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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.

Comb symbol indicates the word ‘offering’.

July 28, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

The comb symbol indicates the word ‘Offering.’

$C:\Users\user\Desktop\ivc-logos-indus - 3\shasti -comb-symbol -.jpg$

The above-given comb-like symbol expresses the idea of offering. Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Indus script symbols share many similarities. I searched for a similar hieroglyph and found that the ‘offering table’ hieroglyph coincides with this ‘comb’ symbol.

The only modification is that the ‘offering table’ symbol is written in a vertical orientation instead of a horizontal position.

The above-given hieroglyph indicates the ‘offering table’, which had been drawn vertically in the Indus script. Its meaning is the same as Egyptian Hieroglyphics, which means offering.

Sundar et al.’s frequency analysis table also supports the idea proposed here. (1) The extracts of the frequency analysis table are given below:

The positional analysis of the comb symbol within an inscription:

Solus	Initial	Median	Final	total
1	-0-	38	316	355

Table 1: Positional analysis table of comb symbol Data courtesy — (1)

The above frequency analysis shows that this comb symbol was predominantly used as a terminal sign. The best example of a terminal sign is the ‘Kavu’ symbol, which represents sacrifice. Here, the comb sign stands for the similar idea of ‘offering’.

	Kavu – offering. The pairing of the symbol is not meaningful, whereas the triplet of these symbols brings out the real meaning. the meaningful triplet is given below in a separate table	184
	Messenger god offering	26
	Astaka -offering Astaka means eight; this pair of symbols indicates the idea of an offering made on the eighth day, which belongs to Astaka (God Rudra)	11
	Offering kavu	10

Table 2: Comb symbol combinations.

The frequency distribution analysis in this table gives a different picture. The first observation is that the comb symbol appears along with ‘The Kavu symbol in the final position in 184 instances. This combination and terminal area confirm that the grapheme of ‘Comb’ means ‘offering’. The other observation is that the second-largest frequency (26) is linked with the messenger god symbol .

The above frequency analysis table of Sundar et al. does not give a satisfactory result. Hence, I did the full review by reading the all-seal inscription and determining which god the sacrifice was made towards. I have taken all seals where the

comb symbol appears . There are 115 seals taken into consideration, and the seal pictures were extracted from the book of Sue Sullivan. (2) The details are given below:

Simply Pithru sacrifice	11	Comb symbol twice –	6
Gatekeeper god	10	Rudra symbol	5
Fork symbol	8	Messenger god	5
Seals damaged – Symbols not clear	7	Trishul symbol	5
Karkida god (Rudra)	7	Pithru with a leg in bondage	4
Karuppa-swami (God-carrying stick)	7	Spear combination	4
Ningishzida	6	x- god (god of death)	3
Many gods	6
God (Zakhastha)/ (Sastha)	6

Three mountains	2	‘ka’ symbol (up- raised hands)	1
Pusan (goat logo)	2	Kur symbol	1
Stick logo – Agnoukaran ceremony	2	crocodile	1
Bow and arrow	2	Fence symbol (Anv-astakya)	1
Fetus symbol	2	Varuna	1

Table 3: Comb symbol appears in combination with all gods.

This comb symbol appears with various permutations and combinations with many gods. These multi-god combinations show that this ‘comb’ symbol conveys a general meaning, not a specific one. The general meaning of ‘offering’ fits very well. This

analysis is further clarified by the below-given ‘triplet symbols’ statistical analysis by Sundar et al. (1)

Triplets	Meaning	Frequency of occurrences
	Pithru-Kavu – offering	46
	Ka-Kavu- offering	16
	Dvi-Kavu-offering	11
	Sastha -Kavu- offering	10
	Ningishzida (Psychopomp)- Kavu- offering	10

Table 4: Triplets statistical analysis.

The above table clarifies the idea very well. Maximum offerings have been made to ‘Pithrus’(ancestors). The second

most common offering is for ‘Ka’ (Dead man’s soul). Ten offerings are for the psychopomp ‘Ningishzida‘. The remaining ten offerings are oriented towards ‘Sasthas’, a generic name for ‘Gods’. Thus,

the statistical analysis shows that this ‘comb’ symbol is oriented towards a common term, not a specific god. The word ‘offering’ fits very well.

Bibliography

Sundar, G., Chandrasekar,S.SureshBabu, G.C., Mahadevan,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.
Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary. S .l. : Suzanne Redalia, 2011.

Fish Symbolism

July 28, 2020/in Home /by indus77

Fish symbolism in Indus Valley Civilization

Fish and the God of Waters

The puzzle of ‘fish symbol’ is discussed elaborately in website Harappa.com. The author of this article in this Harappa website suggests that the ‘fish’ pictograms of the Indus script meant ‘star’, why was the meaning ‘star’ not expressed directly with a ‘star’ symbol as in the ancient Near East? Why did the Harappans in a more complicated way use a ‘fish’ pictogram and the rebus principle? One answer could be that though this method may appear more complex to us, it probably did not appear so to the Indus scribes, in whose language the same word denoted both ‘fish’ and ‘star’ (1). The above-said explanation is not a satisfactory answer to this question.

Figure 1: Fish picture in an IVC pottery Picture courtesy – (2)

The ‘fish’ pictogram of the Indus script appears to have had a somewhat similar background. The reason why ‘fish’ and not ‘Star’ was selected to represent the concept of ‘god’ seems to be that

in the Early Harappan religion the fish occupied a central position: fish is one of the most popular motifs of the Early Harappan painted pottery. As the aquatic animal par excellence, it appears to symbolise the God of Waters. The importance of this deity in the Harappan pantheon is proved by his popularity in the Harappan iconography (1).

Figure 2: The Harappan ‘Proto-Shiva’ depicted in a Near Eastern seal

In one Indus-type cylinder seal from the Near East, this buffalo-horned deity is surrounded by a pair of buffaloes, a pair of snakes, and a pair of fish (drawn exactly like the ‘fish’ pictograms of the Indus script) (2).

Figure 3: Indus seal showing the longest seal inscription.

Picture courtesy – (3)

The above- given seal inscription shows three different kinds of fish on the first line of the inscription. My interpretation is that these three fishes could be indicating the three generations of Pithru worshipped by Hindus even today.

—This fish symbol with chevron cap could be indicating the third generation Pithru, which had reached heaven. The chevron symbol indicates ‘sky’ thereby ‘heaven’.

— Fish with two horns projection could be indicating 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.

‘Pithru’, when these two symbols appear in combination, it

should be read as ‘Pithru Karma’. Then the frequency of this combination of symbols increases. The total frequency of this combination stands at 75. This frequency is significant for sample size under consideration.

‘Fish symbolism’ in other cultures

Now, let us look into ‘fish symbolism’ in other cultures.

Figure 4: Picture of Dagon Picture courtesy – (4)

Dagon

Dagon or Dagan was initially an East Semitic Mesopotamian (Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian) fertility god who evolved into a

significant Northwest Semitic god, reportedly of grain (as the symbol of fertility) and fish and fishing (as the symbol of multiplying). He was worshipped by the early Amorites and by the inhabitants of the cities of Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) and Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria). He was also an important member, or perhaps head, of the pantheon of the Philistines. (4)

Fish Symbolism —By — S. H. HOOKE

The fish as a symbol of the divine source of life is developed in the Hellenistic period appears from a tomb painting from Gamboud, (5) in which the mummy, lying on a lion bed is gazing at a fish above him. Here the sacred fish replaces the usual Ka bird symbol, indicating the hope of immortality. Egyptian priests were forbidden to eat fish at all, although fish eating was obligatory for the laity on certain days of the month. (6 pp. 535- 537) On the famous Lamashtu tablet, apotropaic in nature, two priests are represented in fish-masks standing by the bed of a sick person, warding off the attacks of Lamashtu and her attendant evil demons. One of the forms assumed by Ea, the god of magic and friend of humankind was the goat-fish.

In ritual scenes depicted on various cylinder seals, we frequently find a fish accompanied by a rhomb or lozenge; the latter element is usually interpreted by archaeologists as representing the female vulva. Hence, the fertility aspect of the

fish symbol is here strongly emphasised. (5) Mrs Van Buren had collected the Mesopotamian material relating to fish symbolism. She suggests that the fish is connected with the underworld and has chthonic associations. She also suggests, however, that in very early times they symbolised life, and that the later conception of rebirth caused them to be used in funerary rites. (7 p. 15) On some Mesopotamian seals, birds are depicted as eating or attempting to eat the fish. In this connexion Professor Erwin Goodenough has made the interesting comment, ‘This conception of the destruction of life as itself hope of life is a paradox which we shall see regularly recurring with other symbols. (6) The relevance of the above-given statement is that similar scenes of ‘birds attempting’ to eat fish appear in Indus seals also.

Syria had its fish-goddess, Atargatis, whose priests offered fish daily on her altars, and the evidence would seem to indicate that fish was a ritual food of the priests but was taboo to the layman.

An aetiological legend explaining the fish taboo related that Atargatis was born from an egg brought up from the Euphrates by a fish and hatched by a dove; hence, fish was not eaten as food. (6)

Diffusion of the fish symbolism from Mesopotamia to Syria and Phoenicia.

In Greece, the dolphin became the centre of piscine myth and metaphor. It was associated both with Dionysus and with Apollo. The dolphin is also closely associated with Eros and Aphrodite. Indeed, the dolphin is associated with so many gods

that, as Professor Goodenough has said; it is a symbol in its own right and is ‘an excellent example of the vocabulary of the symbolic lingua franca of the period’. Underlying the various dolphin legends is the symbolism of the saviour-god, the psychopomp, carrying souls to immortality. This idea of psychopomp is borne out by the frequent use of the dolphin as a symbol on Jewish and Christian graves. (8)

The Egyptian idea of a soul (9) (10)

The above-given discussions in this article are the possible gods that could be linked to this ‘fish symbol’ of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC). However, none of them adequately fits the idea of the fish symbol in Indus inscriptions. The only saving explanation is the view expressed by S.H.Hooke in his article ‘Fish symbolism’. He states that the sacred fish replaces the usual Ka bird symbol, indicating the hope of immortality. In Indus Valley Civilization also similar replacement had taken place.

In IVC inscriptions, the bird symbol has been replaced with

‘Fish symbol’. Please note that the ‘bird’ symbol appears in few seals and disappears after some time, whereas the ‘fish symbol’ is prolifically used in many seals. In the Egyptian idea, the soul consists of five portions and two important entities called ‘Ka’ and ‘Ba’. The Wikipedia article on ‘Ka’ and ‘Ba’ is reproduced below here for easy reference.

Figure 5: Ba takes the form of a bird with a human head (9)

Ba (personality)

The ‘Ba’ was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of ‘personality’. (In this sense, inanimate objects could also have a ‘Ba’, a unique character, and indeed Old Kingdom pyramids often were called the ‘Ba’ of their owner). The ‘Ba’ is an aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the ‘Ka’ in the afterlife (9) (10).

In the Coffin Texts, one form of the Ba that comes into existence after death is corporeal, eating, drinking and copulating. Louis Zabkar argued that the Ba is not part of the person but is the person himself,

In another mode of existence, the ‘Ba’ of the deceased is depicted in the Book of Going Forth by Day returning to the mummy and participating in life outside the tomb in non- corporeal form, echoing the solar theology of ‘Re’ (or Ra) uniting with Osiris each night (9) (10).

in hieroglyphs

Figure 6: the figure of ‘Ka’ symbol in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Picture courtesy- (9)

Ka (vital spark)

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. The Egyptians believed that Khnum created the bodies of children on a potter’s wheel and inserted them into their mothers’ bodies.

Egyptians believed that Heket 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 idea resembles the concept of spirit in other religions. The most important point to be noted here is that the same ‘Upraised hand’ symbol has been used for the same meaning with same sound ‘Ka’ in Indus script also. This ‘Upraised hand symbol’ is evidence to show that the Egyptian Hieroglyphics had influenced the Indus script.

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. The ‘Ka’ was often represented in Egyptian iconography as a second image of the king, leading earlier works to attempt to translate Ka as double of the dead king.

Figure 7: Bird symbol indicates the Agnicayana ceremony Picture courtesy – (11)

The idea behind these rituals is liberating the soul from the dead body and delivering the same in heaven through the ‘Vedic-bird’. The idea is very similar to the Egyptian concept of ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’. The ‘Ba’ is indicated by ‘bird symbol’ here also, whereas the idea of ‘Ka’ (bird) had been replaced with ‘fish symbol’ in the same way as it happened in Egypt also.

The idea conveyed by ‘fish symbol’ is very intangible. That is the reason for the immense difficulty in deciphering Indus inscriptions. It is finally concluded that ‘Fish symbol’ indicates the part of the soul of a dead person or rebirth of people as ‘fish’ in another realm (i.e.Heaven).

Ichthys

Ichthys was the offspring son of the ancient Sea goddess Atargatis and was known in various mythic systems as Tirgata, Aphrodite, Pelagia or Delphine. The word also meant “womb” and “dolphin” in some tongues, and representations of this appeared in the depiction of mermaids. The fish also a central element in other

stories, including the Goddess of Ephesus (who has a fish amulet covering her genital region), as well as the tale of the fish that swallowed the penis of Osiris, and was also considered a symbol of the vulva of Isis. (12)

Along with being a generative and reproductive spirit in mythology, the fish also has been identified in certain cultures with reincarnation and the life force. Sir James George Frazer noted in his work, “Adonis, Attis, Osiris: Studies in the History of Oriental Religion” (Part Four of his larger work, “The Golden Bough”) that among one group in India, the fish was believed to house a departed soul. Also, as a part of a fertility ritual, specific fish is eaten in the belief that it will be reincarnated in a new-born child. (13)

Well before Christianity, the fish symbol was known as “the Great Mother,” a pointed oval sign, the “Vesica Piscis” or Vessel of the Fish. “Fish” and “womb” were synonymous terms in ancient Greek, “Delphos.” Its link to fertility, birth, feminine sexuality and the natural force of women was also acknowledged by the Celts, as well as pagan cultures throughout northern Europe. Eleanor Gaddon traces a “Cult of the Fish Mother” as far back as the hunting and fishing people of the Danube River Basin in the sixth millennium (B.C). Over fifty shrines have been found throughout the region, which depicts a fish like deity, a female creature who “incorporates aspects of an egg, a fish and a woman which could have been a primaeval creator or a mythical ancestress…” The

“Great Goddess” was portrayed elsewhere with pendulous breasts, accentuated buttocks and a conspicuous vaginal orifice. (13)

Thus, the fish symbol is an ancient symbol indicative of female anatomy and reproductive potency — the very sign of the Great Mother. Rekha Rao has put the same idea forth in her latest e-book, ’Symbolography in Indus seals’. (14)

Also, note that in figure -2 (Harappa.com) the two fish symbols are shown near the god ‘Anu’. The author of the article concludes that the fish symbol indicates a god. Most probably, the fish symbols mean the souls of dead persons who had reached heaven and living with God ‘Anu’ in his court.

It is the common belief among Hindus that dead person either goes into heaven (sky) or hell (underworld) depending on his karma. There is no doubt that ancient priests made extraordinary efforts to send the soul to heaven. This idea is ingrained in the Indian mind; however, just to produce some literary evidence, the literature available on this issue are reproduced here for easy reference. Franz Cumont states that the primitive people regard the spirit of the dead as departing to inhibit the stars. In Homeric age and popular belief, doctrines taught that the abode of souls was neither the tomb nor the netherworld of Pluto, but the upper zone of the universe. Some other people with more precise definition made the souls companion of stars. (15)

The idea conveyed by ‘fish symbol’ is very abstract. That is the reason for the immense difficulty in deciphering Indus inscriptions. It is finally concluded that the ‘Fish symbol’ indicates the part of the soul of a dead person or rebirth of a people as ‘fish’ in another realm (i.e. The Heaven).

Harappa.com. http://www.harappa.com/. http://www.harappa.com/. [Online] 2014. http://www.harappa.com/.
harappa.com. script/parpola8.html. harappa.com. [Online] December 2015. http://www.harappa.com/script/parpola8.html.
Sullivan, Sue. Indus Script Dictionary.
Wikipedia(Dagon). Dagon. wikipedia.org. [Online] December 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagon#/media/File:Dagon_2.jpg.
Goodenough, E. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman World, VI, p. 14.
Hooke, S.H. Fish Symbolism. 1960.
Buren, E. Van. Fish Offerings in Ancient Mesopotamia.
Hooke, S.H. http://www.luxlapis.co.za/astro/fish.htm. http://www.luxlapis.co.za/astro/fish.htm. [Online] December 2015. http://www.luxlapis.co.za/astro/fish.htm.
Wikipedia(Egyptian-soul). Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul. Wikipedia. [Online] 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul#Ka_.28vital_spark.29.
Wikipedia(EgyptianAfterlife). Ancient_Egyptian_religion#Afterlife. wikipedia.org.

[Online] 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion#Afterlife.

Subramanian.T.S. Harappan-surprise. www.frontline.in. [Online] April 2015. http://www.frontline.in/arts-and-culture/heritage/harappan-surprise/article7053030.ece.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. s.l. : http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/fish_symbol.htm.
fish_symbol. godlessgeeks.com. [Online] December 2015. http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/fish_symbol.htm.
Rao, Rekha. Symbalography in Indus seals (e-Book). s.l. : Amazon, 2015.
Cumont, Fraz. Astrology and religion among the Greeks and Romans. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2006.

Evidence of Vedic Yajna in Indus seal inscriptions

July 28, 2020/in Home /by indus77

‘Smasana-cayana’altar (Vedic burial ritual) in Indus Valley Civilization.

Figure 1: Evidence of ‘Smasana-cayana’ ritual

Picture courtesy (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

The above shown picture shows the remnant of ‘Vedic Yajna ‘ritual as per observation of T.S.Subramanian. The article is published in the front line magazine. The discovery and excavation of a new site, 4MSR, near Binjor, Rajasthan, has yielded vital clues about the evolution and continuity of the mature and late phases of the Harappan civilisation and their relationship to the painted grey ware culture that followed. A.K. Pandey, Deputy Director of ASI is in charge of the excavation at the Harappan site of 4MSR (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

The site, which is a couple of kilometres from Binjor village, is in Anupgarh tehsil of Sri Ganganagar district, Rajasthan. It is just 7 km from the India-Pakistan border as the crow flies. The archaeologists and the students are excavating a big mound in the alluvial plains of the Ghaggar River. Ghaggar is the modern name given to the Saraswati River. The village residents call the mound Thed and it is about 400 metres from the camp.

There are successive floor levels made of mud bricks, especially in the industrial area of the site. Pandey says “It shows that whenever the original floor in which the Harappans were working got damaged, they built another floor over it. Between two floors, we have found a lot of ash, charcoal, bones, pottery and artefacts. There are katcha (temporary) drains in some trenches,” (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

The trenches have thrown up remnants of ovens, hearths and furnaces, with white ash and soot embedded in the soil, testifying to the industrial activity of making beads at the site. Hearths were found both inside and outside the Harappan houses. Pandey offered an explanation: During winter, Harappans cooked inside their homes but in summer, they cooked outside. One trench revealed a deep silo, lined with mud, to store grains. (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

I doubt the explanation of Pandey that industrial activity was carried out in this place. In my opinion, it is a site of funeral ceremony, where lot of sacrifices had been carried out, which are indicated by the bones and ash. The different cooking hearths mentioned by him indicates the different Vedic altars used in a single Vedic ceremony. Two successive floor levels mad of bricks indicates that there were two different Vedic Yajnas on the same spot. The first Yajna could be Agnicayana ritual followed by Smasana-cayana or vice versa.

What has come as a bonus is the discovery of a fire altar, with a yasti (a shaft) in the middle. “The yasti is an indication that rituals were performed at the altar,” said Manjul. The yasti here is an octagonal, burnt brick. Although bones were found in the upper level of the deposits in this trench, it could not be ascertained whether they were sacrificial bones. The ASI team traced mud and ash layers at the lower level in the trench and also found a bead inside the fire

altar. Pandey said fire altars had been found in Kalibangan and Rakhigarhi, and the yastis were octagonal or cylindrical bricks. There were “signatures” indicating that worship of some kind had taken place at the fire altar here. (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

Fortunately, the Indian Archaeologists have identified the structure in figure-1 as a Vedic ritual pit. Generally they are fond of calling all structures as grain storage pit. T.S. Subramanian, special correspondent of Frontline magazine also states that “Worship of some kind had taken place at the fire altar here”.

Now, we have to identify the kind of ‘worship’ that had taken place in this archaeological excavation site.

The answer for this above said question is available in the book of Tull, H.

W. (1990). The Vedic origins of karma: Cosmos as man in ancient Indian myth and ritual. Delhi: Sri Satguru. (Tull, 1990)

The extracts of the book are as given below:

The Agnicayana ritual goes on for a whole year, the first phase is the construction of ‘Great bird altar’. (wikipedia(Agnicayana), 2015). Then the next phase of the ritual is the construction of a “Domestic hearth” (Garhapatya), which represents a reconstructed version of one of the hearths (Ahavaniya, Dakshinagni, Garhapatya) used in all the Vedic Srauta rites. (Tull H. , 2015)

The construction of this hearth is again likened to a birth process. Here the womb is said to be the earth, and the embryo inside the womb is identified as having both the shape of a man and the shape of a bird, which is the shape of the completed fire altar. (Tull H. , 2015)

Figure 2: Indus symbol in the shape of ’embryo’

Figure 3: The embryo symbol in Indus seal

Picture courtesy – (Sullivan, 2011)

Now, compare this above given Indus symbol with the ‘Vedic fire altar’ shown in figure – 1, it exactly tallies. This shows that the above given Indus symbol indicates ‘Smasana-cayana’ Vedic ritual conducted for a dead person. I have been telling for long time that all the Indus seals are related to death related rituals, which is being substantiated by this findings in this article. (Jeyakumar(Necropolis), 2009)

Figure 4: Modified embryo symbol in diamond shape

Figure 5: Diamond shaped embryo in Indus inscriptions

Picture courtesy – (Sullivan, 2011)

The above given figures 4&5 indicate the modified embryo symbol, this symbol is in ‘diamond’ shape instead of ‘embryo’ shape. Anyhow, it should be construed that both symbols are indicating a same Vedic ceremony.

The Garhapatya thus represents the earthly foundation of man and fire altar, both of which will be (ritually) born during the course of the Agnicayana performance. To express this connection the Garhapatya, which traditionally has a round shape, is made to the same measure as a man or the distance between a man’s outstretched arm (Vyamamatra), and its shape is said to symbolize the roundness both of the womb and the earth. (Tull H. , 2015)

Figure 6: The Chakra symbol indicates ‘Garhapatya Yajna’

Figure 7: Gold man figure in Agnicayana ritual

Picture courtesy: e-book of Rekha Rao; Symbolography in Indus seals. (Rekha, 2015)

W.H.Tull state that the next step of this ritual is that the sacrificer emits his real semen, and the semen is placed next to the gold man. The above given statement of W.H.Tull is supported by the findings of Rekha. (Rekha, 2015) Rekha in her e-book has produced the above given figure-7, which shows an effigy made of gold is placed inside the Agnicayana Vedic altar. She had taken this figure from

the website Athirathram.org. Please also note that the semen of the sacrificer is placed near the gold man, the statement is substantiated by the circle of gold dots near the ‘Gold Man’. (Athirathram.org, 2015)

Along with the offering spoon (Vedic ritual ladle) the priest places two bricks inside the altar, which are said to be the Sacrificer’s testicle. Please note that there are two bricks inside the yajna kund (figure -1), which are being called as Yastis by T.S.Subramanian. To whatever new existence the construction of the fire altar leads the sacrificer, with his offering spoon (ladle) and testicles, he will be able to continue his characteristic activities such as performing the Vedic rites and procreating. (Tull H. , 2015)

Figure 8: Perforated clay plates

Picture courtesy – (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

W.H.Tull states that on top of the Gold man (effigy) the sacrificer places the ‘naturally perforated bricks’. (Svayamatrnna). (Tull H. , 2015) But, no such perforated bricks were seen in the excavated Vedic altar. Instead of the bricks, perforated clay plates were found. (Figure-8) The perforations in these three clay plates allow the sacrificer to pass through the otherwise solid altar in his symbolic ascent through the cosmos.

W.H.Tull states that in the completed altar there will be three bricks. One each placed on the first, third and fifth levels. Please note that one brick (Yasti) is visible in the altar (Figure-1) and the second brick is also visible in the second level (or) it may be third level as said by W.H.Tull. The bricks indicate the testicles of the sacrificer, and separate perforated clay plates were placed over the bricks, so that imaginary life of sacrificer in the ‘Garbha’ (embryo) can breathe within the ‘Vedic altar’. (Tull H. , 2015)

In this first layer of the altar the sacrificer also place a tortoise, which represents heaven (The upper shell) the earth (The lower shell). The fire pan, which represents the womb; and a mortar and pestle, which represents a penis in the womb. The author describes this shape (shape of the altar in figure-1) as that of an animal, with certain bricks representing is head, neck, breast, back and hips. Then finally the priests declare: “That animal, which is the fire altar, now has a form complete and whole”. (Tull H. , 2015)

The sacrificer next places in the fire pan the heads of the five sacrifice animals that of a goat, sheep, cow, horse and man, or if the sacrificer followed the alternative procedure, the head of a single goat that represents all the five animals mentioned above. The sacrificer then throws seven gold chips in each head. (Tull H. , 2015) These sacrificed animal heads are not reported by the archaeological excavation team, because those animal heads would have rotten away many centuries back. The excavation team has not reported the gold man as well as seven cold chips. However they reported a valuable bead from the altar, which shows that a valuable bead could have been used instead of gold chips.

Perforated clay plates are placed inside the chamber, so that there will be breathing space for the life created in this chamber. After this point, the construction of the altar entails the continued placing of bricks until all five levels are completed. The bird shaped fire altar was seen as representation of the Vedic sun-bird, who was occasionally identified with Agni and would thus be capable of conveying the sacrificer to the heavenly realm in which it had its abode. (Tull H. , 2015) The Vedic sun-bird seems to be the equivalent of the Greek mythical bird ‘Phoenix’.

Though the Satapatha Brahmana mentions other shapes for this kind of Vedic sacrifice such as those of a bucket, chariot wheel, or a heron for the construction of the altar the Vedic priests disdain their use.

Figure 9: Materials prepared for Agnicayana ritual

Picture courtesy (Athirathram.org, 2015)

Agnicayana stood at the zenith of the Vedic ritual hierarchy, it is clear that the one who lives and sacrifices for 100 years would have performed this Agnicayana sacrifice as his penultimate sacrifice. (The final sacrifice was the funeral rite) The final sacrifice for the one who had in life completed the Agnicayana possessed its own distinctive nature. Such distinguished sacrificer deserved building of a burial place (Smasana-cayana). (Tull H. , 2015)

The Agnicayana ritual is considered as completed only after construction of the Smasana-cayana altar. This particular obligation indicates the continuity between Agnicayana ritual and final Smasana-cayana ritual. After the final Smasana-cayana ritual the dead man goes to the other world. Scholars have often

noted the similarity between the construction of the Agnicayana altar and the construction of burial place (Smasana-cayana) for the sacrificer who had built the fire altar. Although the Smasana-cayana does exhibit an over helming concern with the father (Pithrus), it is important in view of its similarity to the Agnicayana, to question the precise nature of relationship between these two rites. The Satapatha Brahmana specifically states that the construction of the burial place completes the Agnicayana ritual. (Tull H. , 2015)

Figure 10: Bird symbol indicates Agnicayana ceremony

Picture courtesy – (Subramanian.T.S, 2015)

Note that the above given seal (figure-8) was the only seal found in this excavation site and inscriptions on this seal indicates the Agnicayana ceremony. The bird symbol in the seal indicates the Agnicayana ceremony. Further, one full skeleton was also found out in the same site. This shows that some important person of Indus Valley period had been buried here and a funeral mound has been raised over his body. The inscription on the seal is the conclusive proof that a burial ceremony was carried out in the excavated site, and not some kind of industrial activity as being claimed by the Indian archaeologists.

Athirathram.org. (2015, December). scenes.html. Retrieved from athirathram.org: http://www.athirathram.org/scenes.html

Jeyakumar(Necropolis). (2009). Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization. Retrieved from www.academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/7773502/Necropolis_theory_on_Indus_Valley_Civilization

Rekha. (2015). Symbolography in Indus seals. In Symbolography in Indus seals(e-Book) (p. 11736). https://read.amazon.in/. Retrieved from https://read.amazon.in/

Subramanian.T.S. (2015, April). harappan-surprise. Retrieved from www.frontline.in: http://www.frontline.in/arts-and-culture/heritage/harappan-surprise/article7053030.ece

Sullivan, S. (2011). Indus Script Dictionary. Suzanne Redalia.

Tull, H. (2015). smasanacayana. Retrieved from books.google.co.in: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=auqGWz2l9pYC&pg=PA180&dq=smasanacayana&hl=en&s a=X&ved=0ahUKEwj24bW5lsTJAhWSGI4KHfy5Dr8Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=smasanacayana& f=false

Tull, H. W. (1990). The Vedic origins of karma: Cosmos as man in ancient Indian myth and ritual. Delhi: Sri Satguru. Delhi: Sri Satguru.

wikipedia(Agnicayana). (2015, December). Agnicayana. Retrieved from wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnicayana

Necropolis theory on Indus Valley Civilization

July 28, 2020/in Home /by indus77

Branch Symbol

July 27, 2020/in Symbols /by indus77

‘Branch symbol’ indicates the word ‘Sastha.’

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The above given two symbols indicate branches of a tree. The Sanskrit word ‘Zakhastha’ means ‘branch-sitting’ that is the god sitting on a branch. Further, it is likely that this word got distorted and being pronounced as ‘Sastha’ in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as on today. There were three tree living gods in IVC as per my article, ‘Three different tree living gods of Indus civilization’ (1). It looks like that the referred three gods alone are not called as ‘Sasthas’, all the gods of Indus civilization were called as ‘Sasthas.’

Out of the two symbols presented above, the second symbol looks like a ‘Trishul symbol.’ However, verification so far, reveals the fact that this symbol is a modified form of the branch symbol and not a ‘Trishul’ symbol.

See the research paper of Sundar et al. (Sundar, 2010). This paper analyses the frequency distribution of various symbols and also a combination of symbols. (2) I have listed out combinations of symbol and symbol separately. Even though the second symbol looks like ‘Trishul’, it is only ‘branch symbol’. However, it looks like that over centuries this ‘zakha’ symbol got transformed into ‘Trishul symbol’. However, in the Indus seal inscriptions, evidence of Trishul as a weapon is not seen so far. Details about ‘Zakha’ [ ] (Branch) symbol are as following:

Symbol combinations	frequency	Symbol combinations	Frequency
	48		54
	47		40
	30		30
	26		21
	24		20
	18		10
	15		10
	11		10

Table 1: Frequency distribution analysis of ‘Branch Symbol’.

One significant observation that can be made is, “there is no difference between symbol and symbol; both symbols had been used in an interchangeable fashion”. That means both these symbols are indicating the same meaning that these symbols indicate the word ‘’ God’’ (Sastha).

The second important point obtained out of this analysis is that this symbol ‘Sastha’ is not appearing with those other two gods, namely, Dwara Palaka (gatekeeper god) [ ] and Karkinos [ ]. The third important point is that the ‘The istika ceremony’ [ ] is associated with all gods( Sasthas). It means that the word ‘Sastha’ is a generic term meant for the word ‘God’.

$C:\Users\user\Desktop\pics- showing trishul symbol\Indus script dictionary -F.BK_page610_image1181.jpg$

In the above-given seal, a branch is placed on a pedestal, which stands for the word ‘Sastha’. The chakra symbol indicates the ‘Grihapathya fire’. It means that the sacrifice was carried out on a general basis, and the sacrifice was made for all gods, no particular god is mentioned.

In this inscription, the branch symbol is located in the last (read from right to left). The bangle symbol may be indicating ‘mother goddess’. It looks like that mother goddess was also called as ‘Sastha’. (or) The sacrifice was made only for gods (Sasthas), not Pithru.

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God is mentioned as the first symbol (Read from right to left). It is a new symbol, and god has not been identified so far. It looks like another symbol for God Astaka. The ‘Branch symbol’ merely stands for the word ‘Sastha’, which indicates that the sacrifice was made only for gods and not Pithrus. Number four may be indicating the fourth-day of Pithru ceremony (or) fourth-day Sastha. The fourth-day god is Yama/Ganapathi. (3) Yama/Ganapati is lord of the 4th lunar day as per modern Hindu religious ideas, which is suitable for the destruction of one’s enemies, the removal of obstacles, and acts of combat.

Karkinos was the god who lived in the Pipal tree during Indus valley civilization times. Now the gods residing under Pipal tree should be taken as continuity of the old god. Modern Hindu god Ganapathi fills that role very well. Equally important is the Tamil ancestral god Muneeswaran, he also fills the same spot.

Palm branch symbol – a measure of time

There is a second possibility that this Indus branch symbol could be the modified version of the Egyptian Palm branch hieroglyph.

Figure 2: Palm branch symbol as per Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

The Egyptians would put a notch in a palm branch to mark the passing of a year in the life of a pharaoh. It symbolized the ‘measure of time.’ (4)

Figure 1: Seal inscription showing number along with branch symbol.

In the above-given seal inscription, the number seven symbol is appearing in association with ‘Sastha'(God) symbol. It could be indicating the seventh-day god, as per Hindu religious idea. (or) it could mean the number of years as a measurement of time.

Heh (god)

Ḥeḥ was the personification of infinity or eternity in the Ogdoad in Egyptian mythology. (1) His name originally meant “flood”, referring to the watery chaos that the Egyptians believed existed before the creation of the world. (2) The Egyptians envisioned this chaos as infinite, in contrast with the finite created world, so Heh personified this aspect of the primordial waters. (3) (4)

Like the other concepts in the Ogdoad, his male form was often depicted as a frog, or a frog-headed human, and his female form as a snake or snake-headed human. The frog head symbolized fertility, creation, and regeneration. (4) The other common representation depicts him crouching, holding a palm stem in each hand (or just one), (5) sometimes with a palm stem in his hair, as palm stems represented long life to the Egyptians, the years being represented by notches on it. (4)

The representation of this god crouching (kneeling-One knee raised) brings to my mind similar depiction in

Indus seal image.

See the above-given representation of the god sitting in the tree. His sitting position is very similar to the Egyptian god ‘Heh’, who gives a million years afterlife. Hence, it can be concluded that the above-depicted god is a continuation of the Egyptian god ‘Heh’. We do not know, by what name the Indus valley people called him, but we can call him by his Egyptian name, till a consensus is arrived.

An aspect of Heh, holding a pair of notched palm branches

The god Ḥeḥ was usually depicted anthropomorphically, as in the hieroglyphic character, as a male figure with divine beard and lappet wig. Typically kneeling (one knee raised), sometimes in a basket—the sign for “all”, the god typically holds in each hand a notched palm branch (palm rib). (These were employed in the temples for ceremonial time-keeping). (7) Occasionally, an additional palm branch is worn on the god’s head. (4)

The personified, somewhat abstract god of eternity. The god’s image and its iconographic elements reflected the wish for millions of years of life or rule. ‘Heh’ became associated with the King and his quest for longevity. The placement of ‘Heh’ in connection with a Pharoah’s corpse means that the god will be granting him these “millions of years” into the afterlife.^[9] (4)

The specific identification mark for the god ‘Heh’ is the ‘palm branch on the head’ as shown in the logogram. The above-given seal also shows a god with a palm branch in his head. This god could be ‘Heh’. There are some other gods with similar feathers in their heads. The first one is the goddess of justice ‘Maat’, and the second god is ‘Bes’ the gatekeeper god. Till a finality is reached on this issue, let us assume that the god depicted in the above-given seal is ‘Heh’, the god of immortality.

Acknowledgements:

All the seal pictures are taken out of the book of Sue Sullivan (5)

All symbols are taken out of the book of Asko Parpola (6)

1. Jeyakumar(Three-tree-gods). https://www.academia.edu/25651400/Three_different_tree_gods_of_Indus_civilization. https://www.academia.edu. [Online], 2017. https://www.academia.edu/25651400/Three_different_tree_gods_of_Indus_civilization.

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. Jeyakumar(Table-Thithi-Dates). A_correlation_table_of_different_Thithi_Dates_with_different_Hindu_gods. academia.edu. [Online], 2017. https://www.academia.edu/31708667/A_correlation_table_of_different_Thithi_Dates_with_different_Hindu_gods.

4. Egyptsymbols. www.crystalinks.com. [Online] https://www.crystalinks.com/egyptsymbols.html.

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

6. Genesis in Egypt, The Philosophy of Ancient Egyptian Creation Accounts. Yale Egyptological Seminar, 1988. Allen, James.P (1). Yale University: Yale Egyptological Seminar, 1988, 1988.

7. Allen, James P.(2). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge: Allen, James P. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge University Press, 2000, 2000.

8. Wikipedia(Heh_god). Heh_(god). Wikipedia.org. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heh_(god).

9. Rush, John. The Twelve Gates: A Spiritual Passage Through the Egyptian Books of the Dead. Berkely, CA: Frog, 2007.

10. Owusu, Heike. Egyptian Symbols. New York. : Sterling., 2008.

11. Remler, Pat. Egyptian Mythology, A to Z. New York. : Chelsea House., 2010.

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

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