Kavu 2 Symbol

August 31, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

Kavu-2 -The variant of Kavu symbol

Abstract:

Generally, the word kavu is represented by this ‘U’ symbol. It looks like that there is one additional symbol for this word Kavu. The above-given ‘wooden frame’ symbol expresses the same idea as the ‘kavu’ symbol. It is possible that different priests could have used different ideograms to express the same idea. Ideogram is not like an alphabet, and an ideogram is not a standardised one like an alphabet. Hence various ideograms for a single idea are logically possible.

Seal picture courtesy – Book of Sue Sullivan

I saw on a documentary film on Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern state near Assam, India, entirely inhabited by tribal population only. A kind of reserved area for tribal people. People here are animist, still practising ancient rituals.

In that documentary, the religious ritual of slaughtering a buffalo was shown. I saw this documentary around the year 2000, and I do not have any reference for this documentary, most probably the documentary was made by the ‘Doordarshan’, the television channel of the government of India.

In that documentary, the buffalo’s head was not cut off. But the buffalo was choked to death by a wooden frame like the symbol shown above.

At this juncture, it is relevant to note that, before sacrificing the animal, all kinds of tricks are played by the priests before cutting the animals head. For, example, even today, before sacrifice, the goat is drenched with water to keep it silent. Finally, the priest will ask the goat, ” are you willing to be sacrificed” till the goat becomes quiet, the goat is not sacrificed. What a great idea? To find a willing victim to be sacrificed.

It is pertinent to note that during Vedic ritual of slaughter of the bull, the sound of the animal is not to be heard. It seems that one or two persons will hold the muzzle also, to block the animal from making any sound (Satapatha Brahmana,3.8.1-2). (1) The wooden frame was likely used to choke the animal during the sacrifice ritual to avoid spilling of blood. (1)

Statistical analysis of the data available

The data is available from the research papers of Iravatham Mahadevan (1)and Sundar. (2) This ‘kavu’ symbol occurs 73 times as per the data of Mahadevan and Sundar.

	Symbol pair	Reading of the symbol	Frequency of occurrence
1		Karkida Kavu	29 times
2		Karkida kavu	22 times

The symbol pairs in serial numbers 1&2 virtually give the same meaning as ‘Karkida Kavu’. The ‘karkida symbol’ in the serial number two has a small tail-like appendage to show the ‘da’ sound. This symbol is one of the best examples to illustrate the phonetic usage of logos in the Indus scripts.

Another notable point is that this ‘kavu’ symbol is paired explicitly with ‘Karkida’ ritual. Further, where ever this second kavu symbol occurs, the general kavu symbol is absent. The absence of regular ‘kavu’ symbol shows that the priest who had used this second kavu symbol is not aware of the first kavu symbol. (or) preferred to use the second kavu symbol instead of the first one. Anyhow, this kavu symbol interpretation is giving a meaningful association with other symbols.

Acknowledgements:

All the Indus seals are taken from the book of Sue Sullivan (1)

All the symbols are taken from the books of Iravatham Mahadevan and Asko Parpola. (3) (2)

Bibliography

1. .K.Pennington, Brian. Teaching religion and violence. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

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

Upraised Hands Symbol

August 30, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

‘Upraised Hand’ symbol indicates ‘Ka’ (Soul) of a dead person.

Abstract

The symbol of upraised hands is seen in many instances in Indus seal inscriptions. The same symbol appears in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics also, which indicated the ‘Ka’ (soul) of a dead person.

Figure 1: Indus seal showing the word ‘pithru karma.’

Seal courtesy book of Sue Sullivan (1)

The majority of the seals are oriented towards the Pithru Karma ceremony. This finding substantiates my earlier theory that Indus excavation sites are burial grounds and not megapolises as popularly imagined so far.

Symbols / Indus logos
symbol Identified	Ancestors (This symbol looks like an older man walking with a bent back)	Upraised Hands –symbol with a fish symbol inside (composite symbol)	symbol full stop/ yajna	Mountain/ Kur symbol	Man with club
Sanskrit name	Pithru	Ka (soul) -with Matsya inside	Yajna	—	—
meaning	Pithru	Ka+ma = Karma	Yajna	Kur symbol means the nether world	Gatekeeper God with the club as his weapon

The outcome of the analysis is that the inscription reads as ‘Pithru-Karma-ceremony(Yajna) – netherworld -gatekeeper’. ‘Pithru –Karma’ (2) means the ceremony carried out for the benefit of dead ancestors. This ceremony is accompanied by ‘Yajna’ ritual. Modern days “Fire sacrifice” (Yajna) is with vegetarian sacrificial materials. But, it looks like that in olden days animal sacrifice was the main item of “Yajna” ceremony. It is relevant to note here that the upraised symbol indicates the ‘KA’ (soul) of the dead person. With fish symbol inside the KA symbol, it becomes a composite symbol with syllable sound of ‘Karma’.

KA (soul)

D28

ka
in hieroglyphs

Figure 2: ka-symbol

Picture courtesy Wikipedia.

The KA was the Egyptian concept of vital essence, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the KA left the body. Depending on the region, Egyptians believed that Heket or Meskhenet was the creator of each person’s KA, breathing it into them at the instant of their birth as the part of their soul that made them alive. This breathing ritual resembles the concept of spirit in other religions. (3)

The Egyptians also believed that the KA was sustained through food and drink. For this reason, food and drink offerings were presented to the dead, although it was the ‘Kau‘ within the offerings that was consumed, not the physical aspect. (Please note that ‘Kavu’ means sacrifice in Tamil, it is the same meaning as assigned by Egyptians as ‘Kau’) (4) The ‘KA’ was often represented in Egyptian iconography as a second image of the king. As seen in the below-given picture, the upraised hands’ symbol on the head of dead Pharaoh’s statue indicates that it is the ‘KA’ (Soul) of Pharaoh. (3)

Figure 3: Upraised hands means the person’s ka (soul)

Source: Wikimedia

For the KA to live forever, it needed a host to live. The perfect host was, of course, the original body, which was why the practice of mummification, preserving the body, came into the cult. Should something happen to the body, however, any surviving image of the person could, in theory, be a host for the ‘KA’. Thus to ensure the preservation of the ‘KA’ specific statues were made as alternative hosts to the mummified body. As the religion grew, however, the ‘KA’ demanded more than just a host. To sustain the ‘KA’ ritual offerings were needed to feed the spirit in the afterlife. From the earliest royal Egyptian tombs, human sacrifice was found as evidence of servants being presented for the ‘KA’ to serve for all eternity (later this practice was replaced with figurines of servants instead). Even in commoners tombs sometimes food or everyday objects can be found buried with the body to accompany the person into the afterlife. (5)

Bibliography

1. Sullivan, Sue. The Indus script dictionary. s.l. : Suzanne Redalia (Publisher), 2011.

2. spokensanskrit.de. spokensanskrit.de. [Online] 2014. spokensanskrit.de.

3. Wikipedia. Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul. Wikipedia. [Online], 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul#Ka_.28vital_spark.29.

4. Jeyakumar.R. Kavu_grapheme_indicates_sacrifice_in_Indus_inscriptions. academia.edu. [Online] 2014. https://www.academia.edu/8612715/Kavu_grapheme_indicates_sacrifice_in_Indus_inscriptions.

5. Red, Plaid. The-Role-of-the-Ka-in-Egyptian-Funerary-Practices. plaidred.hubpages.com. [Online], 2014. http://plaidred.hubpages.com/hub/The-Role-of-the-Ka-in-Egyptian-Funerary-Practices.

Kavu Symbol

August 30, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

‘Kavu’ means ‘sacrifice’ in Indus inscriptions.

Figure 1

Abstract:

The above given ‘U’ symbol is the most frequently used in Indus inscriptions. It indicates the word ‘Sacrifice’. Asko Parpola has identified that this symbol looks like the head of a cow. My opinion is that this symbol looks like a modified form of ‘Upraised hand symbol’ of Egyptian Hieroglyphics. This upraised hands symbol stood for the word ‘Ka’(Soul) from which the word ‘Kau’ had been derieved.

I have given nine different explanations for this symbol, and finally, the 10^th explanation seems to fit this grapheme. (1) Earlier, I had attributed ‘Ka’ sound to this grapheme, and I was searching for different words starting with ‘ka’ sound. However, it turned out that Indus inscriptions are written in ‘ideogram’ (idea) way of writing, except for few words. Iravatham Mahadevan is also advocating that these Indus inscriptions are written in an ideogramic way. (2). However, the context in which Iravatham Mahadevan is explaining the ideograms is debatable.

In many inscriptions, the mere ’ka’ sound did not explain the meaning of inscriptions. In many places, this symbol stands alone without any additional syllables. Such a character of ‘standing alone’ means that this symbol of its own has a meaning. Finally, I got an explanation, which explains this symbol. This symbol stands for ‘Kavu’ (sacrifice). (3)Tamil word ‘Kavu’ means sacrifice; the same word in Malayalam means the ‘sacred grove’, where such sacrifices are carried out.

This word ‘kavu’ is supported by the word ‘Kau’ in ancient Egyptian terminologies. The Egyptians believed that the ‘ka’ (soul) was sustained through food and drink. For this reason, food and drink offerings were presented to the dead, although it was the ‘Kau‘ within the offerings that was consumed, not the physical aspect. (4) . It looks like that ‘Kau’ means ‘vital life force’. However, in Indus civilization terminology it indicates ‘sacrifice’.

Further, Asko Parpola in his book that this symbol looks like a cow’s head, the top two lines indicating cow’s horns and bottom two appendages representing ear lobes of a cow. (5) Most probably it suggests the head of a sacrificed bull rather than a cow. Even though Asko Parpola says that it looks like a cow’s head, we should visualize this grapheme as Bull’s head, because all Indus seals depiction show only sacrificed bulls, not cows. Nowhere, any depiction of a cow is shown in Indus seals.

At this juncture, I would like to add an eleventh explanation for this ‘Kau’ symbol. It is pertinent to note that ‘Upraised hands’ symbol indicated the word ‘KA’ in Egyptian Hieroglyphics. The ‘Kau’ symbol could be a modified form of ‘upraised hands’ instead of Bull’s head. Read my article,”Upraised hands symbol meant ‘KA’ “ for more information. (1)

The symbol of upraised hands is seen in many instances in Indus seal inscriptions. The same symbol appears in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics also, which indicated the release of dead man’s ‘Ka’ (soul) from the corpse so that it can join ‘Ba’ (personality) of the deceased person.

There is also a twelfth possibility that this ‘U’ grapheme could stand for ‘Kapala‘ (skull bone). It looks like that in the Indus Valley civilization period the blood sacrifice would have been offered in cups made of skulls. The sacrifice cups would likely be made of human skulls. However, there is no clear cut evidence for that except for the word ‘dvi-kapala’. This word ‘dvi-kapala’ is available in the online Sanskrit dictionary from ‘Buddhist-door.com’ (6)

Figure 2

Figure-2 shows another allograph derived from the above-given grapheme ‘kavu’. This grapheme has been inserted with ‘dvi’ glyph giving a sound ‘dvika’. ‘Dvika’ means ‘two-fold’. It is not merely two folds; it also indicates ‘dvi-kapala’, i.e. the blood sacrifice offered in two pot shreds. (6) (Or) it could be dvi-kavu, meaning sacrifice meant for two entities, one for a god along with second for ancestors. This kind of ‘dvi-kavu’ ( sacrifice meant for two entities) is indicated in many seals. In Sanskrit dictionary, there is a specific word for such sort of sacrifice for two entities. It is known as ‘Havya-kavya’. (7) Many at times, it is not merely pot sheds are used; it is the real human skull used as the pots for sacrificial blood offering.

There are inscriptions were ‘three lines’ are inserted inside this ‘kavu’ symbol; such graphemes indicates that the sacrifice was carried out for three entities. Possibly the sacrifice was carried out to please two gods and one ancestor (Or) it could be for pleasing three gods (Or) it could be for satisfying three generations of pithrus. Finally, there is the last explanation; it could have meant ‘many gods’ as had been the practice in Egyptian Hieroglyphics way of writing. Read my article,” Number three specifies many gods and also dangerous gods.” for more information. (8)

Figure 3: Blood sacrifice.

See the sacrifice articles before the tree god; there is something like a human head in the stool. Asko Parpola says it is a human head. (5 p. 260). Asko Parpola states that the two circles like objects seen near the stool could be the hair buns of the sacrificed man. there is a possibility that it could be two small pots. (6) There is a possibility that they are two skull cups in which sacrificed animal’s blood has been offered.

Figure 4

There is another similar grapheme, but with slight modification is to be analyzed. This symbol is without any appendages, as seen in figure-2. Most probably it is indicating the sacrificial pot in which the blood of the sacrificed animal is offered before the god. However, it stands for the same word ‘Kavu’.

The two-line within the pot indicates the word ‘Dvi-Kavu’. Dvi- Kavu means two sacrifices, one for pithru and second for gods.

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

References and acknowledgements:

1. Jeyakumar(up-raised-hands-symbol). Upraised_hands_symbol_means_ka_soul_. academia.edu. [Online] 2015. https://www.academia.edu/11419216/Upraised_hands_symbol_means_ka_soul_.

2. Mahadevan.I. indus-script-early-form-of-dravidian. thehindu.com. [Online] 2014. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/indus-script-early-form-of-dravidian-iravatham-mahadevan/article6600394.ece.

3. Tamil dictionary. Tamil.Indian Dictionaries.com. [Online] 2014. http://tamil.indiandictionaries.com/meaning.php?id=4818&lang=Tamil.

4. Wikipedia. (soul). Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul. [Online] 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul#Ka_.28vital_spark.29.

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

6. dictionary. dictionary.buddhistdoor.com/. [Online] 2014. http://dictionary.buddhistdoor.com/word/219480/dvikapala.

7. Cologne University. sanskrit-lexicon. www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de. [Online] 2015. http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html.

8. 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..

Pitchfork symbol indicates offering table

August 28, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

‘Pitchfork’ symbol indicates ‘offering table.’

Abstract:

Earlier, I was under the impression that the ‘pitchfork’ like symbol could be a weapon. But it turned out that the ‘pitchfork’ like symbol indicates the ‘offering table’. A similar hieroglyphic symbol appears in Egyptian civilization with similar meaning. This correlation shows that Indus script writing was influenced by Hieroglyphic writing of ancient Egyptian culture.

The above-given ‘comb’ symbol indicates the offering table in a vertical position. I have written a separate article for this symbol. Read the following article for more information. ‘The comb symbol indicates the word offering.’ (1)

The above-given symbol shows a tail to the ‘offering table’. Generally, tails are characteristics of the gods. This tail creates confusion. It needs to be verified. But this offering table with tail appears in a small number of seal inscriptions. The frequency is less than ten. Hence, Sundar et al. has ignored this symbol in their listing. (1)That shows the frequency of occurrence of this symbol is less than ten. On further analysis, the idea gets clarified. It looks like that it is not a tail, but it is the ‘hand’ of ‘KA’ symbol, which had been merged. The following logo explains the idea very well.

The above-given logo explains better the idea. In this grapheme, two logos have been merged. KA symbol has been combined with ‘offering’ symbol. This composite logo stands for the meaning ‘offering to KA’. ‘KA’ is the dead man’s soul in the form of a bird, as per the Egyptian idea. The same thought had been followed by the Indus valley civilization people also.

Statistical analysis of this offering symbol

First of all, I have to acknowledge here that the statistical data discussed in this article is extracted from the research paper of Sundar et al. Details are as follows:

Logo	meaning	Frequency of occurrence of logo
	Single offering	132
	Double offering	38
	total	170

The above-given data shows that this offering table logo had appeared 170 times in the Indus inscription data as per Mahadevan and Sundar. (2) (3) This frequency is relatively high and significant. This high frequency is indicating it is a commonly used word, which is confirmed by the following analysis table.

Logo-pair	meaning	frequency
	Offering to Pithru	76
	Offering to Ninguishzida the gatekeeper	40
	Karkida -offering	22
	Offering to ‘KA’ -Kau (Sacrifice)	20
	Growing embryo / Mother goddess offering	15

All the above-given logo pairs yield meaningful interpretation, as explained in the analysis table.

The frequency of triplets with offering table combination

Triplet of logos	Reading	frequency
	Offering to Ningishzida (Gatekeeper) -Kavu	36
	Offering to Pithru on the Ashtami (eighth) day (Day of Rudra)	21
	Karkida month ceremony offering to Pithru	20
	Mother goddess offering to Pithru	15
	Offering to Pithru on the tenth day of the fortnight of a calendar month (Yama’s day)	13

The analysis of triplets yields meaningful results. Majority of the offerings were oriented towards Pithrus (Fish logo). This result confirms my theory that Indus Valley excavation sites were necropolises and ancestors (Pithru) worship were carried out in those places. Another finding is that the offering was also carried out to Ningishzida the gatekeeper and Yama. The chair symbol identifies Yama. The tenth day of the fortnight of a calendar month is allocated to Yama. Read my article under the heading,” Indus script numerals indicate various gods as per calendar days” for more information on gods assigned to various days of a calendar month. (4)

Bibliography

2. Sundar, G, et al. -The-Indus-Script-Text-and-Context-A Statistical-Positional-positional Analysis of significant Text segments. 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.

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.

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_calendar_days.

5. Wikipedia. Yama_(Hinduism). Wikipedia. [Online] Feb 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yama_(Hinduism).

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

7. Wikipedia(Three-age-system). Three-age_system. wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-age_system.

Mat Symbol

August 20, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

‘Mat’ symbol indicates the word ‘invitation’ to the Yajna ceremony.

Abstract

Some ideograms in Indus seal inscriptions indicate a mat. The mat logo indicates the seat offered to the gods in the Yajna. More Pithrus had been invited to the Yajna than the ‘devatas’ in Indus valley seal inscriptions. This act of importance given to pithrus confirms my main theory that Indus excavation sites Mohenjo Daro and Harappa were necropolises and not metropolises as popularly imagined so far.

This mat made of ‘Kusa’ grass is available in Amazon.in for sale, which shows the continuity and importance of Kusa mat from Indus valley times to present-day India.

Variants of mat logo

The above-given picture shows the variants of mat symbol, and these variants are as per the book of Iravatham Mahadevan. (1)

The above-given seal inscription shows the mat symbol preceded by the Pithru symbol (Fish). Majority of the seal inscriptions invite the Pithrus for Yajna, not gods.

invitation to gods in Vedic Yajna

Indologist Jan Gonda has identified 16 steps that are common in all varieties of puja: (2). The first step is ‘Avahana’ (“invocation”). The deity is invited to the ceremony. And the second step is the ‘Asana’ The god is offered a seat.

The website “Sanskrit magazine.com” further confirms that the Kusa grass (Darbha) is used as a seat for the priest as well as gods in Vedic Yajna. (3)

Statistical analysis

This mat symbol occurs 89 times Indus seal inscriptions as per the data compiled by Mahadevan and Sundar. (1) (4) This high frequency shows the importance of this logo in Indus seal inscriptions.

Indus symbol triplet	Frequency of occurrence
	24

The above-given triplet of symbols occurs 24 times as per the data of Mahadevan and Sundar. This is the only combination, which occurs in a significant number. Other combinations do occur with gods logo but in minuscule number. This data shows that ‘Pithrus’ (Manes/Ancestors) were the main invitees in Yajnas conducted in Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. This fact confirms my main theory that Indus excavation sites were necropolises and not metropolises as imagined so far. (5)

Acknowledgements

1. All pictures of Indus seals are taken from the book of Sue Sullivan (6)

2. All logos are taken from the research papers of Iravatham Mahadevan, Asko Parpola (7) and Sundar

Bibliography

1. 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.

2. Fuller, C. J. The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India (PDF). Princeton, NJ: Fuller, C. J. (2004), The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India (PDF), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press., 2004. ISBN 978-0-691-12048-5.

3. Sanskritimagazine.com. Significance-of-darbha-or-kusha-grass. Sanskritimagazine.com. [Online] https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/significance-of-darbha-or-kusha-grass/.

4. 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.

5. Jeyakumar(Necropolis-theory). Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization. www.academia.edu. [Online] 2009. https://www.academia.edu/7773502/Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

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

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

Karuppa Swami was the gate keeper god.

August 12, 2020/in Symbols /by Jeyakumar Ramasami

‘Karuppa Swami’ was the ‘Gate Keeper God’

Figure 1: Gatekeeper god symbol. Symbol courtesy – Asko Parpola (1)

This symbol (Grapheme) intrigued me for a long time. I was trying to read each symbol separately. After many attempts, I got the idea that all these three symbols should be read together. Reading this grapheme was the first breakthrough in my efforts to decipher the Indus script. It gave the idea that the Indus script should be read in the ideograph way.

This ideogram conveys the meaning of ‘Gate Keeper’. He was the God guarding the gates to heaven. The son of the dead person has to appease this God by a bull sacrifice, then only he will allow the dead man’s soul to pass through into heaven. It is a good idea for any religious head; in fact, most of the religious leaders are controlling the keys to the sky. The best example is the case of “Saint Peter” holding the key to gates of heaven.

One crucial point to be noted here is that earlier I had assigned various sounds (syllables) to this grapheme. However, it turned out to be that Indus inscriptions are not written in ‘logo-syllabic’ way, but it is written in the ‘ideographic’ (idea) way of writing. Iravatham Mahadevan is alsotelling that these Indus inscriptions are written in an ideogramic way (2). However, the context in which the ideograms are being explained by him is debatable. Mahadevan interprets that all these Indus symbols were created by Dravidian society, in the context of their trade transactions with other traders. But my opinion is that these symbols are related to death ceremony and excavated Indus sites were necropolises and not metropolises as popularly imagined so far. (3)

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Figure 2: Another example of Gatekeeper god. Picture courtesy (3)

Many seals contain this figure of a person holding a stick, I was reading the man with stick grapheme as ‘Palaka’ and assigned many possible meanings for those two ‘chessboard’ squares. Finally, it looks like that this ideogram indicates a ‘GateKeeper God’.

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Figure 3: Inanimate object gate is holding the stick. Picture courtesy (3)

The above-given seal further confirms this word. Even though the craftsmanship is inferior in this seal, the idea conveyed is clear and loud. Earlier for a long time, I could not ascertain the meaning; only this seal depiction critically conveyed the meaning. See the grapheme; the gate is holding a stick. Is it possible for an inanimate object like a door to hold a stick? This grapheme conveyed the idea that these symbols together indicated a door and watchman.

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Figure 4: Gate is looking like a shield.

This seal also shows a similar scene but gives an impression as if the God is carrying a shield (Keda). So, the interpretation is doubtful.

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Figure 5: Gatekeeper god standing in between the open doors. Picture courtesy (3)

Finally, this seal clarifies the meaning of grapheme in a slightly better way; the God is standing in between the open gates. It can be safely assumed that he is a ‘Gatekeeper God’. The idea of ‘gatekeeper god’ still exists in rural areas of Tamil Nadu. These gods are earliest gods of Indian culture and still survives in small pockets, even though with reduced importance.

The 18- Aam padi Karuppu (Tamil God)

The Guardian god of Alagar Malai Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu is known as “18-Aam padi Karuppa swami“, which means ‘18-steps’ – Karuppa Swami. The entrance door is kept closed, there are 18-steps behind this closed door, and the door itself is worshipped as God. When the priests open the door once in a year, it can be seen that only one big aruval (Sickle) is planted behind the doors and nothing else, no statues. This God wields an “Aruval” (Sickle) which is a very significant weapon in Tamil Nadu and is considered, in itself, as a symbol of Karuppana Swami himself.

Figure 6:Main door of Karuppa swami temple, Alagar Malai, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Reference and Photo courtesy – (4)

The main doors of the Karuppa Swami temple remain closed most of the year. It is believed that Karuppa Swami resides within them looking over the kshetra and the neighbouring areas. During this time, people worship the door itself as the guardian deity. People smear sandal paste over the doors to reduce the heat of Karuppa swami’s Ugram (heat generated due to his power) and make offerings of long forged swords. Some of the swords are double a man’s height and offer a very frightening sight.

Figure 7: See those huge sickles 10-15 feet in height.

The door is, however, opened once in a year during the Brahmotsava. Special poojas are offered to the open doors before they are closed again at night, never to open for another 365 days. (4)

Karuppa Swami also takes part in the day to day running of the temple. At the end of the day, the accounts of the daily activities are laid before him, and finally, he is also entrusted with the keys of the temple treasury at night. Note that the key is given to this God. Most probably he was holding the ‘Key to Heavenly doors’, gradually that idea has been reduced to keeping the keys of a treasury.

The ‘18 – Aam padi Karuppu’ worship has been modified to ‘Vaikuntha Ekadasi’:

The name ‘Karuppa Swami’ itself is a nickname; this word means ‘The Black God’. God is considered to be so powerful that people do not say his original name out of fear; such a practice has hidden the original name entirely. No doubt, we are not able to trace out the real name of ‘Gatekeeper God’ of Indus Valley people. Till the time reveals his name, let us call him as ‘Karuppa Swami’ (The Black God). (Or) Most probably the black God’s name was ‘Muran’ as said in ‘Padma Purana’.

It looks like that this worship of ancient god ‘Karuppa Swami’ has been transformed into ‘Vaikuntha Ekadasi’ in Vaishnavism. Read the article on ‘Vaikuntha Ekadasi’ in Wikipedia. The paragraph is produced as such for ready reference:

“The significance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi is mentioned in the Padma Purana. The legend says that the Devas were unable to bear the tyranny of ‘Muran’, a demon, approached Shiva, who directed them to Vishnu. A battle ensued between Vishnu, and the demon and Vishnu realized that a new weapon was needed to slay Muran.

In order to take rest and create a new weapon, Vishnu retired to a cave named for the goddess Haimavati in Bhadrikashrama. When Muran tried to slay Vishnu, who was sleeping, the female power that emerged from Vishnu burned Muran to ashes with her glance.

Vishnu, who was pleased, named the goddess ‘Ekadashi’ and asked her to claim a boon. Ekadashi, instead, beseeched Vishnu that people who observed a fast on that day should be redeemed of their sins. Vishnu thus declared that people who kept a fast on that day and worshipped Ekadashi would attain Vaikuntha. Thus, came into being the first Ekadashi, which was a Dhanurmasa Shukla Paksha Ekadashi.” (5)

Heavenly gate (Paramapada Vassal – in Tamil)

The Tamil month of ‘Margazhi’ is the best of times. It is during this month that homes add to their decor; the air is filled with music; the cup of devotion overflows, and the gates of heaven open.

Vaishnavite shrines celebrate the ‘Ekadasi’ in the waxing phase of the moon in the month of Margazhi as Vaikunta Ekadasi. Margazhi is considered the ‘Brahma Muhurtham’ for heavenly beings, and this period is utilized by people to prepare themselves for union with God. The Ekadasi festival stretches for 21 days in Vaishnavite shrines, with Pagal Paththu and Era Paththu, with the opening of the Paramapada Vaasal in between on Ekadasi (eleventh day). (6) generally, this festival falls in December, near Christmas Day.

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple also has a similar concept. Thirumala has an exclusive entrance called Vaikuntha Dwaram that encircles the sanctum sanctorum. The dwaram (passage) is opened only on Vaikuntha Ekadashi, and it is believed that any person who passes through this `Vaikuntha Dwaram’ on this particular day attains salvation. The temple witnesses’ substantial inflow of pilgrims and dignitaries for Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

Demon ‘Bes’ was the gatekeeper in ancient Egypt.

Bes was a household protector in ancient Egypt. He was assigned with such varied tasks as killing snakes, fighting off evil spirits, watching after children, and aiding women in labour by fighting off evil spirits, and thus present with Taweret at births. (7)

Figure 8: Image of Egyptian demon ‘Bes’. Picture courtesy -Wikipedia (7)

Images of the deity, quite different from those of the other gods, were kept in homes. Usually, Egyptian gods were shown in profile, but instead ‘Bes’ appeared in full-face portrait, ithyphallic, and sometimes in a soldier’s tunic, to look ready to launch an attack on any approaching evil. He scared away demons from houses, so his statue was put up as a protector. (7) It is likely, ‘Bes’ had been introduced into Indus valley civilization and transformed into ‘gatekeeper’ god.

The God shown in the above-given seal is decorated with a feather, which is the characteristic symbol of ‘Bes’. The above-shown God is gatekeeper god. The inscription in the seal read as ‘Yajna – terrible God (number three) -Karkida (crab symbol) – gatekeeper god (Two doors symbol). It is a satisfaction to see that the name of God is mentioned in the inscription. It is a rare occurrence, where we can correlate God with the inscription. Earlier, I had given the name ‘Karuppa-swami’ because the name of God was not known. Now, we can call him ‘Bes’ with his Egyptian name.

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

3. Jeyakumar(Necropolis-theory). Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization. www.academia.edu. [Online] 2009. https://www.academia.edu/7773502/Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization.

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

5. Mahendravarman. the-guardian-lord-of-alagar-malai-. streetsmadurai360.blogspot.in. [Online] Feb 2015. http://streetsmadurai360.blogspot.in/2012/09/the-guardian-lord-of-alagar-malai-18am.html.

6. wikipedia. Vaikuntha_Ekadashi. wikipedia. [Online] February 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikuntha_Ekadashi.

7. The Hindu. when-the-gates-of-heaven-are-thrown-open/. www.thehindu.com. [Online] January 2015. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/when-the-gates-of-heaven-are-thrown-open/article6744620.ece.

8. Wikipedia(Bes). Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bes. Wikipedia. [Online]

Tilak Symbol

July 28, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

Tilak symbol indicates the word “Pithru-Karma”

The meaning of the word ‘Shraddha’ is ”faith”. The ritual performed for the Pithrus with complete faith is known as Shraddha. Shraddhattva Pinda, Pitru Puja (ritualistic worship of deceased ancestors), Pitru Yagna are some of the sacrificial rituals performed for dead ancestors.

Symbol of the firepot

Many of the Indus seals inscriptions show the ‘fire pot’ like symbol. This symbol is looking like a firepot yet the word expressed is not ‘Agni’, the intended word is ‘Pitru Karma’. The word ‘Pitru Karma’ fits very well while reading the sentence in conjunction with nearby symbols. It should be noted here that these IVC seals coincide with ‘Rig Veda” period and during that time Agni was not a significant god, he was a mere facilitator. Only, In the later Vedic period, God Agni becomes an important god.

The above-given seal expresses the idea of ‘fire’ very well, and the fire symbol is further explained by the fuelwood marks at the bottom of the fire. But this fire symbol with firewood rarely occurs. This kind of fire symbol occurs only two or three times. The frequency of occurrence is not significant. Hence, it cannot be said that this symbol indicates fire god ‘Agni’. However, there is a possibility that this fire symbol could have indicated the word ‘Yajna’ here in the above-given seal inscription. (or) It could have indicated the fire created for cremation, that again gives the suitable word as ‘pithru-karma’.

Picture courtesy – Sanathan.org

The above-given figures show the Grihapathya fire being carried to the crematorium from the house, which could have been adopted as ‘Pithru-karma symbol’.

Tilak mark on the forehead

Figure 1Indus seal inscription showing modern-day Hindu Tilak symbol.

Picture courtesy -Wikipedia (1).

The second possibility is that this symbol ‘’ ‘’ could be indicating the tilak mark worn by Hindus on their forehead. Some scholars believe that the red colour as symbolism for blood. We are told that in ancient times, in Aryan society, a groom used to apply his blood, on his bride’s forehead in recognition of wedlock. The existing practice among Indian women of applying a round-shaped red Tilak called Bindiya or Kumkum is the survival of this practice (1).

The above-given statement on the website shows that the red colour of the tilak mark could be because of using blood. In modern days blood has been replaced by red colour mineral soil called vermillion in case of men. In the case of women, the turmeric powder mixed with lime powder gives the red colour ‘Kumkum’.

Man with vaishnavite tilak symbol in his forehead.

Picture courtesy – (2)

The ‘’tilak’’ is a mark created by the application of powder or paste on the forehead. The Vaishnava tilak consists of a long vertical marking starting from just below the hairline to almost the end of one’s nose tip, and they are also known as Urdhva Pundra. It is intercepted in the middle by an elongated ‘’U’’.

Figure 2: Picture of Shaiva mendicant with rudra tilak symbol in his forehead.

Picture courtesy – Wikipedia (3)

The other important tilak variant is often worn by the followers of Shiva, known by the names of Rudra-tilak and Tripundra. It consists of three horizontal bands across the forehead with a single vertical line or circle in the middle. This tilak mark is traditionally made with sacred ash from fire sacrifices. This variant is the more ancient of the two and shares many common aspects with similar markings worn across the world (2).

The above-said remark made in Wikipedia article that the ‘Rudra Pundra Tilak’ may be ancient than the ‘Vaishnavite Tilak’ may not be correct. Because the mere existence of Vaishnavite tilak symbol among IVC symbols indicates that the Vaishnavite symbol is more ancient than the Shaivite symbol. It is to be noted that the author of this Wikipedia article has also acknowledged the similarity between the modern-day ‘Urdva Pundra tilak’ and ancient symbol of IVC.

The above said description given in the Wikipedia article shows that ‘ash from fire sacrifice’ was used as a tilak mark. This statement demonstrates that in ancient days blood from sacrificed animals could have been used as a red tilak mark to show the gods and men that a blood sacrifice has been made to honour gods or Pithrus.

Figure 3: Variations of tilak symbols.

Picture courtesy — (4)

The third possibility is that this symbol could be standing for the word “Kavu” itself. The above-given figures are extracted from the book of Asko Parpola, “Deciphering the Indus script”. (4)Out of all the variants, only one variant gives a clue about the sound of the symbol. Note the variant marked as “V”, which is obtained from seal number M-1281. The “U” shape has been formed out of two upraised hands. Already, I have explained the upraised hands; it stands for the word” Ka” meaning thereby” Soul”. Refer to the article,” Upraised hands symbol indicates “Ka” (soul) of the dead person” (5). The ‘ka’ symbol read with vertical line in the middle could have specified the word ‘Kavu’.

Frequency analysis of ‘Tilak symbol’:

Position of the ‘Tilak symbol’ in the Indus seal inscriptions
Solus		Initial		Medial		Final
Pair	freq	Pair	freq	Pair	freq	pair	freq
	12		22		104		3
	9		13		18
			12		9
			3		8
			3		8
			2
			1

Table 1:Frequency analysis table of Tilak symbol.

Courtesy – data provided by Sundar et al. (6)

The data given in the above table is extracted out of the analysis table provided in the research paper of Sundar et al. Analysis of the data given in the above-given table reveals certain information. The first obvious point is that -this symbol pair is occurring maximum times, that is 104 times. Yet these two symbols pair is not yielding any single meaning. Both symbols have to be read as separate entities. Number three indicates the ‘third day’ after death. whereas the tilak symbol indicates the word ‘karma’. It looks like that the intention of the priest, who made this inscription is not this combination. It is likely that the focal point of the priest was the word ‘Pithru Karma’ not ‘Karma-third day’.

But the fish -karma symbol makes sense. The fish symbol stands for Pithru. Three different kinds of fishes indicate the three generations of Pithrus.

—This fish symbol with chevron cap indicates the third generation Pithru, which had reached heaven.

— Fish with two horns projection indicates the second generation of Pithru, which is in Yama Loka under the custody of Yama. This second-generation Pithru has not yet washed off its sins to reach heaven.

– Variation of second-generation Pithru.

– Another variation of second-generation Pithru.

–The fish without any appendages could be the first generation Pithru. It is the Parvan of the recently died person. This Parvan had to undergo various trials and tribulations to reach the god in heaven. Now, all these three variants of fish symbols (Pithrus) should be treated in the same way and simply read as ‘Pithru’, when these two symbols appear in combination, it should be read as ‘Pithru Karma’. Then the frequency of this combination of symbols increases. Total frequency of this combination stands at 75. This frequency is definitely significant for sample size under consideration.

Urduva Pundaram

The fourth possibility is that this symbol’’’’ could be indicating the goddess Laxmi. The Urdhva Pundra is the tilak used by followers of Vaishnava sect. According to Vaishnavite belief, the ‘’U’’ symbol represents the feet of Narayana, whereas the red middle line represents Goddess Lakshmi (3). This fourth possibility is a later day interpretation, which had come out during the period of “Bhakti movement”. However, it should be taken into cognisance because the Bhakti cult priests were trying to explain a significant religious symbol, which had been in use for generations of Hindus.

The above-given narration gives four possibilities for the symbol ‘’”, however, all these possibilities indicate only one ritual, that is the sacrifice of a bull and applying its blood on the forehead of the sacrificer and other participants in the sacrifice.

Assigning the word ‘’Tilak’’ for the ‘’ ‘’ symbol does not give coherent meaning in conjunction with symbols adjacent to the inscription. But, the word ‘’Pithru-Karma” gives a consistent meaning with contiguous symbols. Hence this symbol ‘’’’ could be read as ‘’Karma’; till an appropriate explanation is obtained.

– this ‘Karma’ symbol consists of two components, one is the ‘u’ sign and second is the vertical line in the middle. This ‘u’ symbol indicates the word ’ka’. The word ‘ka’ stands for the soul of a dead person as per Egyptian hieroglyphics. As discussed earlier, vaishnavites explain that the vertical line (Urdva Pundram) indicates goddess Laxmi. What is the word for mother goddess? it is ‘Ma’.

This /— ‘Ka’ symbol along with ‘Ma’ symbol read together perfectly gives the sound ‘Karma’. It should be noted here that at the beginning of early writing systems, all languages used only consonants to express the sound. The vowels were developed and introduced later only. The IVC inscriptions were in a very primitive stage, the letter ‘r’ is missing in this symbol ‘karma’, however, we should assume and read the word as ‘karma’.

Pundarika Yajna

At this stage, it is necessary to introduce another ritual, which may be relevant here. There is one specific yajna named ‘Pundarika Yajna’. There is a possibility that the tilak symbol could have indicated this pundarika yajna. The details available about this yajna is sparse, however, the details available are collected and produced below, to get some idea about this yajna.

The website Hans India describes the ‘pundarika yajna’ as seven-day yajna, in the name of ‘Lakshmi pundarika yajna’. This yajna was conducted for seven days in the city of Vijayawada from January 23^rd onwards in the year 2017. The name of yajna itself gives the detail that the god worshipped in this yajna was ‘goddess Lakshmi’.

In his book, Shri. Chattambi Swamigal says that in the ‘pundarika yajna’ the coitus between a widow and Brahmachari is permitted by Vedas. (7) It looks like that the situation was similar to the birth of Dhritarashtra and Pandu in the epic of Mahabharata. In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra is the King of Kuru Kingdom with its capital Hastinapur. He was born to Vichitravirya’s first wife Ambika and was fathered by Veda Vyasa. Veda Vyas impregnated Ambika, even though she was a widow. It looks like that such coitus was allowed after conducting the ‘pundarika yajna’.

The website dharmawiki.org informs that a yajna that lasts between 2 to 12 days is called ‘Ahina’ or ‘Sutya’ (8). An example of this kind of sutyaka is poundarika yajna, which lasts for 12 days. Poundarika is another way of pronouncing pundarika yajna. The relevance of discussing ‘pundarika yajna’ is that the ‘tilak symbol’ could have indicated the ‘pundarika yajna’.

The word ‘Pudendum’ and ‘Pundrum’

The word pudendum (Latin) and Pundrum (Sanskrit) sounds similar. The meaning of the Latin word ‘pudendum’ is ‘shame’ however, the same word has been used to indicate ‘the female genitalia’ in English. The urban dictionary, explains that the Latin word ‘shame’ had been misapplied to the female genitalia. However, considering the very close similarity between the Latin word pudendum and Sanskrit word Pundrum, it looks like that the comment of the Urban dictionary may be wrong. It looks like that the original meaning of the word ‘pudendum’ is female genitalia, and later day derived meaning is ‘shame’.

The Wikipedia article on Kumkuma states on the significance of forehead ‘tilak’ mark is that the ‘colour’ of the womb is yellow and is symbolically represented by turmeric. The bloodstains on the womb are represented by kumkuma (1). However, this particular observation is without any citation.

The relevance of the above-given discussion is that the Sanskrit word ‘pundrum’ indicates the ‘goddess Lakshmi’ as well as ‘tilak sign’ in the forehead of Hindus. The conclusion is that the tilak symbol of IVC could have indicated the genitalia of the mother goddess. It is likely that the blood sacrifices could have been done to please the mother goddess. At this juncture, it is pertinent to note that generally Hindu Goddesses are bloodthirsty and Goddess Kali’s ultimate demand is blood, either animal blood or human blood. This tilak symbol could have indicated the ‘Pundarika Yajna’ as well as the ‘Mother Goddess’. However, the word ‘Pithru-karma’ is fitting more appropriately to this pair of symbols. Sometimes this tilak symbol ‘’ appearing alone also stands for the twin word ‘Pithru-karma’.

This word ‘Pithru-karma’ is appearing in many Indus seal inscriptions. Some of the seals are reproduced below for analytical study. Details are as given below:

	(Read from right to left) Kavu ( ) Grihapathya – Yajna Full stop symbol ( ) -Pithru (fish-ancestor)- -Karma (Tilak symbol)- Three generations of Pithru – Astaka God (God Karkinos) (Arrow symbol)
	(Read from right to left) Karkida (Month/God) Pithru-Karma symbol Three generations of Pithrus Bangles Protection symbol Dvi ‘’ ‘’ (Sacrifice for two) (Gods as well as Pithrus) Kavu (Sacrifice of Bull shown in the seal)
	(Read from right to left) The first symbol – honeycomb ritual Messenger god – (God with a stick) Kedaga (shield – Protection) Dvi -Kavu ‘’’’ (Sacrifice for two) (Gods as well as Pithrus) Astaka (Pipal leaf -symbol) Karkida (month/god) (sacrifice in the month of Karkida) Pithru-karma (Tilak-symbol)- Kedaga – Protection to Pithrus
	(read from left to right) Grihapathya sacrifice Yajna symbol Two generations of Pithrus Pithru-karma Three generations of Pithrus (or) Third Astaka. Arrow symbol Astaka

1. www.scribd.com. Bindi-or-Tilak-Mark-on-the-Forehead-Indian-or-Hindu. https://www.scribd.com/. [Online] February 2018. https://www.scribd.com/document/95050158/Bindi-or-Tilak-Mark-on-the-Forehead-Indian-or-Hindu.

2. (Wikipedia)Tilaka. Tilaka. https://en.wikipedia.org. [Online] February 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilaka.

3. (Wikipedia)Urdhva_Pundra. Srivaishnava_Urdhva_Pundra. wikipedia.org. [Online] February 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srivaishnava_Urdhva_Pundra.

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

5. Jeyakumar(up-raised-hands-symbol). Upraised_hands_symbol_means_ka_soul_. academia.edu. [Online] 2015. https://www.academia.edu/11419216/Upraised_hands_symbol_means_ka_soul_.

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

Kur Symbol

July 28, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

Kur symbol indicates ‘Netherworld’

Kur – symbol indicates the land of the dead

$C:\Users\user\Desktop\ivc-logos-indus - 3\kur-1.jpg$

Figure 1: Sumerian ‘Kur symbol’.

This tri-foliate pattern indicates the land of ‘Kur’ as per Wikipedia(commons). (1) It means “land, foreign land, mountain, and the underworld.” It is often used to refer to a distant land or the netherworld. In the story of ‘Inana’s Descent’, ‘Kur’ is the word frequently used to describe the land of the dead.

$C:\Users\IT\Desktop\Indus script dictionary -F.BK_page610_image2270.jpg$

Figure 2: Kur symbol (second symbol from the left)

Picture courtesy – (2)

The sign also represents a trio of mountains. (3) In such a situation, the triple mountain symbol used in Indus seals could be indicating the nether world $C:\Users\user\Desktop\ivc-logos-indus - 3\mountain.jpg$ .

See the above-given seal inscription. Kur symbol, as well as triple cone symbols, are appearing. That means both symbols have a different meaning. Verification shows that this triple cone symbol is different from ‘Kur symbol’ and indicates the three pindas offered to three generations of Pithrus. There is a second possibility that this triple cone symbol could have indicated the triple mountain also. It looks like that this triple cone symbol originally indicated the triple mountain, which was the land of Pithrus. The same had been forgotten and three cones are treated as pindas and as food for Pithrus. This explanation needs further verification.

This word ‘Kur’ is further supported by the research work of Tom Kencis on Latvian mythology (4). Kencis states that there are various reconstructions of Latvian mythical space, but most researchers agree on the meaning of certain features related to the sky. The sky itself is identified as ‘Debeskalns’ (which means “Sky Mountain”). The sky is also referred to as Mountain of Pebbles, Silver Mountain or Ice Mountain, with the adjectives probably referring to stars or snow. (4) (5).

Figure 3: Anthropomorphic Bull figure with Pebble Mountain.

Picture courtesy – (6 p. 250)

The above-given observation of Kencis is supported by the above-given figure from Proto-Elamite seal. (6). It is not clear, what the pebble-like figures indicate, but correlating with the observation of Kencis, it is assumed that this Pebble Mountain could be indicating ‘Sky Mountain’. Thereby deriving the idea of ‘netherworld’ (Kur).

Note the similarity of the above-given figure with the modern-day depiction of ‘God Ganesha’. God Ganesha always carries ‘Modakam’ a pebble-shaped sweet, which looks very similar to the pebble mountain shown in the above-given figure.

1. commons.wikimedia(Sumerian_signs). Sumerian_signs. commons.wikimedia.org. [Online] 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sumerian_signs.

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

3. allmesopotamia.tumblr.com. Sumerian-Kur-it-means. allmesopotamia.tumblr.com. [Online] 2016. http://allmesopotamia.tumblr.com/post/27778688368/rsbenedict-sunday-sumerian-kur-it-means.

4. “The Latvian Mythological space in scholarly Time” (PDF). Kencis, Tom. 2011, Ķencis, Toms (2011). “The Latvian Mythological Archaeologia Baltica (Klaipėda: Klaipėda University Press), p. 144.

5. Wikipedia(Latvian_mythology). Latvian_mythology. wikipedia.org. [Online] 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_mythology.

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

Fire Stick Symbol

July 28, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

Firestick symbol indicates ‘Arani sticks’ of Vedic Yajna.

The above-given symbol indicates the ‘fire sticks’ (Arani sticks) used to ignite the fire in Vedic Yajna. This fire stick symbol always occurs in conjunction with the ‘Grihapathya Yajna’ symbol, and the ‘Smasana-cayana Yajna’symbol, which indicates that this combination yields some meaning, which is very specific and common in usage. This symbol is made of two sticks, one long stick and another short one. It gives the idea of ‘Arani sticks’ (fire sticks) used in ‘Vedic fire ritual’, which are used to ignite the first fire of a Vedic Yajna. The word ‘Yajna’ precisely suits this symbol. All these symbols in combination or on individual basis convey the idea of a Yajna.

Variants of Firesticks

The above-given picture shows the variants of fire stick symbol. These graphemes are taken from the ‘book of concordance’ by Iravatham Mahadevan. In addition to that, the quotation mark also stands for the word ‘Yajna’. The quotation mark is the most widely used variant of the yajna symbol; it occurs 649 times as per the data provided by Mahadevan (1) and Sundar. (2)

In addition to that single stroke also indicates the word ‘Yajna’ as shown in the above-given seal.

The above-given seal shows the word ‘Grihapathya’ sacrifice (Chakra-symbol) followed by Yajna symbol (Quotation mark).

The above-given seal shows the Smasana-cayana symbol (Diamond shape) followed by yajna symbol. This combination is the most prolific pair of symbols used in Indus seal inscription, 291 times, as per the database of Mahadevan and Sundar.

Frequency analysis of Indus symbols

Indus symbol

Frequency of

occurrence

649

193

The data shown above is from the research papers of Mahadevan and Sundar. This quotation mark is the second most prolifically used symbol, used 649 times. The logo, which had been used most prolifically is the ‘Kau’ symbol which had been used 1395 times. (1) (2)

Symbols pair	frequency	Reading of the inscription	Frequency of the pair in the initial position of inscription. All the pairs are occurring in the initial position, exceptions those pairs which are specifically mentioned below.
	291	Smasana -cayana Yajna	254
	83	Grihapatya Yajna	73
	54	Kedaga Yajna	54
	44	Yama Yajna	37
	24	Grihapatya yajna	22
	23	Karkida Yajna	19
	18	Sastha Yajna	18 – occurring in the middle position. This reading of ‘Sastha yajna’ is incomplete because some god’s name will precede this symbol pair.
	18	Ammit (crocodile) -Yajna	16 – occurring in the middle position
	16	Honeycomb Yajna	16 -occurring in the middle position
	14	Grihapatya Yajna	12 – occurring in the middle position
	13	Pithru Yajna	11 – occurring in the middle position
	10	Grihapatya Yajna	10 – all occurring in the initial position
	10	Samidha Yajna	10 – all occurring in the middle position

This above-given data is extracted out from the research work of Iravatham Mahadevan and Sundar (1) (2)

This above-given data shows that the Yajna symbol combines very well with various types of Yajna. Another important finding is that all these Yajna mentions are at the beginning of the seal inscription. It is a meaningful correlation.

Acknowledgements

1. All pictures of Indus seals are taken from the book of sue Sullivan (3)

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

Bibliography

1. 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.

2. 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.

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

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

Fetus Symbol – indicates ‘growing embryo’ in the womb

July 28, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

Fetus symbol- indicates growing embryo and thereby suggests the transmigration of the soul.

Abstract:

In ancient Indus Valley civilization, many ceremonies were conducted to protect the growing embryo. The ‘Valaikappu’ (Bangle ceremony) was one such ceremony.

The above-given symbol means the fetus symbol. Look at the shape of the logo; it looks like an aborted fetus. Ceremonies used to be conducted to protect the unborn child. Such traditions are still prevalent all over India, which is called as ‘Valai Kappu ceremony’ in Tamil Nadu. Similar ceremonies are held in other parts of India as well, and it is called as Dohale Jeevan by Marathi and Konkani people. The Punjabi, Sindhi and Marwari people call this function as ‘Godh-Bharai’ (1).

Fetus symbol	Shield symbol (Sanskrit –Kedaga)	Vulva symbol
fetus	Protection	Indicating mother goddess.’

Picture courtesy -Asko Parpola. (1) Page –111

This inscription in the above-given seal reads as ‘Fetus protected by mother goddess’.

Valaikaapu is a ceremony and celebration held by Hindu, Muslim and Christian women in Tamil Nadu, meant to bless a pregnant woman, celebrate her fertility, and ensure a safe birth. The pregnant woman’s parents host the ceremony, and the pregnant woman is brought to the parents home during the third trimester of the pregnancy.

It is believed that the bangle sound induces the child’s senses. The women put red and green glass bangles on the mother-to-be’s wrists, sing hymns and songs and put vermilion on her forehead. The woman then rests at her parents’ home for the final weeks of her pregnancy (1).

The purpose of the ceremony is to honour and protect the pregnant woman. Earlier times this ritual was simple, mainly limited to the exchange of bangles. But as valaikaapu became more widely practised, it grew more lavish, and since the 1980s has been celebrated by most, according to anthropologists who have studied the practice, with “magnificence and sumptuousness,”

with gifts including jewellery, saris, household appliances, mobile phones and gold ornaments (1).

Figure 4: Beehive symbol appears along with ‘fish symbol’. Picture courtesy – (4)

It is essential to understand the ‘the fish symbolism’ represents the ‘soul’ of a dead person and rebirth afterwards. Read my article on ‘fish symbolism’ for more information on the idea of rebirth in Indus culture. (2)

Here in the above-given seal, the picture shows the mother goddess with tiger body, the symbol of ‘fetus’ is appearing along with ‘honeycomb’ symbol. As discussed earlier, the fetus symbol is indicating the dead man’s soul under transmigration. Hence the

ceremony is for protecting the soul in rebirth, not merely protecting the child from the evil influences. So the idea has to be modified to that extent.

Bangles symbol suggest the idea of ‘protection’ as well as the mother goddess.

Picture courtesy – Sue Sullivan (3)

Asko Parpola says that the two rings symbol indicates

‘protection’. Further, Parpola says that the number three symbol indicates the three stones used to make a temporary fireplace for cooking. But, I have given a different interpretation of the number three symbol. Number three suggests the word ‘Dangerous god’ in Egyptian hieroglyphics. The same meaning is applicable in Indus seal inscription also. Read my article, ‘Number three specifies many gods and also dangerous gods’ for more information. (3)

Picture courtesy – Sue Sullivan (3)

The above seal inscription indicates that ‘bangles’ means ‘protection’ as well as the female goddess (Kali). The second symbol ‘Branch symbol’ suggests the word ‘Sastha’ (God). The

third symbol indicates ‘offering’. The meaning of the inscription is

‘offering to Bangle goddess’.

Acknowledgements

All pictures of Indus seals are taken from the book of sue Sullivan

(4)

All logos are extracted from the research papers of Iravatham Mahadevan, Asko Parpola (1) and Sundar (5) (6)

Bibliography

Parpola, Asko. Deciphering the Indus Script. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Jeyakumar(Fish-symbolism). Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_Valley_Civilization. academia.edu. [Online] December 2015. https://www.academia.edu/19550772/Fish_symbolism_in_Indus_V alley_Civilization.
jeyakumar(number-three). Number_three_specifies_Many_gods_and_also_Dangerous_gods. Academia.edu. [Online] https://www.academia.edu/41294661/Number_three_specifies_M any_gods_and_also_Dangerous_gods..
Sullivan, Sue, Indus script dictionary. 2011.
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.
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.