Bulletin of the

Indus
Research
Centre

ROJA MUTHIAH RESEARCH LIBRARY

No. 4 | November 2014
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rmrl.in
 BULLETIN OF THE
INDUS RESEARCH CENTRE

No. 4, November 2014

Indus Research Centre

Roja Muthiah Research Library
Chennai, India
Dravidian Proof of the Indus Script
via the Rig Veda: A Case Study

Iravatham Mahadevan

Indus Research Centre

Roja Muthiah Research Library
© Indus Research Centre, Roja Muthiah Research Library, November 2014.

Title page illustration: Indus Seal from Mohenjodaro (M-377)

(Courtesy: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, Vol.1)

Gift Siromoney Endowment Lecture 2014

Available at www.rmrl.in
Contents

Introduction 1

Section I: The Indus Texts 1

Section II: Old Tamil Survivals 11

Section III: Vedic Survivals 19

Section IV: Summary and Conclusions 37

Postscript 40

Acknowledgements 41

Abbreviations 42

References 43
 Dravidian Proof of the Indus Script
via the Rig Veda: A Case Study

Iravatham Mahadevan

Introduction

This is the first announcement of a new identification of a frequent phrase in the

Indus texts, interpreted as ‘Merchant of the City’. The interpretation is supported
by firmly inter-locked evidence at three levels, namely, Corpus of Indus Texts and
later survivals from the earliest Dravidian (Old Tamil) and Indo-Aryan (Vedic)
sources. I shall present the evidence from each level in a separate Section, and
proceed to draw some important conclusions from the results which validate the
title of the paper. The results are numbered serially to facilitate discussion.

Section I: The Indus Texts

0.1 The Indus Phrase

The phrase under consideration is a frequent sequence of four signs in the Indus texts
(Fig. 1). The four signs can occur as a complete text (Fig. 2), also more often as part of
longer inscriptions (Fig. 3). Simple segmentation procedures (Mahadevan 1978; Nisha
Yadav et al. 2008) show that the four-sign sequence ABCD constitutes an integral
linguistic unit termed here as a ‘phrase’. The phrase can in turn be subdivided into two
parts: AB and CD. It can also be shown by simple grammatical analysis (Mahadevan
1986a) that AB functions as an attribute qualifying CD which contains the main root
C with the grammatical suffix D. (See Nisha Yadav 2008 and Sundar et al 2009 for
statistics and summary analysis of frequent signs, pairs and triplets in the Indus texts.)

Signs

Alphabetic Index D C B A
Frequency 1395 92 63 105
Conventional Labels JAR CROSSROADS HOOK WOLF

Fig. 1 The frequent four-sign sequence in Indus Texts (ASI Concordance 1977).
 bulletin of the irc no. 4, 2014

Fig. 4 Sign A with ‘braided and

Fig. 2 The four-sign phrase. Fig. 3 The four-sign phrase in a longer seal
knotted hair’. Detail from seal
Seal text. Mohenjodaro. text. Mohenjodaro. (CISI I: M-377)
text. Mohenjodaro. (CISI I: M-1)
(CISI II: M-857)

0.2 Dravidian Linguistic Interpretation: Methodology

Word signs in the Indus script are interpreted conventionally as basic roots since
the actual phonetic shape of the words cannot be directly ascertained. The root
sign may stand for a noun, adjective, verb or particle as indicated by the context.
A non-personal noun may also be interpreted as the corresponding personal noun
depending on the context. A broad range of etyma is provided to indicate the
probable core meaning without attempting linguistic reconstruction. Selection
from among the suitable etyma is guided by the requirements of rebus writing.

All ancient pictographic scripts employed the technique called Rebus, by which a
picture sign can be read with another meaning suggested by the same sound. For
example, the picture of an ‘eye’ can be read as ‘I’, first person singular pronoun,
if the language is English. This technique was used to depict concepts difficult to
pictorialise. To give an actual example, the Sumerian script depicted the arrow
with the phonetic value ti which means ‘arrow’ as well as ‘life’. The Sumerian
example had another unintended fallout. The word ti in Sumerian also meant ‘rib’.
This is the ultimate source of the Biblical myth of Adam creating Eve from one
of his ribs. This is a particularly instructive example. You will find in the present
paper several such cases of unintended meanings of Indus signs translated into
Vedic, creating myths.

1.1 Sign A: WOLF

(i) Ideographic interpretation

The sign depicts an animal seated on its haunches with its back turned towards
the viewer. According to Hunter (1934: Table XIX), the sign shows ‘the tail, back,
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two ears and hind legs of an animal’, which he identified as the jackal ‘from the
shape of its ears’. He also noted that the ears seem to have undergone ‘progressive
conventionalisation’. I interpret the ‘protuberance’ covering generally only one
of the ears as ‘braided and knotted hair’ worn slantingly (Fig. 4). This feature
indicates the anthropomorphic character of the sign. The significance of this
feature is further explained below (Paras 2.1 (ii) & 3.8).

The animal is more likely to be the wolf as it looks larger and its tail is curled up.
The fact that only the back of the animal is shown is made clear by the closely
hatched lines drawn over it, and the absence of the face which seems averted. The
unusual portrayal indicates that the sign is an ideogram conveying some meaning
connected with the posture rather than with the animal as such. Thus Sign A
actually depicts the ‘back of the wolf’, labelled ‘WOLF’ for brevity.

According to me, the critical features of the ideogram are:

(a) change in the normal position; exchange of front and back (of the animal);
(b) face (of the animal) averted, hidden.

(ii) Linguistic interpretation

(a) Literal meaning

The literal (as distinct from the intended) meaning of the sign is ascertained first
by comparing the critical features of the sign with the corresponding words in
Dravidian languages. (Etyma cited from DEDR are indicated by prefixed D to
Entry numbers; names of languages are abbreviated as in DEDR).

D. 4761:
Ta. maṟi ‘to turn back, turn about’.
Ma. maṟi ‘turning around’.
Ka. maṟaḷ ‘the face to be turned or averted, turn back or backward’.
Tu. marakaṇe ‘on the back’.
Te. maṟalu ‘to turn back’.
D. 4834:
Ta. māṟu ‘to become changed, exchanged, retreat (as showing one’s back)’.
Ma. māṟuka ‘to be changed, altered’.
Ka. māṟu ‘to be opposite, state of being changed or altered’.
Tu. mādāvuni ‘to turn about, to turn the face to another quarter’.
Te. māṟu ‘changed, altered, turned, averted’.
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D. 4760:
Ta. maṟai ‘to hide, conceal, concealment, secret’.
Ma. maṟekka ‘to hide, conceal’; maṟa ‘secret’.
Ka. maṟagu ‘hiding, secrecy’; maṟapu ‘to hide, conceal’.
Tu. madepuni ‘to hide’.
Te. maṟugu ‘to be concealed, hidden’.
D. 4836:
Ta. māṟṟu ‘to conceal, hide’.
Te. māṭu ‘to conceal, concealment’.
cf. Ta. maṟu pakkam ‘the other side’.

The sign showing the back of the animal indicates, ipso facto, that the face is hidden or
concealed. The significance of this aspect of the sign is explained further in Para 3.7.

The literal meaning of Sign A is: ‘turn back (showing one’s back); exchange, hide,
conceal’.

(b) Intended meaning through rebus

The intended meaning of the sign emerges from a comparison of the following
homophonous words with those listed above.

D. 4834:
Ta. māṟu ‘exchange of goods, barter, sell’; māṟṟu ‘exchange, barter, trade or sale’.
Ma. māṟuka ‘to exchange, barter’; māṟṟam ‘barter, trade’.
Ka. māṟu ‘to take or give one thing for another, barter, sell’; māṟāḷi ‘barterer, seller, vaiśya’.
Tu. māṟāṭa ‘sale, barter, exchange’.
Te. māṟu ‘exchange, barter’.
cf. Ta. uppai māṟi veṇ nel tarīiya
‘to barter salt for white rice’ (Kuṟun. 269.5).
nāḷ mōr māṟum … āy makaḷ
‘the cowherd girl … bartering buttermilk daily’ (Perum. 160-162).
tēṉ neyyoṭu kiḻaṅku māṟiyōr mīṉ neyyoṭu naṟavu maṟukavum
‘they who barter honey and roots, and return with fish oil and toddy’
(Porunar. 214-215).
I add an interesting example of continuity of tradition:
 kaṅkai nati-p-puṟattu-k-kōtumai-p-paṇṭam kāviri veṟṟilaikku māṟu koḷvōm
‘we shall barter the betel leaves of the Cauvery for the wheat of the Ganga’
 (Subrahmanya Bharati 1882-1921).

cf. also pari-vṛt (Skt.) ‘to turn about, exchange of goods, barter’ (MW).

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The intended meaning of Sign A is:
‘exchange (of goods), barter; one who barters, trader, merchant’.

Indus Sign Dravidian: Indus:

Linguistic interpretation Intended meaning
(literal) (through rebus)
maṟ-/māṟ- māṟ-
(maṟi, māṟu; (māṟu, māṟṟu, māṟāḷi)
A maṟai, māṟṟu) ‘exchange (of goods), barter;
(back of the) ‘turn back (showing one’s back); one who barters, trader,
wolf exchange, hide, conceal’ merchant’.
(D. 4760, 4761, 4834, 4836). (D. 4834)
Result 1. Interpretation of Sign A: (back of the) wolf: Dravidian to Indus.

1.2 Sign B: HOOK

(i) Ideographic interpretation

The elongated Z-shaped sign depicts a ‘hook’. The S-shaped copper fishhook
excavated at Khirsara, a Harappan site in Gujarat, offers a close parallel (Fig. 5).

(ii) Linguistic interpretation

Two alternative linguistic interpretations of Sign B seem possible, judging from

later survivals.

(a) First parallel

Literal meaning
D. 2151:
Ta. koḷuttu ‘to cause to hold, a clasp’;
koḷuvu ‘clasp, buckle, hook on’;
koḷukki, koḷuvi ‘hook, clasp’;
koṇṭi ‘clamp, cleat’;
kōḷ ‘holding’.
Ma. koḷuttuka ‘to make to hold, hook, clasp, fasten’; Fig. 5 Copper fishhook.
koḷuttu ‘what holds, a hook’. Khirsara, Gujarat.
Ka. koḷike ‘clasp, hook’; koṇḍi ‘hook’. (Frontline, June 28, 2013)
Tu. kolike ‘clasp, hook’; koṇḍi ‘hook, staple, clasp’.
Te. koliki ‘hook, clasp’; koṇḍi ‘hook, catch’.
The literal meaning of Sign B (first parallel) is: ‘hook’.

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Intended meaning through rebus

The intended meaning of Sign B (first parallel) is obtained from the following
homophones.

D. 2151:
Ta. koḷ ‘to receive, buy, acquire’; koḷvōṉ ‘buyer’; koḷḷunar ‘buyers’;
koṇṭal ‘receiving, taking’; koṇṭi ‘getting possession’; koṇā ‘take’;
kōḷi ‘receiver’; kōṭal ‘taking, buying’.
Ma. koḷka ‘to receive, acquire’; koḷḷikka ‘to make to hold or receive’; kōḷ ‘taking, purchase’.
Ka. koḷ ‘to buy’.
Tu. koṇuni ‘to take’.
Te. konu ‘to buy, take’.
cf. Ta. -koḷḷi as in kāppu-k-koḷḷi ‘one who receives protection’ (Tēvāram 5.95.3).
 nĩr koḷḷi ‘reservoir holding water’ (Glossary of Tamil Inscriptions).

The intended meaning of Sign B (first parallel) is:

‘take, receive, buy; one who takes, receiver, buyer’.

Indus Sign Dravidian: Indus:

Linguistic interpretation Intended meaning
(literal) (through rebus)
koḷ - koḷ -
(koḷuttu, koḷuvu, koṇṭi, kōḷ) (koḷ, koḷḷi, koṇṭi, kōḷ, kōḷi)
B ‘hook’ ‘take, receive, buy;
hook (D.2151). one who takes, receiver, buyer’.
(D. 2151)

Result 2. Interpretation of Sign B: hook (first parallel): from Dravidian to Indus.

(b) Second Parallel

Literal meaning
D. 2761:
Ta. ceṭil ‘hook machine’ (a post with a long sweep from which a person under a vow is
suspended by a hook fastened into the integuments of his back).
Ka. siḍi ‘an iron hook, the hook machine’.
Tu. seḍi (as in Ta.);
Te. siḍi ‘a hook or goad, the hook machine’.

The literal meaning of Sign B (second parallel) is: ‘hook, goad’.

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The existence of an alternative expression ceṭ-, with the literal meaning ‘hook,
goad’ for interpreting Sign B is inferred from later survivals in Old Tamil as well
as Vedic. (See Paras 2.2(ii) and 3.5 respectively.)

Indus Sign Dravidian: Indus:

Linguistic interpretation Intended meaning
(literal) (same as literal)
ceṭ- ceṭ-
(ceṭil, seḍi, siḍi) (ceṭil, seḍi, siḍi)
B ‘hook’ (D.2761). ‘hook, goad’ (D. 2761).
hook
Result 3. Interpretation of Sign B: hook (Second Parallel): from Dravidian to Indus.

1.3 Sign C: CROSSROADS

(i) Ideographic interpretation

This is one of the more ‘transparent’ signs of the Indus Script and may be interpreted
directly as crossroads (four-road junction). The sign (Fig. 6.1) closely resembles the
corresponding sign in Early Sumerian script (Fig. 6.2) with similar literal meaning.
The ‘crossroads’ motif is also incorporated within the CITY sign in the Indus Script
(Fig. 6.3) which depicts a ‘walled city divided by intersecting streets’. The Indus
CITY sign is virtually identical with the Egyptian ideogram (Fig. 6.4) for ‘city,
town, village (or settlement in general)’.

1 2 3 4
Indus Sumerian Indus Egyptian

Fig. 6 Pictographic Signs for ‘crossroads’ and ‘city’.

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(ii) Linguistic interpretation

Two alternative linguistic interpretations of Sign C: CROSSROADS, seem possible,

judging from later survivals.

(a) First Parallel

D. 4064:
Ta. pāṭi ‘town, city, hamlet, pastoral village’;
pāṭam ‘street, street of herdsmen’.
Ma. pāṭi (in n.pr. of villages).
Ka. pāḍi ‘settlement, hamlet, village’.
Te. pāḍu ‘village (at the end of place names)’.
cf. Skt. pāṭaka ‘a kind of village, half a village’ (borrowing from Dr.;
CDIAL 8031).

The literal and intended meaning of Sign C (first parallel) is: ‘street, city, town,
village, (a settlement); one who resides in the settlement’.

Indus Sign Dravidian: Indus:

Linguistic interpretation Intended meaning
(literal) (same as literal)
pāṭ- pāṭ-
(pāṭi, -pāḍu) (pāṭi)
‘street, city, town, ‘street, city, town,
C village, (a settlement)’ village, (a settlement);
crossroads (D. 4064). one who resides (in the
settlement)’.
(D. 4064)
Result 4. Interpretation of Sign C: crossroads (first parallel): from Dravidian to Indus.

(b) Second Parallel

Literal meaning
D. 5297:
Ta. vaḻi ‘way, path, road’.
Ma. vaḻi ‘way, road, path’.
Ka. baḻi ‘way, road, passing on’.
D. 5292:
Ta. vaḻaṅku ‘to move, proceed’; vaḻakku ‘moving, passing (to and fro)’.
Ka. baḷake, baḷike ‘course’.
Te. vaḍuvu, vaḍugu ‘way’.
The literal meaning of Sign C (second parallel) is: ‘way, road, path, pass’.

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Intended meaning through rebus
D. 5372:
Ta. vāḻ ‘to live, flourish’; vāḻkkai ‘living, wealth, prosperity’;vāḻvu ‘living,
residence, prosperity, wealth’; vāḻippu ‘(over) luxuriant growth’.
Ma. vāḻuka ‘to live, live well’; vāḻvu ‘prosperity; vāḻi ‘he who lives somewhere, ruler’.
Ka. bāḻu ‘living, living prosperously’.
Tu. bāḷuni ‘to thrive, prosper’.
Te. b(r)aduku ‘to live’.
cf. Ta. Celva-k-kaṭuṅkō vāḻi-y-ātaṉ: a Cēra ruler of the Irumpoṟai branch resident at Karur
(Patiṟṟu. 7th patikam).

The intended meaning of Sign C (second parallel) is:

‘residence, prosperity, wealth; resident (of the city), the prosperous one’.

The existence of an alternative expression vaḻ- > vāḻ, having partly overlapping
meanings with the first parallel, pāṭ-, for interpreting Sign C: crossroads is
inferred from later survivals in Old Tamil as well as Vedic. (See Paras 2.3 (iii) and
3.2 respectively.)

Indus Sign Dravidian: Indus:

Linguistic interpretation Intended meaning
(literal) (through rebus)
vaḻ- vāḻ-
(vaḻi, vaḻakku) (vāḻ, vāḻvu, vāḻi)
C ‘way, road, path, proceed’ ‘residence, prosperity,
crossroads (D. 5292, 5297). wealth;
resident (of the city),
the prosperous one’.
(D. 5372)
Result 5. Interpretation of Sign C: crossroads (second parallel): from Dravidian to Indus.

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1.4 Sign D: JAR

(i) The JAR is the most frequent sign in the Indus

Script. It can be identified pictorially as a ‘vessel with
handles (ears) and a tapering bottom’ (Fig. 7). The sign
occurs mostly in the final position and hence generally
regarded as a grammatical suffix. I have identified the
sign as the Dr. pronominal masculine singular suffix
Fig. 7 jar Sign. Pottery (Mahadevan 1970, 2011).
graffito. Kalibangan.
(CISI I: K-105)
The intended meaning of Sign D is: -(a)ṉṟ- ‘-he’ (or)
‘he of the -’ (in appellative nouns).

(ii) The JAR sign has also an ideographic value ‘sacrificial vessel with food offerings’
(Mahadevan 2009 a, b). This meaning is not relevant to the present context.

1.5 Interpretation of the Indus Phrase

The complete Indus phrase ABCD can now be interpreted as follows:

A B C D
māṟ- koḷ- pāṭ- -(a)ṉṟ-
barter receiving settlement he of the-
D C B A barterer receiver resident -he
(in short) ‘Merchant of the City’.

The consistent and interlinked results of the study presented above are the primary
clues to identify the corresponding survivals in Old Tamil and Vedic traditions
discussed respectively in Sections II & III. The twin streams of bilingual parallels
validate each other and also the interpretation of the Indus Phrase ABCD. The
Indo-Aryan survivals in the RV are attested much earlier than those in Old Tamil.
However, the latter are considered in the following Section II on grounds of
linguistic continuity. The Indo-Aryan survivals, represented by loan translations
from the earlier Indus-Dravidian, are taken up for discussion in Section III.

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 SECTION II: Old Tamil Survivals
2.0 Introduction

The southern migration of Agastya, attested in both Indo-Aryan and Dravidian

sources, is the most important evidence we have to link the Indus Civilisation with
Old Tamil polity, not only linguistically but also culturally. The migration of the
common ancestors of the Vēḷir-Yādava clans led by Agastya (< Dr. aka-tt-i ‘lord of
the fort’) to South India in protohistoric times has been extensively documented
by M. Raghavaiyangar in his classic Vēḷir Varalāṟu (1907). I have extrapolated his
theory back in time to link the Indus civilisation with South Dravidian cultures,
especially Old Tamil (Mahadevan 1970, 1986b, 2009 a & b, 2010). As a result of the
migration, the Indus-Dravidian language influenced Proto-South Dravidian and
through it, the earliest South Dravidian literary languages, especially Old Tamil.

The present paper offers new evidence in support of the hypothesis by showing
that the Indus Phrase under consideration survived in Old Tamil while retaining
the Dravidian roots with interlinked but modified meanings caused by the passage
of time and the very different social and political organisations of Old Tamil polity.
Evidence is presented below to show that the Indus Phrase ABCD evolved in Old
Tamil as a cluster of names or titles, all linked to the Pāṇṭiya dynasty.

2.1 Sign A: maṟ-/māṟ-

(i) Māṟaṉ: a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name

Sign A in the Indus Phrase has been interpreted above as māṟ- ‘barter’. The
verbal forms from māṟu ‘to barter’ occur frequently in Tamil (See Para 1.1 (ii) (b)
for examples). The Tamil Lexicon has also māṟi ‘one who barters goods’ (citing
Winslow). The analogous form māṟ-āḻ-i ‘barterer’ is attested in Kannada (D.4834).
However, the corresponding personal noun māṟ-aṉ ‘barterer’ is not attested in
Tamil. The word māṟaṉ does occur in Old Tamil, but with a different meaning,
‘a dynastic name of the Pāṇṭiya kings’. It is likely that in very remote times the
Pāṇṭiyar were traders as indicated by the name māṟa(ṉ) which is etymologically
connected with the root māṟu ‘barter’.

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The name Māṟaṉ is unique to the Pāṇṭiya dynasty and occurs from the earliest
Caṅkam poetry (Madu. 772).

Thus, māṟ- > māṟa(ṉ), a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.

Indus Sign Indus: Old Tamil Survival

Linguistic interpretation
maṟ-/māṟ- māṟ- > māṟa- > māṟa(ṉ)
(maṟi, māṟu; ‘a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name’.
maṟai, māṟṟu)
‘turn back (showing one’s back);
A exchange, hide, conceal’ (literal)
(back of the) > māṟ-
wolf (māṟu, māṟṟu, māṟāḻi)
‘exchange (of goods), barter;
barterer, trader, merchant’(intended)
(Para. 1.1 (ii); Result 1).

Result 6. Evolution of Sign A: (back of the) wolf: from Indus to Old Tamil.

(ii) Sign A: ‘braided and knotted hair’ motif

(a) Kuṭumi as a Pāṇṭiya name or title

The ‘protuberance’ covering one of the ears of the animal in Sign A is interpreted
as ‘braided and knotted hair’ (Para 1.1 (i) & Fig. 4). This feature seems to have
survived in Old Tamil tradition as kuṭumi ‘knotted hair’ worn in different styles.

D. 2049:
Ta. kuṭumi ‘tuft of hair (esp. of men)’.
Ma. kuṭuma ‘lock of hair (worn as caste distinction)’.
The kuṭumi was associated with Lord Śiva as well as the Pāṇṭiya dynasty.
cf. kuṭumi-t-tēvar ‘Lord Śiva’ (Periya. 745).
em kō vāḻiya kuṭumi ‘may Kuṭumi, our king, live long/prosper!’ (Puṟa. 9.8),
referring to Mutu-kuṭumi-p-peru vaḻuti, an illustrious Pāṇṭiya ruler of the Caṅkam Age.

(b) Caṭaiyaṉ: a late Pāṇṭiya dynastic name

The epithet kuṭumi as applied to Lord Śiva and the Pāṇṭiya rulers seems to have
been largely replaced in the medieval period by the synonym caṭaiyaṉ derived
from Skt. jaṭā ‘braided or knotted hair’ (CDIAL 5086; DEDR Appendix No. 35).
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The composite names Māṟaṉ Caṭaiyaṉ and Caṭaiyaṉ Māṟaṉ were borne by the
Pāṇṭiya rulers in alternate generations from the early medieval period as attested in
their stone inscriptions. Caṭaiyaṉ was rendered back into Sanskrit as Jaṭilavarman
employed as a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name. Caṭaiyaṉ also occurs as an epithet of Śiva in
Tamil literature from this period (Patiṟṟu., invocatory verse added later).

The kuṭumi of the Pāṇṭiyar may be regarded as a vestige of the Indus Civilisation,
as there is no evidence of this trait being associated with the Pāṇḍyas in Sanskrit
literature. However, Śiva in the Tamil country seems to have acquired the epithet
caṭaiyaṉ most probably only from the medieval period as the epithet is not found
in Caṅkam literature.

2.2 Sign B: ceṭ(-)

(i) Ceḻiyaṉ: a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name

Sign B: hook has an alternative linguistic interpretation ceṭ(i) with the intended
meaning ‘lightning, thunderbolt’.

Intended meaning through rebus

D. 2151:
ceṭ- ‘hook, goad’.
D 2759:
Ta. ceṭi ‘light, splendour’.
Ka. siḍil ‘shaft of lightning, thunderbolt’; seḍilu ‘thunder’.
Tu. śeḍilu, teḍilu ‘thunder, thunderbolt’.
cf. Skt. taḍit ‘lightning’ (borrowed from Dr.).
cf. Ta. ceḻi (< ceṭi) ‘blazing, to burn’.
ceṭi koḷ vāṉ ‘sky ablaze with light (i.e. lightning)’ (Tiruvācakam 29.5).
ceḻikiṉṟa tī-p-puku viṭṭil ‘moth entering the blazing fire’ (Tiruvācakam 6.5).

There was a tendency in Old Tamil for -ṭ- (phonetically -ḍ-) to alternate with -ḻ- as
shown by the following examples:

kaḻu-māṟa- (for kaṭu-māṟa-) (Ta. Br. inscr. ETE 2003: 44);

cf. kaṭumāṉ-māṟa (Puṟa. 198.27)
eṭupputi (for eḻupputi) ‘wake up (someone)’ (Kuṟun. 147.4).
See also citations in Para 1.2 (ii) (b).

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Thus, ceṭ(i) > ceḻi- > ceḻi-aṉ, a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.

The name Ceḻiyaṉ is unique to the Pāṇṭiya dynasty and occurs from the earliest
times (Naṟ. 39.9).

Indus Sign Indus: Old Tamil Survival

Linguistic interpretation
ceṭ- ceṭ-
(ceṭil, seḍi, sidi) ceṭi ‘light, lightning,
B ‘hook, goad’ (literal) thunderbolt’
HOOK (Para. 1.2 (ii) (b); Result 3). > ceḻi- ‘burning, ablaze’
> ‘ceḻi-a’ > ‘ceḻi-aṉ’
a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.
Result 7. Evolution of Sign B: hook (second parallel): from Indus to Old Tamil.

(ii) Sign B: Evolution of ‘hook’ as a weapon (ceṇṭu)

Tamil tradition has preserved the memory of a hook-like legendary weapon

known as the ceṇṭu. The weapon was mostly associated with the Pāṇṭiya dynasty.
It is featured along with the twin carp in the insignia of the dynasty in temple
sculptures, coins and seals (Fig. 8). The evidence suggests comparison with Sign B:
HOOK as well as the linguistic derivation:

ceṭ(i) ‘hook, goad’ > ceṇṭu ‘hook-like weapon’ (cf. Result 7).

Stone sculpture Stone Sculpture Pāṇṭiya bronze seal

Chidambaram Tiruvanaikkaval (Sankaran Raman, private
collection)
Fig. 8. ceṇṭu symbol in Pāṇṭiya insignia (medieval period)

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2.3 Sign C: pāṭ-

(i) Pāṇṭiyaṉ ‘the dynastic name’

The literal interpretation suggested for sign C: CROSSROADS (first parallel) is pāṭ(i)
‘street, village, town, city (a settlement)’; (also) ‘one who resides in the settlement’.
See Para 1.3 (ii) (a) and Result 4.

As the preceding signs A and B have been interpreted as Māṟaṉ and Ceḻiyaṉ, it
appears reasonable to look for a connected word depicted by the next sign also.

Thus, pāṭ(i) > pāṇṭi- > pāṇṭi-aṉ, the Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.
Nasalisation of -ṭ- > -ṇṭ- is common in Dravidian.
(e.g.) Ta. aṭu, aṇṭu ‘to be fit’ (D. 78).
Ta. taṭi ‘stick’ (D. 3030), taṇṭu ‘stick’ (Aka. 274.8).

Pāṇṭiya is the basic name by which the dynasty is known from ancient times. It
occurs in the earliest layer of Tamil Caṅkam poetry (e.g. Aka. 201.3; Kuṟun. 393.4).
It is also mentioned by Kātyāyana and Megasthenes in the 4th century and in the
Asokan edicts in the 3rd century bce.

(ii) Alternative derivation from Sign E: CITY

The result is corroborated by another parallel derivation. The CROSSROADS is part

of the Indus Sign: CITY (labelled E here; see Fig. 6). I have already interpreted the
CITY sign as pāḻi ‘city, especially planned city’ (Mahadevan 1981, 2009a, 2010).
In brief,
Ta. pāḻi ‘city, agricultural town’ (D. 4112);
Ka. pāḻi ‘row, line, regularity, order’ (D. 4113).

It is possible to derive pāṇṭi- also from pāḻi on the basis of the known development
of -ḻ- > -ṇṭ- in Dravidian.

(e.g.) Ta. paḻa ‘old’, paṇṭu ‘antiquity’ (D. 3999);

Ta. paḻu ‘ripen’; Te. paṇṭu ‘ripen’ (D. 4004).

Thus, pāḻi > pāṇṭi-> pāṇṭi-aṉ, the Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.

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Indus Sign Indus: Old Tamil Survival

Linguistic interpretation
pāṭ- pāṭ-
(pāṭi, -pāḍu) (pāṭi) ‘street, city, town,
‘street, city, town, village, village,
C (a settlement)’; (a settlement)’
crossroads ‘one who resides in the settlement’ > ‘Pāṇṭi’ > Pāṇṭi-aṉ
(intended, same as literal) the Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.
(Para. 1.3 (ii) (a); Result 4)

pāḻ-
pāḻ- (pāḻi ‘planned city’)
> (pāḻi) ‘row, line, regularity, order’ > pāṇṭi- > pāṇṭi-aṉ
E
> (pāḻi) ‘planned city’. the Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.
city
Result 8. Evolution of Sign C: crossroads (first parallel): from Indus to Old Tamil.

(iii) Vaḻuti ‘a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name’

Interpretation of Sign C: crossroads (second parallel) through rebus is vāḻ(i)

‘resident (of the city)’, (also) ‘the prosperous one’ (See Para 1.3 (ii) (b) and Result 5).
As the preceding Signs A and B point to Pāṇṭiya names or titles, it seems reasonable
to look for a similar development in this case also.
Thus, vaḻ(i)/vāḻ(i) > vaḻuti ‘a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name’.

The name Vaḻuti is unique to the Pāṇṭiya dynasty and occurs in early Tamil
­literature (e.g. Naṟ. 150.4; Aka. 93.9).

Indus Sign Indus: Old Tamil Survival

Linguistic interpretation
vaḻ- vāḻ-
(vaḻi, vaḻakku) (vāḻi, vaḻuti)
‘way, road, path, pass’ (literal) > vaḻuti
>vāḻ- a Pāṇṭiya dynastic name.
C (vāḻ, vāḻvu, vāḻi)
crossroads ‘residence, prosperity, wealth;
resident (of the city);
the prosperous one.’ (intended)
(Para. 1.3 (ii) (b); Result 5)
Result 9. Evolution of Sign C: crossroads (second parallel): from Indus to Old Tamil.

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2.4 Sign D: jar -(a)ṉṟ(u)

The jar sign has been identified as the Dr. pronominal masculine singular suffix
-(a)ṉṟ- ‘-he, he of the-’ (Para 1.4). The equivalent suffix in Tamil is -(a)ṉ. The suffix
is added at the end of the string of Pāṇṭiya names or titles evolved from the Indus
Phrase ABCD.

2.5 Indus Phrase in Old Tamil

The complete Indus phrase ABCD can now be interpreted in Old Tamil as follows:

A B C D
māṟa- ceḻi-a vaḻuti/pāṇṭi- -aṉ
D C B A

The interpretation reveals a string of Pāṇṭiya names or titles.

A comparison of the suggested interpretation of the Indus Phrase ABCD

(Para 1.5) with the Pāṇṭiya names or titles reveals both continuity and discontinuity.
The Indus texts refer to the ‘Merchant of the City’; the Old Tamil names refer
apparently to something different, a string of names or titles of the Pāṇṭiya
dynasty. But, if one takes a closer look, one can detect the continuity of phonetic
as well as semantic elements in both sets of words. The only change is in the
case of Sign B, for which the word koḻ- ‘hook’ was replaced, in course of time by
the synonym ceṭ- ‘hook’, which was then interpreted through the homophone
ceṭ-/ceḻ- ‘lightning, thunderbolt’. (See Para 1.2 (ii) (a) & (b) and Results 2 & 3).

The comparison between the original interpretation of the Indus Phrase ABCD
and the later evolution in Old Tamil reveals for the first time the true origin and
the original significance of the Pāṇṭiya names and titles:

māṟaṉ ‘barterer’ (<māṟu ‘to barter’).

ceḻiyaṉ ‘he of lightning/thunderbolt’ (<ceṭi-/ceḻi- ‘lightning, thunder’).
vaḻuti ‘the prosperous one’ (<vāḻ ‘to prosper’).
pāṇṭiyaṉ ‘he of the city’ (<pāṭi or pāḻi).

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The four names and titles listed above refer to occupation, lineage/name, status
and residence. This is precisely the type of information that one should expect to
find on a seal text.

In addition to the four names or titles listed above, two more characteristics of the
Pāṇṭiya dynasty are also shown to be derived from the Indus Phrase ABCD.

(i) kuṭumi (later, caṭai) ‘braided and knotted hair’, apparently the distinctive
hairstyle of the Pāṇṭiya dynasty (Para 2.1 (ii); Fig. 4).
(ii) ceṇṭu ‘hooked weapon’, an insignia of the Pāṇṭiya dynasty (Para 2.2 (ii); Fig. 8).

Thus the remote ancestors of the Pāṇṭiyar were city-dwellers and prosperous
merchants of the Indus Civilisation.

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 SECTION III: Vedic Survivals
3.0 Introduction

(i) The Aryan Migration

The Aryan-speaking people migrated into South Asia in the second millenium
bce, in the wake of the decline and the eventual collapse of the Indus Civilisation.
The Indus polity had by then disintegrated into numerous smaller communities
without effective central authority or leadership. The incoming Aryans were much
fewer in numbers, but could achieve elite dominance over the local population due
to their better mobility and advanced weaponry.

While some segments of the Indus population, unable or unwilling to be assimilated

into the new social order, migrated eastward and southward, the majority stayed
back, and in course of time, switched over to the dominant Aryan speech. Thus was
born the Indo-Aryan society, speaking Indo-Aryan language, but retaining much
of the Pre-Aryan Dravidian cultural elements in religious practices, agriculture,
craft traditions and social institutions.

(ii) Indo-Aryan influenced by Dravidian

While the Dravidian languages disappeared over most of North India, their
substratum influence radically transformed the Indo-Aryan as may be seen in
phonological changes like the introduction of retroflex sounds, morphological
changes like switch-over from inflexion to post-fixation, near-identical syntactical
structures and lexical borrowings from Dravidian as loanwords and loan
translations which can be traced even in the RV.

(iii) Identification of Dr. loanwords and loan translations in IA

While loanwords can be recognised from phonetic similarities, loan translations

are harder to spot when they relate to universal concepts. However, incorrect
loan translations with too literal or unintended meanings or from the wrong
homophones produce strange, unusual or meaningless expressions, generally
sought to be explained by equally bizarre myths or folk etymology. These are the
tell-tale clues to the real significance of the original expressions in Dravidian.

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(iv) Methodology of Bilingual Parallels

I have pondered over the problem of how to retrieve information on the Indus
substratum from the Indo-Aryan languages. As a solution to this problem, I have
developed the method of bilingual parallels (1975, 2008) which is based on the
following assumptions:

(a) The Indus texts consist mostly of word signs depicting names and titles. The
longer inscriptions may have some additional information on religious practices,
professions, economic activities, etc.

(b) It should be possible to compare the more frequent ideographic signs of the
Indus Script with bilingual parallels from Dravidian and Indo-Aryan to discover
their meanings. A rigorous three-way control was designed to ensure that the
meaning of the Indus ideogram matched those of the selected Dravidian roots and
the corresponding Indo-Aryan parallels.

(c) The names and titles and other information discovered by this method should
find attestation in the Indian historical tradition by way of corroboration. This is a
necessary control to avoid imaginary or illusory results.

(d) While interpreting the Indus texts, one has to take into account bilingual,
multiple and apparently divergent parallels resulting from linguistic evolution,
change in language (Early Dr. > IA > Late Dr.), and the cultural diversity of the
Indian society. Such divergent parallels are not to be regarded as inconsistent
or contradictory. Actually, they serve to strengthen the web of circumstantial
evidence proving their common descent from the Indus civilisation.

It is important to recognise that Vedic and the earliest Tamil cultures as two
divergent parallels, which flourished in regions and in time far removed from
each other with no possibility of mutual influence. It follows necessarily that
any common feature found between the Vedic and Old Tamil can only be traced
to their common descent from the same source, namely, the Indus Civilisation.
I have discussed in greater detail the theoretical aspects of the method and its
application in my earlier papers (1975, 2008). The present paper offers many more
instructive examples of how the method works in actual practice.

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 (e) The results should not be inconsistent with those obtained by structural
analysis of the Indus texts.

(v) Some earlier results

The method of bilingual parallels has already yielded promising results some of
which I have published in my earlier papers. Here, I have space to mention just
two examples, a loanword and a loan translation from Dravidian to Indo-Aryan
found in the RV. (Mahadevan 1986b, 2009b, 2010; 1975, 1982, 2009a).

Loanword:
…
Dr. aka-tt-(i) ‘Lord of the Fort’ (cf. aka-tt-ōṉ, Tol. Poruḷ. 20.12)
JAR… (in/of) FORT >IA agasti/agastya, author of hymns in the RV (1.165-191).

Note: The most frequent sign pair at the commencement and the most frequent
sign at the end of the Indus texts correspond respectively to IA agastya and
the legend of his birth from a vessel (RV. 7.33), thus corroborating the proposed
­interpretation.

Loan translation:
Dr. poṟ-ay lit. ‘bearer’; N. of the Cēra dynasty in Old Tamil
JAR- BEARER
BEARER >IA bharata lit. ‘bearer’; N. of a famous Aryan dynasty in
the RV.

Note: The interpretation is corroborated by the compound sign JAR-BEARER

­equivalent to bharad-vāja lit., ‘bearer of food’; N. of a famous seer in the RV.

(vi) Survival of the Indus Phrase ABCD as Pūṣan in the RV

The present paper offers more evidence of words in the Indus texts passing into
the RV as loan translations. What is specially interesting in the new discovery is
that a frequent sequence of four signs, the Indus Phrase ABCD, turns up in the RV
as a firmly interlinked set of epithets of Pūṣan, an early Vedic god identified as a
Vaiśya deity.

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3.1 pathaspati: ‘The Lord of the Path’ (epithet of Pūṣan)

vayamu tvā pathaspatē ratham na vājasātayē
dhiyē pūṣan na yujmahi (RV. 6.53.1)
‘Lord of the Path, O Pūṣan, we have yoked and bound thee to our hymn,

Even as a car, to win the prize’ (Griffith).

An obvious pictorial clue connecting the Indus Phrase ABCD with Pūṣan, the
‘Lord of the Path’, is Sign C: CROSSROADS. Pūṣan is the personification of the Path.

Pūṣan is a unique Vedic deity and has several exclusive and peculiar traits; but,
above all, he is the ‘Lord of the Path’, as virtually every hymn referring to him in
the RV proclaims with ever-changing metaphor. Here is a sampling selected from
Macdonell (VM: 35-37).

Pūṣan is born on the far path of paths, on the far path of heaven and of
earth. He conducts the dead on the far path to the Fathers. As a Knower of
Paths, Pūṣan is conceived as the Guardian of Paths. He is besought to remove
dangers, the wolf, the waylayer, from the path. Pūṣan is prayed to disperse
the foes and make the paths to lead to booty, to remove foes to make the
paths good. He is invoked to protect from harm on his path and to grant an
­auspicious path. He is the guardian of every path and lord of the road.

Sāyaṇa explains pathas-pathaḥ-paripati (RV. 6.49.8) as sarvasya mārgasya adhipati

‘overlord of all the pathways’. The four-roads depicted in Indus Sign C maybe
interpreted in the Vedic context as ‘all the pathways’. However, there was a
marked change from the city-based life in the Indus Age to the village-based life
in the early Vedic society. Accordingly, the Indus Sign C: CROSSROADS, which
survived as a symbol in the folklore of later times, came to mean ‘pathways (of
the countryside)’; the RV mentions the dangers faced by the traveller on the roads
from ‘the wolf and the waylayer’ (RV. 1.42.2-3). Thus ‘he of the streets (of the city)’
in the Indus Age (Sign C) evolved into pathaspati, the ‘Lord of the Path (of the
countryside)’ in the early Vedic society.

Macdonell’s identification of the underlying character of Pūṣan as the ‘beneficent

power of the sun’ gives less importance to the basic feature of Pūṣan as the ‘Lord

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of the Path’, and seems to be more influenced by the post-Vedic development,
when the name of Pūṣan, if remembered at all, became a synonym for the sun.
Yāska identifies Pūṣan as the sun (āditya).

However, Oldenberg pointed out that the oft-recurring basic feature of Pūṣan’s
activity is that ‘he knows the paths, shows the paths (and) leads the paths’ (The
Religion of the Veda: 118-119). He identified this as the clear sphere of Pūṣan’s activity
and central to our understanding the form of the god. He wondered whether Pūṣan
had a further prehistory, but despaired of ‘any chance of penetrating it’ (ibid).

The present paper attempts to show that Pūṣan did have a prehistory and that
it was connected to the Indus Civilisation. The obvious pictorial clue of Indus
Sign C: CROSSROADS is just the beginning. We shall see presently that virtually
every exclusive trait of Pūṣan mentioned in the RV can be traced back to the Indus
Civilisation in the light of the further clues provided by the Indus Phrase ABCD. The
investigation also helps to resolve the mystery surrounding the peculiar traits of
Pūṣan, and the myths relating to him, which have not been satisfactorily explained
so far. Myth does not remember its origins and therefore it invents stories which
are not arbitrary and may provide indirect clues to the origins. The present paper
offers many interesting examples of this phenomenon.

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
pāṭ- pathaspati
(pāṭi, -pāḍu) ‘Lord of the Path’
‘street, city, town, village; (a settlement)’; (epithet of Pūṣan)
C ‘one who resides in the settlement’. (RV. 6.53.1)
crossroads (Para. 1.3 (ii) (a); Result 4). Loan translation from
unintended meaning.
Result 10. Evolution of Sign C: crossroads (first parallel): from Indus to Vedic.

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3.2 Pūṣan: ‘The Prosperous One’

pūṣā gā anvētu naḥ pūṣā rakṣatvarvataḥ
pūṣā vājam sanōtu naḥ (RV. 6.54.5)
‘May Pūṣan follow near our kine; may Pūṣan keep our horses safe;
May Pūṣan gather food for us’ (Griffith with changes).

(i) Pūṣan is the name of the ‘Lord of the Path’ in the RV. Etymologically, the name
means ‘prosper-er’ derived from the root puṣ ‘to cause to thrive’ (VM: 37).

Sāyaṇa explains the name Pūṣan as pōṣakō (or) pōṣāyitā dēvaḥ ‘god who nourishes’
(RV. 6.24.5; 10.17.3). Pūṣan is also called puṣṭimbhara, ‘the increaser of nourishment’
(RV. 4.3.7). Pūṣan is described as a Stream of Wealth, a Heap of Riches (RV. 6.55.3),
and he is frequently invoked to bestow wealth. Pūṣan possesses all wealth, abounds
in wealth, gives increases of wealth and is bountiful. His bounty is particularly
often mentioned (VM: 36).

(ii) Pūṣan’s golden ships

What is the source of Pūṣan’s great wealth so often celebrated in the RV ? His
calling as a divine herdsman or cattle-keeper as described in the RV cannot possibly
account for such immense riches. We find a precious clue in the RV itself (6.58.3),
which refers to Pūṣan’s ‘golden ships that travel across the ocean’ (samudrē
hiraṇyayīḥ nāvaḥ caranti). We may dismiss the suggestion in the hymn placing
the ‘ocean’ in ‘mid-air’ (antarikṣa) as poetic fancy. The hymn must be regarded
as a valuable record of Pūṣan’s prehistory as a merchant of the Indus Civilisation
engaged in maritime trade of valuable merchandise. This evidence enables us to
identify Pūṣan as the deification of māṟ- ‘barterer, trader, merchant’ depicted by
the Indus Sign A: (back of the) WOLF. (See Para 1.1 (ii) (b) and Result 1.) He was
also a ‘prosperous resident of the city’ of the Indus Civilisation as depicted by the
Indus Sign C: CROSSROADS. (See Para 1.3 and Results 4 & 5; see also Para 3.1 and
Result 10.)

There is no apparent connection between the conceptions of pathas-pati, the

‘Lord of the Path’, and Pūṣan, ‘one who nourishes and bestows wealth’. I suggest

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that the missing link is to be found in the Indus Sign C: CROSSROADS. In brief,
cf. vaḻi ‘path’ (D. 5297);
vāḻi ‘resident’, (also) ‘the prosperous one’ (D. 5372).

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
vaḻ- pūṣan
(vaḻi, vaḻakku) ‘the Prosperous One’
‘way, road, path, pass’ (literal) (name of the deity)
>vāḻ- (RV. 6.53.1)
C (vāḻvu, vāḻi) (loan translation from the
crossroads ‘residence, prosperity, wealth’; intended meaning.)
‘resident of the settlement’;
‘the Prosperous One’ (intended)
(Para. 1.3 (ii) (b); Result 5).
Result 11. Evolution of Sign C: crossroads (second parallel): from Indus to Vedic.

3.3 karambhād: ‘Eater of gruel’ (epithet of Pūṣan)

ya ēnam-ādidēśati karaṁbhāditi pūṣanam
na tēna dēva ādiśē (RV. 6.56.1)
‘ Whoso remembers Pūṣan as the eater of gruel,
Need think of no other god’ (Griffith, with changes).

(i) One of the peculiar traits of Pūṣan mentioned in the RV is that he is

the ‘eater of gruel (karambha)’. The RV does not offer any indication
as to why Pūṣan is restricted to this unusual diet. The explanation
offered in later Vedic literature (ŚBr. 1.7.4.7) is that Pūṣan was ‘toothless’
(a-dantakaḥ). This raises the question: what happened to his teeth? The answer is
found in the strange tale of the mutilations suffered by three Vedic gods including
Pūṣan (Kau. Br.). I shall summarise here the myth relating only to Pūṣan.

When the gods offered the first fruit (prāśitra) of their sacrifice to Pūṣan, it knocked
out his teeth, as he failed to take the necessary precautions before consuming the
potent stuff. Hence it is said that ‘Pūṣan has no teeth, he eats karambha (gruel)’
(Kau. Br. 6.13).

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There are other versions of the legend. The best known among them is found in the
MBh. In brief, when Dakṣa offered a sacrifice, he failed to invite Rudra (Śiva), who
got enraged and barged into the venue, attacking the assembled gods, including
Pūṣan whose teeth were torn off. This account ends on a happier note; Rudra was
eventually appeased and restored the teeth of Pūṣan.

The myth has been a puzzle, considering especially that Pūṣan, as his name
indicates, is a well-nourished and wealthy god. He should have had no reason to
be on the starvation diet of mush. Oldenberg, admitting that he cannot explain
Pūṣan’s ‘toothlessness’, asked, “Did one think of the ‘toothlessness’ to explain the
sacrificial food, or is the former based on the other hand, on the latter concept?”
(The Religion of the Veda: 169). The present study has found the answer. Oldenberg’s
first conjecture is the right one; the ‘gruel’ mentioned in the RV as Pūṣan’s meal
necessitated the later explanation that he was ‘toothless’.

The clue to solve the puzzle is contained in a sign of the Indus Script (labelled F
here). It is a compound sign whose components point to the intended meaning
(Mahadevan 1981, updated here).

Sign F: = + : PLACE (AT) CROSSROADS = ASSEMBLY

Sign F depicts the ‘assembly’ in which the residents of the city met to discuss
and decide on public affairs. Location of the PLACE at the CROSSROADS indicates
symbolically that the meeting of the assembly was open to all citizens of the city.

cf. D. 173:
Ta. ampalam ‘village assembly for transacting village affairs’.
Ma. ampalam ‘place devoted for public use, assemblies, etc., a temple’.
Ka. ambala ‘hall where public affairs are discussed’.
Tu. ambila, ambela ‘the place around or in front of the temple’.
cf. Ta. ampalam ‘assembly, place of assembly’ (Pari. 18.28; Maṇi. 14.4; Peruṅ. 1.34.41).

Thus the meaning of Sign F is: ‘assembly, place of assembly, member of the
assembly’.

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In later times, when the Indus Script was no longer understood, and the
institutions depicted by the signs ceased to exist, the signs survived as traditional
or conventional symbols, sometimes with different meanings based on unrelated
homophones, as seems to have happened in the present case.

cf. D. 174:
Ta. ampali ‘porridge, esp. of ragi’.
Ka. ambali, ambila ‘pap or porridge (of ragi, etc.)’.
Tu. ambuli ‘pap or gruel of ragi or rice’.
Te. ambali ‘porridge, pap’.
cf. Marathi ābīl ‘gruel’ (borrowed from Dr.)

At this stage, ampal- ‘assembly’ was misunderstood as ampal- ‘gruel’, and the
latter meaning is the source of the loan translation karambha ‘gruel’ in the RV.
Thus Pūṣan, ‘member of the assembly’ in the Indus Age, became an ‘eater of gruel’
in the early Vedic society.

(ii) Pūṣan ‘Hero of the Assembly (vidatha)’

In one of the hymns of the RV (7.36.8), All-gods (viśvēdēvāḥ) are entreated to bring
Pūṣan, the ‘Hero (vīra) of the Assembly (vidatha)’ to the place of the sacrifice.
Pūṣan is also referred to here as a ‘member of the assembly (vidathya)’. In another
hymn (RV. 10.85.26), Pūṣan is asked to take the bride by hand and conduct her to
the assembly where she would address the gathering.

Vidatha is a somewhat obscure expression occurring mainly in the RV. Its

general sense, however, seems to be ‘meeting, assembly, council, association or
congregation’ (MW). It appears that vidatha was the ‘lesser assembly’ than the
sabhā or samiti. The main difference between them is that women were allowed to
participate in the proceedings of the vidatha unlike in the sabhā or the samiti. It
appears that vidatha was the assembly of the common people while sabhā (samiti)
was the assembly of the nobility.

I suggest, on the basis of the above evidence, that vidatha ‘assembly’ in the RV
corresponds to Dr. ampal(a) depicted by Sign F of the Indus Script. It follows
that vidatha ‘assembly’ and karambha ‘gruel’ are both loan translations from
Dravidian, the latter being an incorrect one from an unintended homophone.

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Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
amp-al- karambhād
(ampalam, ambala) ‘eater of gruel’ (RV. 6.56.1)
‘place at four-road junction’ (loan translation from
(literal) unintended meaning).
F > ‘assembly, place of assembly, vidatha
place at member of assembly.’(intended) (RV. 7.36.8; 10.85.26)
crossroads >amp-al- ‘assembly, council,
(ampali, ambuli) ‘gruel’ congregation’;
(unintended)
vidathya ‘member of the
assembly’;
(loan translations from
intended meaning).
Result 12. Evolution of Sign F: PLACE AT crossroads: from Indus to Vedic.

3.4 āghṛṇi: ‘The Glowing One’ (epithet of Pūṣan)

iyam tē pūṣan- āghṛṇē suṣṭutir dēva navyasī
asmābhis tubhyam śasyatē (RV. 3.62.7).
‘Divine, resplendent Pūṣan, this our newest hymn of eulogy,
By us is chanted forth to thee’ (Griffith).

A frequent and exclusive epithet of Pūṣan in the RV is āghṛṇi. The expression

is explained as ‘glowing with heat’ (MW). Sāyaṇa explains āghṛṇi as āgata dīpti
‘fire which has come into existence or is born’, that is, fire ignited or kindled
(RV. 6.53.3).

According to Macdonell, āghṛṇi indicates Pūṣan’s connection with light and hence
‘the beneficent power of the sun’ (VM: 35-37). However, the expression is never
associated with the light of the sun in the RV; it is the exclusive epithet of Pūṣan
except once in āghṛṇī–vasu ‘rich with glowing heat’ describing Agni (RV. 8.60.20).

Sāyaṇa’s gloss, corroborated by the epithet being applied once to Agni, seems
preferable to the explanation by Macdonell connecting it with the light of the sun.

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Oldenberg who was averse to the idea of connecting Pūṣan with light, expressed
his reservation on the ‘exact meaning’ of āghṛṇi and described it as ‘an attribute of
a completely uncertain implication’ (The Religion of the Veda: 169-170).

I propose a new interpretation of āghṛṇi based on the Indus Sign B: HOOK, which
leads to a better understanding of the expression. In later times, when the context
indicated by the Indus Phrase was forgotten, the meaning of the expression
depicted by Sign B was misunderstood, resulting in an incorrect loan translation
from an unintended homophone. This is shown by the following analysis.

koḷuttu ‘to cause to hold, a clasp’; kōḷ ‘receiving’; kōḷi ‘receiver’ (D. 2151).
koḷuttu ‘to kindle, set on fire’; koḷḷi ‘firebrand, fire’ (D. 2158).
cf. Ta. koḷḷi: neruppu uṟu viṟaku ‘burning firewood’ (Tivākaram).
vicumpu vīḻ koḷḷi ‘meteorite falling from the sky’ (Kuṟun. 221:2).

It appears that koḷ- (koḷuttu, kōḷi) ‘hook, receive’ was misunderstood as koḷ-
(koḷuttu, koḷḷi) ‘set on fire, firebrand’, which is the source for the loan translation
āghṛṇi ‘the glowing one’ in the RV. Thus koḷḷi ‘receiver (of barter)’ in the Indus Age
became āghṛṇi ‘the glowing one, firebrand’ in the early Vedic society.

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
koḷ- āgḥṛṇi
koḷuttu ‘hook’ (literal) ‘the Glowing One;
>kōḷ,kōḷi, koḷḷi ‘to receive, receiver’ firebrand’
(intended) (epithet of Pūṣan)
B >koḷ- (RV. 6.53.3)
hook (koḷuttu, koḷḷi) (loan translation from
‘set on fire, firebrand’; (unintended) unintended meaning).
(Para. 1.2 (ii) (a); Result 2.)
Result 13. Evolution of Sign B: hook (first parallel): from Indus to Vedic.

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3.5 aṣṭrā (or) ārā: The ‘goad’ of Pūṣan

yā tē aṣṭrā gō-ōpaśā-āghṛṇē paśusādhanī
tasyās tē sumnam-īmahē (RV. 6.53.9).
‘Thou bearest, glowing Lord, a goad with a horny point that guides the cows;

Thence do we seek thy gift of bliss (Griffith).

Pūṣan’s characteristic weapon is aṣṭrā ‘goad’ (RV. 6.53.9). As the divine herdsman
(gōpā), he guides the cattle on the right path with the goad (RV. 10.17.3).

The RV also employs another expression ārā ‘awl’ (RV. 6.53.8), but apparently
with the same meaning as aṣṭrā ‘goad’. Sāyaṇa treats both terms as synonyms
(RV. 6.53.9), and explains their meaning as sūkṣma-lōha-agra-daṇḍaḥ ‘stick with a
sharp metallic point’ (RV. 6.53.5). The description fits the ‘goad’, the spiked stick
still in use for driving the cattle. The ‘awl’ is a shoe-maker’s tool with a sharp
‘hook’ at the tip to perforate the leather and draw the thread through it (cf. Sign B:
HOOK and Fig. 5.). The analysis shows that ārā is likely to be the earlier expression
later modified as aṣṭrā ‘goad’, the herdsman’s weapon.

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
ceṭ- aṣṭrā ‘goad’ (RV. 6.53.9),
(ceṭil, seḍi, siḍi)’ ārā ‘awl’, also ‘goad’
‘hook, goad’ (literal) (RV. 6.53.8)
B (Para. 1.2 (ii) (b)&Result 3). (weapon of Pūṣan)
hook (loan translations from
literal meaning).
Result 14. Evolution of Sign B: hook (second parallel): from Indus to Vedic.

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3.6 ajāśva: ‘One whose horses are the goats’ (epithet of Pūṣan)
rāyō dhārāsy-āghṛṇē vasō rāśir-ajāśva
dhīvatō dhīvataḥ sakhā (RV. 6.55.3)
‘Bright God whose steeds are goats, thou art a stream of wealth, a treasure-heap,
The Friend of every pious man’ (Griffith).

One of the peculiar traits of Pūṣan is that his chariot is drawn by goats instead
of horses. For this reason, he is called ajāśva ‘one whose horses are goats’
(RV. 6.55.3,4). This is apparently an ancient myth; the reason why goats draw
Pūṣan’s chariot is not explained in the RV.

The clue to the solution of the puzzle is an incorrect loan translation based on a
misunderstood meaning of the Indus Sign A: (back of the) wolf. This is brought
out in the following analysis:

Ta. maṟi ‘to turn back, turn about’ (D. 4761).

Ta. maṟi ‘sheep, young of sheep, female of sheep’; Te. maṟaka ‘a kid’ (D. 4764).
cf. Ta. ciṟu maṟi koṉṟu ‘having killed a kid’ (Kuṟun. 362.4).
āṭu…maṟi eṉpa ‘the āṭu (sheep or goat) is called maṟi’ (Tivākaram).

In later times, when the Indus Script was no longer understood, the signs of the
script survived as symbols, sometimes with different meanings based on unrelated
homophones. Thus maṟi ‘to turn back’ (D. 4761) was misunderstood as maṟi ‘goat
or sheep’ (D. 4764). This became the basis for the myth that Pūṣan’s chariot was
drawn by goats instead of horses.

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
maṟ-/māṟ- ajāśva (aja-aśva)
maṟi ‘to turn back’ (literal) ‘One whose horses are the
>māṟ- ‘exchange of goods, barter; goats’
A trader, merchant’ (intended) (epithet of Pūṣan)
(back of the) >maṟi ‘goat or sheep’ (unintended) (RV. 6.55.3)
wolf (Para. 1.1 (ii) (a) & (b); Result 1.) (loan translation from
unintended meaning).
Result 15. Evolution of Sign A: (back of the) wolf: from Indus to Vedic.

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3.7 agōhya: ‘one from whom nothing is concealed’ (epithet of Pūṣan)

pūṣā rājānam-āghṛṇir-apagūḷham guhā hitam
avindac-citra barhiṣam (RV. 1.23.14)

‘Pūṣan the Bright, has found the King concealed and hidden in a cave;
Who rests on grass of many hues’ (Griffith).

One of the peculiar traits of Pūṣan is his ability to make hidden things manifest.
Hence his characteristic epithets:
(a) a-gōhya ‘one from whom nothing is concealed’ (RV. 10.64.3)
(b) a-naṣṭa-vēdas ‘one losing no goods’ (RV. 6.54.8)
(c) a-naṣṭa-paśu ‘one losing no cattle’ (RV. 10.17.3)

Pūṣan’s unique ability as the finder of lost things is the basis of the legend in the RV,
which credits him with discovering King (Sōma) who was ‘concealed and hidden’
in a cave (see hymn cited above). This ancient myth indicates that Pūṣan’s ability
to find lost things is not confined merely to his role as the herdsman preventing
cattle from straying, which is only one example of his power. We have to look
deeper into Pūṣan’s origin to find the clue to this special aspect of his character.
The clue is furnished by the expressions ‘concealed, hidden’ in the hymn cited
above. The evidence points to the Indus Sign A: (back of the) WOLF. The sign,
showing the back of the animal indicates, ipso facto, that the face is concealed or
hidden from view. In brief,
Ta. maṟai ‘to hide, conceal’ (D. 4760);
Ta. māṟṟu ‘to conceal, hide’; Te. māṭu ‘to conceal, concealment’ (D. 4836).

Thus, māṟu, māṟṟu ‘to barter’ of the Indus texts was misunderstood as māṟṟu
‘to hide, conceal’, when the original context was lost in the early Vedic society.
Pūṣan, the ‘Lord of the Path’, became also the ‘Lord of Concealment’. The latter
attribute was, however, understood in the positive sense that Pūṣan is the god to
be supplicated whenever anything hidden, concealed or lost was sought. For this
reason, Pūṣan was known as agōhya ‘one from whom nothing can be concealed’,
from the root guh ‘to hide’; cf. guhya ‘secret’ (RV). For a parallel development, we
may compare how Vighnēśa, literally the ‘Lord of obstacles’ became the ‘god who
removes obstacles’.

There is also more direct evidence to support the suggested evolution of the epithet
agōhya from a presumed original guhya ‘secret’. In classical Sanskrit, the root gup

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has the same meaning as guh, namely, ‘to conceal, hide’. Thus, gupta ‘hidden,
concealed’ was employed as the equivalent of the earlier guhya in the same sense.
The suffixed epithet –gupta occurs in classical Sanskrit also as the name of men
belonging to the Vaiśya caste (MW). The later Vaiśya-gupta link corroborates the
earlier Pūṣan-agōhya link, as Pūṣan has been identified in the present study as the
deification of the Vaiśya.

Indus Sign Indus (Dravidian) Vedic (Old Indo-Aryan)

linguistic interpretation Survival
maṟ-/māṟ- agōhya
maṟi ‘to turn back’ (literal) ‘one from whom nothing is
A >māṟ- ‘exchange of goods, barter; concealed’ (RV. 10.64.3),
(back of the) trader, merchant’ (intended) (epithet of Pūṣan)
wolf >maṟ- (maṟai, māṟṟu) ‘to hide, (loan translation from
conceal’ unintended meaning).
(unintended meaning)
(Para. 1.1 (ii) (a) & (b); Result 1.)
Result 16. Evolution of Sign A: (back of the) wolf: from Indus to Vedic.

3.8 kapardin ‘one with braided and knotted hair’ (epithet of Pūṣan)
rathītamam kapardinam –īśānam rādhasō mahaḥ
rāyaḥ sakhāyam –īmahē (RV. 6.55.2)
‘We pray for wealth to thee, most skilled of charioteers with braided hair,
Lord of great riches, and our Friend’ (Griffith).

Pūṣan is described as kapardin ‘one with braided and knotted hair’ (RV. 6.55.2).
He shares the epithet only with Rudra in the RV (1.114.1). Sāyaṇa explains kaparda
as cūṭā ‘top knot on the head’. (cf. Dr. cūṭ(u)) ‘hair tuft’; D.2721.) According to MW,
kaparda is ‘braided and knotted hair’. The protuberance covering one of the ears of
the animal in the Indus Sign A: (back of the) wolf has been identified as ‘braided
and knotted hair’ worn slantingly. (See Para 1.1 (i) and Fig. 4.)

Evidence from Indus seal motifs shows that men wore their hair as knot at the
back of their heads, while priests and women (priestesses?) wore their hair as long
plaited tresses. We may infer that Pūṣan’s hairstyle was similar to that of the men
depicted in the Indus seal motifs. This hairstyle was probably a mark of identity of
the trading classes in the Indus Civilisation.

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3.9 Pūṣan: ‘the pastoral and agricultural god in the RV ’

mā kir nēśan mā kīm riṣan mā kīm saṁ śāri kēvaṭē
athāriṣṭābhir -ā gahi (RV. 6.54.7)
‘Let none be lost, none injured, none sink in a pit and break a limb,
Return with these [cattle] all safe and sound’ (Griffith).

(i) Pūṣan, the pastoral god

Pūṣan is pre-eminently a pastoral god in the RV. He follows and protects the cattle;
he preserves them from injury by falling into a pit, brings them home unhurt, and
drives back the lost (RV. 6.54.7 cited above; VM: 36).

Hence Pūṣan’s characteristic epithets:

(a) gōpā ‘protector of cattle’ (RV. 10.17.3)
(b) paśupā ‘protector of cattle’ (RV. 6.58.2)
(b) a-naṣṭa-paśu ‘one who loses no cattle’ (RV. 10.17.3)
(d) aṣṭrā (or) ārā ‘the goad of Pūṣan to drive the cattle’ (RV. 6.53.8-9).

The RV, as the literary record of a predominantly pastoral society, naturally lays
much emphasis on Pūṣan’s role as a herdsman. However, Pūṣan appears also as the
god of agriculture in the RV.

(ii) Pūṣan, the agricultural god

Agricultural implements, identified as the plough and the ploughshare (suna and
sīrā), are associated with Pūṣan. In a hymn devoted to agricultural implements,
Pūṣan is featured as a plougher driving the ploughshare to turn up the ploughed
land and keep the course of the furrow (sītā) straight, with some help from Indra
(RV. 4.57.4-8). The suna and sīrā were regarded as divine. In later Vedic literature,
it is prescribed that this hymn of the RV be repeated silently at the commencement
of ploughing (Griffith, Note on RV. 4.57).

The wooden plough, in addition to the harrow, had already come into use in
the Indus Age. See the terracotta model of the plough excavated at Banawali, a
Harappan site in Haryana (Fig. 9).

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 Fig. 9. Indus plough. Terracotta model. Banawali. (Courtesy: ASI)

(iii) The ‘goad’ of Pūṣan as a ‘badge of agriculture’

The goad (aṣṭrā or ārā in the RV) is primarily associated with Pūṣan’s activities as
a cattle-keeper. However, the goad was also regarded as the ‘badge of agriculture’
(Vedic Index I: 46). In later Vedic literature, the goad of the plougher was the mark
of the Vaiśya in life (Kāṭhaka Saṁhitā 37.1) as well as in death (Kauśika Sūtra 80),
(both cited in Vedic Index II: 334). I have already pointed out the suggestive parallel
between Indus Sign B: Hook and the goad of Pūṣan (Para 3.5; Result 14).

(iv) Origin and evolution of Pūṣan in prehistory

There is however evidence in the RV itself that Pūṣan was not originally a
pastoral or agricultural god. It is significant that none of the six peculiar traits
which characterise Pūṣan in the RV is in any manner connected with his roles as
a pastoral or agricultural god (see Paras 3.1-3.4 and 3.6 & 3.7 above). The present
investigation has resolved the mystery surrounding the apparently inexplicable
traits of Pūṣan by showing that the Vedic god evolved from the dim recollections
of a distant past when he was the ‘prosperous barterer of the streets (of the city)’
in the Indus Age (Indus Phrase ABCD). Thus the legend of Pūṣan ends where it
began, as that of the ‘prosperous merchant of the city’. Viewed from this historical
perspective, Pūṣan is verily a Vaiśya god, and the god of the Vaiśyas.

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3.10 Indus Phrase ABCD interpreted in Vedic (RV)

The complete Indus Phrase that is under consideration can now be interpreted in
Vedic (RV).

A B C D
ajāśva (3.6) āghṛṇi (3.4) pathaspati (3.1) -
agōhya (3.7) aṣṭrā/ārā (3.5) pūṣan (3.2)
kapardin karambhād (3.3)
D C B A (3.8; Fig. 4) (from Sign F)
(For details, see Paras cited within brackets.)

The Indus Sign D: JAR is a grammatical morph, the masculine singular suffix
(Para. 1.4). As it is not a lexical item, it is not carried over from Indus to Vedic.

As indicated by the structual analysis of the Indus Phrase, Sign C is the main
root, and Signs A and B are its attributes (Para. 0.1).

It will be seen that the Indus sign sequence comprises epithets corresponding to the
six peculiar traits of Pūṣan mentioned in the RV. Further, two more characteristics
of Pusan in the RV, namely his ‘goad’ (aṣṭrā/ārā) and his ‘braided and knotted
hair’ (kaparda) have also been traced to the Indus Phrase ABCD as indicated
above. All this cannot be mere coincidence. Thus we conclude that the Indus Phrase
ABCD ‘barter-receiver prosperous-(city)resident-he’ survived and re-emerged in
the Early Vedic Age as Pūṣan, the Vaiśya god, with characteristic traits inherited
from the Indus Civilisation but with modified meanings in the RV due to loss of
the original context and distortions caused by the change in the socio-linguistic
context and the long interval of time between the two epochs.

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 SECTION IV: Summary and Conclusions
4.1. Summary of Results

The results of the present study (numbered 1 to 16) have already been summarised
at the end of each relevant paragraph. I shall only add a comparative table of the
results at each level, namely Indus-Dravidian (Para 1.5, Results 1-5), Old Tamil (Para
2.5, Results 6-9) and Vedic (Para 3.10, Results 10-16). The Table shows at a glance
the evolution of the Indus Phrase ABCD through phonetic links between Indus-
Dravidian and Old Tamil survivals, and semantic links between Indus-Dravidian
and Indo-Aryan (RV) survivals through loan translations which may be literal or
intended or unintended. Rows and columns in the Table indicate respectively the
interlinked sequences within the Period and phonetic/semantic links across the
Periods, constituting a grid of correspondences.

4.2. Conclusions

If the findings of the present study are acceptable, some important conclusions
follow as a matter of course.

(a) The language of the Indus Civilisation was an early form of Dravidian.

(b) Due to the migration of a section of the Indus population southwards, forming
some settlements in South India, the Indus Dravidian influenced the South Dravidian
languages. The earliest attestations of such influence are found in Old Tamil.

(c) The Vedic Age succeeded the Indus Civilisation. The RV itself is a product of the
composite culture. The time interval between the Indus texts and the RV must have
been sufficiently long to account for the dim recollections and mythologisation
seen in the Vedic equivalents of the Indus names and titles.

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38
Grid of correspondences between Indus Phrase ABCD, Old Tamil and Indo-Aryan (RV)
Result Nos. within brackets; p: para; f: fig.

Signs A: (back of the) wolf B: hook C: crossroads D: jar

Parallels 1 2 1 2 1 2
Indus (1) (2) (4) (5)
māṟ- koḷ- pāṭ- vāḻ- -(a)ṉṟ-
barter. receive. street, settlement. residence, masc. sg.
braided & knotted (3) prosperity. suffix.
hair. Pictorial ceṭ- p.1.4, f.7
motif. lightning,
p 1.1 (i), f.4 thunderbolt.

Indus Phrase: barter-receiver prosperous/resident of the city-he (p. 1.5).

Old Tamil (6) (7) (8) (9)
māṟa- ceḻi-a pāṇṭi- vaḻuti -aṉ.
kuṭumi. also from: Sign E: p.2.5
p.2.1 (ii) (a) city.
p.2.3 (ii)
caṭaiy-aṉ ceṇṭu
late. <Skt. jaṭā. hook-like weapon.
p.1.2 (ii) (b) p.2.2 (ii), f. 8

Name, titles and insignia of the Pāṇṭiya Dynasty (p.2.5).

bulletin of the irc no. 4, 2014
 Grid of correspondences between Indus Phrase ABCD, Old Tamil and Indo-Aryan (RV)
Result Nos. within brackets; p: para; f: fig.

Signs A: (back of the) wolf B: hook C: crossroads D: jar

Parallels 1 2 1 2 1 2
Indo- (15) (13) (14) (10) (11)
Aryan (RV) ajāśva āghṛṇi aṣṭrā/ārā pathaspati Pūṣan
one whose the glowing one goad/awl Lord of the path prosper-er
horses are goats < Dr. koḷḷi < Dr. ceṭ- hook, < Dr. pāṭ- < Dr. vāḻ-
< Dr. maṟi firebrand. goad. street. prosper.
goat, sheep.
(12)
(16) karambhād
agōhya eater of gruel
one from whom kapardin < Dr. ampal-
nothing is he of braided and gruel, assembly
concealed knotted hair (fm. Sign F:
< Dr. māṟṟu < Dr. kuṭumi. assembly).
hide, conceal. p. 3.8, f. 4
vidatha assembly,
vidathya member
of the assembly.
Name, traits and characteristics of Pūṣan (RV) (p. 3.10).

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Postscript: Dravidian Proof via the Ṛgvēda

I began studying the Indus Script in 1968 and published my first paper in 1970.
It is after the publication of the ASI Concordance (1977) that my studies became
more rigorous. I have continued to publish my findings since then, most of them
based on the method of bilingual parallels (1975, 2008). I have not claimed to have
deciphered the Indus Script. I have been content to study individual signs and
sign pairs and interpret them through bilingual parallels. I have obtained some
interesting results published by me periodically (see References).

The present paper appears to me to be the most productive I have so far written.
The quality and quantity of interlocked findings at the three levels described in
the paper have transcended the level of mere evidence and attained the level of
proof: the Dravidian proof of the Indus Script via the ṚgVēda! I hope to
demonstrate the validity of this thesis with further examples in my forthcoming
papers.

I conclude with a prayer to Pūṣan, the knower and guide of Paths, which is to be
uttered, according to Sāyaṇa, by one in search of lost things:

O Pusan, bring us to the man who knows, who shall direct us straight, and
say unto us: it is here (yaḥ ēva idam)! (RV. 6.54.1).

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 Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Mr. M.V. Bhaskar for the many sessions we had together discussing
the first draft of the paper. The discussions have proved to be productive. I thank
Ms. Neela Bhaskar for transferring this paper from manuscript to the computer.
I also express my gratitude to the Indus Research Centre of the Roja Muthiah Research
Library for their continued institutional support for my studies on the Indus Script.
I thank the editorial board for accepting this paper for publication in the Bulletin of the
Indus Research Centre.

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Abbreviations
ASI. Archaeological Survey of India
ASI Concordance: See Mahadevan, Iravatham, 1977
Aka. Akanāṉūṟu
CDIAL. Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages
CISI. Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions
DEDR. Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (Revised 2nd Edition)
D. (Prefixed to entry numbers) in DEDR
Dr. Dravidian
ETE. Early Tamil Epigraphy 2003 (First Edition)
IA. Indo Aryan
Kuṟun. Kuṟuntokai
Kau. Br. Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa
Madu. Maturaikkāñci
MBh. An Index to the names in the Mahābhārata
Maṇi. Maṇimēkalai
MW. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Naṟ. Naṟṟiṇai
Patiṟṟu. Patiṟṟuppattu
Pari. Paripāṭal
Periya. Periyapurāṇam
Peru. Peruṅkatai
Perum. Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Porunar. Porunarāṟṟuppaṭai
Puṟa. Puṟanāṉūṟu
RV. Ṛgvēda
ŚBr. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa
Ta. Br. Tamil Brahmi
Tol. Tolkāppiyam
VM. Vedic Mythology
Vedic Index. Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

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 References
(Only modern works cited in the paper are included here. See also Abbreviations).

ASI Concordance 1977. See Mahadevan, Iravatham 1977.

Burrow, T. and Emeneau, M.
A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (Second Edition) 1984. Oxford.
Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions.
Vol. 1 (1987): Collections in India. (ed.). Jagatpati Joshi and Asko Parpola,
Helsinki.
Vol. 2 (1991): Collections in Pakistan (ed.) S.G.M Shah and Asko Parpola,
Helsinki.
Vol. 3.1 (2010): Supplement to Mohenjodaro and Harappa. (ed.) Asko Parpola,
B.M. Pande and P. Koskikallio, Helsinki.

Glossary of Tamil Inscriptions (2 vols.) 2002-03, Chennai.

Griffiths, R.T.H.
The Hymns of the Rgveda (English Translation) 2004. Reprint, Delhi.
Hunter, G. R.
 The Script of Harappa and Mohenjodaro and its connection with other scripts. 1934
(2003). New Delhi.
Macdonell, A. A.
Vedic Mythology. 1898 (2002). Reprint, Delhi.
Macdonell, A.A. and Keith, A.B.
Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (2 vols) 1995. Reprint, Delhi.
Mahadevan, Iravatham.
- 1970. Dravidian Parallels in Proto-Indian Script. Journal of Tamil Studies 2.1: pp. 157-276
-1975. S tudy of the Indus Script through Bilingual Parallels. Procds. Second All India
Conference of Dravidian Linguistics, Tirupati. 240-261.
-1977. The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables. ASI, New Delhi.
-1978. Recent advances in the study of the Indus Script. Puratattva 9: pp. 34-42.
-1981. P
 lace Signs in the Indus Script. Procds. Fifth International Conference-Seminar of
Tamil Studies, Madurai: Vol. 1, Sec. 2: pp. 2.91-2.107.
-1982. T
 erminal Ideograms in the Indus Script (in) Harappan Civilisation.
(ed.) G.L. Possehl, New Delhi. pp. 311-317.
-1986a. T
 owards a grammar of the Indus Texts: Intelligible to the eye if not to the ears.
Tamil civilisation 4 (3 & 4): pp. 15.30.
-1986b. Agastya Legend in the Indus Civilisation. Journal of Tamil Studies 30: pp. 24-37.
-2003. Early Tamil Epigraphy. Cre-A, Chennai and Harvard University, USA.

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-2008. H
 ow did the ‘great god’ get a ‘blue neck’? A bilingual clue to the Indus Script.
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ROJA MUTHIAH RESEARCH LIBRARY

No. 4 | November 2014
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