Mlecchita Vikalpa (1)

 

Sarasvati (mleccha) hieroglyphs (Indus Script)

Abstract

About 4000 epigraphs have been discovered as related to the Saravati-Sindhu (Harappa) Civilization. About 2000 archaeological sites (that is, 80% of the total number of 2600 sites) are found on the banks of River Sarasvati (Ghaggar). Epigraphs have been discovered only on 42 sites. The epigraphs use pictorial signs and pictorial motifs. Treating these as pictorial writing, the glyphs are read as hieroglyphs. Because the majority of the civilization sites are on the Sarasvati River basin, Indus Script epigraphs are referred to as Sarasvati hieroglyphs. These are read as the repertoire of mints, smithy and metalsmiths using mleccha (meluhha), the spoken language of the linguistic area of Bharatam from circa 6500 BCE to the present-day.

Discovery sites of Sarasvati hieroglyphs

Over 45 sites where objects with epigraphs have been discovered – dated circa 3300 BCE to 1500 BCE. The Sarasvati hieroglyph discovery sites extend from Tepe Gawra on Tigris river on the west to Alamgirpur on Yamuna river on the east; from Altin Tepe in the north — east of Caspian Sea (south of Turkmenistan) to Maski on Krishna river on the south.

Neolithic and Harappan period settlements in the cradle of the Sarasvati Civilization. The delta area is now called Rann of Kutch. [After KS ValdiyaError! Bookmark not defined., 2002, Fig. 1.3]

In 2006, a stone celt with Sarasvati hieroglyphs has been discovered on the banks of Kaveri river (Sembiyan Kandiyur). Two ingots with Sarasvati hieroglyphs have also been discovered in a shipwreck in Haifa (Mediterranean).

Old Indic or Proto-Bharatiya Lingua Franca or parole (spoken tongue)

There are hundreds of lexical isolates attested in ‘Indo-Aryan’ which are not found in other branches of Indo-European. These are clearly a substratum layer of Old Indic which was spoken by the people of Bharat on the Sarasvati-Sindhu river basins and on the coastal settlements of Sindhu sa_gara (Arabian Sea). Some of these people were called Meluhhan in Mesopotamian texts. The Austroasiatic components of this substratum have to be resolved further in the context of (1) ancestors of Brahui and Elamite; and (2) other Austroasiatic groups such as those in the Brahmaputra (Lohitya)-Meghna-Barak river basins and around the Bay of Bengal.

The lingua franca (or parole, spoken tongue) of Bharat circa 5000 years ago is hypothesized as a continuum of dialects, evolving in tandem with the cultural setting and technological innovations.

There is evidence of a substrate language of anient Sumer; this language could be located in Bha_rata in the contemporaneous Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization ca. 3500 -2500 BCE. Like the influence of Celtic on ancient Gaul, Sumerian shows signs of a substrate language in the use of professional names such as sanga ‘priest’, simug ‘blacksmith’; craftsman like nangar ‘carpenter’, a:gab ‘leather worker’; agricultural terms, like engar ‘farmer’, apin ‘plow’ and absin ‘furrow’. ur ‘millstone’ (Sumerian); ur-al ‘mortar’ (Ta.); ulu_khala (Skt.) ili ‘sesame’ (Sumerian), ellu/u_lu ‘sesame oil’ (Akkadian); el., el.l.u ‘Sesamum indicum’ (Ta.); tila, jar-tila ‘sesame’ (Vedic)(Blazek, V. and C. Boisson, The Diffusion of Agricultural Terms from Mesopotamia. Archiv Orientalni 60, 1992, 16-37) It is possible that IE *kwe-kw-lo- ‘wheel’ may be related to Sumerian gilgul ‘wheel’; (GIS-); gigir ‘wagon’. a_n.i which occurs in the R.gveda as ‘lynch pin’ is considered foreign to both Dravidian and Vedic. IE rota ‘rotate’ may also relate to urut.t.u ‘roll’; urul. ‘roll’ (Ta.) tambira = copper (Pkt.) tibira = merchant (Akkadian)

Epigraphs are not names of ‘owners’

Though the corpus is limited, it is notable that there is a substantial number of duplicate inscriptions; this is confirmed from the recent report of excavations at Harappa (1993 to 1995 and 2000 seasons). Obviously, the inscriptions do not represent ‘names’ of owners. The inscriptions could simply be ‘functions’ performed by or the ‘professional title’ of the person who carried the inscribed object on his or her wrist (or as a pendant attached to a necklace) or the list of objects he/she was invoicing for trade (as bill of lading or simply possessions of property items listed).

Bharatiya tradition continues in copperError! Bookmark not defined. plate inscriptions and neolithic pottery motifs

The Sohgaura copper plate refers to a pair of kos.t.ha_ga_ra (dva_ra kot.t.haka); the two storehouses described as tri-garbha (i.e. having three rooms) are illustrated on line 1. (Fleet, JRAS, 1907). The illustrations indicate that the three rooms are in three storeys, with supporting pillars clearly seen. The inscription refers to the junction of three highways named Manavati, in two villages called Dasilimita and Usagama. The storehouses were made at this junction for the goods of people using the highways, which are indicated in line 3 by mentioning the three places to and from which they led. One of the names give is reognized by Fleet as Chanchu. (Fleet, JRAS, 63, 1894 proceedings, 86, plate, IA 25. 262; cf. Sohgaura copper plate/B.M. Barua. The Indian Historical Quarterly, ed. Narendra Nath Law. Reprint. 41) Some glyphs on line 1: kut.hi = tree; rebus: kut.hi = smelting furnace; kos.t.ha_ga_ra = storehouse; s’u_la = spear; cu_l.a = kiln; kan.d.kanka = rim of jar; rebus: copper furnace; bat.a = quail; rebus: kiln.

Hieroglyphs on the Sembiyan Kandiyur stone celt

Engraved celt tool of Sembiyan-kandiyur with Sarasvati hieroglyphs: calling-card of an artisan.

http://www.tn.gov.in/misc/Archaeological_discovery.htm

The first symbol from the left is Sign 47. This matches with the megalithic symbol identified by BB Lal, who notes: "In the case of Sanur (rare examples elsewhere also) three symbols occur in such close proximity to one another as to give the impression of a record. It may however be added that the three symbols interchange their positions on different pots producing all possible combinations" (B.B. Lal, 1960. From Megalithic to the Harappa: Tracing back the graffiti on pottery. Ancient India, No.16, p.23).

From L. Sign 47 (backbone)

ko_lemu ‘backbone’ (Te.)

kolame ‘deep pit’ (Tu.); kolame, kolme ‘smithy’ (Ka.); kolla ‘furnace’(Te.)

Sign 342 (rim of jar)

kanka = rim of pot (Santali) Rebus: kan:ka = a metal (Pali); kan- = copper(Ta.) kanaka = gold; kanaka_dhyaks.a = superintendent of gold, treasurer (Skt.) kan-n-a_r, blacksmiths, coppersmiths (Ta.)

kan.d.a = a pot of certain shape and size (Santali) Rebus: kan.d. = altar, furnace (Santali)

Sign 367 (Fig-leaf ligatured)

Allographs of a leaf sign, ligature with crab sign [After Parpola, 1994, fig. 13.15]

kampat.t.am ‘mint’ (Ta.)

kamar.kom = fig leaf (Santali.lex.) kamarmar.a_ (Has.), kamar.kom (Nag.); the petiole or stalk of a leaf (Mundari.lex.)

kama_t.hiyo = archer; ka_mat.hum = a bow; ka_mad.i_, ka_mad.um = a chip of bamboo (G.) ka_mat.hiyo a bowman; an archer (Skt.lex.)

Glyph: kamat.hi_, ka_mat.hum a bow (G.); kamat.ha a tortoise, a bamboo (Skt.)

Sign 301 (eyelash)

mendi_ = eyelashes (Halbi); kandl mindig (pl.) eyelash (Kol.); mindi, mindi_ (Go.); kon.d.a-min.di eyelid, eyelash (Go.)(DEDR 4864). mitn.e~ = to close the eyes (M.)(CDIAL 10119).

Glyph: me_d.i glomerous fig tree, ficus racemosa (Ka.); ficus glomerata (Te.); me_r.i id. (Ko.)(DEDR 5090). [Thus lo ‘iron’ + me_d.i ‘iron implement’ may be both phonetic determinants reinforcing the substantive (‘iron’) indicated by the glyph: ‘leaf’.]

med. ‘iron’ (Santali. MundariError! Bookmark not defined.) me~r.he~t iron; ispat m. = steel; dul m. = cast iron; kolhe m. iron manufactured by the Kolhes (Santali); mer.ed (Mun.d.ari); med. (Ho.)(Santali.lex.Bodding) 

It is hypothesised that the inscriptions on copper plates and the symbols on punch-marked coins made in the mints of smiths are the work of inheritors of the Sarasvati brazier-smithy-tradition.

[Pl.8, Local Tribal coin symbols: Ujjayini, Tripuri, Ayodhya, Almore, Pa_n~ca_la, Arjuna_yana (1-3), Ra_janya (3,6,8), Uddehika, Audumbara, Kun.inda, Kuluta, Vr.s.n.i, Yaudheya, Ks.atrapa, S’a_tava_hana]

Hieroglyphs and frequencies of occurrence on epigraphs

One-horned heifer with a pannier

1159 + 5 (with two horns)

Short-horned bull

95 +2 (in opposition)

Zebu or Bra_hman.i bull

54

Buffalo

14

Elephant

55 + 1 (horned)

Tiger (including tiger looking back)

16 + 5 (horned)

Boar

39 + 1 (in opposition)

Goat-antelope

36 + 1 (flanking a tree)

Ox-antelope

26

Hare

10 +1 (object shaped like hare)

Ligatured animal

41

Alligator

49

Fish

14 (objects shaped like fish)\; fish also a sign

Frog

1

Serpent

10

Tree

34 + 1 (leaves); leaf also a sign

tebr.a, tebor. = thrice (Santali

ta(m)bra = copper. (Pkt.); tibira = copper merchant (Akkadian)

Dotted circle

67

ghan:ghar ghon:ghor ‘full of holes’ (Santali); rebus:. kan:gar ‘portable furnace (K.)

Svastika

23 rebus:. satthiya_ ‘dagger, knife’ (Pkt.) satva ‘zinc’ (Ka.)

Endless-knot

Double-axe

4

14 (inscribed objects shaped like axe)

Standard device (lathe, portable furnace)

19

Rimmed narrow-necked jar

1395

Fish signs

1241

Leaf signs

100

Spoked wheel

203

Cart frame + wheels

26

Sprout (or, tree stylized)

800

Water-carrier

220

Scorpion

106

Claws (of crab)

130 + 90 (shaped like pincers)

Arrow (spear)

227

Rimless, wide-mouthed pot

350

Frequency range

No. of signs

Total sign occurrences

Percentage

Cumulative percentags

1000 or more

1

1395

10.43

10.43

999-500

1

649

4.85

15.28

499-100

31

6344

47.44

62.72

99-50

34

2381

17.81

80.53

49-10

86

1833

13.71

94.24

9-2

152

658

4.92

99.16

Only once

112

112

.84

100.00

Thus, only 67 signs account for a total of 80.53 percent of all occurrences of signs on inscribed objects.[After MahadevanError! Bookmark not defined., 1977: 17].

The frequencies in parenthesis are based on Mahadevan conordance (which excludes objects that do not contain a ‘sign’); the actual numbers will be higher based on the more comprehensive Parpola photo corpus which includes inscriptions containing only pictorials.

Seals (1814)

Tablets (in bas-relief or inscribed) (511)*[including Seal Impressions]

Miniature tablets (of stone, terracotta or faience) (272)

Copper tablets (plates) (135)

Bronze implements/weapons (11)

Seal Impressions*

Pottery graffitii (119)

Ivory or bone rods (29)

Inscribed on stone, bracelets (or, bangles), Ivory plaque, Ivory dice, Carnelian tablet, Terracotta ball, Brick (15)

Display-board (Dholavira or Kotda with 10 signs, possibly atop a gateway) (1)

Some examples from Hieroglyph Sign List showing the glyptic nature of writing:

(After Mahadevan)

Janajaati bhaasha (mleccha)

An ancient system of writing in vogue in Bharat, is referred to as mlecchita vikalpa, one of the 64 arts to be learnt and listed in Va_tsya_yana’s Ka_masutra. Mlecchita Vikalpa means: ‘writing in cipher.’ A cipher or code can be created through a system of glyphs, called rebus.

All words are semantic indicators. ella_ccollum porul. kur-ittan-ave_ (Tol. Col. Peya. 1)

The formula in this rebus methodology is:

Image = Sound = Meaning

Rebus (Latin: ‘by means of things’) is a graphemic expression of the phonetic shape of a word or syllable. Rebus uses words pronounced alike (homophones) but with different meanings. Sumerian script was phonetized using the rebus principle. So were the Egyptian hieroglyphs based on the rebus principle.

The rebus system of writing, thus, is governed by the organizing principle: all glyphs are phonetic indicators or phonetic determinants.

Janajaati-bhaasha is Bharatiya language community; des’i areal versions (regional dialects).

Mleccha vaacas, aarya vaacas

There is no reference in ancient texts to ‘Dravida’ as a language group. It appears that ‘dravida’ according to Patanjali’s Mahabhashya simply means a group of people or region where tamarind is part of the staple food habit. It has nothing to do with language or people’s ancestry. Tamarind (tamarindus indica) comes from the Arab word meaning: tamar hindi, that is, date from Hindusthan. O.Fr. tamarinde (15c.), from Arabic tamr hindi, lit. "date of India." First element cognate with Heb. tamar "palm tree, date palm." Naming a region based on flora is not uncommon. For example, jambu-dvi_pa comes from the word jambu which is a tree native to tropical regions of western Bharatam. There can be speculation if the word damira (early form of Dravida) is also related to ‘tamar’ palm (Hebrew). In Sus’ruta, the word used for trees with acid leaves is: amla-varga (flora such as lime , orange , pomegranate , tamarind , sorrel) . What could the etymology of the word amla be? In Munda, ti.tin, tentur-i means ‘tamarind’.

Hanuman speaks to Sita in the language of the common man (ma_nus.am va_kyam arthavat)

Hanuman meets Sita (Ramayana Sundarakanda, in Indian art)

A thrilling moment in Bharatiya tradition and ethos is when Hanuman meets Sitadevi in As’okavana of Lanka and hands over the ring of S’rirama and assures Sitadevi that S’rirama is coming to take her back.

Hanuman deliberates on what language he should use while addressing Sita.

16 antaram tv aham āsādya rāks.asīnām iha sthitah
śanair āśvāsayis.yāmi santāpabahulām imām

17 aham hy atitanuś caiva vanaraś ca viśes.atah
vācam codāharis.yāmi mānus.īm iha samskr.tām
18 yadi vācam pradāsyāmi dvijātir iva samskr.tām
rāvan.am manyamānā mām sītā bhītā bhavis.yati
19 avaśyam eva vaktavyam mānus.am vākyam arthavat

mayā sāntvayitum śakyā nānyatheyam aninditā

“To win her ear with soft address

And whisper hope in dire distress

Shall I, with an extreme Vaanara body, choose

The Sanskrit men delight to use?

If as a man of Bra_hman.a kind

I speak the tongue by rules refined

The lady, yielding to her fears,

Will think ‘tis Ravana’s voice she hears.

I must assume my only plan –

The language of a common man.”

[Adapted from Ralph T. Griffith’s translation of Valmiki Ramayana – Book V, Canto XXX, Hanuman’s deliberation; Muir comments in Sanskrit Texts, Part II, p. 166: ‘(the reference to language of a common man) may perhaps be understood not as a language in which words different from Sanskrit were used, but the employment of formal and elaborate diction.’ Yes, indeed, Samskr.tam as aryavaacas was differentiated from Prakrit as mlecchavaacas only by formality and grammatical refinement of diction.]

In this passage, the reference to the language of a common man is a reference to mleccha- vaacas (Prakrit) as distinct from arya-vaacas (refined Samskr.tam which was the refined language spoken by Ravana, the Bra_hman.a king of Lanka).

Ma_nus.am va_kyam arthavat, ‘meaningful speech of the common man’, deliberated Hanuman and spoke to Sita in the lingua franca of the linguistic area. The objective of this work is to delineate such a language of the common man: mlecchavaacas (ja_tibha_s.a_).

The words bha_s.a_, va_cas are semantic cognates of the lexemes of Austric: basoG ‘to speak, to say’, basoG-bi ‘to answer (a call)’, just as the Austric word jel.jal is cognate with Tamil word col: jel, zel ‘to say, to speak, to answer: jel.jal, zel.zel ‘’to discuss, to converse’. The semantic cluster may be seen from the following lexemes of Bharatiya language family: semantic cluster ‘speak; language’: bha_s.a_ speech (Mn.); bha_sa_ speech, language (Pali. Pkt.); ba_s. word (Wg.); ba_s.a language (Dm.); bas. (Sh.); ba_s. (D..); bha_s’ (Ku.); bha_s (N.B.Mth.); language (Konkan.i); bha_sa song (OG.); baha word, saying (Si.); bas, baha (Md.): dubha_siya_ interpreter (H.)(CDIAL 9479)

In the 64 arts listed by Vatsyayana in Vidyasamuddes’a, Nos.47, 48 and 49 relate to the art of communication:

The three arts to be learnt by the youth are related to communication in society:

The three arts relate to Communication systems of Ancient India: Sarasvati civilization heritage

(47) aksara-mustika-kathana–art of expressing letters/numbers with clenched hand and fingers. (48) mlecchita-vikalpa—cryptography, that is, writing system (e.g. mleccha hieroglyphs read rebus). This cryptography using mleccha language by Yudhishthira, Vidura and Khanaka (a mine worker) is described in Mahabharata jatugriha parva (shellac house with non-metallic killer devices).

(49) des’a-bhasha-jnaana—knowledge of spoken dialects or language study (mleccha is a spoken tongue, des’a-bhasha, dialect of indic language family)

Mlecchita Vikalpa (Cryptography: Vatsyayana, Mahabharata); Meluhha – Baloch

Meluhha lay to the east of Magan and linked wit carnelian and ivory. Carnelian! Gujarat was a carnelian source in the ancient world.

What was the language the sea-faring traders with Mesopotamia spoke? Mleccha, meluhhan. [quote] "Baloch" is the corrupted form of Melukhkha, Meluccha or Mleccha, which was the designation of the modern eastern Makkoran during the third and the second millennia B.C., according to the Mesopotamian texts.[J. Hansman, "A Periplus of Magan and Melukha", in BSOAS. London, 1973, p. 555; H.W. Bailey, "Mleccha, Baloc, and Gadrosia", in: BSOAS. No. 36, London, 1973, pp. 584-87.Also see, Cf. K. Kartrunen, India in Early Greek Literature. Studia Orientalia, no. 65,Helsinki: Finnish Oriental Society, 1989, pp. 13-14.] [unquote] Source: Baluchistan nationalism: its origin and development –balochwarna.org

Possehl locates meluhha in the mountains of Baluchistan and meluhhan use magilum-boat (Possehl, Gregory. Meluhha. in: J. Reade (ed.) The Indian Ocean in Antiquity. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996a, 133–208 sinda refers to date-palm. (cf. Landsberger, Die Welt des Orients 3. 261). Shu Ilishu’s personal cylinder seal showed him to be a translator of Meluhhan language. “Based on cuneiform documents from Mesopotamia we know that there was at least one Meluhhan village in Akkad at that time, with people called “Son of Meluhha” living there.…The presence in Akkad of a translator of the Meluhhan language suggests that he may have been literate and could read the undeciphered Indus script. This in turn suggests that there may be bilingual Akkadian/Meluhhan tablets somewhere in Mesopotamia. Although such documents may not exist, Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal offers a glimmer of hope for the future in unraveling the mystery of the Indus script.” ( G. Possehl, Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal.)

http://130.91.80.97:591/PDFs/48-1/What%20in%20the%20World.pdf

http://kalyan96.googlepages.com/brahui.pdf

Chronology and Contacts: Writing begins circa 3500 BCE

Early potters’ marks from Rehman Dheri ca. 3500-2600 BCE [After Durrani et al. 1995].

Early script from Harappa, ca. 3300-2600 BCE. [After Fig. 4.3 in JM Kenoyer, 1998].

Ravi potsherd with an early writing system (Harappa, 1998 find; after Kenoyer Slide 124).

“ca. 6500–2600 BCE Early Neolithic communities are gradually linked in extensive trading networks across the Sarasvati Sindhu Valley region. The period is characterized by the elaboration of ceramics, the beginning of s’ankha (turbinella pyrum) industry (Nausharo, 6500 BCE), copper metallurgy, stone bead making, and seal carving. The beginning of writing is seen in the form of graffiti on pottery from circa 3500 BCE. A more complicated writing system seems to have developed out of or in conjunction with this pottery-marking system; examples exist from around 2800 BCE. • ca. 2600–1400 BCE Numerous seals, some copper plates and a few weapons have been found featuring a complex writing system. A seal was found in Daimabad (1400 BCE) with the unique glyph of a rimmed, short-necked jar. Some images on these seals—of bulls, horned headdresses, and figures seated in yoga-like postures—possibly relate to later cultural and spiritual developments in Bharat and use of copper plate inscriptions for recording property/economic transactions.” (cf. Kenoyer opcit.)

Daimabad Sign342 (1395)kan.d.kanka ‘rim of pot’; rebus: kan.d. = a furnace, altar (Santali); kan- ‘copper’ (Ta.) Hence, kan.d. kanka ‘copper furnace’.

‘Fish’ glyph on gold pendant

A fish sign, preceded by seven short numeral strokes, also appears on a gold Golden pendant with inscription from jewelry hoard at Mohenjo-daro. Drawing of inscription that encircles the gold ornament. Needle-like pendant with cylindrical body. Two other examples, one with a different series of incised signs were found together. The pendant is made from a hollow cylinder with soldered ends and perforated point. Museum No. MM 1374.50.271; Marshall 1931: 521, pl. CLI, B3. [After Fig. 4.17a, b in: JM Kenoyer, 1998, p. 196].

‘Tree’ Field Symbol 44 (Tree) 28 out of 34 occur at Harappa

h352C Field Symbol 83 (Dotted circles) 57 out of 67 occur at Harappa

bali = iron stone sand (Santali) bal = to bore a hole, or to puncture, with a red ho iron (Santali) [Note: the dotted circle may denote rebus: bali ‘iron stone sand’.]

Tell Suleimeh (level IV), Iraq; IM 87798; (al-Gailani Werr, 1983, p. 49 No. 7). A fish over a short-horned bull and a bird over a one-horned bull; cylinder sea impression, (Akkadian to early Old Babylonian). Gypsum. 2.6 cm. Long 1.6 cm. Dia. [Drawing by Larnia Al-Gailani Werr. Cf. Dominique Collon 1987, First impressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East, London: 143, no. 609] bai-li ‘bull’ rebus: bali ‘iron sand ore’; kola ‘fish’ rebus: kolimi ‘furnace, smithy’; damr.a ‘heifer’; ta(m)bra ‘copper’; bat.a ‘bird’; rebus: bat.a ‘kiln, furnace’.

m11352140 Pict-50 Composite animal: features of an ox and a rhinoceros facing the standard device. This seems to indicate that the lexeme connoting the young bull may have be cognate with a lexeme connoting a boar. badhia = castrated boar, a hog; bhator. sukri = a huge wild boar with large tusks; rata sukri = a boar in hunting parlance; sukri kud.u = a boar; datela sukri = a wide boar (Santali) bad.hi ‘a caste who work both in iron and wood’ (Santali)[i] bar.ae = a blacksmith; bar.ae kudlam = a country made hoe, in contrast to cala_ni kudlam, an imported hoe; bar.ae mer.ed – country smelted iron; bar.ae muruk = the energy of a blacksmith (Mundari.lex.) The occurrence of bari_ in Ash. (CDIAL 9464) and bar.ae in Mundari and of vardhaka in Skt. point to the early phonetic form: bard.a; semantic: worker in iron and wood, artisan. Thus, it is suggested that the depiction of the backbone, barad.o is rebus for bard.a, artisan. barduga = a man of acquirements, a proficient man (Ka.)

Thus, a svastika appears together with an elephant or a tiger. The ‘svastika’ is a  pictorial and also a sign Sign 148 Glyph: sathiya_ (Pkt.); rebus: satva ‘zinc’ (Ka.) Elephant: ib; rebus: ib ‘iron’; Tiger: kol; rebus: kol ‘pan~caloha alloy of metals’

It would be a surprise indeed if, in a writing system used ca. 5000 years ago, it was possible to compose sentences using just five signs.

Hundreds of inscribed texts on tablets are repetitions; it is, therefore, unlikely that hundreds of such inscribed tablets just contained the same ‘names’ composed of just five ‘alphabets’ or ‘syllables’, even after the direction of writing is firmed up as from right to left:

barad.u, bar-ad.u = an empty pot (Ka.lex.) bhala_n.d.e~ = the half-pot or the shard which, with fire in it, the gosa_yi_ or the gondhal.i_-people hold on their hand; gondhal.i_ are musicians and singers; gondhal. = a tumultuous festivity in propitiation of devi_ (M.lex.) bha_liyo = a waterpot (G.lex.) baran.i, baran.e = the trough of a water-lift; a china jar (Tu.lex.) bhara.ni_ = a cooking pot (G.) In the Punjab, the mixed alloys were generally called, bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin). In Bengal, an alloy called bharan or toul was created by adding some brass or zinc into pure bronze. Sometimes lead was added to make it soft. bharatiyo = a caster of metals; a brazier; bharatar, bharatal, bharatal. = moulded; an article made in a mould; bharata = casting metals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in; to pour into (G.lex.)

kholoe, khaloi = a fish basket (Santali); kolli = a fish (Ma.); koleji id. (Tu.)(DEDR 2139).

xola_ = tail (Kur.); qoli = id. (Malt.)(DEDR 2135).

kol ‘tiger’ (Santali) ; ko_lupuli ‘tiger’ (Te.)

kol = pan~calo_kam (five metals) (Ta.lex.) kol, kolla a furnace (Ta.) kole.l smithy, temple in Kota village (Ko.); kwala.l Kota smithy (To.); konimi blacksmith; kola id. (Ka.); kolle blacksmith (Kod.); kollusa_na_ to mend implements; kolsta_na, kulsa_na_ to forge; ko_lsta_na_ to repair (of plough-shares); kolmi smithy (Go.); kolhali to forge (Go.)(DEDR 2133).] kolimi-titti = bellows used for a furnace (Te.lex.)

krammar-a = to turn, return (Te.); krammar-ilu, krammar-illu, krammar-abad.u = to turn, return, to go back; krammar-u = again; krammar-incu = to turn or send back (Te.lex.) [Note the glyph showing an antelope or a tiger turning back]. kraman.a = act of walking or going (G.lex.)

m1452Act m1452Bct2912 Rebus: kamar a semi-hinduised caste of blacksmiths; kamari the work of a blacksmith, the money paid for blacksmith work; nunak ato reak in kamarieda I do the blacksmith work for so many villages (Santali) ka_rma_ra = metalsmith who makes arrows etc. of metal (RV. 9.112.2: jarati_bhih os.adhi_bhih parn.ebhih s’akuna_na_m ka_rma_ro as’mabhih dyubhih hiran.yavantam icchati_) kammar a, kamma_ra, kammaga_ra, karma_ra, karmaka_ra, kammaga_ra, kamba_ra = one who does any business; an artisan, a mechanic; a blacksmith (Ka.); kamma_l.a = an artisan, an artificer: a blacksmith, a goldsmith (Ta.Ka.); a goldsmith (Ka.)(DEDR 1236).

A zebu bull tied to a post; a bird above. Large painted storage jar discovered in burned rooms at Nausharo, ca. 2600 to 2500 BCE. Cf. Fig. 2.18, J.M. Kenoyer, 1998, Cat. No. 8.

Adaru d.angra ‘zebu or brahmani bull’ (Santali) aduru ‘native metal’ (Ka.)

It appears that the person holding back the two rearing jackals on the tablet is a woman: ko_l ‘woman’ (Nahali); dual. ko_lhilt.el (Sudhibhushan Bhattacharya, Field-notes on Nahali, Ind. Ling. 17, 1957, p. 247); kola = bride, son’s (younger brother’s) wife (Kui) ko_l is a phonetic determinative of the two jackals, kol ‘tiger’; rebus: kol ‘metal’ (Ta.)

The decoding of ‘woman’ glyph on the tablet as a phonetic determinative of kol ‘tiger’ gains surprising validation from a ligatured terracotta image of a feline tiger with a woman’s face and headdress.

Feline figurine terracotta. A woman’s face and headdress are shown. The base has a hole to display it on a stick. (After JM Kenoyer/Courtesy Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of Pakistan).

The phonemes and the associated glyph evoke a meaning: kol ‘metal’ (Ta.) kola = blacksmith (Ma.); kol, kollan- (Ta.); kolime, kulime, kolume = a fire-pit or furnace (Ka.); kolime id., a pit (Te.); kulume kanda_ya = a tax on blacksmiths (Ka.) kolimi titti = bellows used for a furnace (Te.)

Ancient language and ancient writing system

Elephant (ibha)

Tiger (kol)

Ibex, pair (ul.e, bar.ea)

Antelope (ranku)

Hayrick, pair (kundavum, bar.ea)

Buffalo (kad.a)

Rhino (kag)

M304A broken seal

Fragmentary horn seen on pedestal

Restored glyph (Huntington)

cu_l.a ‘tiger’s mane’

cu_d.a ‘bracelets’

krammara ‘look back’

Rebus: kamar ‘smith’

kampat.t.am ‘mint’

bar.ea ‘merchant, smith’

med. ‘iron, implements’

kol ‘pancaloha’

ib ‘iron’

kut.hi ‘smelter furnace’

cu_lha ‘furnace’

ula ‘furnace’kang ‘furnace’

ranga ‘pewter, tin alloy’

Penance (kamad.ha)

Royal paraphernalia (ur..a)

Head-dress (cu_d.a)

Bunch of twigs (ku_ti_)

Buffalo-horns twisted (mer.ha)

Horns (kot.)

Human face (muh)

Elephant (Ib)

Neck-band (ring) (kad.um)

M229 (Parpola sealing)

Feline Bovine: (kol) (mr..eka ‘antelope’)

kod. ‘workshop’

mu_ha ‘smelted ingot’

ib ‘iron’

kha_d. ‘trench, fire-pit’

kol ‘pancaloha’

milakkha ‘copper’

The validity of the semantic contours of archaic chandas will be proved by the mlecchita vikalpa, hieroglyphs used to record inscriptions of Sarasvati civilization. The underlying spoken tongue is mleccha, the dialect used by Vidura, Yudhishthira and Kanaka (the miner) in the Mahabharata. Mlecchita vikalpa means ‘alternative representation in writing system by mleccha speakers’.

The meluhhan is shown on the Akkadian cylinder seal carrying an antelope ; this is an artistic style of depicting a phonetic determinant for the word read rebus : meluhha :

mr..eka ‘antelope, goat’ (Te.) Meluhha-speaker, merchant.

He is a copper merchant/smith.

m229 (sealing), m1186a seal

Furnace, ingot

m229 (sealing), m1186a seal

m304A seal – Face shows a tiger’s mane: cu_l.a; rebus: cu_lha furnace (Pkt.)

mleccha-mukha (Skt.) = copper; milakkha (Pali) mu~hu~ = face (S.); rebus: mu_ha ‘smelted ingot’ [mũh opening or hole (in a stove for stoking, in a handmill for filling, in a grainstore for withdrawing)(Bi.)]

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