mlecchita vikalpa mleccha nighantu

8/8/2019 Mlecchita Vikalpa Mleccha Nighantu

1/238

Mlecchita vikalpa

-hieroglyptic nature of writing systemDr. S. Kalyanaraman

15 Sept. 2008

[email protected]://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97
mailto:[email protected]://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97http://sites.google.com/site/kalyan97mailto:[email protected]


2/238

BHARATAM JANAM R.gveda (r.ca 3.53.12) uses the term, 'bha_ratam janam', which can be

interpreted as 'bha_rata folk'. The r.s.i of the su_kta is vis'va_mitraga_thina. India was called Bha_ratavars.a after the king Bharata. (Va_yu33, 51-2; Bd. 2,14,60-2; Lin:ga 1,47,20,24; Vis.n.u 2,1,28,32).

ya ime rodasi_ ubhe aham indram atus.t.avamvisva_mitrasya raks.ati brahmedam bha_ratam janam

3.053.12 I have made Indra glorified by these two, heaven andearth, and this prayer of Vis'va_mitra protects the people ofBharata. [Made Indra glorified: indram atus.t.avam-- the verb isthe third preterite of the casual, I have caused to be praised; itmay mean: I praise Indra, abiding between heaven and earth, i.e.

in the firmament].


3/238

Bharatiyo Areas for further research: it is no coincidence that the term bharatiyo

means caster of metals (G.) Further linguistic studies to reconstruct the Proto-Bharatiyaparole (spoken

idiom) should relate to the work ofsren.i(18 guilds are mentioned inJa_taka-s) and links with megalithic cultures.

Further archaeological explorations in Sarasvati river basin and metallurgical

analysis is likely to reveal the early presence of iron-work andexperimentation with alloys in Bharat. Sociological studies related to Bha_ratam Janam (R.gveda) and

Pa_n~ca_la (five artisans = Pan~cakamma_l.ar) will establish the pan-bharatiya presence of the visvakarma and vra_tya tradition (together withyajn~a and yoga), also exemplified by saiva a_gama, all dating back to not

later than 5000 years Before Present. Knowledge systems of Bharat exemplified by Vedic, itiha_sa andpura_n.a

texts will provide the framework for inter-relating archaeology, tradition andcultural continuum in pun.yabhu_mi Bharat. This calls for a multi-disciplinaryapproach to the study of Bharatiya culture, based on Bharatiya ethos andka_la gan.ana using planetaria software to authenticate the astronomicalreferences in these texts. Such an approach will result in national


4/238

Bhart, an alloy

bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier;

bharatar, bharatal, bharatal. = moulded; anarticle made in a mould; bharata = castingmetals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in;to pour into (G.lex.) bhart = a mixed metal of

copper and lead; bhart-i_ya_ = a barzier,worker in metal; bhat., bhra_s.t.ra = oven,furnace (Skt.) bharata = a factitious metal

compounded of copper, pewter, tin (M.)


5/238

TYPES OF FURNACESLarge updraft kiln, Harappa(ca. 2400 BCE), found inMound E, 1984. (After Fig.8.8, Kenoyer, 1998).

A full-scale reconstruction ofthe ancient Harappan kiln.Harappa Archaeologcal

Research Facility used to firelarge storage jar, pottery andfigurine replicas. (After Fig.8.9, Kenoyer, 1998)

Mohenjodaro, DK-B, Cdumps. View of the slag withthe coated sub-cylindricalbowl enclosing the stonewarebangles in central position.(After Fig. 1, Massimo Vidale,

1984).


6/238

Number words, cultural history

T.ebra = three; tam(b)ra = copper

Rakha = a secret term for three (G.)

Barea = two; bar.ae = blacksmith Bhat.a = six; bhat.a = furnace, kiln


7/238

Akkadian. Cylinder seal Impression. Inscription records that it belongs to Su-ilisu,Meluhha interpreter, i.e., translator of the Meluhhan language(EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI) The Meluhhan being introduced carries an antelope on hisarm. Musee du Louvre. Ao 22 310, Collection De Clercq3rd millennium BCE. The

Meluhhan is accompanied by a lady carrying a kaman.d.alu. Since he needed aninterpreter, Meluhhan did not speak Akkadian. Antelope carried by the Meluhhan is ahieroglyph: mlekh goat (Br.); mr..eka (Te.); me_t.am (Ta.); mes.am (Skt.) Thus, thegoat conveys the message that the carrier is a Meluhha. A phonetic determinant.


8/238

Tin ingots found in a ship-wreck, Haifa incisedwith Sarasvati hieroglyphs

ran:ku = tin (Santali)

ran:ku= liquid measure (Santali)

ran:kua species of deer; ran:kuka (Skt.)(CDIAL10559). See middle glyph on copper plates m0522& m0516

ba_t.a = road (Te.); bat.a = kiln (Santali)

[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 andheld at the Smithsonian Institution and the

National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., March 14-15, 1977].


9/238

Substantive: dha_tu mineral (Vedic); a mineral, metal (Santali);dha_ta id. (G.) tan.t.ava_l.am = cast iron, iron rail, girder (Ta.);tan.d.ava_l.a cast iron (Ka.)(DEDR 3050).

d.a_t.o, da_t.oa plug, a cork, a stopple (G.) d.aren, ad.aren to cover up pot with lid (Bond.a); d.arai to cover (Bond.a.Hindi) 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 Sastris newinterpretation of the Amarakosa, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330)

ko_lupuli= Bengal tiger (Te.); kol= tiger (Santali) ko_la = woman (Nahali)kollan-ulai-k-ku_t.am blacksmith's workshop, smithy;ku_t.am horns; ku_t.am workshopkol metal (Ta.) kol = pan~calo_kam (five metals) (Ta.lex.)Six locks on the cu_d.a 'diadem, hairdress' of the woman can be read as a

hieroglyph: bhat.a = six (G.); rebus: bhat.a = furnace (Santali) Together with kol'tiger, woman'; rebus: kol 'metal of five alloys,pan~caloha'the glyph connotes:metal alloy furnace/workshop.

pota adj. six (used in secret conversation by merchants)(G.)

Feline figurine terracotta. A womans 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).

M0308, m1168, Signs 134-136


10/238

Ligatured tiger epigraph on aNal pot

The ligature on the Nal pot ca 2800 BC (Baluchisan: first settlement in southeastern Baluchistan was in the 4th millennium BC)is extraordinary: an eagle's head is ligatured to the body of a tiger. In BMAC area, the 'eagle' is a recurrent motif on seals.
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswatihttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati


11/238

11

90. Molded tablet.Plano convex molded tablet showing afemale deity battling two tigers andstanding above an elephant. A single Indus

script depicting a spoked wheel is abovethe head of the deity.

On the reverse (89), an individual isspearing a water buffalo with one foot

pressing the head down and one armholding the tip of a horn. A gharial [lizard?]is depicted above the sacrifice scene and afigure seated in yogic position, wearing ahorned headdress, looks on. The horned

headdress has a branch with three prongsor leaves emerging from the center.

Material: terra cotta Dimensions: 3.91 length, 1.5 to 1.62 cm widthHarappa, Lot 4651-01 Harappa Museum, H95-2486 Meadow andKenoyer 1997
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswatihttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswatihttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswatihttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati


12/238

SVASTIKA_, ENDLESS-KNOT


13/238

kod. = place where artisans work (G.lex.) kot.iyum = a wooden circle put roundthe neck of an animal; kot. = neck (G.lex.) ko_t.u = horns (Ta.) ko_d.iya, ko_d.e

= young bull

m0296 Two heads of one-horned bulls

with neck-rings, joined end to end (to astandard device with two rings coming

out of the top part?), under a stylizedtree with nineleaves.

Zebu and leaves. In front of thestandard device and the stylized tree ofleaves, are the black buck antelopes.

Black paint on red ware of Kulli style.Mehi. Second-half of 3rd millenniumBCE. [After G.L. Possehl, 1986, Kulli:an exploration of an ancient civilization

in South Asia, Centers of Civilization, I,

Durham, NC: 46, fig. 18 (Mehi II.4.5),based on Stein 1931: pl. 30.

lo iron (Assamese, Bengali); loa iron (Gypsy)

Glyph:lo = nine (Santali); no = nine (B.) on-patu =nine (Ta.)


14/238

Allographs of a leaf sign, ligature with crab sign [After Parpola, 1994, fig. 13.15] Thearcher shown on one copper tablet seems to be equivalent to a glyph on anothercopper plate -- that of ligatured U (rimless wide-mouthed pot) with leaves and crabsclaws.

The archer shown on one copper tablet seems to be a synonym of the leavesligatured with crab on another copper tablet since the inscription on the obverse ofeach of the tablets is identical. [cf. Parpola, 1994, fig. 13.13] This ligatured signappears on two seals- one from Harappa and another from Lothal. Leaves ligatured

with crab is a sign which occurs on these seals and with similar sign sequences. [cf.Parpola, 1994, fig. 13.12]

kamat.ha crab (Skt.)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.)

kamar.kom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmar.a_(Has.), kamar.kom

(Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.) kamat.ha = fig leaf,

religiosa (Skt.)

bat.a = wide-mouthed pot; bat.a = kiln (Te.)

kammat.a = portable furnace (Te.) kampat.t.am coiner, mint (Ta.)ka~_kr.a_crab (K.) ka~_gar = portable furnace (K.)


15/238

M1540 copper tabletAllographs of a leaf sign, ligature with crab sign [After Parpola, 1994,fig. 13.15]

Provenance: 1. Bronze age site,Kalenao near the Turkmenifrontier, North West Afghanistan.Commentary: While numerousIndus Valley stamp seals areknown (cf. MS 2394), this is theonly known cylinder seal (MS

2645) with the hithertoundeciphered Indus Valley script.Furthermore, this is the onlyknown document linking togetherover land two of the greatcivilisations of the Old Akkadian

period in Mesopotamia and theIndus Valley. Sea-borne trade hasbeen known for a long time, anddocumented in practical terms bythe Norwegian explorer andscientist, Thor Heyerdahl, in his

expedition with the reed boat,Tigris, in 1977.

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 chipof bamboo (G.) ka_mat.hiyo abowman; an archer (Skt.lex.)

Hieroglyph 1 (from left): glyph: tree rebus: smelting furnace


16/238

Hieroglyph 1 (from left): glyph: tree, rebus: smelting furnace kut.hi kut.a, kut.i, kut.ha a tree (Kaus'.); kud.a tree (Pkt.); kur.a_ tree; kar.ek tree, oak (Pas;.)(CDIAL 3228).

kut.ha, kut.a (Ka.), kudal (Go.)kudar. (Go.) kut.ha_ra, kut.ha, kut.aka = a tree (Skt.lex.) kut., kurun: =stump of a tree (Bond.a); khut. = id. (Or.) kut.a, kut.ha = a tree (Ka.lex.) gun.d.ra = a stump; khun.t.ut = astump of a tree left in the ground (Santali.lex.) kut.amu = a tree (Te.lex.)

kut.i, smelting furnace (Mundari.lex.).kut.hi, kut.i (Or.; Sad. kot.hi) (1) the smelting furnace of theblacksmith; kut.ire bica duljad.ko talkena, they were feeding the furnace with ore; (2) the name of e_kut.i hasbeen given to the fire which, in lac 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 smeltingfurnace of the blacksmith is made of mud, cone-shaped, 2 6 dia. At the base and 1 6 at the top. The holein the centre, into which the mixture of charcoal and iron ore is poured, is about 6 to 7 in dia. At the base ithas two holes, a smaller one into which the nozzle of the bellow is inserted, as seen in fig. 1, and a largerone on the opposite side through which the molten iron flows out into a cavity (Mundari.lex.)

Hieroglyph 3 glyph: spear rebus: furnace s'u_la = spear (Skt.) cul.l.ai = potters kiln, furnace (Ta.); cu_l.ai furnace, kiln, funeral pile (Ta.); cul.l.a potters furnace; cu_l.a

brick kiln (Ma.); culli_ fireplace (Skt.); culli_, ulli_ id. (Pkt.)(CDIAL 4879; DEDR 2709). sulgao, salgao to light

a fire; sen:gel, sokol fire (Santali.lex.) hollu, holu = fireplace (Kuwi); sod.u fireplace, stones set up as afireplace (Mand.); ule furnace (Tu.)(DEDR 2857). Hieroglyph 4 glyph: peak mounted by a rimless pot rebus: furnace ku_t.a = peak (Telugu) bat.a = rimless pot (Kannada) ku_t.am = workshop (Tamil); bat.a = furnace (Santali) bhra_s.t.ra = furnace (Skt.) Hieroglyph 5 glyph: tree (as shown on hieroglyph 1) with a rim of a jar and a quail ligatured on the

branches of tree

kut.i = tree; rebus: kut.i = smelting furnace. kan.d. kanka = rim of jar (Santali); kan.d. = fire-altar (Santali); kan = copper (Tamil) bat.a = quail (Santali) bat.a = furnace (Santali) bhra_s.t.ra = furnace (Skt.) Hieroglyph 2 and hieroglph 6: kos.t.ha_ga_ra, a pair of storehouses Thus the line 1 is a hieroglyphic representation of facilities provided to artisan guilds, itinerant metalsmiths at the tri-junction of three highways.

Date? Pre-Mauryan, that is first millennium BCE


17/238

.kos.t.ha_ga_ra (dva_ra kot.t.haka); the two storehouses described astri-garbha (i.e. having three rooms) are illustrated on line 1. (Fleet,JRAS, 1907). The illustrations indicate that the three rooms are inthree storeys, with supporting pillars clearly seen. The inscriptionrefers to the junction of three highways named Manavati, in twovillages called Dasilimita and Usagama. The storehouses were madeat this junction for the goods of people using the highways, which areindicated in line 3 by mentioning the three places to and from whichthey 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)

Fifth sign from left is a rimmed, short-necked jar (Sign 342, Daimabadseal, which has the most-frequent, 1,395 occurrences on epigraphs).Sign 342, 417 and punch-mark symbols, pre-mauryan

kan.d.kanka = rim of jar; rebus: kan- copper, kan.d. furnace(Santali)

kut.i= tree; rebus: kut.hi = smelting furnace; kos.t.ha_ga_ra =storehouse; s'u_la= spear; cu_l.a = kiln; bat.a = quail; rebus:bat.a kiln.

kallan mason (Ma.); kalla glass beads (Ma.); kalustone (Kond.a);xalid., boulder (Br.)(DEDR1298). kala stag, buck (Ma.); kal a.r. Nilgiri ibex (Ko.); kalaistag, buck, male black monkey

(Ta.); kalan:kompustags horn (Ta.)(DEDR 1312)Stmp seal, large ibex walking left. Black steatite or chlorite, North Syria or Anatolia, 4th millennium BC, 1 rectangular gabled


18/238

Epigraph on copper plate

h1018a: copper

plate

m297a:Seal


19/238

1.Finely burnished gold fillet(headband) with holes at bothends to hold a cord. Each end isdecorated with a punctuateddesign of standard device. 42 x1.4 cm. Mohenjodaro Museum,

MM 1366; Marshall 1931:220.527. Pl. CXVIII, 14 (forpunctuated design)

2. Detail of gold fillet withpunctuated design of standard

device at both ends of the gold


20/238

pa_slo = a nugget of gold or silver having the form of a die (G.) pasaramu, pasalamu =an animal, a beast, a brute, quadruped (Te.lex.) Thus, the depiction of animals in

epigraphs is related to smithy, pasra.Kalibangan 058 seal

pasra = a smithy, a place where a blacksmith works; to doa blacksmiths work; kamar pasrat.hene sen akantalea =our man has gone to the smithy; pasrao lagao (or ehop)akata = he (the blacksmith) has started his work (Santali);pan~ja_va_, pa~ja_va_= brick kiln (P.); pa~_ja_ kiln (B.);paja_vo (G.)(CDIAL 7686).

Kolom = paddy plant (Santali)Kolimi = furnace (Telugu)

Tagara = taberna montana (Skt.)

Takaram = tin (Tamil)sa~gad. = lathe component (drill);saghad.i_, s'aghad.i = a pot for holding fire (G.)


21/238

More than 1,000 epigraphs contain the following glyphs:s'agad.i_ (G.) = lathe san:ga_d.o a lathe; sa~gha_d.iyo a worker on a lathe(G.lex.) sa~gad. part of a turner's apparatus (M.); sa~_ga_d.i_lathe (Tu.)(CDIAL12859).san:gatara_s'u_= stone cutter (S.)

h196b tablet portable furnace carried on shoulder

san:gha_d.o, saghad.i_(G.)= firepan; saghad.i_, s'aghad.i =

a pot for holding fire (G.)[cula_ sagad.i_portable hearth (G.)]See Seal m029 and Pectoral

Sign 213 also occurs on punch-marked coins san:gad.i= joined animals (M.) See Bet Dwaraka Sankha seal ko_t.u= horns (Ta.)

kod. = artisans workshop (Kuwi)

kamarsa_la = waist band; rebus: kamarsa_la workshop ofsmith Te.

Ur cylinder seal impression (cut down into Ur III mausolea


22/238

Sign 169 takaram tin, white lead, metal sheet, coated with tin (Ta.); tin, tinned ironplate (Ma.); tagarm tin (Ko.); tagara, tamara, tavara id. (Ka.) tamaru, tamara, tavaraid. (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).

Scorpion: Sign 51 kaca kupi scorpion (Santali) Rebus kacc = iron (Go.); kan~cu =bronze (Te.)

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

Ur cylinder seal impression (cut down into Ur III mausolea

from Larsa level; U. 16220), Iraq.BM 122947; enstatite;

Legrain, 1951, No. 632; Collon, 1987, Fig. 611. Source: Editors of

Time-Life Books, 1994,Ancient India: Land of Mystery, p. 12.

t.agara = taberna montana (Skt.) This is a flower, tagaraka, used as

a hair-fragrance (Skt.) and hence is also depicted on a bonecomb.

Inscribed Ravi sherd (1998 find at Harappa: Kenoyer and Meadow); the

sherd contains the same sign (ca. 3300 BCE).

Bone comb with Mountain Tulip motif and dotted

circles. TA 1649 Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates.


23/238

Cylinder-seal impression from Ur showing

a squatting female. L. Legrain, 1936, Urexcavations, Vol. 3, Archaic SealImpressions.

Tablet in bas-relief h180a Pict-106:Nude female figure upside down withthighs drawn apart and crab (?)issuing from her womb.

kaca kupi = scorpion (Santali)


24/238

kaca kupi = scorpion (Santali)

Rebus: kacc = iron (Go.); kan~cu = bronze (Te.)

salae sapae = untangled, combed out, hair hanging loose (Santali.lex.)

h 180A,B tabletRahman-dheri01A and B Rhd1:Two scorpions flanking a frog and a sign Twith two holes on the top, possibly to be tied on a stringbara_s carpenter's forked instrument (Tu.lex.) parasu axe (Pali.Pkt.)Rebus: sa_la = workshop (B.)

sapap = arms, tools, implements, instruments, gear; sendra reak sapap = gear forhunting; raj mistri reak sapap = the tools of a mason; kurta rorok reak sapap = the toolswith which to sew a coat (Santali)

kut.hi = the pubes (lower down than pan.d.e) (Santali.lex.) Rebus: kut.ikiln (Santali) Cylinder-seal impression from Ur showing a

squatting female. L. Legrain, 1936, Ur

excavations, Vol. 3, Archaic Seal Impressions.

M0592 double-axe shown on a copper plate, which

depicts a double-axe identical to the one unearthed

in Sumer, Mesopotamia, ca. 3000 BC

Chanhudaro 23 seal: double-axe shown in front of

antelope

P i t i b id d h l ith i ht


25/238

Priest, wearing an embroidered shawl, with right-shoulder bare and a neatly-trimmed beard (with metalrazor?)

Warrior carrying weapons, Maris, Mesopotamia whichhad trade contacts with Sarasvati Civilization

Harappa. Copper/bronze dagger with inscription(satthiya_= dagger, knife Pkt.)Copper from the mines in Rajasthan; was alloyed with tin

and arsenic, to yield bronze and brass metals


26/238

Tell Abraq comb and axe withepigraph[After Fig. 7 in: Holly Pittman, 1984,Art of the Bronze Age: Southeastern Iran, Western Central

Asia, and the Indus Valley, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 29-30].Bone comb with Mountain Tulip motif and dotted circles. TA 1649Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates.

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


27/238

ca. 65002600 BCE Early Neolithic communities are graduallylinked in extensive trading networks across the Sarasvati SindhuValley region. The period is characterized by the elaboration ofceramics, the beginning of s'ankha (turbinella pyrum) industry(Nausharo, 6500 BCE), copper metallurgy, stone bead making, andseal carving. The beginning of writing is seen in the form of graffiti onpottery from circa 3500 BCE. A more complicated writing systemseems to have developed out of or in conjunction with this pottery-marking system; examples exist from around 2800 BCE.

ca. 26001400 BCE An integrated urban culture flourishes in thenorthwest, producing large-scale settlements with advanced grid-

pattern urban planning and an abundance of material remains,including terracotta, metal, stone sculpture, seals, and coins. Largecities such as Mohenjo Daro and Harappa in present-day Pakistanprosper through trade with cultures to the west, and smallersettlements expand through the plains of present-day Pakistan andNorthern Bharat. Numerous seals, some copper plates and a fewweapons have been found featuring a complex writing system. A

seal was found in Daimabad (1400 BCE) with the unique glyph of arimmed, short-necked jar. Some images on these sealsof bulls,horned headdresses, and figures seated in yoga-like posturespossibly relate to later cultural and spiritual developments in Bharatand use of copper plate inscriptions for recording property/economic

transactions.

y p pp [ g y ]

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

al. 1995].


28/238

Steatite seal showing boat, Mohenjodaro.Sindhu River near Mohenjodaro. Boat and cart still plying here.24. Moulded tablet, Mohenjo-daro.

Three sided molded tablet. One side shows a flat bottomed boat with a central hut that has leafy fronds at the top of two poles. Two birds sit onthe deck and a large double rudder extends from the rear of the boat. On the second side is a snout nosed gharial with a fish in its mouth. Thethird side has eight symbols of the Indus script.

Material: terra cotta Dimensions: 4.6 cm length, 1.2 x 1.5 cm width Mohenjo-daro, MD 602 Islamabad Museum, NMP 1384Dales 1965a: 147, 1968: 39

22. Toy carts, Nausharo.

Terra cotta toy carts from the Harappan period site of Nausharo in Baluchistan. Holes along the length of the cart serve to hold wooden sidebars and at the center of the cart two of the wooden side bars can be extended below the frame to hold the axle. A long stick inserted into theholes at the end of the cart would have been used to support a yoke. The two wheels were found lying next to the cart frame. Period III,

Harappan, 2300-2200 B. C. Similar carts are still used in rural areas of Pakistan and India ( #2).Material: terra cotta Dimensions: Larger cart - 17 cm length, 8 cm width, 1.2 cm thickness; Wheel - 7 cm dia., 1.2 cm thickness Nausharo,NS/88/IV [Accession Number with year] Department of Archaeology, Karachi, EBK 6916 Jarrige 1990: XVa
http://www.harappa.com/indus/37.htmlhttp://www.harappa.com/indus/41.htmlhttp://www.harappa.com/indus/40.htmlhttp://www.harappa.com/indus/40.htmlhttp://www.harappa.com/indus/41.htmlhttp://www.harappa.com/indus/37.html


29/238

Photo of a cephalopod fossil. http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/earthsci/imagearchive/fossils.htm Thecoiled end of the cephalopod is mirrored on a makara glyph composition.Makara Bharhut, c. 100 BC Indian Museum, Calcutta Something of the origin of the makara, or atleast its early composition in India, can be seen here. The water beast, confined beneath a ledgewith kneeling rams that represent the realm of land, is pictured here with the snout of a crocodile,

the head and forequarters of an elephant, the body of a snake, and the fins and tail of a fish.http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/calcutta/cm13.htmlThe shell component of this motif may be read as: ha_ngi snail (K.); sa~_khi possessing or madeof shells (B.); ho~gi pearl oyster shell, shell of any aquatic mollusc (K.); ha_ngi snail (K.)(CDIAL12380). gongha = snails shell (Santali). Cf. conch (English). Cypraea moneta or a cowrie used as acoin. Rebus: kangar portable furnace (K.) A possible depiction of a kaula mangra blacksmithworking with sankha shell and and indicaton of jhasa fish; rebus: jasa prosperity, fame. Kaulo-

mengro, s. A blacksmith; Kaulo ratti. Black blood, Gypsy blood (Gypsy). Kerri mangro 'workman'(Gypsy) Kahlo / Kahli / Kahle Black (male / female / Plural) (From Punjabi - 'Kahla' / 'Kahli' /'Kahle') Spanish Romma call themselves 'Kahla' http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1 Pa. makara -- m. `sea -- monster'; Pk. magara-- , mayara m. `shark', Si. muvara, mora, Md. miyaru. -- NIA. forms with -- g -- ( e.g. H. G. magar m.`crocodile') or -- ng (S. mangar -- macho m. `whale', manguro m. `a kind of sea fish' } Bal. mangar`crocodile') are loans from Pk. or Sk. or directly from non -- Aryan sources from which these came,

e.g. Sant. mangar `crocodile'.
http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/earthsci/imagearchive/fossils.htmhttp://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/glossary1.htmlhttp://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/calcutta/cm13.htmlhttp://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.gypsyjournal.com/ForumReply.asp?ForumID=1http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/calcutta/cm13.htmlhttp://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/glossary1.htmlhttp://www.gc.maricopa.edu/earthsci/imagearchive/fossils.htm


30/238

Structure, form and function of epigraphs Epigraphs are composed of Sarasvati hieroglyphs They are recorded on:

Seals Tablets Bangles (See Bagalkot 06 bangle) Gold pendants Copper plates, copper or silver seals Weapons Also made in the round (standard device, tigress ligatured to a woman)

Epigraphs may contain only pictographs or just one or two signs (which arealso glyphs)

The hieroglyphs connote vital possessions of bharatiyo (casters of metal) asthe civilization emerged from chalcolithic to the bronze (alloy) phase arevolutionary advance which enabled manufacture of ploughshares, otherhard metallic weapons and tools

Language was meluhha/mleccha (lit. copper); writing was mlecchita vikalpa(one of 64 arts detailed by Va_tsya_yana); the writing of copper metal

workers! Two famous speakers of mleccha were: Vidura (younger brother ofDhr.tara s.t.ra and Yudhis.t.hira in the Mahabharata

Rebus: cul.l.ai = potters kiln, furnace (Ta.); cu l.ai furnace, kiln, funeral pile (Ta.);


31/238

Rebus: potter s kiln, furnace (Ta.); cu_l.ai furnace, kiln, funeral pile (Ta.);cul.l.a potters furnace; cu_l.a brick kiln (Ma.); culli_ fireplace (Skt.); culli_, ulli_ id.(Pkt.)(CDIAL 4879; DEDR 2709). sulgao, salgao to light a fire; sen:gel, sokol fire(Santali.lex.) hollu, holu = fireplace (Kuwi); sod.u fireplace, stones set up as afireplace (Mand.); ule furnace (Tu.)(DEDR 2857).Rebus: kut.hi = furnace (Santali)Rebus: kunda_rturner (A.); ku~da_r, ku~da_ri (B.); kunda_ru (Or.); kundau to turnon a lathe, to carve, to chase; kundau dhiri = a hewn stone; kundau murhut = agraven image (Santali) kunda a turner's lathe (Skt.)(CDIAL 3295)

An orthographic representation is provided by the following

ligatured glyphs: (1) cu_d.a_, bracelets, a number of other phoneticdetrminatives are used in the orthography of the horned,seated person: (2) cu_d.a_, cu_la_, cu_liya_ tigers mane(Pkt.) [note the mane on the face]; (3) cu_d.a, head-dress].

Mane ul.a (IL 1240)

ur..a = kings paraphernalia (Ma.)

The face is depicted with bristles of hair, representing atigers mane.

cu_d.a_, cu_la_, cu_liya_ tigers mane (Pkt.)(CDIAL 4883) ku_ti_ = bunch of twigs (Skt.)

kundavum = manger, a hayrick (G.)


32/238

kilns cu_l.a and kut.hi, what else? kun.d.i_ = crooked buffalo horns (L.)

kun.d.i_= chief of village. kun.d.i-a = village headman; leaderof a village (Pkt.lex.) I.e. sren.i jet.t.ha chief of metal-workerguild.

khagrhinoceros; rebus: kan:g brazier (K.) ran:ga_ buffalo; ran:ga pewter or alloy of tin (ran:ku), lead

(na_ga) and antimony (an~jana)(Santali) ibha elephant (Skt.); ib iron (Santali) ten:go stand upright; ka_t.ibody; tan:kam gold, ka_t.hi

furnace

koltiger (Santali); da_t.uleap (Te.); kol pan~caloha (Ta.);dha_tu mineral (Skt.)

mlekh antelope(Br.); milakku copper (Pali) kan.d. kanka rim of short-necked jar; copper fire-altar (Santali)

bed.a fish; bed.a hearth


33/238

One side of a triangular terracotta tablet (Md 013); surface find at Mohenjo-daro in 1936. Dept.

of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

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.); kampat.t.tam coinage, coin (Ta.)

kamat.ha_yo = a learned carpenter or mason, working on scientific principles;

kamat.ha_n.a [cf. karma, ka_m, business + stha_na, tha_n.am, a place fr. Skt. stha_ to

stand] arrangement of ones business; putting into order or managing ones business

(G.lex.)


34/238

Tree, bunch of twigs; musk-rat

The bunch of twigs = ku_di_, ku_t.i_(Skt.lex.) ku_di_ (also written as ku_t.i_ inmanuscripts) occurs in the Atharvaveda (AV 5.19.12) and Kaus'ika Su_tra(Bloomsfield's ed.n, xliv. cf. Bloomsfield, American Journal of Philology, 11, 355;12,416; Roth, Festgruss an Bohtlingk, 98) denotes it as a twig. This is identified asthat of Badari_, the jujube tied to the body of the dead to efface their traces. (SeeVedic Index, I, p. 177).

Three-faced, horned person (with a three-leaved pipal branch on the crown with twostars on either side), wearing bangles and armlets. Two stars adorn the curvedbuffalo horns of the seated person with a plaited pigtail. The pigtail connotes a pitfurnace:

Substantive: sund pit (furnace); sum, sumbh a mine, a pit, the opening into a mine,the shaft of a mine; sum bhugak the entrance to a mine, pits mouth (Santali). sun.d.ia semi-hinduised aboriginal caste; this caste are the distillers and liquor sellers;sun.d.i gadi a liquor shop (Santali) cun.d. to boil away (Ko.); sun.d.u to evaporate(Ka.); cun.d.uto be evaporated or dried up (Te.); sun.t.hito become dry (Skt.)(DED2662).

Glyph: su_nd gat. knot of hair at back (Go.); cundi_ the hairtail as worn by men

(Kur.)(DEDR 2670). = -


35/238

35

era, er-a = eraka = ?nave; erako_lu = the iron axle of acarriage (Ka.M.); cf. irasu (Ka.lex.) [Note Sign 391 andits ligatures Signs 392 and 393 may connote a spoked-wheel, nave of the wheel through which the axle

passes; cf. ara_, spoke] eraka, era, er-a = syn. erka,copper, weapons.

erka = ekke (Tbh. ofarka) aka (Tbh. ofarka)copper(metal); crystal (Ka.lex.) cf. eruvai = copper

(Ta.lex.) eraka, er-aka = any metal infusion (Ka.Tu.);erako molten cast (Tu.lex.) kolhe (iron-smelter; kolhuyo, jackal) kol, kollan-, kollar= blacksmith (Ta.lex.)

kamsa = to jump (Santali) Jumping tiger: kamsa kol


36/238

89. Molded tablet.Plano convex molded tablet showing an individual spearing a water buffalo

with one foot pressing the head down and one arm holding the tip of a horn.A gharial (or lizard?) is depicted above the sacrifice scene and a figureseated in yogic position, wearing a horned headdress, looks on. The hornedheaddress has a branch with three prongs or leaves emerging from thecenter.

O n the reverse (90), a female deity is battling two tigers and standingabove an elephant. A single Indus script depicting a spoked wheel is abovethe head of the deity.

Material: terra cotta Dimensions: 3.91 length, 1.5 to 1.62 cm widthHarappa, Lot 4651-01 Harappa Museum, H95-2486Meadow and Kenoyer 1997
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


37/238

damra = heifer, young bull, steer (G.); rebus: tambra = copper (Skt.)damad.i_(H.) damr.i, dambr.i = one eighth of a copper pice (Santali)

homa = bison (Pengo); rebus: hom = gold (Ka.); soma = electrum, gold-silvercompound ore (RV)

bat.a = quail; rebus: bat.a = kiln (Santali); bat.a = a kind of iron (G.); bed.a =fish (Santali); rebus: bed.a = hearth (G.) barea = two, a pair; rebus: bar.ae =

blacksmith (Santali) 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 aone-horned bull; cylinder seal impression, (Akkadian to earlyOld Babylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawingby Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. Dominique Collon 1987, Firstimpressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London:143, no. 609]

Tree in front. Fish in front of and above a one-horned bull.Cylinder seal impression (IM 8028), Ur, Mesopotamia. Whiteshell. 1.7 cm. High, dia. 0.9 cm. [Cf. T.C. Mitchell, 1986, Indusand Gulf type seals from Ur in: Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa andMichael Rice, 1986, Bahrain through the ages: the archaeology,London: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112]. "No.7...A bull, unhumped, ofthe so-called 'unicorn' type, raises his head towards a simplifiedversion of a tree, and two uncertain objects, one a sort of trefoil,are shown above his back. Under his head is an unmistakablecharacter of the Indus script, the 'fish' with cross-hatchings..."(C.J. Gadd, Seals of Ancient Indian Style Found at Ur', in: G.L.Possehl, ed., 1979, Ancient Cities of the Indus, Delhi, Vikas

Th b (b h b ll) i d d (S t li) b d ti t l (K )


38/238

The zebu (bra_hman. bull) is: ad.ar d.an:gra (Santali); rebus: aduru native metal (Ka.)ayir= iron dust, any ore (Ma.)

aduru = gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru= ore taken from the mine and notsubjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddha_nti Subrahman.ya Sastris new

interpretation of the Amarakosa, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330)

d.han:garblacksmith (WPah.) The bull is tied to a post. tambu= pillar (G.); stambha id.(Skt.) Rebus: tamba= copper (Santali) tamire = the pin in the middle of a yoke (Te.)Rebus: ta_marasamu= copper, gold (Te.) tibira = copper (Akkadian); tambra (Skt.)bat.a = quail; bat.a = kiln (Santali) 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.

Twig is worn as a head-dress; the body is ligatured tothe hindpart of a bull (h178b tablet)

d.ha~_gar., dha~_garblacksmith; digger of wells (H.)

ad.arutwig; ad.iri small and thin branch of a tree; ad.arismall branches (Ka.); ad.arutwig (Tu.)(DEDR 67). adar= splinter (Santali); rebus: adaru = native metal (Ka.)

d.hagara_m pl. the buttocks; the hips (G.lex.)

M1224d,e two sides of a seal


39/238

Standard device and otherglyphs on punch-marked coins


40/238

[After: Savita Sharma, 1990, Early Indian Symbols: Numismatic evidence, Delhi, Agam

Kala Prakashan]

[Pl. 2, N: Sahet-Mahet punch-marked coins symbols]

Pl. 5, A to C, Amaravati punch-marked coin symbols]

[Pl. 5, E, Uninscribed cast coins]


41/238

Silver bent-bar shows Sign 162arranged at the end of spokes of awheel; kolmo = rice plant (Santali)kolime = smithy (Ka.)

Imperial series

Asmaka janapada


42/238

ku_t.amu = summit of a mountain (Te.lex.) Rebus: ku_t.akamu =mixture (Te.lex.) ku_t.am = workshop (Ta.) The Sign 230 thusconnotes an alloyed metal, ku_t.a [e.g. copper + dha_tu

mineral (ore) as in: a_raku_t.a = brass (Skt.)]

d.ato claws or pincers (chelae) of crabs; d.at.om to seize withthe claws or pincers, as crabs, scorpions (Santali) dat.hi, dat.ithe petioles and mid-ribs of a compound leaf after

the leaflests have been plucked off, stalks of certain plants, asIndianc orn, after the grain has been taken off (Santali)

Substantive: dha_tu mineral (Vedic); a mineral, metal(Santali); dha_ta id. (G.) tan.t.ava_l.am = cast iron, iron rail,girder (Ta.); tan.d.ava_l.a cast iron (Ka.)(DEDR 3050).

Seal impression, Ur(Upenn; U.16747); [After Edith Porada, 1971, Remarks on seals found in


43/238

An unmistakable example of an 'hieroglyphic' seal. ko_l. planet (Ta.).Rebus: kol = metal (Ta.) Sign 12 (80) kut.i water carrier (Te.)kut.hi = kiln (Santali)

Enclosure signs of the field: ( ) kut.ila = bent, crooked (Skt.Rasaratnasamuccaya, 5.205) Humpbacked kud.illa (Pkt.)

kut.ila, katthi_l = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) [cf. a_ra-ku_t.a,brass (Skt.)

Rebus: kut.hikol = metal alloys furnace.kut.i, kut.hi, kut.a, kut.ha a tree (Kaus'.); kud.a tree (Pkt.); kur.a_ tree;kar.ektree, oak (Pas;.)(CDIAL 3228). kut.ha, kut.a (Ka.), kudal (Go.)kudar. (Go.) kut.ha_ra, kut.ha, kut.aka = a tree (Skt.lex.) kut., kurun:= stump of a tree (Bond.a); khut. = id. (Or.) kut.amu= a tree (Te.lex.)

Molded terracotta tablet showing a tree with branches; the stem

emanates from a platform (ingot?). Harappa. (After JMKenoyer/Courtesy Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of

the Gulf States.Artibus Asiae 33 (4): 331-7: pl.9, fig.5]; Parpola, 1994, p. 183; water carrier with

a skin (or pot?) hung on each end of the yoke across his shoulders and another one below the

crook of his left arm; the vessel on the right end of his yoke is over a receptacle for the water; a

star on either side of the head (denoting supernatural?). The whole object is enclosed by

'parenthesis' marks. The parenthesis is perhaps a way of splitting of the ellipse (Hunter, G.R.,JRAS, 1932, 476). m1405At Pict-97: Person standing at the center pointing with his right hand at

a bison facing a trough, and with his left hand pointing to the sign


44/238

krammar-ucu krammarincu = to turn back (Te ) *kamra


45/238

krammar-ucu, krammarincu = to turn back (Te.) kamra= the back (Skt.); krem = the back (Kho.)(CDIAL 2776).

M1452 copper plate; molded tablet, harappa: antelope and tigerlook back (mlekh goat (Br.); rebus: milakku copper (Pali);mleccha copper (Skt.); koltiger (Santali); rebus: kol metal

alloy,pan~caloha(Ta.) Turning back is an artistic device to represent rebus:kamma_ra, smith, artisan: kol kamma_l.a, milakkukamma_l.a i.e., alloy-smith, or copper-smith

kamara semi-hinduised caste of blacksmiths; kamari the work of a

blacksmith, the money paid for blacksmith work; nunak ato reak inkamarieda 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_roas'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.)

got. = one (Santali) Rebus: got.i = silver


46/238

got. one (Santali) Rebus: got.i silver(G.)

khuro (N.) head of a spear; ks.ura (RV.)

kuro silver (Kol.Nk.Go.)(DEDR 1782). homa = bison (Kuwi) hom = gold (Ka.)

ka_t.hi= body; Rebus: ka_t.i = furnace

Glyph: ten:go, ten:gon = to stand, uprightposition (Santali)

t.he~ga_ = stick

Rebus: tan:kam =gold (Ta.) t.an:ka = mint(Skt.)

Substantive: t.a_n:gi stone chisel (A.);t.en:goc = small axe (Santali) tega a

cutlass, scimitar (Santali) tahnai to

m1283


47/238

H172b, Stone sculpture of monitor lizard (Dholavira), m0301

a~s = scales of fish

(Santali); rebus: aya =iron (G.); ayah, ayas =metal (Skt.)

kuduru= lizard (Santali)

Rebus: kuduru = agoldsmith's portablefurnace; kudul.l.u (pl.)(Te.lex.) kudrutop offireplace (Kuwi)(DEDR

1709).

m1187 kudura wall (Ka.)

This is a frequently occurring pairof signs: Sign 342 (164), Sign 48(114); the pair occurs als on 13copper tablets together with thelizard glyph as on h172b coppertablet

Sign 48: barad.o = spine, thebackbone, back (G.)

Sign 45: bharad.o, 'devotee ofS'iva' (G.)

baradh bull (G.); baddi (Nahali) M1170 Sign 176: Comb kangha (IL 1333) ka~ghera comb-


48/238

M1170 Sign 176: Comb kangha (IL 1333) ka ghera_ combmaker (H.)kolom = a reed, a reed-pen (B.); qalam (Assamese.Hindi);kolma hor.o= a variety of the paddy plant(Desi)(Santali.lex.Bodding) kolom baba = the threshed or

unthreshed paddy on the threshing floor; kolom-ba_rum = theweight a man carries in taking the paddy from the threshingfloor to his house; kolom = a threshing floor (Mundari) Rebus:kolime = furnace (Ka.)

Spider kan:gara_

(Tir.) gan:ges. (Ash.) kha~_g(H.) kha_g(B.H.Ku.N.); khagga =rhinoceros (Pkt.)

kan:g portable brazier(B.); ka~_guru, ka~gar(Ka.); kan:gar = largebrazier (K.) kan:g =brazier, fireplace (K.)(IL1332)

Signs 54, 55,

56, 57

m1405Bt Pict-48 A tigerand a rhinoceros in file

[koltiger; rebus: kolhe

smelters of iron.]


49/238

Cylinder seal impression, Tell Asmar (After Frankfort, 'The Indian Civilization and thenear East,Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology, 1932), Kalibangan033 (seal),m052, m0573 (tablets), pict-49 (seal) 1429c tablet

it.an:kar= alligator (Ta.); d.a_n.ro blacksmith (N.)pasaramu, pasalamu=an animal, abeast, a brute, quadruped (Te.lex.)Thus, the depiction of animals in epigraphs is relatedto, rebus: pasra = smithy (Santali)pisera_ a small deer brown above and black below (H.)(CDIAL 8365).d.a_n:gra = wooden trough or manger sufficient to feed one animal (Mundari).it.an:ka_r..i= a capacity measure (Ma.) Rebus: d.han:garblacksmith (Bi.)

The bulls standing face to face: samna samni = face

to face (Santali); rebus: samanom 'gold' (Santali)homa = bison (Pengo); rebus: soma = electrum (RV);

hom = gold (Ka.) baddi_= ox (Nahali); bad.hi = worker in wood andmetal (Santali)

Faience tablet. This unique mold-made faience tablet (H2000-4483/2342-01) was found in the

eroded levels west of the tablet workshop in Trench 54. On one side is a short inscription under a

rectangular box filled with 24 dots (or one pairs of 12 dots). The reverse has a narrative scene

with two bulls fighting under a thorny tree.


50/238

Copper plate m1457h128b tabletm488A prism tabletm1225 cube seal with perforation through breadth

svastika (, pewter (Kannada);jasta = zinc (Hindi) yasada

(Jaina Pkt.) mer.hao = to entwine itself, wind round, wrap around, roll up

(Santali.lex.) mer.iya = a rock (Te.) mer.ed, me~r.ed iron; enga mer.ed soft

iron; sand.i mer.ed hard iron; ispa_t mer.ed steel; dul mer.edcast iron; i mer.ed rusty iron, also the iron of which weights arecast; bicamer.ed iron extracted from stone ore; balimer.ed ironextracted from sand ore; mer.ed-bica = iron stone ore, in

contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Mu.lex.)


51/238

Fish, numerals andMesopotamian Apkallu

parallels

S. Kalyanaraman, 12 April 2006

k l ll fi h k lilt fi h fi h b d fi k ll


52/238

kulullu, fish-man; kuliltu, fish-woman; fish-garbed figure: apkallu, sage(in fish-guise); Apkallu is shown in two ligatures: one with wings and onewith fish (Contextual glyphs relate to tree and water).

Assyrian Assurnasirpal Relief from Nimrud, 865 B.C.(British Museum).The person behind Assyrian Ashurnsirpal is Apkallu[Anthony Green, Ancient Mesopotamian religious iconography, in: Jack M.Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, pp. 1837-1858].

Masked as Enki, half-fish and half-priest; from a relief of Assurnasirpal II (883--

859 BC) from Calah. Gypsum. Height ca. 2.5 m. After Jeremias 1929: 353, fig. 183;cf. Asko Parpola, 1984, Deciphering the Indus Script, Cambridge Univ. Press, Fig.10.19, p. 190).

Lishtar notes: The apkallu were also known as the priests of EnkiEnkis organizedworldin which wealth can be brought to the Land as a whole. (Lishtar, Understanding

Enki and the world order). http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/essays/essayenkiworld.html
http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/essays/essayenkiworld.htmlhttp://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/essays/essayenkiworld.html


53/238

Cylinder seal. Akkadian. Enki, water-god

with streams of water with fish ; symbols ofmountain and eagle; Person standing withbow and arrow with a lion looking up tohim. .

Water-divinity Enki, streams of water

flow from his shoulders; two stars

beside his head distinguish the naked

anthropomorphic man. Fish is seen

beside the stream. 18th cent. BCESyrian cylinder seal impression. Pierpont

Morgan Library, New York City; cf. Porada1971. cf. Asko Parpola, 1994, Fig. 10.8, p.184.


54/238

Apkallu, priest of Enki

Glyphs: giant ear of corn,eagle wings, antelope

Source: Apkalu Angel, Fig.of Apkallu from Nimrud,ancient Mesopotamia(north-west palace, roomZ, 875-860 BCE), WawAllap, ISBN: AS-33

http://www.gorgiaspress.co

http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/amocats/ anet/pdf-files/ANET-26Bronze1MesV.pdf
http://www.gorgiaspress.com/bookshop/pc-339-35-apkalu-angel.aspxhttp://www.gorgiaspress.com/bookshop/pc-339-35-apkalu-angel.aspx


55/238

MS 4602 Indus Valley cylinder seal,

ca. 3000 BCE depicting a palm tree

and a man between two lions with

wings and snakeheads, holding one

arm around each, two long fish

below, and one fish jumping after

one lions tail or the tail of a sitting

monkey above it

Seal matrix on creamy stone or shell,

Indus Valley, Pakistan, ca. 3000 BC, 1cylinder seal, diam. 2,0x3,7 cm, in fineexecution influenced by the JemdetNasr style of Sumer.Provenance: 1. Found in Mehrgarh,

Pakistan; 2. The Waria Collection,Dadu, Pakistan (-2001).Commentary: Similar fish can be foundon Indus Valley pottery from the periodand later

Fish and numerals as hieroglyphs for


56/238

Fish and numerals as hieroglyphs for

metalwork H97 tablet, seven robed figuresKulullu fish-man; apkallu sage (Akkadian) One of seven sages. There is an Indic

tradition of seven sages called saptarishi.

The word ap-kallu has parallels in indic languages (semantics, water, fish):

Aapah waters.Kolli, koleji means fish; ko_la_ flying fish (Ta.); rebus: kolme smithy (Ka.)

Fish is a frequently used glyph on Sarasvati hieroglyphs and is also found in many ANEinscribed objects.

The fish glyphs and associated numerals are hieroglyphs (mleccha, indic languagefamily) related to bronze age trade between Meluhha and ANE.

ban:gala = kumpat.i = an:ga_ra sakat.i_ = a chafing dish a portable stove a goldsmithsportable furnace (Te.lex.)

bahula_= Pleiades (Skt.) Seven stars. Bagal.a_ name of a female divinity (Te.)Bagalo Arabian merchant vessel(G.)

k l ki i i bl k ith (T ) k ll bl k ith (T )Kulullu fish-man (Ancient Mesopotamia)


57/238

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

kolli = a fish (Ma.); koleji id. (Tu.)(DEDR 2139). ko_la_ flying fish,exocaetus, garfish, belone (Ta.) ko_la_n, ko_li needle-fish(Ma.)(DEDR 2241).

ko_li = a stubble of jo_l.a (Ka.) ko_le a stub or stump of corn

(Te.)(DEDR 2242). (cf. Ear of corn held in Apkallus right hand).

kol working in iron, blacksmith (Ta.); kollan- blacksmith (Ta.);kollan blacksmith, artificer (Ma.)(DEDR 2133) kolme = furnace(Ka.) kole.l 'temple, smithy' (Ko.); kolme smithy' (Ka.) kol =

pan~calo_ha (five metals); kol metal (Ta.lex.) pan~caloha = ametallic alloy containing five metals: copper, brass, tin, lead andiron (Skt.); an alternative list of five metals: gold, silver, copper, tin(lead), and iron (dha_tu; Na_na_rtharatna_kara. 82;Man:gara_jas Nighan.t.u. 498)(Ka.) kol, kolhe, the koles, anaboriginal tribe if iron smelters speaking a language akin to that ofSantals (Santali)


58/238

Funerary pottery:

painted designs:maraka, peacockmerg, antelope

Copper anthropomorph with fish glyph

incised

Kalibangan 37, 34; Bronzehead of ibex Iranian C 600


59/238

head of ibex. Iranian. C. 600-500 BCE. Ht. 14 in.Metropolitan Museum of Art

The frequency of occurrenceof the 'fish' pictographs

381 Fish279 Fish (+ four gills)216 Fish (+ inverted Vligatured)188 Fish (+ oblique cross-line)

29 Fish (+ circumgraph of 4short strokes)26 Fish-shaped objects

h350B, 330, h329 tablets

Anthropomorph with fish sign incised on the chest and with curved arms like thehorns of a ram Sheorajpur (Kanpur Dist UP India) State Museum Lucknow


60/238

horns of a ram. Sheorajpur (Kanpur Dist., UP, India). State Museum, Lucknow

(O.37) Typical find of Gangetic Copper Hoards. 47.7 X 39 X 2.1 cm. C. 4 kg. Early 2ndmillennium BCE.

Bronze head of ibex. Iranian. C. 600-500 BCE. Ht. 14 in. Metropolitan Museum of

Art

Sind Ibex (Capra aegagru,Erxleben orCapra hircus,L.);Yellow limestone statue; U81036; Mohenjodaro Museum

(H: 16.5 cm.; L: 22 cm; B:12.3 cm.) [loc. cit.Jansen andUrban, 1987, p. 67].
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/html/Statue~3.jpg


61/238

^ Inverted V, m478 (lid above rim of narrow-necked jar)

M 273 ba_ru betel (B.); ta_mbu_la betel

(VarBrS.) bo_lou (Bahnar); balu (Alak); blu

(Kha.); plu_ (Palanhg); rebus: tambara_ copper

merchant (Or.)(CDIAL 5780).

h176A,B

kha_t. bier (H.G.M.Kon.);

rebus: kha_ti_member of a caste of wheelwrights

(H.)(CDIAL 3647).

Message on Dholavira Signboard:


62/238

g gmetal services at a smithyDholavira (Kotda) on Kadir island, Kutch, Gujarat; 10 signs inscription found near the

western chamber of the northern gate of the citadel high mound (Bisht, 1991: 81, Pl.

IX); each sign is 37 cm. high and 25 to 27 cm. wide and made of pieces of whitecrystalline rock; the signs were apparently inlaid in a wooden plank ca. 3 m. long;maybe, the plank was mounted on the facade of the gate to command the view of theentire cityscape. Ten signs are read from left to right. The 'spoked circle' sign seemsto be the divider of the three-part message. (Bisht, R.S., 1991, Dholavira: a newhorizon of the Indus Civilization. Puratattva, Bulletin of Indian Archaeological Society,

20: 81; now also Parpola 1994: 113).

Nave of wheel: eraka; rebus: eraka, (copper) metal infusionPair barea; rebus: bar.ea merchantClaws of crab kakr.a_; rebus: kangar furnace

One met; rebus: med. ironLid ad.aren; rebus: aduru native metalFig leaf loa; rebus: loh (copper) metalPeg khun.t.a; rebus: ku_t.a workshop


63/238

Sign 393 homonymous with

M 1101, h380A: nave of wheel, eraka Rebus: eraka, metal infusion Pair (two strokes): barea

rebus:bar.ea merchant aduru d.angra zebu bull

Rebus: aduru native metal; d.angra smith


64/238

d.ha_l.iyum = adj. sloping, inclining; d.ha_l. = a slope; theinclination of a plane (G.)

Rebus: :d.ha_l.ako = a large metal ingot; d.ha_l.aki_ = a metalheated and poured into a mould; a solid piece of metal; an ingot(G.)

d.a_l. = water-course (G.)


65/238

badhor. a species of fish with many bones; badhor, badhor.ia = crooked,cross grained, knotty (Santali.lex.) bad.hi a caste who work both in iron andwood (Santali)

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.aemuruk = the energy of a blacksmith (Mundari.lex.) bar.ae = bad.ae (Santali.lex.)bari_= blacksmith, artisan (Ash.)(CDIAL 9464). The occurrence ofbari_inAsh. (CDIAL 9464) and bar.ae in Mundari and ofvardhaka in Skt. point to theearly phonetic form: bard.a; semantic: worker in iron and wood, artisan.

cu_l.i = scales of fish (Ma.)(DEDR 2740).cuila coelo = sharp pointed (Santali) su la su le


66/238

cuila, coelo = sharp, pointed (Santali) su_la, su_le,sul.a, su_la, su_l.a = a sharp or pointed weapon: apike, a spear, a lance; su_li = spearman; su_lika =piercing, killing (Ka.)cu_l.ai = kiln; cul.l.ai = furnace (Ta.)

Epigraph on copper tablets m1519 to 1522

Fish-shaped tablet (3428), Harappa with incised text; eye is a dottedcircle; after Vats 1940: II, pl. 95, no.428; Parpola, 1994, p. 194.

kan.d.a arrow; kan.d. fire-altar

M9

sam.gha_r.i pair of fish roes, two rolls of thread for twisting into the sacredthread (Or.)

1241 occurrences of fish signs
http://hindunet.org/saraswati/html/FISHON-3.jpghttp://hindunet.org/saraswati/html/FISHON-3.jpg


67/238

1241 occurrences of fish signs1395 occurrences of rim of jar signsm296 seal and epigraph (text)

Epigraphs 5477, 1554; 4604, 5477

Parpola notes (1994, pp.69-70): "the four strokes around the fish sign mayin fact be understood to be read after it, and that their meaning is close to thesign arrow that is often found in this position.

Many circumscribed signs occur as the left-most glyph and comparable to therim of jar sign 342 in position. Similarly, the arrow sign terminates 184epigraphs (read from right to left) in a total of 227 arrow-sign occurrences

The rim of jar is: kan.d.a kanka (Santali); arrow is kan.d.a.Kan.d.a fire-altar (Santali); kan copper (Ta.)

Five pairs of signs with 65 to 87 occurrences; seven pairs of signs with


68/238

Five pairs of signs with 65 to 87 occurrences; seven pairs of signs with93 to 291 occurrences

Numerals (linear stroke counts) are read rebus at.ar splinter (Ma.);

ad.aruni to crack (Tu.)

aduru native metal (Ka.)a~s scale of fish (Santali); rebus: ayas metal (Phonetic determinant)

sal stake, spike, splinter, thorn, difficulty (H sal workshop (Santali);


69/238

kor-r-a, kot.rako fish, black murrell(Te.Santali)

kor-r-a mason; koru a bar of metal (Tu.)


70/238

Banawali 23 (Seal impression)

gan.d.a male person, hero (Ka.); kan.d. furnace


71/238

M298 Text 2133

Unprovenanced Harappan-style cylinder seal impression; Musee du Louvre; cf. Corbiau,1936, An Indo-Sumerian cylinder, Iraq 3, 100-3, p. 101, Fig.1; De Clercq Coll.; burntwhite agate; De Clercq and Menant, 1888, No. 26; Collon, 1987, Fig. 614. A herograsping two tigers and a buffalo-and-leaf-horned person, seated on a stool with hoofedlegs, surrounded by a snake and a fish on either side, a pair of water buffaloes. Anotherperson stands and fights two tigers and is surrounded by trees, a markhor goat and a

vulture above a rhinoceros. Text: 9905 Prob. West Asian find Pict-117: two bisons facingeach other.

Alligator fishes


72/238

Alligator, fishesm1428B, m1429C

Rakhigarhi alligator or lizard?


73/238

Rakhigarhi, alligator or lizard?Har606 (Kenoyer), m1429c, h172B, monitor lizard in the round(Dholavira)

Rakhigarhi, alligator or lizard?Har606 (Kenoyer) m1429c m410 h172B monitor lizard in the round


74/238

Har606 (Kenoyer), m1429c, m410, h172B, monitor lizard in the round(Dholavira); m482A,B; h599D kakr.a common lizard (Santali) ka_~garportable brazier (K.)it.ankar crocodile (Ta.); t.agara ram (Ka.); d.angar blacksmith (H.)

d.a_n:gra_= a wooden trough justenough to feed one animal. cf.id.ankar..i = a measure of capacity,20 id.an:kar...i make a par-r-a(Ma.lex.)

Slide 208 Two steatite tablets. Two inscribed and bakedsteatite tablets from the Trench 54 area One has the


75/238

steatite tablets from the Trench 54 area. One has theshape of a fish (H2000-4452/2174-191), while the other hasa fish sign inscription (H2000-4477/2227-11).

Mohenjo-daro. Sealing. Surrounded by fishes, gharials and snakes, ahorned 'yogi' on a throne with hoofed legs. One side of a triangular

( ) f f


76/238

terracotta amulet (Md 013); surface find at Mohenjo-daro in 1936.Dept. of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

One of the signs in this group of Uruk tablets is a circle with four segments,perhaps representing four felloes of a wheel. Tablets. Uruk, Sumer. Numbersand fish signs. [After JV Kinnier Wilson, 1987, Fish rations and the Indus script:some new arguments in the case for accountancy, South Asian Studies 3: 41-6: 43, fig. 2 based on photographs in Adam Falkenstein, 1936,ArchaischeTexte aus Uruk, bearbeitet und herausgegeben, Ausgrabungen der DeutschenForschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk/Warka,2, Berlin: texts 256, 68 and 336.]

midh one (Savara) min.d. ram (Pktl.); me~d.ha (G.) cf. me_s.a = goat (Skt.lex.)

t ki k ith th f t hit ith th t il (S t li l )


77/238

me_r.sa = v.a. toss, kick with the foot, hit with the tail (Santali.lex.) 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)

bar, barea = two bari_= blacksmith, artisan (Ash.)(CDIAL 9464).

tebra three (Santali); ta(m)bra copper; tibira merchant (Akkadian)

gan.d.a set of four (Santali)

gan.d.e carp fish (Ka.); rebus: kan.dl. fire-altar, furnace

bhat.a six; bhat.a furnace

eae seven (Santali); rebus: eh-ku steel (Ta.)

lo = nine (now often heard)(Santali); lo (desi); noe (B.)(Santali.lex.Bodding) lo~u, lo_, lo_h, luha_, loha_ (WPah.); luwa_ (Ku.); lohu, loha_ (N.); lo (A.B.); no (B.);

loha_, luha_ (Or.); loh (Mth) red, copper-colored, metal

mit eka one; bar, barea, don two; pea pe pene three; pon, ponea, carfour;

mo~r.e~ five; turui six;eae, sat seven; iral eight; are, lo nine; gel ten.

3 times 4tebra three; gan.d.a four


78/238

tebra three ; gan.d.a fourta(m)bra copper; kan.d. furnacegan.d.as battle-axe; ke~r.e~ brass or bell metalgan.d.e = carp

kad.avu = male sheep or goatkad.a kad.a-io sthapati, mason, bricklayer; kad.avu turning lathe

Pairing: bar, barea = two; bari- merchant

Furnace-copper merchant.

Fish ayo; rebus: ayas metal; circumgraph/arrow + fish = ayas kan.d. metalfurnace

bhed.a hako (ayo) fish; bed.a twelve

Bed.a either end of a hearth (G.)

Urseal 18. Gadd 1932: no.18; Parpola, 1994, p.219.

Early Harappan bowl Fish [After Fig 23 35 in Asko Parpola New


79/238

Early Harappan bowl. Fish. [After Fig. 23.35 in, Asko Parpola, Newcorrespondences between Harappan and near Eastern glyptic art, in: inB. Allchin, ed., South Asian Archaeology, 1981, Cambridge].

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

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 seal impression, (Akkadian to early OldBabylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawing by Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. DominiqueCollon 1987, First impressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London: 143, no. 609] Treein front. Fish in front of and above a one-horned bull. Cylinder seal impression (IM 8028), Ur,Mesopotamia. White shell. 1.7 cm. High, dia. 0.9 cm. [Cf. Mitchell 1986 Indus and Gulf type sealsfrom Ur: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112; Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa and Michael Rice, 1986, Bahrain

through the ages: the archaeology, London: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112].


80/238

Fish glyph on gold pendant

The gold pendant is made from a hollow cylinder with soldered ends andperforated point. Museum No. MM 1374.50.271; Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3.[After Fig. 4.17a, b in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 196].

Kalibangan 57 Dotted circle a


81/238

Kalibangan 57 Dotted circle, abead?

Pot glass bead (P.) Potramu = cloth, ploughshare (Te.)

Potramu = snout of a hog (Te.) Pot = jewellers polishing stone (Bi.) Potr. = Potr.s soma vessel (RV); priest

(RV) The sacred tree shown onApkallu/Assurnasirpal reliefs is kut.i;rebus: kut.hi smelter, furnace.

Gundestrup cauldron and


82/238

Gundestrup cauldron and

Sarasvati hieroglyphsSarasvati hieroglyphs are a repertoire ofsmithy/mint related to bronze age trade

Gundestrup cauldron could be the in the lineage ofthese Sarasvati artisans, mleccha-speakers usinghieroglyphs as a writing system

S. Kalyanaraman, 12 April 2006

Gundestrup Cauldron, discovered in


83/238

Gundestrup Cauldron, discovered ina peat bog in Denmark in 1891.Silver partially gilded Diameter69cm., Height 42cm. Copenhagen,

Nationalmuseet. The cauldron has13 panels of glyphs: five longrectangular plates, seven short

ones and one round plate.

m292, m1085, Ur cylinder seal


84/238

y

impression (cut down into Ur III

mausolea from Larsa level; U.

16220), Iraq.BM 122947; enstatite;

Legrain, 1951, No. 632; Collon, 1987,Fig. 611. Source: Editors of Time-LifeBooks, 1994,Ancient India: Land ofMystery, p. 12

G1

M1133 m1168 Nal pot Spoked-wheel


85/238

M1133, m1168, Nal pot, Spoked-wheelnaves pair, Dholavira sign-board

Slide 207 tablet Slide 90 Slide 208


86/238

Slide 207 tablet,Slide 90, Slide 208,k39, m272, m300, m453


87/238


88/238

3 l


89/238

3 carynx players

h597 raised arm, m1224


90/238

,one-horned heifer


91/238

S


92/238

Sources

http://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Temple/kernunnos.htmhttp://www.sniffout.net/home/simontodd/herne.htmhttp://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/vik_pets.htmhttp://www.swampfox.demon.co.uk/utlah/shift/wolfbane.htmlhttp://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/hallucinations2.htm

http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogs.htmhttp://www.collect.com.au/_numismatics/00000016.htmhttp://sacredsource.com/gundestrup/http://www.djames.demon.co.uk/celtic/cr01.htmhttps://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0527/5b0a6eb5999e7/5b0a6eehttp://www.realtime.net/~gunnora/graphics/gundstrp.gif

http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/WebSitePhotoGallery/Gundestrup.
http://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Temple/kernunnos.htmhttp://www.sniffout.net/home/simontodd/herne.htmhttp://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/vik_pets.htmhttp://www.swampfox.demon.co.uk/utlah/shift/wolfbane.htmlhttp://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/hallucinations2.htmhttp://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogs.htmhttp://www.collect.com.au/_numismatics/00000016.htmhttp://sacredsource.com/gundestrup/http://www.djames.demon.co.uk/celtic/cr01.htmhttp://www.celtic-cauldron.com/images/gcauld.jpghttp://www.realtime.net/~gunnora/graphics/gundstrp.gifhttp://www.realtime.net/~gunnora/graphics/gundstrp.gifhttp://www.celtic-cauldron.com/images/gcauld.jpghttp://www.djames.demon.co.uk/celtic/cr01.htmhttp://sacredsource.com/gundestrup/http://www.collect.com.au/_numismatics/00000016.htmhttp://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogs.htmhttp://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/hallucinations2.htmhttp://www.swampfox.demon.co.uk/utlah/shift/wolfbane.htmlhttp://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/vik_pets.htmhttp://www.sniffout.net/home/simontodd/herne.htmhttp://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Temple/kernunnos.htm


93/238

http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/WebSitePhotoGallery/Gundestrup.htm

http://jblstatue.com/gundstrup/home.htmlhttp://www.traditionalwitchcraft.org/celtic/gundestrup.html

http://www.celticnationusa.com/gundestrupcauldron.html

The Mystica The Gundestrup Cauldron Alan G. Hefnerhttp://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gundestrup_cauldron.htHouse Shadow Drake Gundestrup Cauldronhttp://www.shadowdrake.com/celtic/gundestrup.htmlLexiLine: A Renaissance in Learning The Gundestrup Cauldron F.Graham Millerhttp://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi85.htmKalyanaraman, 2004, Sarasvati: Language, Bangalore, BabasahebApte Smarak Samiti, pp. 294-301

http://tinyurl.com/k6aae

www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdf

Arbman, H., "Gundestrupkitteln- ett galliskt arbete?," Tor20, 1948, pp.109-116.

Bmont, C., "Le Bassin de Gundestrup: remarques sur les dcors vgtaux, Etudes Celtiques, vol. 16, Paris, 1979, pp. 69-99.

Benner Larsen, E., "The Gundestrup Cauldron, Identification of Tool Traces," Iskos, vol. 5, 1985, pp. 561-74.
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gundestrup_cauldron.htmlhttp://www.shadowdrake.com/celtic/gundestrup.htmlhttp://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi85.htmhttp://tinyurl.com/k6aaehttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdfhttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdfhttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdfhttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdfhttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/gundestrup1.pdfhttp://tinyurl.com/k6aaehttp://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi85.htmhttp://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi85.htmhttp://www.shadowdrake.com/celtic/gundestrup.htmlhttp://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/g/gundestrup_cauldron.html


94/238

Berciu, D.,Arta traco-getica, Editura Aacademiei, Bucharest, 1969.

Bergquist, A. K., and T. F. Taylor, "Thrace and Gundestrup Reconsidered," Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Celtic Studies, Oxford: D. Ellis Evans,1983, pp.268-9.

------------------------------, "The origin of the Gundestrup Cauldron,"Antiquity, vol. 61, 1987, pp. 10-24.

Bober, J.J., "Cernunnos: Origin and Transformation of a Celtic Divinity," American Journal of Archeaology 55, 1951, pp13-51.

Davidson, H. E., The Lost Belief of Northern Europe, 1993.

-------------------, "Mithraism and the Gundestrup bowl," Mithraic Studies Vol. II (edited by John R. Hinnells), Rowman and Littlefield, Manchester, 1975.

Drexel, F., "ber den Silberkessel von Gundestrup," Jahrbuch des Kaiserlich Deutschen Archologischen Instituts 30, 1915, pp.1-36.

Grosse, R., Der Silberkessel von Gundestrup, ein Ratsel keltische Kunst, Goetheanum, Dornach, 1963.Hawkes, C. F. C., " Continental and British Anthropoid Weapons", Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, XXI, 1955, pp. 198-227.

Hawkes, C.F.C., and M.A. Smith, "On Some Buckets and Cauldrons of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages," AntiquityXXXVII, 1957, pp.131-98.

Jacobsthal, P., Early Celtic Art, Oxford, 1944.

Kimmig, W., "Zur Interpretation der Opferszene auf den Gundestrup-Kessel," Fundberichte aus Schwaben, N.S. xvii, 1965, pp.135-43.

Klindt-Jensen, O., "The Gundestrup Bowl-a reassessment," Antiquity, vol.33, pp.161-9.

---------------------,Gundestrupkedelen, Copenhagen, 1979

Laet, S. J. and P. Lambrechts, "Traces du culte de Mithra sur le chaudron de Gundestrup," Actes du troisime Congrs International des socits pr- et protohistoriques,Zurich: City-Druck, 1950, pp. 304-6.

Megaw, J. V. S.,Art of the European Iron Age, Adams & Dart, Bath, 1970.

Meyers, p., "Three silver objects from Thrace: a technical examination," Metropolitan Museum Journal16, 1981, pp.49-54.

Mller, Sophus, "Det store Slvkar fra Gundestrup i Jylland," Nordiske Frotidsminder, I, 1892, pp.35-68.

-------------------, Nordische Altertumskunde, vol. 2, Strasburg, 1898.

Nylen, E., "Gundestrupkitlen och den thrakiska konsten," Tor12, Uppsala, 1967, pp. 133-73.

Olmsted, G.S., "The Gundestrup version of Tin B Cuailnge," Antiquity, vol.50, pp.95-103.


95/238

-----------------, The Gundestrup Cauldron, Collection Latomus, No. 162, Brussels, 1979.

Petersen, E., "A Gundestrup edny s a Csrai dombormu," Archeologiai Ertesito 13, pp.199-202.

Piggott, S., "The Carnyx in Early Iron Age Britain," The Antiquaries JournalXXXIX, 1959, pp.19-32.

-------------, "Supplementary notes on the illustrations," The Celts (T.G.E. Powell, 2nd ed), London: Thames & Hudson, 1980, pp.210-217.

Pittioni, R., Wer hat wann und wo den Silberkessel von Gundestrup angefertigt? Verffentilichungen der keltischen

Akademie der Wissenschaften 3. Vienna: Verlag der sterreichischen Asademia der Wissenschaften, 1984.

Powell, T.G.E., "From Urartu to Gundestrup: the agency of Thracian metal-work," The European Community in LaterPrehistory, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1971.

Ramskou, T., "Gundestrupterrinen," Skalk4, 1977, p.32.

Reinach, S., " propos du vase de Gundestrup," LAnthropologie 5, 1894, pp.456-8.

--------------, "Zagreus, le serpent cornu," Revue Archologique, XXXV, 1899, pp.210-217.

--------------, "Les Carnassiers androphages dans lart gallo-romain," Revue Celtique 25, 1904, pp.207-24.

Reinecke, P., "Autremont und Gundestrup," Praehistorische Zeitschrift34-5 (1), 1950, pp.361-72.

Rusu, M., "Das Keltische Frstengrab von Ciumesti in Rumnien, Bericht der Rmisch-germanischen Kommission 50, 1969, pp.267-300.

Sandars, N. K., Prehistoric Art in Europe, Bartimore, 1968.

------------------, "Orient and Orientalizing in Early Celt ic Art,"AntiquityXLV( no.178, 1971), pp.103-112.

------------------, "Orient and Orientalizing: recent thoughts reviewed," Celtic Art in Ancient Europe (C.F.C. Hawkes andP.M. Duval ed.), London, 1976, pp.41-57.

Willemoes, A., Hvad nyt om Gundestrupkarret, Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark, Copenhagen, 1978.


96/238

Bronze age trade and

writing system:mlecchita vikalpa

Saintsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UEA

757 South India, Tamil Nadu

Shiva as Chandrashekharamurti

carrying an axe and an antelope;


97/238

medha = sacrifice (Rv) me_t.i = an eminent person; medha_ wisdom, sagacity (Pali) melukkha (milakkhu,'copper': Pali)! met.ari, hero, warrior, eminent person, merchant's clerk. mehto [Hem. Des. med.ho = Skt.Van.ik saha_ya, a merchants clerk, fr. mahita, praised, great] a schoolmaster; an accountant; a clerk; a writer(G.lex.) mel. = tallying, balancing of accounts; a cash-book; mel.van. = a mixture, a composition; mixing

(G.lex.) me_r..iyar= pu_vaiciyar, ve_l.a_l.ar, i.e. agriculturists, traders (Ta.lex.)me_t.am, me_r..akam = coat of armour (Ta.)med.h, med.ha_ = post, forked stake (H.); med.hi = pillar, part of a stupa (Pkt.); medhi (Pali)mr..e_ka = goat (Telugu); mel.kh = goat (Brahui) me~d.ha, 'ram; mes.a = goat (Skt.); me_t.am, me_r..akam =ram (Ta.)

bha~oar= skilled, expert, smart; bha~wa~r, bha~owar = id.; bha~ora = of the male sex, a veiled term(Santali.lex.) bhan.d.ila = artisan, messenger (Ka.lex.) bha~oria = one who peddles salt, to bacco, spices, etc.and carries his wares in a basket on his head (Santali.lex.)bha~ora = a boring instrument resembling a brace (Santali.lex.)bha~ut.ia = the Indian antelope or black buck (Santali.lex.Bodding)

korn:ga a Hindu caste of wood turners (Santali.lex.) kulanka = buttresses of timber; kulankapa_daka id.(Pali.lex.) kuraga = an instrument of goldsmiths; a sort of anvil (Ka.); khura_rya_ (M)(Ka.lex.)ku_rahu (Ka.) swordkurhu = antelope; kurahu (Kuwi), kuran:ga (Ka.)

carrying an axe and an antelope;

c.1100.

Bronze h. 12.4in (31.4cm)

Akkadian. Cylinder seal Impression.

Inscription records that it belongs to

Su-ilisu, Meluhha interpreter, i.e.,translator of the Meluhhan language

(EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI) The

Meluhhan being introduced carries an

antelope on his arm. Musee du Louvre.

Ao 22 310, Collection De Clercq

Akkadian. Cylinder seal Impression. Inscription records that it belongs to Su-ilisu,Meluhha interpreter, i.e., translator of the Meluhhan language


98/238

(EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI) The Meluhhan being introduced carries an antelope on hisarm. Musee du Louvre. Ao 22 310, Collection De Clercq3rd millennium BCE. TheMeluhhan is accompanied by a lady carrying a kaman.d.alu. Since he needed an

interpreter, Meluhhan did not speak Akkadian. Antelope carried by the Meluhhan is ahieroglyph: mlekh goat (Br.); mr..eka (Te.); me_t.am (Ta.); mes.am (Skt.) Thus, thegoat conveys the message that the carrier is a Meluhha. A phonetic determinant.

Tin ingots found in a ship-wreck, Haifa incised


99/238

with Sarasvati hieroglyphs

ran:ku = tin (Santali)

ran:ku= liquid measure (Santali) ran:kua species of deer; ran:kuka (Skt.)(CDIAL 10559).

See middle glyph on copper plates m0522 & m0516

ba_t.a = road (Te.); bat.a = kiln (Santali) [Vikalpa: da_t.ucross (Te.); dha_tu mineral (Skt.)]

[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 theSmithsonian Institution and the

National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., March 14-15, 1977].

Surkotada: fortification,/b /t l


100/238

copper/bronze weapons/tools

(some with epigraphs)

Tanana mleccha


101/238

Tanana mleccha. So notes a Jaina text, AvasyakaChurani which notes that ivory trade was managedby tanana mleccha, who also traveled fromUttaravaha to Dakshinapatha. (Jain, *Life in Ancient**India** as Described in the Jain Canon and

Commentaries (6th century BC - 17th centuryAD,*1984, p. 150). Guttila Jataka (ca.4th cent.)makes reference to itinerant ivory workers/traders

journeying from Varanasi to Ujjain. (Jatakas, Cowell,1973, Book II, p. 172 ff.) The word, tanana in tanana

mleccha may be related to: (i) tah'nai, 'engraver'mleccha; or (ii) tana, 'of (mleccha) lineage'. 1. SeeKuwi. tah'nai 'to engrave' in DEDR and Bsh. then,thon, 'small axe' in CDIAL: DEDR 3146 *Go.* (Tr.)tarcana , (Mu.) tarc- to scrape; (Ma.) tarsk- id., plane;D task- Mu tarsk-/tarisk- to level scra e

Mleccha and Bharatiya languagesMl h b t t l f bh ti


102/238

Mleccha was substratum language of bharatiyo(casters of metal) many of whom lived in dvi_pa (land

between two rivers Sindhu and Sarasvati -- or islandson Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Khambat, Makran coast andalong the Persian Gulf region of Meluhha)

Like Nahali (Nahari > Nagari) on banks of RiverTapati, mleccha is a language-composite of Indo-

Aryan, Dravidian and Munda linguistic area circa 5000years Before Present on Sarasvati-Sindhu RiverBasins; all proto-versions of present-day languages ofBharat are a dialectical continuum from this linguisticarea (Further researches called for)

Indian Lexicon (http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati )lists cognate lexemes of 25+ ancient languages ofBharat; including 4,000 of the 5,500 etyma ofDravidian Etymological Dictionary and thousands of

Munda lexemes

NAHALI, MELUHHAN, LANGUAGE XOn the banks of River Narmada are found speakers of Nahali, the language isolate
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswatihttp://www.hindunet.org/saraswati


103/238

p , g gwith words from Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Munda which together constitute theindic language substratum of a linguistic area, ca. 3300 BCE on the banks of RiversSarasvati and Sindhu a region referred to as Meluhha in Mesopotamian cuneiform

records; hence the language of the inscribed objects can rightly be called Meluhhanor Mleccha, a language which Vidura and Yudhis.t.hira knew (as stated in the GreatEpic, Maha_bha_rata).

Elsewhere in the Great Epic we read how Sahadeva, the youngest of thePa_n.d.ava brothers, continued his march of conquest till he reached severalislands in the sea (no doubt with the help of ships) and subjugated the

Mleccha inhabitants thereof. Brahma_n.d.a 2.74.11, Brahma 13.152,Harivam.s'a 1841, Matsya 48.9, Va_yu 99.11, cf. also Vis.n.u 4.17.5, Bha_gavata9.23.15, see Kirfel 1927: 522:pracetasah putras'atam ra_ja_nah sarva eva te // mlecchara_s.t.ra_dhipa_hsarve udi_ci_m dis'am a_s'rita_h

which means, of course, not that these '100' kings conquered the 'northern

countries' way beyond the Hindukus. or Himalayas, but that all these 100 kings,sons of praceta_s (adescendant of a 'druhyu'), kings of mleccha kingdoms, are'adjacent' (a_s'rita) to the'northern direction,' -- which since the Vedas and Pa_n.ini has signified Greatergandha_ra.Kirfel, W. Das Pura_n.a Pan~calaks.an.a. Bonn : K. Schroeder 1927

Dholavira Sign-board


104/238

Dholavira sign-board on the Gateway of thecitadel. Mounted on the faade of the gate,the sign-board would have commanded theentire cityscape.

Each of the ten signs 37cm. high, is made of

crystalline rock. The wooden plank is about 3 m. long. Bottom: Close up of the first three signs from

left to right.

The spoked-wheel sign seems to be thedivider of a three-part message.

Hypothesis: Three types of products of thearmourer are announced: wheel parts, cart

and discus-weapon.

Dholavira: Inscribed sign-board found on


105/238

the floor of a side room in the north gateway

(ASI)


106/238

era= knave of wheel; rebus: era = copper; erako = molten cast (G.)kundopening in the nave or hub of a wheel to admit the axle (Santali) kun.d.am,

kun.d.a sacrificial fire-pit (Skt.)khu~t.i= pin (M.) kut.i= furnace (Santali)kamad.ha = ficus religiosa (Skt.); kamat.a = portable furnace for melting precious metals

(Te.); kampat.t.am = mint (Ta.)kana, kanac= corner (Santali); kan~cu = bronze (Te.) kan- copper work (Ta.)ad.aren, d.aren lid, cover (Santali) Rebus: aduru native metal (Ka.)got. = one (Santali); got.i = silver (G.)barea = two (Ka.); bar.ea = blacksmith (Santali)[A pair of glyphs showing nave of wheel,

i.e. metal-caster-smith]

d.ato = claws of crab (Santali); dha_tu = mineral (Skt.)

Dholavira Sign board mounted on gate to announce to seafarers:

molten cast furnace, mint, moltencast copperwork, native-metalwork, silver;

metal-caster-mineral-smith


107/238


108/238

Dholavira (Kotda) on Kadir island, Kutch,Gujarat22; 10 signs inscription found near thewestern chamber of the northern gate of thecitadel high mound (Bisht, 1991: 81, Pl. IX);

each sign is 37 cm. high and 25 to 27 cm. wideand made of pieces of white crystalline rock;the signs were apparently inlaid in a woodenplank ca. 3 m. long; maybe, the plank wasmounted on the facade of the gate to commandthe view of the entire cityscape. Ten signs areread from left to right. The 'spoked circle with

an opening in the nave' sign seems to be the

damra = heifer, young bull, steer (G.); rebus: tambra = copper (Skt.)


109/238

y g ( ) pp ( )damad.i_(H.) damr.i, dambr.i = one eighth of a copper pice (Santali)

homa = bison (Pengo); rebus: hom = gold (Ka.); soma = electrum, gold-silvercompound ore (RV)

bat.a = quail; rebus: bat.a = kiln (Santali); bat.a = a kind of iron (G.); bed.a =fish (Santali); rebus: bed.a = hearth (G.) barea = two, a pair; rebus: bar.ae =blacksmith (Santali) 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 seal impression, (Akkadian to earlyOld Babylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawingby Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. Dominique Collon 1987, Firstimpressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London:143, no. 609]

Tree in front. Fish in front of and above a one-horned bull.Cylinder seal impression (IM 8028), Ur, Mesopotamia. Whiteshell. 1.7 cm. High, dia. 0.9 cm. [Cf. T.C. Mitchell, 1986, Indusand Gulf type seals from Ur in: Shaikha Haya Ali Al Khalifa andMichael Rice, 1986, Bahrain through the ages: the archaeology,London: 280-1, no.8 and fig. 112]. "No.7...A bull, unhumped, ofthe so-called 'unicorn' type, raises his head towards a simplifiedversion of a tree, and two uncertain objects, one a sort of trefoil,are shown above his back. Under his head is an unmistakablecharacter of the Indus script, the 'fish' with cross-hatchings..."

(C.J. Gadd, Seals of Ancient Indian Style Found at Ur', in: G.L.Possehl, ed., 1979, Ancient Cities of the Indus, Delhi, Vikas

The zebu (bra_hman. bull) is: ad.ar d.an:gra (Santali); rebus: aduru native metal (Ka.)ayir= iron dust, any ore (Ma.)


110/238

aduru = gan.iyinda tegadu karagade iruva aduru= ore taken from the mine and notsubjected to melting in a furnace (Ka. Siddha_nti Subrahman.ya Sastris new

interpretation of the Amarakosa, Bangalore, Vicaradarpana Press, 1872, p. 330)

d.han:garblacksmith (WPah.) The bull is tied to a post. tambu= pillar (G.); stambha id.(Skt.) Rebus: tamba= copper (Santali) tamire = the pin in the middle of a yoke (Te.)Rebus: ta_marasamu= copper, gold (Te.) tibira = copper (Akkadian); tambra (Skt.)bat.a = quail; bat.a = kiln (Santali)

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

Twig is worn as a head-dress; the body is ligatured tothe hindpart of a bull (h178b tablet)

d.ha~_gar., dha~_garblacksmith; digger of wells (H.)

ad.arutwig; ad.iri small and thin branch of a tree; ad.arismall branches (Ka.); ad.arutwig (Tu.)(DEDR 67). adar= splinter (Santali); rebus: adaru = native metal (Ka.)

d.hagara_m pl. the buttocks; the hips (G.lex.)

M1224d,e two sides of a seal

kamarsa_ri_ smithy (Mth.) kamba_r-ike, kamma_r-ike = a blacksmithsbusiness (Ka.Ma.)(Ka.lex.)(DEDR 1236).kamarasa la = waist-zone, waist-band, belt (Te.) kammaru = the loins,


111/238

kamarasa_la waist zone, waist band, belt (Te.) kammaru the loins,the waist (Ka.Te.M.); kamara (H.); kammarubanda = a leather waistband, belt (Ka.H.) kammaru = a waistband, belt (Te.)

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.) bhart = a mixed metal of

copper and lead; bhart-i_ya_= a barzier, worker in metal; bhat.a, bhra_s.t.ra= oven, furnace (Skt.) pat.t.ar-ai = goldsmiths workshop (Ta.)

mlecchita vikalpa mleccha nighantu

Documents