A Possible Indus Script Dictionary

There is no such thing as an accepted Indus Valley script dictionary. Such a dictionary is probably decades away. Nonetheless, below are summarized some of Parpola¹ and Mahadevan's² speculations on some of the most common ancient Indus signs.

Sign/ Sequence	Pictorial meaning	Phonetic (Dravidian)	Intended meaning	Comments
	fish	meen	1. fish 2. star	The word meendesignates both fish and star in most Dravidian languages. Suggests the heavenly bodies were conceived of as fish swimming in the ocean of heaven, representing gods.
	intermediate space + fish	vel (i) + meen	white star	Vel-meen and Velli both mean Venus in Tamil.
	3 + fish	mum (m) + meen	three stars	The new year asterism Pleiades has this name in Tamil; in myth the wives of the Seven Sages.
	6 + fish	(c) aru + meen*	seven stars	In Tamil, the name of Ursa Major, the 'Seven Sages' in India.
	fish	elu + meen	seven stars	In Tamil, the name of Ursa Major, the 'Seven Sages' in India.
	dot/drop + fish	pottu + meen	1. carp fish (= rohita 'red' in Sanskrit) 2. star or red dot/blood drop (= rohini 'red' in Sanskrit)	The red dot painted on the forehead at marriage = the 'third' eye of the Heavenly Bull < alpha Tauri = the ancient star of the new year (marriage of Sun + the heavenly bride rohini, 'menstruating'), represented by the red fish (scales as tilaka mark).
	halving + fish	pacu + meen	green star	in Tamil, paccai refers to greeness and the planet Mercury, which represents the green-hued child god Krishna.
	roof + fish	mey/may + meen	black star	Saturn's name in Tamil. Saturn rides a turtle, a 'fish' with a 'roof'.
	fig tree + fish	vata + meen	North Star	Vata-min is the star 'Alcor,' orig. probably Thuban. 'Banyan fig' is the tree of 'ropes' (vata): starts do not fall because they are fixed to the North Star (in Dravidian also 'fig/rope star) by means of visible ropes.
	fig tree + intermediate space	vata + vel(i)	North Star	In Tamil, velli means both (1) 'the planet Venus) and (2) 'star (=meen)
	4 + fig tree	nal + vata	hanging rope	Banyan as '(the tree) possessed of hanging ropes': nal/nal/al 'to hang down' seems to be th etymology for al (a-maram) ' banyan tree'. Indus tablets with '4 + fig' have a solitary fig leaf on the reverse.
	man	al/an	man, servant	The sign occurs in prestly titles paralleling Mesopotamian titles 'Man/Servant (ofthe god X)'; the most common Dravidian word for man also means servant.
	ring(s)/ bangle(s)	muruku	boy, youth, Muruku (the youthful god of love and war)	The sign signifies 'royal ear-rings' in [Tibetan] Lamaism. The sign recurs, sometimes alone, on Indus stone bangles; Indus tree-gods wear bangles; in later folk religion, bangles are offered to sacred trees with prayers for off spring (cf. muruku ' boy').
	(head of) cow	a (+-tu)	possessive suffix	The interpretation of this important sign remains open; this is just a suggestion that needs testing.

Sign/ Sequence	Pictorial value	Ideographic meaning	Comments
	Jar	Priest	The most frequent and almost always terminal sign of the Indus script is read as a jar and connected to the legend of 'jar-born' sages and the symbolism of the jar connected to priestly ritual in Indian tradition.
	Lance	Warrior	Also a terminal sign, pr suffix associated with names or titles on seals like the 'jar' sign above.
	Man	Servant, attendant or lower functionary	Simple pictogram, frequently shown with ' jar' (lower order of priestly functionary?) but never with ' lance' sign.
	Bearer	Officer or functionary	Also appears to be a suffixed element, interpreted as officer because of later Indian traditions referring to senior officers of the king referred to as 'yoke bearers.'
	Jar + Bearer	Officer or functionary with priestly duties	Clearly combination of two signs, could be related to later Indian traditions combining the two motifs.
	Lance + Bearer	Officer or functionary with military duties	Also combination, perhaps designating officer with military duties.
	Harrow	Farmer, tiller, tenant	Also characteristically a terminal sign, sometimes in conjunction with ' jar,' ' lance,' or ' bearer' signs, suggesting combination of categories or serving under them.

Sources:

Asko Parpola, Deciphering the Indus Script, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 275-277 (adapted).

Iravatham Mahadevan, Terminal Ideograms in the Indus Script, in Gergeory L. Possehl, Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., 1982, p. 316 (adapted). More details on Mahadevan's derivations.