TAMIL BACKGROUND OF THE HARAPPAN SCRIPT – Part 9

About the Post:

The Indus Civilization site of Mohenjo-Daro, located in the Sindh Province of Pakistan, has yielded numerous fascinating artifacts; one among them is the Divine Adoration Seal; this post is all about decoding the inscription and iconography of the same.

Sneak Peek:

The Harappan seal M-1186A alias ‘Divine Adoration seal’ depicts the worship of the Mother Goddess and carries some Indus symbols; continue to read this post to see what the inscription says…….

Harappan Tablet M-1186 A:

I am borrowing Kenoyer’s words to describe the Harappan Seal M-1186A:
_{In a famous seal from Mohenjo-Daro, the pipal tree is divided into two main branches, each with three leaves, and the deity wears a horned headdress with a curved branch emerging from the center. The face is shown in profile, and a long braid hangs to the back; both arms are covered with bangles. In front of the deity is a kneeling worshiper offering what appears to be a human head placed on a stool. The worshiper also wears a horned headdress with a branch that has three pipal leaves, which mirrors the triple leaves on each branch of the tree itself. Behind the figure is a giant ram and along the top is a series of script signs that may identify the ritual or the deity. in the lower register is a procession of seven robed figures with long braids, short curved head ornaments, and arms covered with bangles.}

The iconography of M-1186 A:

The Kneeling Figure:

Except for the kneeling figure, all other human personalities depicted in the seal are wearing bangles. This seems to imply that a female deity, who is the leader of a group of seven divine ladies, is being worshiped by a male who is evidently a king or demi-god (as denoted by his horned headdress). He is wearing pipal-tree leaves on his crown; perhaps this practice existed among the bronze-age people of some particular clan/community.

Goddess Chamunda:

Chamunda, also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari, Chamundika, and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of the Divine Mother, in the Hindu faith; the name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters killed by goddess Chamunda. She is closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of the Divine Mother; she is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi, or Durga (other avatars of the Divine Mother) as well. Wikipedia states that goddess Chamunda is often portrayed as residing in cremation grounds or around holy fig trees; obviously this is what is depicted by the Harappans in M-1186A.

Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar says that Chamunda was originally an indigenous goddess worshipped by the Munda people of the Vindhya range of central India. These tribes were known to offer an animal as well as human sacrifices along with ritual offerings of liquor to the goddess; these methods of worship were retained in Tantric worship of Chamunda, after assimilation into Hinduism.

The Seven ‘Matrikas’:

The Harappan seal M-1186A depicts a group of seven female deities, similar to the Saptamatrika. Matrikas are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group of seven, the Saptamatrika(s); however, sometimes they are also depicted as a group of eight, the Ashtamatrika(s). In South India, Saptamatrika worship is prevalent whereas the Ashtamatrika is venerated in Nepal, among other places. Generally, the Saptmatrika are said to be Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi, and Chamunda; the additional one in the case of Ashtamatrika is Narasimhi.

The Matrikas assume paramount significance in the goddess-oriented sect of Hinduism, Tantrism. In Shaktism, they are described as “assisting the great Shakta Devi (goddess) in her fight with demons.” Thus, the Matrikas are goddesses of the battlefield. Generally, they are described as assistants of Durga having sinister as well as propitious characteristics. Chamunda is one of the Saptamatrika; she is sometimes referred to as the leader of the group. She is also the only Matrika who enjoys independent worship of her own; all other Matrikas are always worshiped together.

The Markhor:

The animal depicted in M-1186A is a Markhor; a male markhor to be specific. The markhor (Scientific Name: Capra falconeri), is a kind of goat native to Central Asia, Karakoram, and the Himalayas; their alarm call closely resembles the bleating of domestic goats. Markhors are adapted to mountainous terrain and can be found between 2,000 and 11,800 ft in elevation.

Markhor happens to be the national animal of Pakistan, where it is also known as the “screw horn” or “screw-horned goat”. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015.

The Inscription:

The Harappan symbols found on M-1186A are inscribed in a scattered manner (see Image-23); however, they together seem to form a single word. It is unclear whether the inscription contains 5 symbols or 6 symbols (refer to Image-23); nonetheless, it is clear that the inscription runs right to left. Hence I have numbered the concerned symbols from 0 to 5, from left to right (refer to Image-23 and the Decipherment Table given below).

Thus I have deciphered the M-1186A inscription as “சாமிண்டிகா” (Sāmindikhā); this could perhaps be a colloquial pronunciation/spelling of the name “Chamundika.” The Google search results show that “Samindika” (not sure if pronounced as “Sāmindikhā”) is quite a common name among both males and females of the Sinhalese people.

Discussion:

Though I have decoded the inscription and the iconography of M-1186A, I find myself unable to expound on the actual and complete story of the seal; hence, I shall be more than happy to receive input from the readers.

Closing Message:

With this part-9, the sequel series titled ‘TAMIL BACKGROUND OF THE HARAPPAN SCRIPT’ comes to an end; hoping to meet you all soon with a new topic.

End-Note:

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