An essay by Iravatham Mahadevan in response to the studies of Asko Parpola concerning the script and writing system of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
Introduction Iravatham Mahadevan is a National Fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research, and has been working on the Indus script for over 40 years. His publications include The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables (1977). A Tamil speaker, he has used historical linguistics and statistical studies to examine the Dravidian components in Vedi… >
The 'Fish' Signs Fig. 1: Number and Fish Signs The 'fish' sign: Starting Point As the starting point for his linguistic decipherment Parpola accepts the famous rebus (Fig. I a) first suggested by Father Heras half a century ago. In almost all Dravidian languages the word for 'fish' is meen. Many Dravidian languages hav… >
The Planets Fig. 2: Modified Fish Signs 'Modified fish' signs: Planets and a Star The Indus texts very often feature the 'fish' sign modified by some diacritic-like markings (Fig.II). These signs are identified by Parpola as planets or stars on the basis of his pictorial interpretations of the markings. The Dravidian word meen…>
The Star Rohini Fig. 2: Modified Fish Signs The Star Rohini Parpola starts with the assumption that the 'dot + fish' sign (Fig.II d) occurring in the 'Fig Deity' seal is likely to represent the deity depicted on the seal identified by him as the goddess of fertility and victory in war, the Harappan proto-form of Durga. He asks … >
The Planets 'Bangles' Sign: God Murukan Fig. 3: Bangles and Squirrel Sign The principal deity of early Tamils was Murakan, the youthful god of war and love, who became identified with the North Indian war-god Skanda. Parpola has identified the sign depicting a pair of intersecting circles (Fig. III a) as 'ear/nose rings' or 'ba… >
The Indus Squirrel Sign: Title of Murukan The 'Squirrel' Sign: Title of Murukan Fig. 3: Bangles and Squirrel Sign Parpola has proposed reading a pair of signs as 'bangles + squirrel' (Fig.III b), interpreting it as a divine title. The second sign appears to depict a small animal perched on a tree branch. Parpola has, in my opinion, … >
Fig Indus Tree + Crab Sign as Proto Rudra 'Fig Tree + Crab' Sign: Proto-Rudra Fig. 4: Fig Tree + Crab Sign and Components Parpola refers to two sets of copper tablets, both with the same inscription on one side but two different motifs on the other. One of the motifs is the 'fig tree + crab' sign (Fig.IV: Sign 124) occurring as … >
Assessment of Parpola's Model of Decipherment One can try to assess Parpola's decipherment at two levels. First, one can analyse his interpretations and readings of individual signs, some of which I have attempted above. To sum up, problems arise at this level due to implausible identification of pictorial signs, arbitrary assignment of values to non-pictorial … >
Introduction Asko Parpola needs no introduction to those interested in the problems of the Indus script. A specialist in Vedic philology, he turned his attention at an early stage in his career to the decipherment of the Indus script and has, along with his Finnish colleagues, made immensely valuable contributions to his chosen field over the last three deca…>
Asko Parpola Asko Parpola needs no introduction to those interested in the problems of the Indus script. A specialist in Vedic philology, he turned his attention at an early stage in his career to the decipherment of the Indus script and has, along with his Finnish colleagues, made immensely valuable contributions to his chosen field over the last three decades. Although he i… >
