Cone symbol means ‘given eternal life.’

Abstract

The cone symbol intrigued me for a long time; finally, a beautiful meaning has emerged. This cone symbol indicates the act of ‘ giving eternal life’ by Egyptian god Heh. Other gods also vied for the same power. God Heh gave the mortals eternal life of million years, and he got transformed into ‘God Ayyappa’ in the Indian context.

Figure 1: Triangle – Indus symbol.

Figure 2: Indus seal showing the conical object.

Seal picture courtesy – (1)

Figure 3: Photo shows the conical object in Vedic ceremony.

Picture courtesy – (2)

Cone object in the ritual ceremony

The above-given photo shows a traditional Hindu marriage, and Vedic Yajna is being performed. Note the conical shaped object in the right-side bottom corner of the photograph. (2) The relevance of this conical object to the Indus Valley Civilization symbol is that a similar conical symbol appears in the Indus script. Most probably, the cone indicates the presence of God Sah/Sahu (Egyptian god). I made inquiries with many priests regarding the ‘cone object’ meaning in a yajna ceremony. The priests are aware of this conical object but do not know the meaning or significance of using that conical object. The importance of a vital ritual is forgotten, but only the remnant of the tradition is still being practised.

Figure 4: Grave goods – conical bread made of clay

Picture courtesy – Flicker.com

Ancient Egyptian Funerary Cones were part of grave goods

Funerary cones are a type of funereal object from ancient Egypt. It is well known that the ancient Egyptians were highly concerned about the afterlife and did all they could to provide for the dead. Funerary goods were buried with the dead to provide protection and sustenance in the afterlife (3).

Amulets and magic spells, for example, protected and aided the dead in their journey through the underworld, whilst little figurines called shabtis could be magically animated to perform tasks for the dead in the afterlife (3).

Making Funerary Cones

Funerary cones are made of fired Nile mud and are most commonly found to be conical, hence its name. Nevertheless, there are also funerary cones of other shapes, though these are understandably less common. Other shapes include pyramidal, horn-shaped, trumpet-shapes, double-headed and triple-headed cones (only one example of each is known at present), as well as cone-imitated bricks (3).  Similar is the case of Indus script symbols. The cone symbol appears in different types. Below given are some examples.

There is a possibility that the rhino horn could have been used instead of the ‘clay cone’ in the Indus civilization context. The rhino horn could have been an excellent material to inscribe on it. However, it would not have survived the ravages of time. Both ‘clay cones and rhino horns’ have not been found in excavations of Indus sites.

Figure 5: The picture shows the triangle formed by three prominent stars.

Winter Triangle

The Winter Triangle, or the Great Southern Triangle, is an asterism formed by three bright stars in three prominent winter constellations. These stars are Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon in Canis Minor and Sirius in Canis Major constellation and it is prominent in the night sky in the northern hemisphere during the winter months, from December to March. This could be the idea behind the identification of the god Sothis with this triangle symbol.

Egyptian funerary cones of Mentuemhet with hieroglyphics- 650 BC…

Picture courtesy Ancient origins.net (3)

The inscriptions on funerary cones indicate the name of its owner (usually an official serving a pharaoh) and his title. These are stamped onto the face of the cone, which has an average diameter of between 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) (3).

Purpose of Funerary Cones

It is unclear what the funerary cones were used for, and various hypotheses have been put forward over the years. Some, such as Champollion, suggest that the cones served as some sort of labels for the deceased. (3)

Researcher Petrie is of the opinion that the cones were symbolic offerings. Others researchers speculate that the cones were architectural ornaments, architectural material to reinforce the entrance wall, solar symbols, and even phallic symbols. No one knows for certain what the cones were used for, but they were obviously important to death rituals for some time. (3)

Figure 6: Clay cone of Gudea of Sumeria.

Picture courtesy- Wikipedia-commons (4)

Cone symbol in ancient Sumeria

The above-given picture shows the Mesopotamian cuneiform foundation cone, not a religious offering of conical bread as in Egypt. (Neo-Sumerian period, 2120 BC). This cone was dedicated by Gudea, the governor of Lagash, to the god Ningirsu, the mighty warrior of Enlil, to construct the Eninnu Temple. Cuneiform inscriptions cover the entire surface area of the cone. The size of the cone is 4.75 x 2.5 inches.

The objective of cone object in Sumeria as well as in Egypt is looking similar. In both cases, the individual’s name and designation are mentioned. And also, the name of the god to whom the offering/dedication is made is also mentioned. The objective seems to be that the person’s name and meritorious work should be put forth before the god and produced as a permanent record to give the dead man’s soul favourable treatment at the netherworld.

Figure 7: Bread cone and Sothis cone

Picture courtesy – Barry Carter (5)

The “white bread” cones are often adjacent to a hieroglyph that is called the “Sacred Sothic Triangle” (6). The above-given picture shows the difference between conical bread and the Sothis triangle. The Sothis triangles seem to be more regular in shape than the bread cones (5).

 

 The above-given picture shows another critical character of this Sothis triangle (5). This triangle always appears in pair form along with the ankh symbol. This pair of symbols give a meaning ‘given everlasting life.’ In the Indus script also the cone symbol is always followed by the branch symbol. Brach symbol means ‘sastha (god). (7) This pairing of these two symbols shows that, as such, it was the name of a god, not merely shewbread.

Sah and Sopdet – Father and mother of Egyptian gods

In Egyptian mythology, Sah was the “Father of the gods”. The above-given picture of Sah is the anthropomorphic representation of a prominent Egyptian constellation represented by the modern constellations of Orion and Lepus. (8) (9) This representation also includes stars from modern Eridanus, Monoceros and Columba constellations. (10) His consort was Sopdet (Spdt), known by the ancient Greek name as Sothis, the goddess of the star Sirius (the “Dogstar”). Sah became associated with a more important deity, Osiris, and Sopdet with Osiris’s consort Isis. (11 p. 129)

Sah was frequently mentioned as “the Father of Gods” in the Old Kingdom Pyramid texts. Pharaoh was thought to travel to Orion after his death. (11) This above said observation of Wilkinson and Richard seems to be important. The entire scheme of mortuary temples and rituals are oriented towards the afterlife journey of a dead man’s soul. The soul’s final destination is the Orion constellation, which is the world of the God Sah, the ancient father.

In the context of Hindu religious ideas, this Egyptian god could have been replaced by Brahma and Brahma-Loka because Brahma was the first god who emerged of his own in this universe at the time of the creation of gods and animals. Brahma only created all the other gods and beings; he was also the father of all other Rishis. Hence, Brahma looks similar to the father god of Egyptian gods.

Figure 8: Goddess Sopdet

Picture courtesy -Wikipedia

During the early period of Egyptian civilization, the heliacal rising of the bright Sothis star preceded the usual annual flooding of the Nile (11). Therefore, it was used for the solar civil calendar, which largely superseded the original lunar calendar in the 3rd millennium BC. Despite the wandering nature of the Egyptian calendar, the erratic timing of the flood from year to year, and the slow procession of Sirius within the solar year, Sopdet continued to remain central to cultural depictions of the year and the Egyptian New Year. She was also revered as a goddess of fertility brought to the soil by the flooding. (12)

During the Old Kingdom, she was an important goddess of the annual flood and a psychopomp guiding deceased pharaohs through the Egyptian underworld. During the Middle Kingdom, she was primarily a mother and nurse and, by the Ptolemaic period, she was almost entirely subsumed into Isis. (11)

Figure 9: Hieroglyphic symbol of Sopdet (Sothis)

One important thing to be noted here is the hieroglyphic name of Sopdet. See the conical symbol glyph is appearing in the name of the god. Literally also, the word ‘Sopdet’ means “Triangle” or “Sharp One”. There is a possibility that the conical symbol could be indicating the goddess Sopdet (Greek name Sothis). (Or) The other possibility is that the cone symbol could mean the god Sah, who was also called Sahu.

One relevant observation to be noted here is that both these names are appearing as name titles even today in India. The title ‘Sah’ is common in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The title ‘Shah’ (sounds like ‘Sah’) is common in Gujarat. The title ‘Sahu’ is prevalent in the state of Orissa.

God Dakshinamurthi.

Picture courtesy –Wikipedia (13)

‘Proto- Shiva’ seal and Dakshinamurthi

The above-given picture shows the god Dakshinamurthi, surrounded by sages. This god is generally shown with four arms. He is seated under a banyan tree, facing the south. He is sitting upon a deer throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.  In many other depictions, this god is surrounded by wild animals instead of sages.

Figure 10: Sky map showing Orion constellation

Picture courtesy – Wikipedia

Further, the southern side position of Dakshinamurthi is reaffirmed by the position of the Orion constellation in the southern hemisphere of the sky. The Orion constellation is located south of the ecliptical pathway, Sun, moon, and other planets’ pathway. The basic visualization of Hindu priests is that all the celestial gods (Planets) pass through a pathway (ecliptic pathway), which is also the central axis of the Hindu temple. In this scheme, Orion is a minor god on the southern sidewall of the Garbha Graha (Inner Sanctorum of the temple). Finally, the name ‘Dakshinamurthi’ literally means ‘god of the southern side.’

The relevance of this discussion about Dakshinamurthi is that the ‘Proto-Shiva’ seal corresponds with this god Dakshinamurthi in all aspects. For more details, read my article,” Proto-Shiva seal and Dakshinamurthi”. (14)

Indus seal showing ‘Proto-Shiva’/ Brahma/Dakshinamurthi

Orion constellation and surrounding animals

The conclusion is that the god depicted in the above-given seal could be Sah/Sahu of the Egyptian god. We do not know what the name by which Indus people called this god is. Till a finality is arrived at on this issue, we shall call him ‘Mrigasira’ (god surrounded by animals).

The conclusion is that the Egyptian god Sah is associated with the Orion constellation and is called ‘Dakshinamurthi’ by modern Hindu priests. The Canis Major constellation was viewed as Goddess Sopdet (Sothis in Greek) by ancient Egyptian people, but it is unclear how the Indus people called this god. This Canis Major is shown as ‘Tiger’ in Indus seals.

Finally, what is the meaning of the cone symbol?

Cone symbol stands for the god ‘Sah/Sopdet’ and the concept of the final salvation of a soul. The Cone symbol also stands for the word ‘Given’ as interpreted by Egyptologists.

The researcher Max Distro states that the ancient Egyptian Bread Cone is one of the oldest ideas from Ancient Egypt. It was used in the early dynasties of Egypt. Max Distro explains that the meaning of the Bread Cone is: “to give”, “present”. The above given hieroglyphic inscription says that the pharaoh was “Given Eternal life like Ra”. (15)

Similar is the situation of interpreting the ‘cone’ symbol of Indus script. It does not merely indicate the offering of conical bread to god. It does not simply mean the god ‘Sah/Sopdet’. This cone symbol indicates the broad idea of giving eternal life to the soul of a dead person. It looks like the final funeral ceremony in which the soul entered the netherworld at Orion constellation, and the soul was given eternal life to live with ‘Sah’.

 

Frequency distribution analysis

The research paper submitted by Sundar et al. contains the statistical analysis and frequency distribution analysis of various Indus symbols (16). The data about cone symbol are extracted and presented in the below-given table.

Table 1: frequency distribution analysis table by Sundar et al.

Symbol	Solus	Initial	Medial	Final	Total
	0	29	2	0	31
	0	15	0	0	15
	0	12	0	0	12
	0	0	15	1	16
	1	5	6	0	12
	0	5	6	0	11
	1	66	29	1	97

Symbol	total	Reading of symbols All these pairs of symbols should be read from right to left	Meaning
	31	Eternal life and Gatekeeper god	The meaningful pairing of symbols
	15	Eternal life – Sastha	The meaningful pairing of symbols
	12	Karma- Eternal life	This combination is meaningful because ‘Karma’ceremony is performed for ‘Pithrus’, for obtaining eternal life.
	16	Eternal life -Kavu (Sacrifice)	Meaningful association of symbols
	12	Eternal life- Kur	Kur is the netherworld indicated by three mountains. God Sah was the lord of ‘Kur.’
	11	Eternal life- seventh day	It is a meaningful association and an important one also. It says Sah was the lord of the seventh day.
	97

All the above-given pairs are meaningful. Thanks to the research work of Mahadevan (17) and Sundar (16), all their statistical analysis work of Indus symbols have yielded some excellent results.

God Ayyappan

Finally, it is relevant to mention that the ‘cone’ doesn’t merely indicate Sah and sopdet; it ultimately means their son ‘god Ayyappa’ in the Indian context. Read my article ‘difference between ‘ Ayyappan and Ayyanar’ for more information. (17)

1. Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary. s.l. : Suzanne Redalia, 2011.

2. iskconklang. vedic-wedding-for-tulasi-maharani-and-saligram. iskconklang.wordpress.com/. [Online] November 2015. https://iskconklang.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/vedic-wedding-for-tulasi-maharani-and-saligram/.

3. ancient-origins.net. examining-cryptic-grave-goods-what-are-ancient-egyptian-funerary-cones-. https://www.ancient-origins.net. [Online] 7 February 2016. https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/examining-cryptic-grave-goods-what-are-ancient-egyptian-funerary-cones-020736.

4. commons.wikimedia.org. Sumerian_-_Gudea_Cone_-_Walters. [Online] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumerian_-_Gudea_Cone_-_Walters_481461_-_View_A.jpg.

5. Carter, Barry. shewbread. subtleenergies.com. [Online] http://www.subtleenergies.com/ormus/tw/shewbread.htm.

6. Musaios. “The Lion Path: You Can Take It With You”. s.l. : Golden scepture, 1989.

7. Jeyakumar(Sastha). Branch_symbol_indicates_the_word_Sastha. academia.edu. [Online] 2016. https://www.academia.edu/31658123/Branch_symbol_indicates_the_word_Sastha..

8. wikipedia(Sah). Sah_(god). wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sah_(god).

9. “On the Orientation of Ancient Egyptian Temples: (1) Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia”. Shaltout, Belmonte. s.l. : Shaltout, Belmonte (August 1, 2005). “On the Orientation of Ancient Egyptian TempJournal for the History of Astronomy. 36 (3): 273–298. doi:10.1177, 2005. Shaltout, Belmonte (August 1, 2005). “On the Orientation of Ancient Egyptian Temples: (1) Upper 002182860503600302..

10. Belmonte, J.A. Calendars, symbols and orientations: Legacies of astronomy in culture – The Ramesside star clocks and the ancient Egyptian constellations . Stockholm : s.n., 2003.

11. Wilkinson, Richard H. The complete gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. London : Thames & Hudson. , 2003. ISBN 978-0-500-05120-7..

12. wikipedia(Sopdet). Sopdet#CITEREFVygus2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopdet. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopdet#CITEREFVygus2015.

13. wikipedia(Dakshinamurthi). Dakshinamurthy. wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakshinamurthy.

14. Jeyakumar(Dakshinamurthi). https://www.academia.edu/31640723/Proto-Shiva_seal_and_Dakshinamurthi. Academia.edu. [Online] 2017. https://www.academia.edu/31640723/Proto-Shiva_seal_and_Dakshinamurthi.

15. Distro, Max. egyptian-hieroglyphs-and-sacred-symbols. traveltoeat.com. [Online] https://traveltoeat.com/egyptian-hieroglyphs-and-sacred-symbols/.

16. 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.

17. 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.

Yoni symbol indicates ‘mother goddess’ and the concept of ‘rebirth’.

Abstract

So far, I have identified many symbols relating to many gods of Indus civilization. However, no logo has appeared for ‘mother goddesses.’ How is it possible? India is known for female goddess worship, and goddesses are still ruling the roost. After careful analysis, I have concluded that the ‘yoni’ symbol might indicate the ‘mother goddesses.’

Picture courtesy –Sue Sullivan (1)

The above-given symbol could be meaning ‘yoni’, thereby representing ‘mother goddess’ and ‘rebirth concept’.

Figure 1: Symbols indicating ‘Smasana-cayana’ ritual pit

Picture courtesy -Sue Sullivan (1)

The above-given figure shows ‘Smasana-cayana’ pits. However, it could be indirectly showing the ‘yoni symbol’ as a sign of rebirth. Refer to my article on the ‘Smasana-cayana’ ritual for more information. (2) The ancients believed that the soul would enter another yoni after the completion of funeral ceremonies. This phrase is frequently used in Bhagwat Gita while describing the transmigration of the soul of a dead person.

Figure 2: embryo shape symbol

Picture courtesy – (1)

The above-given pictogram may be indicating the embryo symbol. The first and second pictogram clearly shows the embryo form, Whereas the remaining cryptograms show the ‘Vesica Pisces’ concept. Once again, this embryo symbol means the idea of the mother goddess and ‘Rebirth’.

Figure 3: Vesica Pisces symbol

Picture courtesy — (1)

The above-given figure shows the concept of ‘Vesica Pisces’. Rekha Rao proposes such a concept in her e-book. In her book, chapter 3&4, location 3975&4038 (E-book), she had given a detailed analysis of the idea of Vesica Pisces and its relevance to Indus symbols. (3) This concept is well described in her book. My article on ‘fish symbolism’ also explains the same concept (4).

It looks like that ancient Indus people believed in ‘Rebirth’ and believed that they would be reborn as a ‘fish’ for an intermediary birth and later on achieving higher forms of birth. Probably the idea was similar to the modern-day Hindu concept of rebirth and attaining higher forms of life.

Picture courtesy – Asko Parpola (5)

The above-given symbols indicate the Yoni symbol with growing seedling inside. It might have meant the mother goddess. The second possibility is that it could have meant the rebirth of a dead man’s soul as a seedling. The second explanation fits very well compared to the first interpretation of Goddess.

Picture courtesy – Asko Parpola (5)

The above-given symbols also indicate the vulva and germinating seed inside. The germinating seed, in turn, indicates the growing embryo of a human child and thereby showing the rebirth of the soul.

Picture courtesy – Asko Parpola (5)

The above-given symbols look like fetus symbol, maybe indicating a growing embryo in the mother’s womb. These symbols also may be showing the transmigrating soul in the process of rebirth. (or) This symbol could be a variant of the yoni symbol.

Picture courtesy – Sue Sullivan (1)

The above-given seal inscription shows the fetus symbol. Most probably, the tiger god depicted in the seal may be a goddess. In Hindu culture, the mother goddess Durga is always depicted as riding a tiger. The tiger goddess coincides very well with the fetus and rebirth concept.

Lajja Gowri

Picture courtesy – Wikipedia (6)

Her fertility aspect is emphasized by the symbolic representation of the genitals, Yoni or the Womb, as blooming Lotus flower denoting blooming youth in some cases and others through a simple yet detailed depiction of an exposed vulva. Added to the fact that she is sitting in a squatting position (uttanpada) with legs open, as in during childbirth, in some cases, the right foot is placed on a platform to facilitate full opening. She is invoked for abundant crops (vegetative fertility) and healthy progeny. A blossoming lotus replaces her head and neck, an icon often used in Tantra. The seven Chakras of human energy anatomy are often depicted as blossoming lotuses. The Goddess is often depicted in her Sri Yantra as a Yoni, shown as a simplified triangle at the centre. Further, most fertility goddesses of the Ancient world are similarly shown headless while giving prominent focus to the genitals (7). The Goddess’s arms are bent upwards, each holding a lotus stem, held at the level of the head again depicted by the matured lotus flower (6).

There is no verifiable text in Vedic traditions on the iconography of this Goddess. She doesn’t seem to hold an elevated position in the Hindu pantheon, despite her strong presence throughout India. This Goddess is famous, especially in the tribal region of Bastar in Central India and downwards to the South, suggesting that the Goddess had a cult of her own, later embraced into the mainstream religion through the myths of Sati and Parvati. The Goddess is sometimes called Lajja Gauri (shameless Goddess), interpreted by some as the Innocent Creatrix, the Creator deity (8) or at times simply “Headless Goddess”, or Aditi Uttanapada by modern archaeologist, academicians and Indologists (9).

Figure 4: Vulva symbols

Picture courtesy (10)

External evidence

The above-said idea of the ‘yoni symbol’ had to be supported by some substantial evidence. The collection of ‘yoni symbols’ at Wikipedia Commons endorses the idea of ‘yoni symbol’. Six abstract symbolic representations of external female genitals (i.e., “Yoni” symbols) used in various historical/cultural contexts are presented here in the above-said picture.

1) Upper left: A schematized drawing of the pubic triangle; among other things, this is the earliest archaic form of the ancient Sumerian cuneiform sign MUNUS (meaning “woman”).

2) Upper right: A composite version of Hindu Yoni symbols. It combines features of various versions of Indian Yoni symbols.

3) Lower left: One form of the pointed oval encountered in many contexts as a representation or symbol of the vulva (using the geometry of the Vesica Pisces configuration (i.e., the overlap between two circles of equal diameter, where the centre of each circle is on the circumference of the other).

4) Centre: Oval within oval (another variation of the preceding).

5) Lower centre: a Quasi-original form of an Egyptian hieroglyph used in the spellings of the ancient Egyptian words for “woman” and “vulva.”

6) Lower right: Czech and Slovak “píča” symbol. The ancient Mesopotamian rhomb or lozenge of Ishtar was similar but with concentric diamonds (sometimes with slightly rounded corners) instead of a line inside a diamond.

Table 1: Appearance of yoni symbol in various forms

Seal pictures courtesy – Sue Sullivan (1)

The appearance of the yoni symbol in Indus seals
	The ‘yoni symbol’ and ‘Kedaga’(Shield)symbol mean ‘protection to growing embryo’. (or) protection from the mother goddess
	The germinating seedling from Yoni means the mother goddess. This symbol followed by the ‘Sastha’ (Branch=God) symbol, which confirms that the germinating Yoni indicates a goddess. Secondly, it could mean the idea of rebirth also.
	The seedling within the yoni symbol should be construed as ‘rebirth’, whereas the last two symbols (Karkinos and branch symbol) (Read from left to right) should be read as ‘Karkida Sastha’. Both these symbols look like ‘branch symbols’, but both symbols are different and distinguishable.
	The seal inscription should be read as (read from left to right)- Karkida month – goat god (Ea) (messenger god) – Growing embryo. A bull sacrifice has been made to please the messenger god to protect the growing embryo. (or) second possibility the yoni symbol could be indicating mother goddess.
	The yoni symbol stands alone, in the second row, below the bow symbol’.
	The bird symbol bracketed along with the fish symbol indicates the possibility of a dead person being reborn either as a bird or fish. Crow is being considered as the reborn ‘Pithrus’ even now by Hindus. We don’t eat a crow. Our ancestors are intelligent enough to select a crow as a vehicle of rebirth; if they had chosen ‘chicken’ as a medium of resurrection, we would not be able to eat the chicken at all.
	The squirrel symbol could be indicating the reborn person as a squirrel. Note the extraordinary compassion for squirrel by modern-day Hindus. The squirrel logo is almost equal to ‘fish symbolism.’

Concept of rebirth

The ‘yoni symbol’ does not merely indicate the mother goddess; it stands for the Hindu concept of ‘Rebirth’. The idea of the cycle of birth and death seems to have originated in the Indus Valley civilization itself. Another possibility is the prehistoric Dravidian traditions of South India (11).

The idea of rebirth has resulted in the rebirth soul in an animal form but not total destruction. The concept of rebirth is one of the fundamental principles of Hindu philosophy. Life as we know now after death, therefore, moves on to another form of life based on the merits and demerits it accumulated in its current life. The path to becoming a supreme soul is to practice non-violence and be truthful.

In Hinduism’s Rigveda, the oldest extant Indo-Aryan text, numerous references are made to transmigration, rebirth (punarjanma), and re-death (punarmrtyu) in the Brahmanas. One verse reads, “Each death repeats the death of the primordial man (Purusha), which was also the first sacrifice” (RV 10:90) (11).

1. Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary. s.l. : Suzanne Redalia, 2011.

2. Jeyakumar(Smasana-cayana). Evidence_of_Smasana-cayana_Vedic_burial_ritual_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization. academia.edu. [Online] December 2015. https://www.academia.edu/19514513/Evidence_of_Smasana-cayana_Vedic_burial_ritual_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

3. Rekha. Symbolography in Indus seals. Symbolography in Indus seals(e-Book). s.l. : https://read.amazon.in/, 2015, p. 11736.

4. Jeyakumar(Fish-symbolism). Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization. academia.edu. [Online] December 2015. https://www.academia.edu/19550772/Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

5. Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus script. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2000.

6. Wikipedia(Lajja-Gowri). Lajja_Gauri. wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajja_Gauri.

7. Mishra, Baba. Headless goddess of Nuapada-Orissa. http://orissagov.nic.in/. [Online] 2017. http://web.archive.org/web/20090410142517/http://orissagov.nic.in/e-magazine/Journal/Journal2/pdf/ohrj-07.pdf.

8. Bolon., Carol Radcliffe. Forms of the Goddess Lajja Gauri in Indian Art. 1992. ISBN 978-0-271-00761-8..

9. Images of Indian Goddesses: Myths, Meanings, and Models, by Madhu Bazaz Wangu. Images of Indian Goddesses: Myths, Meanings, and Models, . s.l. : Abhinav Publications, 2003., 2003. ISBN 81-7017-416-3. .

10. commons.wikimedia. File:Vulva_symbols.svg. commons.wikimedia. [Online] March 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vulva_symbols.svg.

11. wikipedia(Reincarnation). Reincarnation. wikipedia. [Online] March 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation.

Swathe a mummy – ritual

Abstract

There is an odd symbol, which rarely appears in Indus seal inscriptions. A similar symbol appears in Egyptian Hieroglyphics dictionary, with a meaning ‘swathe a mummy’. There is a possibility Indus valley people also could have practised mummification like Egyptian people.

The above-given seal inscription shows ‘ Swathe a mummy’ symbol, which could be indicating the wrapping of mummy ritual. The red arrow mark shows the characters, which appears in the Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary.

The above-given picture is the snap-shot taken out of the book of Wallis Budge – Egyptian Hieroglyph dictionary. (1) Reference: Page no:cxlii, chapter.no.xxi, under the heading ‘woven work, plaited, articles’. Serial no.45. This hieroglyphic stands for the meaning ‘Swathe a mummy (or) Embalm a body with unguents, spices, etc. The other meanings are the ‘dead, to count up and reckon’. Out of these three other meanings, the word ‘dead’ also could be applied to Indus seal inscriptions, because the majority of the seal inscriptions revolve around dead people and rituals for them.

This hieroglyphic symbol and the Indus seal symbol are looking more or less the same. Hence, there is a possibility that the seal inscription could be indicating the incidence of mummy wrapping with bandage clothes.

There is one more odd symbol appearing in this seal inscription. Details are as following:

The Tawaret symbol (demon goddess)is followed by SA-protection symbol. The Tawaret symbol is not clear in this inscription, but we have to make an assumption, to complete the reading of the inscription. Tawaret symbol is preceded by Sastha symbol (symbol of god) and followed by SA-protection symbol, which is the specific symbol of this demon goddess. Based on these symbols combination, it can be construed that these three logos together indicates the demon goddess -Tawaret.

The above-given logos are taken from the book of Asko Parpola, which looks similar to ‘Tawaret symbol’. Tawaret was a Hippopotamus god with four legs. However, those four legs are missing in the Indus seal inscription.

Acknowledgements:

1. Indus seal picture is taken from the book of sue Sullivan (2)

2. Logos are taken from the research papers of Iravatham Mahadevan (3) and book Asko Parpola.

Bibliography

1. Budge, Wallis. Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary. London: John Murray, 1920.

2. Sullivan, Sue, Indus script dictionary. 2011.

3. 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.

 

Double mountain indicates ‘Aker.’

Abstract

The double mountain symbol origin seems to be from Egyptian Hieroglyphics. This double mountain indicated the mountains through which the Nile river flowed. Egyptians thought the ‘netherworld’ lay beyond these two mountains, and the two lions were considered the protectors of that realm. It looks like Indus people also believed in a similar idea. It is likely; the Egyptian immigrant priests could have brought this idea to the Indus Valley civilization. Already, I have explained in a separate article that the Indus valley civilization was an amalgam of Egyptian and Vedic civilization ideas.

Aker was first described as one of the earth gods guarding the “gate to the yonder site”. He protected the deceased king against the three demonic snakes. (1)

Picture courtesy -Wikipedia (1)

Aker was first depicted as the torso of a recumbent lion with a widely opened mouth. Later, he was portrayed as two recumbent lion torsos merged and still looking away from each other. (2)

From the Middle Kingdom onwards, Aker appears as a pair of twin lions. When depicted as a lion pair, a hieroglyphic sign for “horizon” (two merged mountains) and a sun disc was put between the lions; the lions were sitting back-on-back. (3)

Mythology

Aker was first described as one of the earth gods guarding the “gate to the yonder site”. He protected the deceased king against the three demonic snakes. By “encircling” the dead king, Aker sealed the deceased away from the poisonous breath of the snake demons. In other spells and prayers, Aker is connected with Seth and even determined with the Set animal. (2) (4)

The above-given hieroglyphics indicate the name of ‘Aker’. Note that the name is determined by the last figure(dog-like figure) in the title, which is called the ‘Seth Animal’. This hieroglyph gives a connection to god ‘Seth’ and ‘Aker’. This dog-like figure could be indicating god ‘Anubis’ also. It is not clear which god is meant by this ‘double mountain’ symbol.

In the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom period, Aker replaces the god Kherty, becoming now the “ferryman of Ra in his nocturnal bark”. Aker protects the sun god during his nocturnal travelling through the underworld caverns.[1]

It looks like that the Indus Valley people also worshipped this god, ‘Aker’. This god, ‘Aker’ was a protector of the netherworld realm. I have already said, the Hieroglyphic way of writing had influenced Indus script. Read my article,’ Indus symbols follow the Egyptian hieroglyphics way of writing and ideas‘ for more information. (6)

Statistical analysis of ‘Aker symbol’:

The following data is extracted from the research paper of Sundar et al. (7)

symbol	meaning	frequency
	Double mountain (Aker)	25
	Double mountain (Aker) (Variant)	21
	Aker -Kavu	21

The double mountain symbol occurs 46 times in the Indus seal inscriptions; this frequency is quite significant. The symbol pair reads as ‘Aker- Kavu’. It is not clear whether the symbol is indicating a god or a place. There is a possibility this Aker symbol could have indicated the netherworld.

The conclusion is that it gives a feeling that Aker was not merely a god but a kind of representation of the underworld itself. Like the triple mountain indicating ‘Kur’, the double mountain symbol could have indicated the underworld.

Acknowledgements

1. All logos are taken from the research papers of Iravatham Mahadevan, Asko Parpola (4) and Sundar

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia(Aker). Aker_(deity). Wikipedia.org/wiki. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aker_(deity).

2. Leitz., Christian. Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen (LGG) (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, vol. 6). . Leuven, Belgium. : Peters publishers., 2002. ISBN 9042911514..

3. Remler., Pat. Egyptian Mythology, A to Z. s.l. : Infobase Publishing., 2010. ISBN 1438131801..

4. Meurer., Georg. Die Feinde des Königs in den Pyramidentexten (= Orbis biblicus et orientalis, vol. 189). . s.l. : Saint Paul, 2002. ISBN 3525530463..

5. Jeyakumar(Hieroglyphic-wayof-writing). Indus-script-follows-the-egyptian-hieroglyphic-way-of-writing. https://sites.google.com. [Online] January 2010. https://sites.google.com/view/indus-script-dictionary/indus-script-follows-the-egyptian-hieroglyphic-way-of-writing.

6. Sundar. -The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context.pdf. http://45.113.136.87/wp-content/uploads/. [Online] http://45.113.136.87/wp-content/uploads/43-The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context.pdf.

7. Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus Script. New Delhi : Cambridge University Press, 2000.