The unicorn always has this object in front of it. There are at least five theories about this object. Mackay and Marshall thought it was the feeding trough or "manger" still seen in Sindh today. There is work connecting it to contemporary offering stands used in central India today. Mackay also guessed that it could have been a cage for birds or insects, or an incense burner. A fifth, more recent theory suggests that the object may have been the filter used to extract the intoxicating Soma drink described in the Rg Veda.
