn.); bha_sa_ speech, language (Pali. Pkt.); ba_s. word (Wg.); ba_s.a language (Dm.); bas. (Sh.); ba_s. (D..); bha_s' (Ku.); bha_s (N.B.Mth.); language (Konkan.i); bha_sa song (OG.); baha word, saying (Si.); bas, baha (Md.): dubha_siya_ interpreter (H.)(CDIAL 9479)

In the 64 arts listed by Vatsyayana in Vidyasamuddes’a, Nos.47, 48 and 49 relate to the art of communication:

The three arts to be learnt by the youth are related to communication in society:

The three arts relate to Communication systems of Ancient India: Sarasvati civilization heritage

(47) aksara-mustika-kathana--art of expressing letters/numbers with clenched hand and fingers. (48) mlecchita-vikalpa—cryptography, that is, writing system (e.g. mleccha hieroglyphs read rebus). This cryptography using mleccha language by Yudhishthira, Vidura and Khanaka (a mine worker) is described in Mahabharata jatugriha parva (shellac house with non-metallic killer devices).

(49) des’a-bhasha-jnaana—knowledge of spoken dialects or language study (mleccha is a spoken tongue, des’a-bhasha, dialect of indic language family)

Mlecchita Vikalpa (Cryptography: Vatsyayana, Mahabharata); Meluhha – Baloch

Meluhha lay to the east of Magan and linked wit carnelian and ivory. Carnelian! Gujarat was a carnelian source in the ancient world.

What was the language the sea-faring traders with Mesopotamia spoke? Mleccha, meluhhan. [quote] "Baloch" is the corrupted form of Melukhkha, Meluccha or Mleccha, which was the designation of the modern eastern Makkoran during the third and the second millennia B.C., according to the Mesopotamian texts.[J. Hansman, "A Periplus of Magan and Melukha", in BSOAS. London, 1973, p. 555; H.W. Bailey, "Mleccha, Baloc, and Gadrosia", in: BSOAS. No. 36, London, 1973, pp. 584-87.Also see, Cf. K. Kartrunen, India in Early Greek Literature. Studia Orientalia, no. 65,Helsinki: Finnish Oriental Society, 1989, pp. 13-14.] [unquote] Source: Baluchistan nationalism: its origin and development –balochwarna.org

Possehl locates meluhha in the mountains of Baluchistan and meluhhan use magilum-boat (Possehl, Gregory. Meluhha. in: J. Reade (ed.) The Indian Ocean in Antiquity. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996a, 133–208 sinda refers to date-palm. (cf. Landsberger, Die Welt des Orients 3. 261). Shu Ilishu’s personal cylinder seal showed him to be a translator of Meluhhan language. “Based on cuneiform documents from Mesopotamia we know that there was at least one Meluhhan village in Akkad at that time, with people called “Son of Meluhha” living there.…The presence in Akkad of a translator of the Meluhhan language suggests that he may have been literate and could read the undeciphered Indus script. This in turn suggests that there may be bilingual Akkadian/Meluhhan tablets somewhere in Mesopotamia. Although such documents may not exist, Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal offers a glimmer of hope for the future in unraveling the mystery of the Indus script.” ( G. Possehl, Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal.)

http://130.91.80.97:591/PDFs/48-1/What%20in%20the%20World.pdf

http://kalyan96.googlepages.com/brahui.pdf

Chronology and Contacts: Writing begins circa 3500 BCE

Early potters’ marks from Rehman Dheri ca. 3500-2600 BCE [After Durrani et al. 1995].

Early script from Harappa, ca. 3300-2600 BCE. [After Fig. 4.3 in JM Kenoyer, 1998].

Ravi potsherd with an early writing system (Harappa, 1998 find; after Kenoyer Slide 124).

“ca. 6500–2600 BCE Early Neolithic communities are gradually linked in extensive trading networks across the Sarasvati Sindhu Valley region. The period is characterized by the elaboration of ceramics, the beginning of s'ankha (turbinella pyrum) industry (Nausharo, 6500 BCE), copper metallurgy, stone bead making, and seal carving. The beginning of writing is seen in the form of graffiti on pottery from circa 3500 BCE. A more complicated writing system seems to have developed out of or in conjunction with this pottery-marking system; examples exist from around 2800 BCE. • ca. 2600–1400 BCE Numerous seals, some copper plates and a few weapons have been found featuring a complex writing system. A seal was found in Daimabad (1400 BCE) with the unique glyph of a rimmed, short-necked jar. Some images on these seals—of bulls, horned headdresses, and figures seated in yoga-like postures—possibly relate to later cultural and spiritual developments in Bharat and use of copper plate inscriptions for recording property/economic transactions.” (cf. Kenoyer opcit.)

Daimabad Sign342 (1395)kan.d.kanka ‘rim of pot’; rebus: kan.d. = a furnace, altar (Santali); kan- ‘copper’ (Ta.) Hence, kan.d. kanka ‘copper furnace’.

‘Fish’ glyph on gold pendant

A fish sign, preceded by seven short numeral strokes, also appears on a gold Golden pendant with inscription from jewelry hoard at Mohenjo-daro. Drawing of inscription that encircles the gold ornament. Needle-like pendant with cylindrical body. Two other examples, one with a different series of incised signs were found together. The pendant is made from a hollow cylinder with soldered ends and perforated point. Museum No. MM 1374.50.271; Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3. [After Fig. 4.17a, b in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 196].

‘Tree’ Field Symbol 44 (Tree) 28 out of 34 occur at Harappa

h352C Field Symbol 83 (Dotted circles) 57 out of 67 occur at Harappa

bali = iron stone sand (Santali) bal = to bore a hole, or to puncture, with a red ho iron (Santali) [Note: the dotted circle may denote rebus: bali ‘iron stone sand’.]

Tell Suleimeh (level IV), Iraq; IM 87798; (al-Gailani Werr, 1983, p. 49 No. 7). A fish over a short-horned bull and a bird over a one-horned bull; cylinder sea impression, (Akkadian to early Old Babylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawing by Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. Dominique Collon 1987, First impressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London: 143, no. 609] bai-li ‘bull’ rebus: bali ‘iron sand ore’; kola ‘fish’ rebus: kolimi ‘furnace, smithy’; damr.a ‘heifer’; ta(m)bra ‘copper’; bat.a ‘bird’; rebus: bat.a ‘kiln, furnace’.

m11352140 Pict-50 Composite animal: features of an ox and a rhinoceros facing the standard device. This seems to indicate that the lexeme connoting the young bull may have be cognate with a lexeme connoting a boar. badhia = castrated boar, a hog; bhator. sukri = a huge wild boar with large tusks; rata sukri = a boar in hunting parlance; sukri kud.u = a boar; datela sukri = a wide boar (Santali) bad.hi ‘a caste who work both in iron and wood’ (Santali)[i] bar.ae = a blacksmith; bar.ae kudlam = a country made hoe, in contrast to cala_ni kudlam, an imported hoe; bar.ae mer.ed – country smelted iron; bar.ae muruk = the energy of a blacksmith (Mundari.lex.) The occurrence of bari_ in Ash. (CDIAL 9464) and bar.ae in Mundari and of vardhaka in Skt. point to the early phonetic form: bard.a; semantic: worker in iron and wood, artisan. Thus, it is suggested that the depiction of the backbone, barad.o is rebus for bard.a, artisan. barduga = a man of acquirements, a proficient man (Ka.)

Thus, a svastika appears together with an elephant or a tiger. The 'svastika' is a  pictorial and also a sign Sign 148 Glyph: sathiya_ (Pkt.); rebus: satva 'zinc' (Ka.) Elephant: ib; rebus: ib 'iron'; Tiger: kol; rebus: kol 'pan~caloha alloy of metals'

It would be a surprise indeed if, in a writing system used ca. 5000 years ago, it was possible to compose sentences using just five signs.

Hundreds of inscribed texts on tablets are repetitions; it is, therefore, unlikely that hundreds of such inscribed tablets just contained the same ‘names’ composed of just five ‘alphabets’ or ‘syllables’, even after the direction of writing is firmed up as from right to left:

barad.u, bar-ad.u = an empty pot (Ka.lex.) bhala_n.d.e~ = the half-pot or the shard which, with fire in it, the gosa_yi_ or the gondhal.i_-people hold on their hand; gondhal.i_ are musicians and singers; gondhal. = a tumultuous festivity in propitiation of devi_ (M.lex.) bha_liyo = a waterpot (G.lex.) baran.i, baran.e = the trough of a water-lift; a china jar (Tu.lex.) bhara.ni_ = a cooking pot (G.) In the Punjab, the mixed alloys were generally called, bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin). In Bengal, an alloy called bharan or toul was created by adding some brass or zinc into pure bronze. Sometimes lead was added to make it soft. bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier; bharatar, bharatal, bharatal. = moulded; an article made in a mould; bharata = casting metals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in; to pour into (G.lex.)

kholoe, khaloi = a fish basket (Santali); kolli = a fish (Ma.); koleji id. (Tu.)(DEDR 2139).

xola_ = tail (Kur.); qoli = id. (Malt.)(DEDR 2135).

kol ‘tiger’ (Santali) ; ko_lupuli ‘tiger’ (Te.)

kol = pan~calo_kam (five metals) (Ta.lex.) kol, kolla a furnace (Ta.) kole.l smithy, temple in Kota village (Ko.); kwala.l Kota smithy (To.); konimi blacksmith; kola id. (Ka.); kolle blacksmith (Kod.); kollusa_na_ to mend implements; kolsta_na, kulsa_na_ to forge; ko_lsta_na_ to repair (of plough-shares); kolmi smithy (Go.); kolhali to forge (Go.)(DEDR 2133).] kolimi-titti = bellows used for a furnace (Te.lex.)

krammar-a = to turn, return (Te.); krammar-ilu, krammar-illu, krammar-abad.u = to turn, return, to go back; krammar-u = again; krammar-incu = to turn or send back (Te.lex.) [Note the glyph showing an antelope or a tiger turning back]. kraman.a = act of walking or going (G.lex.)

m1452Act m1452Bct2912 Rebus: kamar a semi-hinduised caste of blacksmiths; kamari the work of a blacksmith, the money paid for blacksmith work; nunak ato reak in kamarieda I do the blacksmith work for so many villages (Santali) ka_rma_ra = metalsmith who makes arrows etc. of metal (RV. 9.112.2: jarati_bhih os.adhi_bhih parn.ebhih s'akuna_na_m ka_rma_ro as'mabhih dyubhih hiran.yavantam icchati_) kammar a, kamma_ra, kammaga_ra, karma_ra, karmaka_ra, kammaga_ra, kamba_ra = one who does any business; an artisan, a mechanic; a blacksmith (Ka.); kamma_l.a = an artisan, an artificer: a blacksmith, a goldsmith (Ta.Ka.); a goldsmith (Ka.)(DEDR 1236).

A zebu bull tied to a post; a bird above. Large painted storage jar discovered in burned rooms at Nausharo, ca. 2600 to 2500 BCE. Cf. Fig. 2.18, J.M. Kenoyer, 1998, Cat. No. 8.

Adaru d.angra ‘zebu or brahmani bull’ (Santali) aduru ‘native metal’ (Ka.)

It appears that the person holding back the two rearing jackals on the tablet is a woman: ko_l ‘woman’ (Nahali); dual. ko_lhilt.el (Sudhibhushan Bhattacharya, Field-notes on Nahali, Ind. Ling. 17, 1957, p. 247); kola = bride, son’s (younger brother’s) wife (Kui) ko_l is a phonetic determinative of the two jackals, kol ‘tiger’; rebus: kol ‘metal’ (Ta.)

The decoding of ‘woman’ glyph on the tablet as a phonetic determinative of kol ‘tiger’ gains surprising validation from a ligatured terracotta image of a feline tiger with a woman’s face and headdress.

Feline figurine terracotta. A woman’s face and headdress are shown. The base has a hole to display it on a stick. (After JM Kenoyer/Courtesy Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Pakistan).

The phonemes and the associated glyph evoke a meaning: kol ‘metal’ (Ta.) kola = blacksmith (Ma.); kol, kollan- (Ta.); kolime, kulime, kolume = a fire-pit or furnace (Ka.); kolime id., a pit (Te.); kulume kanda_ya = a tax on blacksmiths (Ka.) kolimi titti = bellows used for a furnace (Te.)

Ancient language and ancient writing system

Elephant (ibha)

Tiger (kol)

Ibex, pair (ul.e, bar.ea)

Antelope (ranku)

Hayrick, pair (kundavum, bar.ea)

Buffalo (kad.a)

Rhino (kag)

M304A broken seal

Fragmentary horn seen on pedestal

Restored glyph (Huntington)

cu_l.a ‘tiger’s mane’

cu_d.a ‘bracelets’

krammara ‘look back’

Rebus: kamar ‘smith’

kampat.t.am ‘mint’

bar.ea ‘merchant, smith’

med. ‘iron, implements’

kol ‘pancaloha’

ib ‘iron’

kut.hi ‘smelter furnace’

cu_lha ‘furnace’

ula ‘furnace’kang ‘furnace’

ranga ‘pewter, tin alloy’

Penance (kamad.ha)

Royal paraphernalia (ur..a)

Head-dress (cu_d.a)

Bunch of twigs (ku_ti_)

Buffalo-horns twisted (mer.ha)

Horns (kot.)

Human face (muh)

Elephant (Ib)

Neck-band (ring) (kad.um)

M229 (Parpola sealing)

Feline Bovine: (kol) (mr..eka ‘antelope’)

kod. ‘workshop’

mu_ha ‘smelted ingot’

ib ‘iron’

kha_d. ‘trench, fire-pit’

kol ‘pancaloha’

milakkha ‘copper’

The validity of the semantic contours of archaic chandas will be proved by the mlecchita vikalpa, hieroglyphs used to record inscriptions of Sarasvati civilization. The underlying spoken tongue is mleccha, the dialect used by Vidura, Yudhishthira and Kanaka (the miner) in the Mahabharata. Mlecchita vikalpa means ‘alternative representation in writing system by mleccha speakers’.

The meluhhan is shown on the Akkadian cylinder seal carrying an antelope ; this is an artistic style of depicting a phonetic determinant for the word read rebus : meluhha :

mr..eka ‘antelope, goat’ (Te.) Meluhha-speaker, merchant.

He is a copper merchant/smith.

m229 (sealing), m1186a seal

Furnace, ingot

m229 (sealing), m1186a seal

m304A seal – Face shows a tiger’s mane: cu_l.a; rebus: cu_lha furnace (Pkt.)

mleccha-mukha (Skt.) = copper; milakkha (Pali) mu~hu~ = face (S.); rebus: mu_ha ‘smelted ingot’ [mũh opening or hole (in a stove for stoking, in a handmill for filling, in a grainstore for withdrawing)(Bi.)]