Numerals of Indus script indicate various gods as per calendar days.

Abstract

Indus script numerals indicate various gods as per calendar days. Hindus in modern India are still following this kind of practice. Number eight is missing, and the ‘Astaka’ symbol is in place of that. Astaka means ‘eighth day’; God Rudra was worshipped on that day. Rudra was the most popular god of the IVC people. The second most important god was the Egyptian god ‘Heh’(Ayyappa), capable of giving ‘one million years of the

afterlife’.

Generally, the numbers (Numerals) mentioned in the Indus script indicate a god. But, numbers one, two and three are exceptions. Number one does not indicate a numeral but indicates a stick offered to Pithrus in the Samidha Shraddha ceremony during Rig Vedic times. (1) Whereas number two indicates Dvi-Kau, sacrifice meant for two entities, gods and Pithrus. (2) Number three indicates many gods and dangerous gods. (3)

One significant point is that number eight in numerical form is missing in the Indus script. But, number eight is replaced by ‘Astaka’ symbols. (4) ‘Ashtami’, the eighth day of the fortnight, was the most important day of the IVC calendar. (5) It remains essentially the same in modern-day Hindu’s minds. It is the most inauspicious day, the day of disease and bad things. Rudra rules

the eighth day, and Rudra’s arrow brings death and destruction as per Rig Veda.

These findings show that the Indus Valley civilization coincides with Vedic culture, especially before the Rig Vedic period. Another notable point is that all these Indus Valley Civilization calendar ideas are still surviving in modern-day India.

In the below-given table, column number five gives the details of deities and their characteristics as per the current modern thinking of Hindus as per Wikipedia. (6) Column number four lists IVC gods identified by me, corresponding to the calendar days.

1	2	3	4	5
Serial. No	Days of the fortnight of Hindu calendar	Indus symbols	Indus Valley civilization gods as identified by me	Deities and their properties as per the current modern thinking of Hindu as per Wikipedia (6)
1	Prathama (day one)		Number one does not indicate the calendar day or god.	The presiding deity of the first lunar day is Agni, suitable for all types of auspicious and religious ceremonies.
			But it indicates a stick offered to Pithrus in the Samidha Shraddha ceremony during Rig Vedic times (1)
2	Dwitiya (second day)		Number two also does not indicate the calendar day or god.	Brahma rules this lunar day and is suitable for laying the foundations for buildings and other things of a permanent nature.
			As per Indus script, number two represents the Dvi-Kavu; Sacrifice is meant for two entities, first for gods and second for Pithrus. (2)
3	Tritiya (Third day)		Number threealso doesnot indicate the calendar day or God.	Gauri is the lord of this day and is suitable for cutting one’s hair and nails and shaving.
			Number three indicates many gods as well as dangerous gods. Again, refer to my article for more details. (3)

4	Chaturthi (Fourth day)		Yama / Ganapathi	Yama is lord of the 4th lunar day, suitable for destroying enemies, removing obstacles, and combat acts.
			The fourth day after the death of a person is the most important ceremony.
				The empty chair represents god Yama. God with forked hands could be Yama.
			Yama/ Dharmaraja/day of judgement. Maybe the chair symbol indicates the day of judgement and Yama Dharmaraja.
			The fourth day’s ruleris Yama / maybe the day of judgement.
			Under IVC context, the death god could be Varuna or even Osiris also.
5	Panchami (Fifth Day)	.	The fifth day belongs to goddess Meshkhenet. Goddessof childbirth. Refer to my article, ‘Two bricks symbol indicates the Egyptian goddess Meskhenet’ for more information. (7) Two bricks symbol indicates goddess Meshkhenet.	The Naaga or Serpents rule this day, which is favourable for administering medicine, purging poisons, and surgery. Caduceus symbol indicates naga in IVC seals.
6	Shashti (Sixth day)		The sixth day belongs to ‘Pithrus.’ (Ancestors)	Karthikeya presides over this day and is favourable for coronations, meeting new friends, festivities, and enjoyment. God/goddess is also called Shashti.
7	Saptami (Seventh-day)		God Surya was not worshipped during IVC times. The god worshipped was the Egyptian god ‘Heh’ who could give ‘million years’ of ‘after life’. Presently, he is knownas god ‘Ayyappa.’ (8) (9)	Surya rules the 7th lunar day; one may begin a journey, buy conveyances, and dealwith other such things of a movable nature.
8	Ashtami (Eighth day)	Astaka	Rudra Astaka	The Rudra rule this day. This day is suitable for taking up arms and building one’s defences and fortification.

			Number eight is absent in Indus script but replaced by the Astaka symbol. (4)This day was the most important as per the IVC calendar. In modern-day Hindu’s minds, this eighth day still makes an impact as a bad day. It is the most inauspicious day, the day of disease and bad things. Rudra’s arrow brings death and destruction as per Rig Veda. (10)
9	Navami (Ninth day)		There is no god for this day. This day is not represented at all in the Indus seals.	The Ambika rules this day, suitable for killing enemies, acts of destruction, and violence. Inauspicious for ceremonies and journeys.
10	Dasami (Tenth day)		Yama/ Dharmaraja/day of judgement. Maybe the chair symbol indicates the day of judgement and Yama Dharmaraja.	Dharmaraja/Yama rules this day and is auspicious for acts of virtue, religious functions, spiritual practices, and other pious activities.
11	Ekadasi (Eleventh day)		There is no god for this day. This day is not represented at all in the Indus seals.	Rudra rules this day; fasting, devotional activities, and remembrance of the Supreme Lordare very favourable. This day has special religious significance in Hinduism and Jainism—usually observed by fasting.
12	Dvadasi (Twelfth day)		The twelfth day belongs to goddess Neith. Refer to my article,’ Double bow and double arrow indicate Goddess Neith’ for more information. (11) The double bow symbol indicates goddess Neith.	God Vishnu or Aditya rules this day. This day is auspicious for religious ceremonies, lighting the sacred fire, and performing duties.
13	Trayodasi (Thirteenth day)		There is no god for this day. This day is not represented at all in the Indus seals.	Cupid rules this day and is suitable for forming friendships, sensual pleasures, and festivities.
14	Chaturdashi (Fourteenth day)		There is no god for this day. This day is not represented at all in the Indus seals.	Kali rules this day, suitable for administering poison and calling of elementals and spirits.

15

Amavasya (New Moon day) (or) Purnima or Paurnami (Full Moon day)

It looks like that in the IVC period; also, the Amavasya day belonged to the Pithrus.

The Pitru-devas rule the New Moon, suitable for the propitiation of the Manes and performance of austerities. Purnima is ruled by Moon and is ideal for merrymaking and fire sacrifice.

All these fifteen days will be repeated to complete the 30 days of a month. This fortnightly numbering pattern of the Indus script shows that the IVC priests were using the moon-based calendar, which is still being practised in modern India. The Indus script numbers were probably used to calculate funeral ceremonies, not commercial trade calculations as popularly imagined so far.

Symbols combination	Frequency	Gods associated with various calendar days
	21	Fourth-day Sastha means Yama or God of death, most probably Varuna/Osiris in IVC times. (12)
	17	The fifth-day symbol is associated with the cow’s uterus symbol, which indicates goddess Meshkhenet. She was associated with childbirth. (7)
	10	The fifth day is also associated with the Kedaga symbol (Shield- protection). (13) The fifth day is associated with Meshkhenet.
	11	Fifth-day Sastha – The fifth day is associated with Meshkhenet.
	16	The sixth day is associated with Pithrus (Ancestors). Generally, the sixth day is related to the goddess shasti, but in IVC sixth day is associated with ancestors.
	10	The sixth day is also associated with the ‘Sastha’ (God) symbol. No specific god is mentioned.
	27	The seventh day is associated with the funeral mound and the god ‘Heh’(Ayyappa). (9)
	14	This grapheme is an allograph of the funeral mound symbol and associated with the god ‘Heh’(Ayyappa).
	11	The seventh day is also associated with the cone symbol, which indicates God ‘Heh’ (Ayyappa), capable of giving a million years of afterlife. (10) (8)

	11	Seventh-day Kau (Sacrifice) no specific god is mentioned here, but as shown in earlier rows, the seventh- day god is ‘Heh.’
	15	The seventh day is within brackets. But there is no difference with the earlier row symbol pair; it means the same thing.
	14	Twelfth-day sacrifice is associated with the goddess Neith. (11)

The highest combination frequency is ‘78’ associated with the seventh-day god, ‘Heh’(Ayyappan). He was the second most popular god of IVC times because he could give ‘million years of the afterlife’. (8) (9)

The most popular god of IVC times was Rudra. (11) His name does not appear in the above-given table because he was identified with the ‘Astaka ’symbol’ (Arrow symbol), and no numeral eight is present in Indus script. (4) The Astaka symbol data is given below in a separate table. All the above-given data is obtained from research papers of Mahadevan and Sundar et al.

(12) (13)

Indus valley priests used a ‘moon calendar.’

It looks like that the IVC priests had used moon calendars for their timekeeping. The present-day Hindu calendar is a mixture of the Sun calendar as well as the moon calendar. But, the act of counting days of a month continues to be the cycle of 15 days + 15 days. This counting of fourteen days cycle is conclusive evidence that the ‘moon calendar’ is the dominant part of the

South Indian calendar system, and the calendar ideas of Indus valley people are still lingering on.

Some of the Indus symbols correlate well with present-day Hindu calendar ideas. For example, case number eight explains the situation very well. Number eight is entirely missing in Indus inscriptions. How will it be possible for any calendar or counting system that does not use the number eight’?

In the Indus inscription, the number eight is written as ‘’Astaka symbol” instead of eight lines. The number eight in the form of eight lines is ‘’nil”, whereas the ‘’Astaka” symbols were used 314 times, which was the most important religious day of the Indus calendar fortnight.

On the same lines, number four is shown as an empty chair (judgement seat of Yama) . All this evidence indicates that the IVC calendar ideas have not disappeared but are still in practice

today. I have made a correlation table showing the day and relevant (ruling) god of that day, which still surprisingly corresponds with the ideas of IVC priests. (the table is given below)

Numbers frequently used are the 4th day, 6th day,7th day, 8th day & 12th day. These days are particular days on which rituals are conducted for different gods. Each day belongs to a different god. Whereas numbers 11, 13 & 14 are absent. Numbers 5, 9 &10 are very rarely used. All these factors indicate that the Indus seal inscriptions of numerals suggest that they were used for funeral

ceremonies and worshipping different gods, not for commercial calculation or Transactions. This numbering specificity of Indus numerals is another evidence of my necropolis theory on IVC. (14)

Frequency table of Sundar et al. (13) showing the frequency of various numbers in Indus Inscriptions

	Symbols	Gods	Frequency
1		No specific god / indicates a stick offered to ancestors in the Samidha shraddha ceremony. (1)	149
2		No specific god/ number two means ‘Dvi-Kau’ / sacrifice meant for two entities. (Gods as well as Pithrus) (2)	365
3		No specific god/ number three means many gods and dangerous gods. (3)	465
4		Yama/ Varuna/Osiris (12)	134
5		Goddess Meshkhenet (7)	60
6		Most probably the day of Pithrus, not any specific god.	38
7		Number seven is the day of God ‘Heh’(Ayyappa) (9) (8)	87
8	Nil ———–	God Rudra Number eight is missing – How is it logically possible? The eighth day belongs to Rudra. Instead of showing numbers, only the symbols of the god have been shown. Arrow is the symbol of God Rudra. (10)	227
9	Nil		Note-1

1 Numbers nine,ten and eleven also occurs but in minuscule numbers. Refer to the book of Asko Parpola (16)., figure 5.1, where these symbols and numerals are listed out. Since the frequency is very low, the authors of the research paper Sundar etal. have not taken these small numbers into consideration (13).

10	Nil		Note-1
11	Nil		Note-1
12		Goddess Neith. (11)	70
13	Nil		Note-2
14	Nil		Note-2

Bibliography

1. Jeyakumar(Number-one). Number one (Stick_symbol) could be indicating Agnoukaran Yajna. Academia.edu. [Online] 2020. https://www.academia.edu/43552080/Number_one_Stick_symbol_could_be_indicating_Agnoukara n_Yajna.

2 Numbers thirteen and fourteen are absentin Indus civilization inscriptions. This table is prepared basedon the data made available by Sundar et al. (13)

1. Jeyakumar(number-two). Number two indicates Dvi Kavu sacrifice for two entities. Academia.edu. [Online] 2017. https://www.academia.edu/43643776/Number_two_indicate_Dvi_Kavu_sacrifice_for_two_entities.
2. jeyakumar(number-three). Number three specifies Many gods and also Dangerous gods. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/41294661/Number_three_specifies_Many_gods_and_also_Dangerous_ gods..
3. Jeyakumar(Mamsastaka). Astaka symbols indicates the Mams-Astaka ritual in Indus script. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/11715645/Astaka_symbols_indicates_the_Mams- Astaka_ritual_in_Indus_script.
4. Jeyakumar(Indus-gods-calendar). Indus script Numerals represent various gods as per calendar days. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/31708667/Indus_script_Numerals_represent_various_gods_as_per_cal endar_days.
5. Wikipedia(Thithi). Tithi. Wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithi.
6. Jeyakumar(Two-bricks). Two bricks symbol indicates the Egyptian Goddess Meskhenet. Academia.edu. [Online] 2019. https://www.academia.edu/41108464/Two_bricks_symbol_indicates_the_Egyptian_Goddess_Mesk henet.
7. Jeyakumar(Heh). Egyptian god Heh in Indus valley civilization. Academia.edu. [Online]
8. Jeyakumar(Ayyappan). https://www.academia.edu/31640471/Difference_between_Ayyappan_and_Ayyanar. https://www.academia.edu/31640471/Difference_between_Ayyappan_and_Ayyanar. [Online] 2018. https://www.academia.edu/31640471/Difference_between_Ayyappan_and_Ayyanar.
9. Jeyakumar(Cone-symbol). Cone symbol means Given eternal life. https://www.academia.edu. [Online] 2018. https://www.academia.edu/41094648/Cone_symbol_means_Given_eternal_life.
10. Jeyakumar(Rudra). Rudra was the most important god of Indus Valley Civilization. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/43654003/Rudra_was_the_most_important_god_of_Indus_Valley_Civili zation.
11. Mahadevan.I. The Indus script -Text, Concordance and Tables. http://www.rmrl.in.

[Online] http://www.rmrl.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/papers/5a.pdf.

1. Sundar, G.,Chandrsekar,S.SureshBabu,G.C.,Mahaadevan,I. The-Indus-Script-Text-and- Context. wordpress/wp-content/uploads. [Online] 2010. http://203.124.120.60/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/43-The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context.pdf.
2. Jeyakumar(Necropolis). Necropolis theory on Indus Valley Civilization. Academia.edu. [Online] 2009. https://www.academia.edu/7773502/Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization.
3. Jeyakumar(Rudra). Bow and arrow symbol indicates God Rudra. Academia.edu. [Online] May. 2016. https://www.academia.edu/25699863/Bow_and_arrow_symbol_indicates_God_Rudra.
4. Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus Script. New Delhi. : Cambridge University Press.,

2000.

Indus script symbols – Man in bondage (Prisoner) was sacrificed.

Indus seals show a symbol of a man in bondage, either one leg is tied or both legs are tied. Most probably, they were prisoners and were sacrificed to various gods. Now, I would like to present those seals which show such logos.

	Man’s legs are bonded; this ritual indicates that Pithru (dead person) is in the nether world (Kur symbol) – Ka symbol (Soul) – Istika – Yajna – finally, the man in the bondage, most probably a prisoner, was sacrificed.
	Man in bondage — karkida ritual – Garhapatya sacrifice. Most probably, the man was sacrificed.
	Number four shows the fourth day gods. Fourth day gods are four in number, and help the man attain heaven. The four gods were the four pillars of heaven. (Four Dikpalakas). Man sacrificed.
	Man in bondage, sacrifice oriented towards Rudra (Bow symbol). (or) Dakshina agni fire pit in Yajna-sala. Generally, the Dakshina-agni pit is in a half-circle shape.
	Man in bondage is sacrificed to appease the fourth day gods.
	Fourth day god – kedaga -yajna – number three dangerous gods – Man sacrificed’
	(side-A) – This side shows simply a man offered. It is without any other symbols and immediately indicates that the man was sacrificed. The other side (Side-B) shows the symbol of dangerous gods (Number three).
	This seal shows many gods – first is god Rudra, holding bow and arrow, -Sastha -Yajna – Pithru symbol (Fish) – hoof symbol indicates the god Pusan- Then the man in bondage – gate symbol (Gatekeeper god) – Ka– symbol (Soul) – finally the kavu symbol (sacrifice) The conclusion is that the man was sacrificed.

Earlier, I had a second opinion that this symbol could have indicated the Pithru in bondage before final release, which is also presented in my earlier book. I think that idea had to be changed because generally Pithrus are depicted as fish or birds, no man symbol is used. Further, in the last row seal inscription (in the above table), the Pithru (Fish) symbol and the man sacrificed are presented, showing that these symbols indicate different meanings. Based on the above analysis, it can be concluded that this bonded man symbol shows that the man was sacrificed.

Frequency analysis of Iravatham Mahadevan (1)

These are the variants of the men in bondage symbol. This detail is from the NFM – National Fund for Mohenjo-Daro. (2) However, as per Mahadevan, there are only two variants; hence, the data may not be accurate. The occurrence of these symbols is as follows:

	14 occurrences
	19 occurrences

Even though Mahadevan has considered it to represent two different symbols, I have taken it to represent a single idea, that man in bondage was a prisoner and was sacrificed. So, I will analyse the issue on that basis.

	9 occurrences	X- symbol indicates Varuna, generally Varuna sacrifice is associated with human sacrifice, hence it is a logical combination and occurs at maximum frequency.
	4	This combination occurs four times without any other symbols, just these two symbols. It explains the issue better than other combinations; it means simply human sacrifice. The only other side of the seal offers some more detail.
	3	Here, the human sacrifice is to appease the gatekeeper.
	2	In this combination, the man in bondage is with the Istika god (Ishta Devta); it can be any god.
	2	Here, the man in bondage is in combination with the god Rudra.
	1	Combination with the Karkida ritual symbol
	1	Fourth day god ritual – human sacrifice
	1	The bird symbol indicates Pithru – Human sacrifice done to help Pithru.
	1	Karkida Ritual – human sacrifice.

All these combinations show that this man in bondage symbol was used in a standard way to please all gods. The only exception is the first combination with x-god (Varuna), which occurs 9 times. Considering all these factors, it can be concluded that the man in bondage symbol indicates a prisoner sacrificed to please the gods.

References

1. RMRL, Mahadevan. [Online] Mahadevan, Iravatham & Roja Muthiah Research Library (2021), The Indus Script Web Application(IM77/IDF80). https://indusscript.in.

2. Harappa.com(NFM). [Online] https://www.harappa.com/video/indus-script-font.

3. Chicago Museum. [Online] https://www.artic.edu/artworks/140824/amulet-of-a-leg-and-foot.

Anai -Kottai, Srilanka -seal inscriptions

The Anaikoddai seal is a soapstone seal that was found in Anaikoddai, Sri Lanka, during archaeological excavations of a megalithic burial site by a team of researchers from the University of Jaffna. The seal was originally part of a signet ring and contains one of the oldest Brahmi inscriptions mixed with megalithic graffiti symbols on the island. It was dated paleographically to the early third century BC.[1]

Although many pottery fragments have been found in excavations throughout Sri Lanka and South India that had both Brahmi and megalithic graffiti symbols side by side, the Anaikoddai seal is distinguished by having each written in a manner that indicates that the megalithic graffiti symbols may be a translation of the Brahmi. Read from right to left, the legend is read by most scholars in early Tamil as Koveta (Ko-ve-ta 𑀓𑁄𑀯𑁂𑀢). (1)

‘Ko’ and ‘Veta’ both mean ‘King’ in Tamil and refer to a chieftain here. It is comparable to such names as Ko Ataṉ and Ko Putivira occurring in contemporary Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions. The trident symbol is equated with ‘King’, and is also found after a Tamil-Brahmi inscription of the Chera dynasty, thus supporting this interpretation. (2)

Picture courtesy – Ponnambalam Raghupathy. (3)

As observed by many scholars, this seal contains bilingual inscriptions. The first line is written in the Indus script, and the second line is written in Tamil Brahmi inscriptions. The first symbol is not clear in the above picture. Hence, I have taken a picture from Rajan and Osmund’s research paper, and the picture is given below for easy reference. (2)

This picture is in the reverse direction of the other images on the net; I don’t know why the authors wanted to present it in this format. Anyhow, we can proceed with whatever material is available.

The first symbol [ ] looks like a modified form of the Karkida symbol [] of the Indus script. Karkida means a ritual held for dead people (Pithrus) in the month of “Karkidam” (July -August) in Kerala. The same ritual is held as “Sarva Pitri Amavasya” in the rest of India in September or October. The second symbol is the Sastha [] symbol, indicating the word “god.” []This symbol indicates the idea of a branch (Sahastha means branch living god), thereby the word Sastha (God). Refer to my book for more information on this symbol. (4) This two-symbol combination is very popular and has often been used in the Indus seal inscriptions and Tamil Nadu graffiti symbols. Hence, I assume the combination of the symbols to be read as ‘Karkida sastha’.

The last symbol in the first row, again, the branch symbol (), is slightly different; it is not the same Sastha symbol, it is not trishul, but the “Ka”() symbol, meaning “Soul” in Indus seal inscriptions. But, in Tamil Nadu, this format of two “Ka” symbols appearing in twin form () occurs not in IVC seals. If we consider the other way, the two-hand symbol is the same as Egypt’s two upraised hands () symbol. Most probably, the second () ka symbol means “Kavu”(sacrifice). Finally, it can be read as “Karkida-Sastha-Kavu”. It means a sacrifice was made to appease the karkida ritual god, “Rudra”, to consider favourably the dead man’s soul (Ka =) in heaven.

Minor variations in this reading do not affect the overall meaning of this inscription. Because this seal had been found along with the skeleton of a dead person. I have been saying for a long time that all these Indian Valley Civilisation seals and Tamil graffiti are related to death rituals. It should be either the dead person’s name or some ritual about death. Here, in the present case, it does not appear to be the dead person’s name. The only possibility is that it should be the name of a god and a sacrifice to him.

Now, let us read the second line. The Srilankan funeral priest wrote the second line in a boustrophedon way; hence, we have to start reading from the reverse direction of the first line. It is written as Ka- Vu- Karkida, the first two letters are written in Brahmi script, but the priest had fallen back to the Indus script symbol for the last letter. It is a mixed form of writing; hence, much care is necessary for interpretation.

References

1. Wikipedia(Anai-kottai). [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaikoddai_seal.

2. Rajan and Bopearachchi, Osmund. Graffiti_Marks_of_Kodumanal_India_and_Ridiyagama_Sri_Lanka_A_Comparative_Study_Man_and_Environment_XXVII_2_2002_pp_97_105. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/30766939/.

3. Raghupathy, Ponnambalam. Early settlements in Jaffna: an archaeological survey. 1987.

4. Jeyakumar(Book). Indus symbols dictionary. s.l. Pothi Publication -Online, 2022.

Tamil Nadu Graffiti – the comb symbol indicates the word “Offering.”

Reference to the above symbol: page 116 of the book by Gurumurthy. The reference “GMM” refers to the Government Museum, Madurai. The exact place where this artefact was found is not known. This comb-like symbol appears in IVC as well as in Tamil Nadu graffiti. Gurumurthy defines the symbol simply as “Comb”. But it is not as simple as that. There is a deeper meaning behind this symbol. I have already determined its value as “Offering” in my earlier book, the “Indus Symbols Dictionary”. The exact meaning is also applicable in ancient Tamil Nadu. This “comb” symbol had to be read with other accompanying symbols to understand its true sense.

For more information, read my article, “The Comb Symbol Means the Word ‘Offering’ in the Indus Valley Civilisation” (in the Indus Symbols Dictionary book).

Gurumurthy defines all these four symbols as the number “Four”, a straightforward solution from Gurumurthy. All four symbols are distinct from one another. The comb symbol is depicted as pottery graffiti from Kodumanal, as shown on page 120 of the book by Gurumurthy.

A similar comb symbol appears with three fangs in the Uraiyur pot graffiti. Gurumurthy defines it as number three (Page no. 120). I disagree with this interpretation; it is a variant of the same ‘offering’ symbol.

The above picture shows variants of the offering symbol in Tamil Nadu graffiti. Reference page no 274, book by Gurumurthy.

This graffiti appears in Thirukampuliyur, near Karur, Tamil Nadu. The first symbol resembles a comb, which may suggest an offering. The second symbol defines the god to whom the offering was made. The second symbol indicates the mountain god. The mountain god of Tamil Nadu was either Geb of Egypt, Enlil of Sumeria or Varuna of the IVC. It could be any one of the three gods. One crucial point is that these symbols should be interpreted with their adjoining symbols. Here, it clearly says that some offering was made to the mountain god. Hence, the idea that the comb symbol means offering is confirmed.

IVC – The single mountain symbol indicates the mountain god Enlil or Varuna.

Generally, the ideas of IVC are followed by Tamil Nadu Graffiti markings. However, there are some distinctive features between these two civilisations. The mountain symbol is one such example. The IVC priests used a single mountain to indicate god Varuna or Enlil, whereas the Tamil Nadu funeral priests used a double mountain symbol for the same purpose. They may convey the same meaning, or there could be subtle differences. The Tamil Nadu priest could have indicated the Egyptian god “Geb” by his double mountain symbol. I have written a separate article about the double mountain symbol. Read that article for more information.

The inscriptions in this seal show a man and his legs tied to a chevron symbol. This figure likely indicates the mountain god; the chevron symbol attached to his leg suggests that both these symbols should be read together, and the conclusion is that it is the mountain god. The bow-like symbol could indicate a type of Yajna, where this semicircle indicates the Yajna pit used in the ritual. The comb symbol indicates the word offering.

Picture courtesy – Wikipedia (1) Note the semi-circle in the Yajnasala map shown on the side. It indicates the Dakshinagni fire pit, not Rudra’s bow symbol.

Frequency analysis of the data of Iravatham Mahadevan (2)

Symbols -pairs	Frequency of occurrence	Meaning of the symbols
	7 times	Mountain god and his stick (Varuna)
	4 Times	The half stick symbol could have indicated the determinative idea of the ancient hieroglyphic or Yajna symbol.
Triplets (Symbols)
	3 times	Varuna Yajna – Garhapatya Yajna, the Wheel symbol indicates Garhapatya Yajna.
	2 times	Varuna and his stick, followed by the caduceus symbol indicating eternal life, to Pithru.

Analysis of the above-given data shows that the mountain and stick symbol is in harmony with the idea of the mountain god Varuna. It should be noted that the God Varuna was originally a sky god, but was later delegated to the watery realm, after the ascendancy of Indra. (Or) The mountain symbol could have indicated the Sumerian god Enlil.

In addition to the above mountain symbol, these symbols could also indicate the phrase “Mountain Sastha”.

The table below shows the variants of the single mountain symbol.

	The chevron symbol in this seal inscription may indicate the mountain god. The comb symbol means offering. The last symbol indicates the word Yajna(fire-sticks).
	The third symbol may be another variant of the mountain symbol. (read from right to left) The two fish symbols indicate the pithrus in heaven.
	In this seal inscription, the mountain symbol follows the god symbol. The stick symbol indicates the stick of Varuna. The caduceus symbol suggests the word “Eternity”. Here, most probably Varuna is giving eternal life to the deceased person.
	(Read from right to left) The mountain symbol and the Sastha symbol follow the dangerous symbol. It reads as the dangerous god Varuna Sastha.
	Varuna is the God with the chevron symbol on his leg, and the fork symbol could be a modified form of the Sastha symbol.