SANAULI CHARIOTS AND A PROBABLE REPORT OF A WAR

IN KALIIBANGAN SEALS INVOLVING THE BĂRĂ PEOPLE

THAT MAY BE THE BHARATA WAR*
Ranajit Pal. Life Member,
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune,
India.

Abstract: This paper suggests that the juxtaposed banners symbol in the Harappan
seals designates war. The seals are taken to be logo-syllabic and the language is taken
to be a mix of proto Sanskrit and Dravidian. Some seals can be read by linking Brahmi
to the seals and reading the U-sign as Ukshan (bull). The Sanskrit hypothesis is
buttressed by the finds at Sanauli, linked to the Bara culture by R. S. Bisht. Seals with
juxtaposed banners from Kalibangan, about 200 miles west of Kurukhshetra, may be
reports of the Bharata war which may have led to the fall of the Indus-Saraswati people.

The factors contributing to the fall of the ‘faceless’ 1 Harappan civilization are
much debated. One possible answer is war which, if true, can be expected to have
been reported in the seals but the significance of the symbol has not been explored.
The main obstacle is Max Muller’s 1200 BC date of the Rigveda which keeps out the
Vedas and Puranas from the Bronze Age and erases all names. When H. H. Wilson,
M. Winternitz and W. D. Whitney challenged Max Muller’s date, he candidly
admitted that the Rigveda may be very ancient yet his date lingers on. The present
form of the Rigveda may belong to ~ 1200 BC but Gungu of the Rigveda echoes
Gungunum of Larsa. The discoveries at Rehman Dheri, Rakhigarhi, Sanauli etc. have
altered the scenario of Bronze Age India since the days of Wheeler 2. A. B. Keith
praised the Rigveda but berated the Epics and Puranas. In contrast F. E. Pargiter and
R. C. Hazra, emphasized the value of the Puranas 3. The discovery of the Djiroft has
also altered the scenario. Furthermore, the startling finds at Sanauli seem to reinforce
the links of the Vedas and Puranas with archaeology.
S. R. Rao and A. H. Dani held that the Harappans spoke a form of proto-
Sanskrit. I. Mahadevan, a proponent of the Dravidian theory, agreed with present
writer’s view that the language was a mix of Sanskrit and Dravidian 4. The use of

**
This reading of the seals was first given in the present author’s book entitled ‘Non-Jonesian
Indology and Alexander’ in 2002.
1
G. Possehl,
2
From the fact that the Sumerian and Indus-Saraswati civilization fell at the same time, G. F. Dales
concluded that they were closely related.
3
The scope of the Puranas is unmatched by the Greek tradition. A. Coomaraswamy pointed out that
the flood story of the Satapatha Brahmana may be older than the Rigveda. H. C. Raychaudhuri
criticized the Puranic tradition but wrote that it is absurd to suppose that ‘fiction completely ousted
the truth’. Vincent Smith also noted the value of the Puranic lists; He wrote; “Modern European
writers have been inclined to disparage unduly the authority of the Puranic lists but closer study finds
in them much genuine and valuable tradition”. V. Raghavan’s statement, “the Puranas form the largest
part of the writings in Sanskrit, a most voluminous and bewildering mass.” is shallow.
4
Personal communication.
Sanskrit in this era and the Sanauli chariot finds call for a new history of the
‘Aryans’. After linking with the Vedas and Puranas and making some simple
assumptions, some seals seem to provide crucial data.
THE STRIKING DISCOVERY OF CHARIOTS OF WARRIORS AT SANAULI

R. S. Bisht has hailed the discovery of chariots at Sanauli as “The discovery of

the century”. Excavations carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India since
2005 at Sanauli, Tehsil, Barauot, district Baghpat, UP, have yielded tantalizing finds
that may have a bearing on many aspects of ancient Indian history including the
background of the Mahabharata. The site was discovered accidentally when some
local people undertook levelling operation for agricultural purposes. Subsequently,
ASI identified the site as a prominent cemetery site of late Harappan period (early 2 nd
millennium BC). Particularly

exciting has been the discovery of three ‘pre-Iron Age’ carriers which have raised the
question as to whether these were driven by horses or bulls. Nothing like this has been
found before in the sub-continent. Chariots found at Sanauli have two solid wheels
(not spoked). The wheels rotated on a fixed axle linked by a shaft to the yoke. The
chassis of the two chariots are made of wood and covered with thick copper
sheets. The wheels are decorated with triangles made of copper (fastened on the wheel
with copper nails). The triangles are distributed in three concentric circles from the
hub flange of the wheel. The seat seemed to semi-circular. The frame of the seat is
made of copper pipes. A pipe for
Reconstruction of Sanauli chariots. Courtesy Dr. S. K. Manjul