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

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

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

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

Frequency analysis of Iravatham Mahadevan (1)

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

	14 occurrences
	19 occurrences

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

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

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

References

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

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

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