2

VIŚVĀMITRA, HARIŚCHANDRA AND

TRIŚAŃKU IN THE SEALS

The messages in the Indus-Saraswati seals are

of crucial importance in world history1. No bilingual
texts are known but that cannot end the quest for truth.
This culture has been called 'Faceless' and dumb due to
careless analysis. Max Muller’s 1200 BC date of the
Rigveda erases all names and turns this culture into a
dark, impenetrable morass. This culture was once
known only for its excellent drainage system but
discoveries at Rehman Dheri, Rakhigarhi, Bhiranna and
Sanauli have dramatically changed the old
archaeological scenario. A. Lawler says that the first
cities may have risen in India, Iran, as well as Sumer. 2
Lawler also holds that this civilization was a
powerhouse of trade, commerce and also technology
and science3. Progress can be made by taking the
unique Indian tradition, which I Mahadevan likens to
the Rosetta Stone, as a guide. S. N. Kramer wrote that
Sumerian parallels can aid the reconstruction of history
of the dark period. Fortunately, Persian art links the

1
E. Bryant, ‘The Indo-Aryan Controversy’, London, 2005, p. 498.
2
A. Lawler, https://tinyurl.com/y6f2pzom
3
The contribution of the ancient people of India and Pakistan in
science, medicine, religion, philosophy, mathematics, grammar,
and even chess is now well recognized. A. Lawler, ‘Boring No
More, a Trade Savvy Indus Emerges’, Science, New Series, Vol.
320, No. 5881 (Jun. 6, 2008), pp. 1276-1281.
1
seal symbol with Vedic Mitra and refutes the
‘Faceless’ tag.
Viśvāmitra, the principal figure of the Ten
King’s Battle of the Rigveda, remains a key figure of
the Indian tradition but presents problems for the
historian interested demythologization. He advised
Rāma and Lakşmaņa to fight the Danavas but what was
his true date? B. B. Lal placed Rama in the early 1 st
millennium BC but the Sanauli finds suggest a date
about 1000 years earlier. In the texts Viśvāmitra is often
paired with Vasişţha who was probably also a historical
figure, though this has been doubted by H. Oldenberg.
Another exemplar of Indian tradition was Hariśchandra
whose ideal of renunciation inspired Rāma. However,
ignoring the heavy skepticism resulting from Max
Muller’s late date and using Vedic and Puranic data, the
messages in some seals can be read with fair certainty.
In the new setting, Viśvāmitra, Hariśchandra4 and even
Triśaņku seem to be historical figures mentioned in the
seals.

THE ORIGIN OF BRAHMI

Brahmi is the most important stepping stone to

decipherment but its link with the seal script has been
debated. S. H. Langdon, G. R. Hunter and many others
held that the Harappan script morphed into Brahmi. But
G. Buhler, who knew little about the role of India in

4
The present writer’s work on the seals of Viśvāmitra and
Hariśchandra was published in 1996 and was praised by I.
Mahadevan. R. Pal, 'Gotama Buddha in West Asia', ABORI, Vol.
LXXVII (1996), p. 117.
2
Sumer and Elam, held that it developed in the 7th
century BC from Aramaic. Many Brahmi letters
resemble Indus symbols. It is generally written from
left to right but an inscription in a 4th century BC coin
from Madhya Pradesh proves that it was first written
from right to left as in the seals. S. R. Rao reported an
inscription in early Brahmi script mixed with Harappan
script that was found on a ceramic pot fragment dated
to 1528 BC at Dwarka. As in the Madhya Pradesh coin,
it also reads from right to left. The first three signs are
in Brahmi, while the rest are in Harappan script.
Moreover, Brahmi ‘A’ is structurally rather different
from the Aramaic ‘A’; K. P. Rao 5 concludes from
computer studies that Aramaic cannot have morphed
into Brahmi. The resemblance between some Brahmi
and Aramaic letters may be due to eastern influence
mediated by the Phoenicians. Brahmi is semi-
alphabetic, each consonant having either an inherent ‘a’
sound pronounced after it or a diacritic mark to indicate
another vowel. Initial vowels are represented by
separate characters. It appeared in India-Pakistan in the
3rd century BC in the inscriptions of Asoka but may
have been a fully developed script much earlier. The
Kharosthi script may have originated in Northwest
Pakistan around the 4th or 5th century BC. The Jaina
Vyakhya Sutra, the Samvayanga Sutra and the
Pragyapna Sutra mention a list of 18 scripts known to
teachers before the birth of Mahavira in which the
5
K. P. Rao; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFnrMkh-ebA
3
Brahmi script (Bambhi in Prakrit) appears first. V.
Narasimhan states that Mohenjo Daro was a
cosmopolitan city and was a Bronze Age counterpart of
New York or Tokyo. The worldwide influence of this
culture explains why many seal symbols resemble the
Roman letters A, U, T, D, E, S, H etc.. In fact this
sphere of influence must have included the Phoenicians
who introduced many new ideas into the Mediterranean
world including that of the city state. Tradition has it
that Europa was the daughter of a Phoenician king.
The Phoenicians are usually said to have
discovered the alphabet but Herodotus informed that
they went from the Persian Gulf area. From 1730 to
1580 BC in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, there was an
uprooting of established cultural and ethnic patterns
which is said to have provided the stimuli for the
discovery of the alphabet. This followed an
unprecedented chain of migrations, all from the east,
which were probably set off by the fall of the Indus-
Saraswati cities. Herodotus’ report is supported by
pottery finds from the gulf area and the Mediterranean.
It has been suggested that the Phoenicians were the
Rgvedic Panis who were from the Panjab-Gandhara
area. While the Phoenicians were traders having no
specific scientific bend, the brilliant scientific and
linguistic discoveries of the Indian school are well-
known. W. Borsboom states6 that between 1700 to 1400
6
W. Borsboom, “Alphabet Or Abracadabra? Reverse Engineering
the Western Alphabet”. 2015.
4
BC the linear sequence of characters of the western
alphabet (abecedary) was created by following an
already existing tabular model of a South Asian Pre-
Sanskrit ‘abugida’ or ‘alpha-syllabary’. When Panini’s
Grammar became known 2300 years after it was
written, it was found to be superior to the existing
western grammatical systems. It is, therefore, possible
that the Phoenicians were only transmitters of the
discovery of the alphabet; the idea of which originated
in the Indus-Saraswati region or the Helmand area from
which they migrated to the West.

BRONZE-AGE SANSKRIT – EVIDENCE FROM

SUMER AND THE KASSITES

Sanskrit, which is the soul of India's culture, also

seems to be linked to its remote antiquity. I.
Mahadevan7 acclaimed the idea of the present writer
that the language of the seals is a mix of proto-Sanskrit
and proto-Dravidian. Even without reading the seal
messages, some idea about the Bronze-Age language of
India-Pakistan can be derived from the Sumerian and
Babylonian references. The Sumerian name for
northern India-Pakistan was Melukkha (Meluhha)
which seems to be a transform of Mel-Uksha or Maha
Uksha (Uksha=Bull). But as the Sumerian word for
Bull was Gud, Maha-Uksha is synonymous with Mah-
Gud (Mah=Great). Thus the term Melukkha points to
7
Personal communication.
5
the presence of Sanskrit in the Indus-Saraswati era.
Prof. Sukumar Sen acclaimed the suggestion of the
present writer that the term Magadha is linked to the
Bull. In an edict in Rajasthan, Asoka claims himself to
be the King of Magadha. This shows that in the 3rd
century BC the center of Magadha was in the
Rakhigarhi-Harappa area8. Kikata-Magadha once stood
for a far wider territory than Bihar with which it
became associated later. The Harappan domain was
vast and it is likely that many languages were in use 9.
Even if one surmises a unitary state language, it must
have been influenced by many dialects. R. N. Frye
notes the prevalence of bilingualism in early Iran and
Turan.10
The language of the Kassites also offers crucial
data. They reached Babylonia by ~1750 BC and J.
Harmatta holds that they went from India-Pakistan 11. F.
Delitzsch and Toynbee held that their language was
Sanskrit-like and may have been similar to the seal
8
Ranajit Pal, ‘The Bird Symbols of the Harappan Seals, Kikata,
Gautama Buddha And Pramaganda’, ‘Haryana ka puratatvik
vaibhav....,’ 2018.
9
This was the greatest civilization of antiquity - spanning some
800 miles of shoreline - from Sutkagen-Dor by the Iranian border to
Bhagtarav and Daimabad near Bombay - and over 500 miles inland
- to the Himalayan foothills by Rupar and to Alamgirpur in the
Ganga-Jamuna basin.
10
R. N. Frye, Encyclopedia Americana. See under ‘Ancient
Persia’, p. 732.
11
J. Harmatta, ‘History of Civilizations of Central Asia’, ed. A. H.
Dani and V. M. Masson, Delhi, 1999, p. 370.
6
language. They worshiped the Vedic gods Indash,
Suryash and Maruttash. Their first king Gandash seems
to be Pramaganda of the Rigveda (iii. 53, 14). The
Kassite period is usually described as dark but like the
Indians they may have written on perishable materials.
The name of the Kassite ruler Arad (Bharat) Sibitti
(~950 BC) of the Bit-Abi-Rattash clan12 is linked to
Śiva, Siboi of the Greeks and Śibis of the Mahabharata.
Arad Sibitti reminds one of Warad-Sin (Bharata) and
Rim-Sin who were Bharata and Rāma13 of Valmiki.
Pre-Paninian Sanskrit survives in Vedic. The
importance of Sanskrit is due to the fact that there are
no texts comparable to the Vedas or the Puranas in
Dravidian. Sanskrit is often classed as a middle Aryan
language but its roots may be sought together with
Dravidian, Sumerian and Akkadian with which it had
physical contact. Colin Renfrew writes14;

“The great question for us is, of course, are the Indus-

Valley sealstone inscriptions an early form of Indo-
European? In a sense this would not be surprising, since the
earliest records from the area which can now be interpreted
are the Hymns of the Rigveda.”

Renfrew presumes that migrating people from Anatolia

brought Sanskrit to Indo-Iran in the sixth millennium

12
J. A. Brinkman, 'Babylonia', Cambridge Ancient History (1982)
vol. III, Part I, p. 298.
13
Ranajit Pal, ‘The Statesman’, Calcutta, October 20, 1991.
14
Colin Renfrew, ‘Archaeology and Language’, Cambridge,
1987, p. 186.
7
BC but as discussed in the previous chapter, there are
also other possibilities. The presence of Sanskrit in
India is probably also supported by the discovery of
chariots at Sanauli, which point to a warrior class
somewhat different from the Sindhu-Saraswati people.

DRAVIDIAN, SUMERIAN AND AKKADIAN

The evolution of Dravidian is also controversial.

D. McAlpine15 suggests an Elamitic origin of
Dravidian. It is proposed that there may have been an
Ur-sprache relating Uralic-Elamite and Dravidian
located on the Iranian plateau by about 4000 BC. This
is said to be supported by the pottery-forms and motifs,
metalwork and cattle domestication from the prehistoric
villages of the Iranian plateau to the borderlands. K. V.
Zvelebil has also postulated a movement of Dravidians
off the Iranian plateau by about 3500 BC 16. He links
Murukan, the Dravidian god par excellence who was
the god of mountains and hill-men to the Suleiman
range. Also, in view of the new archaeological scenario
and the existence of large number of Brahui speakers in
Baluchistan and Seistan, Dravidian can be seen to have
been widely used in the Indus-Saraswati cities. There
may have been many linguistic substrata - the language

15
McAlpine, D. W., ‘Toward Proto-Elamo-Dravidian’, Language,
1974, 50,1, p. 89-101.
16
K. V. Zvelebil, ‘The Descent of the Dravidian’, in ‘The
International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics’, 1972.
8
of the Gods or rulers may not have been the same as
that of men. J. V. Kinnier Wilson has suggested a
Sumerian sub-stratum in the language of the seals 17.
The Sanskrit term ‘Kapi’ for monkey may provide
some idea regarding language evolution. It is echoed in
the Akkadian uqupu, Hebrew qup, Greek kepos, and
Egyptian q’p. Apte gives Tapana ishtang as a Sanskrit
term for copper which may go back to the Bronze Age.
Sanskrit and Dravidian may not be as not unrelated as is
usually imagined. M. B. Emeneau writes; ‘This
example, it is hoped, and those given earlier will
convince that Sanskrit and Dravidian are a team that go
well in harness, and that those who can should attempt
to drive them.’ J. Shaffer also suggests that Indo-
European speakers may have been present in the Indus-
Saraswati cities during the mature period18. S. S. Misra
remarks19 that Indo-Aryans and Dravidians were
neighbors for centuries and both equally show
inheritance of Vedic culture. Misra also links
Dravidians to Aņga, Baņga, Kalinga and Magadha.
THE SLANTED CROSS OF MITRA

17
J. V. Kinnier wilson, ‘Indo-Sumerian’, Oxford, 1974.
18
J. G. Shaffer and Diane A. Lichtenstein. in ‘The Indo-Aryans of
Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity’,
ed, G. Erdosy, p. 126-154.
19
S. S. Misra, in E. Bryant ‘The Indo-Aryan Controversy’, p. 191.
9
 Amidst the sea of obscure Harappan symbols,
one stumbles upon the sign which occurs in 92
texts.

Slanted Mithra cross on a Bagadates coin. Courtesy Wikipedia

Fortunately, from Persian parallels, it can be

recognized as the symbol of Mitra. This can be seen
from the coin of Bagadates which shows the slanted
Cross symbol of Mithra on a Persian battle standard.
The reading of the symbol as Mitra sheds
invaluable light on the Bronze
Age culture of India-Pakistan. It shows that Vedic
culture was much older than 1200 BC and removes the
‘Faceless’ tag of the Indus-Saraswati civilization. Like
Mitra, Mithra was a god of contract, and it has been
reported that during the battle at Gaugamela the Persian
dynasts swore by his name. Not surprisingly in the
Indus-Saraswati domain also Mitra played a similar
role. J. E. Mitchiner writes about the symbol on a

10
bronze weapon from Chanhu Daro20. The symbol was
also found on battle

shields recently discovered at Sanauli. However, Mitra

was seen as an Indra-like god of war by only some
sects, not all.

A SIMPLE METHOD OF DECIPHERMENT

Some scholars have taken the extreme view that

the seals cannot be deciphered without bilingual texts;
A. Parpola however, writes21; ‘The decipherment of a
logosyllabic script without bilinguals presents a tougher
challenge than that of a syllabic or alphabetic script.’ I.
Mahadevan also holds that in view of historical
continuity, the Indian tradition can be utilized in
deciphering the Harappan script. In fact, despite the
lack of bilingual texts, some seals can be read with fair
certainty by assuming that the base language of the
seals is Sanskrit influenced by Dravidian. The
assumption that Sanskrit was current in India in the
20
J. E. Mitchiner, ‘Studies in the Indus Valley Seals’, Calcutta,
1973, p. 38
21
A. Parpola, ‘The Roots of Hinduism’: The early Aryans and the
Indus Civilization’, Oxford, 2015, p. 266.
11
Indus-Saraswati era is indispensable in the
decipherment process. Parpola does not name Sanskrit
but writes22;

In the third millennium BCE, it is quite likely that many

dialects, and perhaps even languages, were spoken in the
Indus Valley. But we may be sure that just one language
was used in the writing of the Indus script, because the sign
sequences of its inscriptions are repeated throughout the
Indus realm.

Parpola imagined the seal language to be Dravidian

but this is only partly correct. The language of the
seals was more primitive than Vedic Sanskrit and
had a closer affinity with Dravidian. The seals can be
deciphered by making some simple assumptions;

1) The base language is a mixture of Sanskrit

and
Dravidian with possible influence of Sumerian
and Akkadian;
2) Brahmi is an offshoot of Indus-Saraswati
script, not Semitic scripts.
3) As S. H. Langdon held, Sumerian symbolic
writing from Jemdet Nasr is linked to the
Harappan script.
The script can be considered to be mainly logosyllabic
although according S. R. Rao, there are signs of the
development of a phonetic script in some later seals.
The Vedas may have assumed their final form by mid-

22
Parpola, op. cit., p. 16.
12
2nd millennium BC but Vedic mythology dates from
the Indus era. As Pargiter showed, there is historical
truth in the Puranas which are relevant to the study of
seals. The Jatakas and the Jaina literature also have
some very ancient remembrances. As Pran Nath noted,
the Tantras, which were also in vogue in Elam,
Mesopotamia and Egypt, provide valuable information
that has been overlooked due to a narrow viewpoint.
Owing to the geographical contiguity it is natural to
assume that the seals were related to the proto-Elamite
script. However, the interpretation of the Seals, the
Vedas and the Avesta call for a wider perspective. The
Avestan tradition is also of importance in the reading of
the seals. Lastly, the earliest stratum of the Bible
pertains to Indo-Iranian history. A. Zide’s remark that
‘the names of the civilization are lost to us', is hasty. 23 J.
E. Mitchiner24 considers the language of the seals to be
a form of Indo-Aryan.
S. N. Kramer suggested that Indian history can
be reconstructed using Sumerian parallels. Thus the
meaning of some symbols can be guessed from
Sumerian parallels. The early Sumerian symbols were
deeply rooted in prehistory. The signs used for star,
god, heaven, water, earth, heaven and the deep had long
been represented on the painted pottery of

23
Arlene Zide, 'A Brief Survey of Work to Date on the Indus
Script', in "Ancient Cities of the Indus', ed. Possehl,G., Vikas,
1979.
24
Mitchiner , Op. Cit., p. 78.
13
Mesopotamia and Iran, and were invested with magical
prophylactic meaning. Very similar symbols, often with
analogous meanings, are found in the India-Pakistan. In
texts from Fara, the phonetically written word MA.NA.
(maneh) designated a measure of weight. Another
Sanskrit word found in Sumerian is Tir which also
meant life. The similarity of words such as Ti(r) and
Mana with Sanskrit shows that Sumerian is linked to
Indian languages. The parallels between the Harappan
and Sumerian symbols were noticed many years ago by
S. H. Langdon though his correlations with Sumerian
symbols need not always be accepted25. As Brahmi was
an offshoot of the Indus script, the first letter of words
for symbols can be guessed from Brahmi parallelss. B.
B. Lal, suggested that the direction of writing was from
right to left; but as Mahadevan remarks26, in many texts
some words have to be read in reverse i.e. from left to
right. This ambiguity may be due to contacts with
languages having different directions of writing. Some
Sumerian words were also read from right to left which
may be due to contact with other scripts.
THE ALLIED SYMBOL

There seems to have been considerable religious

variety in the Indu-Saraswati domain. Apart from the
25
Langdon, S., in ‘Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization’,
London, 1931, vol. 2.
26
Mahadevan, I, 'The Indus Script', Archaeological Survey of
India, New Delhi, 1977.
14
open-ended slanted cross symbol of Mitra, another
closed ended slanted cross symbol also occurs in
many texts (~63) and can be read as ‘Amitra’ which
opens the doors27 to a new history of ancient India-
Pakistan-Afghanistan. The terms ‘Mitra’ and ‘Amitra’
may provide some idea about religion in the Bronze
Age. The tribes who considered Mitra as a War God
were probably known as Amitra. ‘Mitra’ people may
have been proto-Buddhists. The ‘Amitra’ people may
have followed a religion similar to Mitraism but
different in some aspects. Some great kings of ancient
India-Pakistan seem to have had ‘Amitra’ names. One
example is the Maurya king Bindusara who was called
Amitrachates.

VIŚVĀMITRA MENTIONED IN THE SEALS

The symbol Mitra finally opens a window on

Bronze Age India-Pakistan and breaks the jinx of
‘facelessness’. It occurs mostly in the triplet form 28
which has the highest frequency of occurrence
(34), but not often in combination with other symbols 29.
As the combination has a Mitra-ending, it can be

27
Ranajit Pal, ‘Amitra Tapana Suveņu - A Maurya/Ikşvāku World
Figure Of The Bronze Age and the Sumerian Homeland Anga’, in
‘The Cultural Heritage of India’, ed. Raj Pal and Vinay Kumar.
28
Another very common triplet is which can probably be
read as Sarasa Tri Nadi.
15
presumed to designate a very important figure of the
Indus-Saraswati era. The middle symbol has a
distinct suggestion of a snake and can be taken to
represent the snake or ‘Sarpa’, and can be given the
value ‘Sāp’. The symbol is very similar to the early
Roman ‘S’ which was written as . This is usually
considered to be a symbol of the Sun but Mitra or Mehr
was the Sun-god who is often associated with the snake.
The snake was a very important element

Picture courtesy Cambridge Ancient History

of Egyptian and Greek mythology. The Bull and the
snake (a symbol of the goddess) were the two chief
motifs of Minoan art. As the last two signs of the sign-
triplet can be read as ‘sāpMitra’, the first
symbol can be taken to designate Vŗşa or the bull and
may be given the value ‘Vŗş’. The symbol seems to
depict a strapped sacrificial Bull. Thus the word for the
sign-triplet can be taken to be Viśvāmitra.
The name Ŗşabha of his son shows his links with the
bull. The triple strokes in the body of the symbol and at
the top and the horn at the top elucidates its ritual

An exception is the pair

29
which can be read as Harish
Mitra and occurs in ten texts.
16
aspect. This has a parallel in the Cretan depiction of a
sacrificial bull. Very significant is

the presence of the leaf symbol which had a similar

association in India. The ornate leaf symbol has the
frequency of 42 and the triple strokes and horn at its top
(as in the Vŗş symbol) reminds one of Soma who was
concieved as a white bull. It occurs in 42 texts and can
probably be read as Soma. It is possible that the two
symbols on top of the Vŗş sign may be linked to
Mantras or ritual cries such as 'Tring', 'Hring', 'Sat',
'Om' etc. In later Hindu art, the god Soma was depicted
as a bull.
What led to the defeat of Viśvāmitra is not easy
to guess. It has been claimed that apart from Sudas’
military strength, Vasişţha’s magical mantra ‘satyā
tŗtsūnām abhavat purohitih’, was more efficacious. Is
the animosity between Viśvāmitra and Vasişţha a
historical fact? Curiously there is no reference to this in
the Rigveda. Tradition has it that hundred sons of
Viśvāmitra were killed by warriors born of Nandini, the
wish-cow of Vasişţha (identified with the Madhyadeśa
by some). Incidentally, hundred sons of Vasişţha were
‘eaten’ by Mitrasaha or Kalmāşapada. Another myth,
that of Triśanku and Viśvāmitra is difficult to
demythologize but the seals strongly suggest a
historical kernel.

17
VIŚVĀMITRA, MAGADHA AND THE HARAPPA-
RAKHIGARHI AREA

Viśvāmitra was a Bronze Age celebrity who was

born a Kshatriya but was later elevated to the rank of a
Brahman. From the seals he appears to have been active
in diverse locations including Iran and further West, yet
efforts can be made to search for his true locale. He was
the composer of the third Mandala of the Rigveda
which includes the Gâyatrĩ Mantra (III.62,10). He was
initially the priest of King Sudas but in the Battle of
Ten Kings (daśarâjňa) described in the Rigveda, he
became an adversary. While Sudas was fighting,
Visvamitra is said to have prayed in the Sabhâ or
meeting house of the people for his defeat. Where was
this Sabha? Sudas became victorious and is said to have
appointed Vasişţha as his priest. Temporarily disgraced,
Viśvāmitra is reported to have ‘retired to a forest’ but
later regained his prestige and became a Brahmarshi.

Viśvāmitra mentioned in a seal from Rakhigarhi.

The Vrātya hymn of the Atharvaveda links Mitra
to Magadha. The man from Magadha is said to be
18
connected with the Vrātya as his Mitra, his laughter as
his mantra, and his thunder in the four quarters. Asoka
calls
himself ‘Piadassi Laja Magadhe’ in an inscription in
Rajasthan which implies that the center of ancient
Magadha was in the Rakhigarhi-Harappa area, not
Bihar. In fact, Viśvāmitra may have been distantly linked
to the late Mitra kings (~200 BC) 30 known from the
Ahichhatra-Kausanbi area. Was Viśvāmitra a proto-
Buddhist? The location of Kapilavastu is uncertain but it
is likely that Gautama Buddha was a native of Punjab-
Gandhara, or Kikata-Magadha, not Nepal31. There were
many Buddhas before Gautama Buddha and
Zoroastrianism is not older than Buddhism. Probably a
religion opposed to the sacrificial cults, was practiced by
sects such as the Piprus and others in the Indus-Saraswati
era. The essence of Mitraism was friendship and this
seems to be linked to the Buddhist idea of Metta.

THE BHARATAS AND BARA CULTURE

The discovery of the Sanauli burials and chariots

has dramatically altered the historical scenario of
ancient India-Pakistan. The discovery of wooden coffin
burials “with ideologically driven motifs” at Sanauli is
a “strong indication” of the then people’s faith “in a
30
Names such as Brahaspatimitra, Bhanumitra, Agnimitra,
Bhumimitra, Indramitra, Phalgunimitra, Suryamitra etc. speak of
an ancient Mitra cult in the Ahichhatra area.
31
Ranajit Pal, ‘The Bird Symbols Of The Harappan Seals, Kikata,
Gautama Buddha And Pramaganda’, op. cit.
19
belief system”, and so it was a “significant discovery”,
says R. S. Bisht. The Sanauli artifacts have been dated
to about 2000-1900 BC and disproves the linking of the
so-called Aryans to the PGW culture by B. B. Lal.
Bisht asserts that “Culturally, the coffin burials
excavated at Sanauli do not belong to the Harappan
civilisation. They belong to the Bara culture, which was
prevalent in Haryana, Punjab and the Ganga-Yamuna
Doab.” The Bara culture was basically
contemporaneous with the Late Harappan culture.
However, it seems to have survived even after the Late
Harappan phase. The site of Bara lies some 8 km south
of the Harappan site of Rupar. A. H. Dani and B. K.
Thapar write; “The excavations revealed an occupation
of over 4 m thick, in which such typical forms as Indus
goblets or terracotta cakes were rare, confined to the
lower levels. The antecedents of this culture are
traceable to a pre-Harappan tradition. Harappan
elements are also represented in this assemblage, albeit
in a transformed manner.”32 The four radiocarbon dates
obtained from this site indicate a time bracket of circa
1900-1000 BC. A. H. Dani and B. K. Thapar also
write33;
.. the late Harappan phase in the eastern region is
represented by an amalgam, consisting of distant traditions
of pre-Harappan, Harappan and Bara cultures resulting
from interaction and communication of these cultures over
a long period when the former cultures were becoming
impoverished. Thus in the southern region it was a case of

32
A. H. Dani and B. K. Thapar, ‘The Indus Civilization’, in
‘History of Civilizations of Central Asia’, ed. A.H. Dani and V.
M. Mason, vol. 1, p 310.
33
Ibid., p. 328.
20
 transmutation while in the eastern it was one of cultural
fragmentation.

The Bara people represented a warrior class rather

different from the Harappans. Can they be called
Aryans? There is justification to link them with the seal
symbol of twelve strokes which can be read as
‘Bara’. In Bengali and many other languages ‘Bara’
stands for the number twelve and this usage seems to be
ancient. Many seals carry the symbol-pair34 which
can be read as Bara-Bara or Bara dya which may
correspond to the Bharatas.

VIŚVĀMITRA AND THE BHARATAS

At least three seals, two from Harappa and one

from an unknown location, seem to link Viśvāmitra with
the Bharatas. Seal no. 4348 10/20 from Harappa From
the resemblance of the last symbol of the first line with
the Brahmi ‘Ja’ it can be read as ‘Jaya’. Jaya (dhvaja)
was a kind of a victory banner. The seal can be read as
“Bara Viśvāmitra Uksha Jaya”. The last symbol in the
second line designates a jar and Mahadevan reads it as
‘Sata’ which can also be equated with the number
hundred. Thus this seal may be a document for sending
two hundred units of some merchandize to

34
See chapter 4.
21
Viśvāmitra, the Bharata. Unfortunately the provenance
of the important seal no. 9701 01/02/03, is not known.
The true meaning of the first line which mentions
Saraswati is obscure. The A-like sign

has a hint of the Dhvaja sign and may be read as

Adhvyaru. In the second line mention is made of Makha
Ran or Makran which seems to link Viśvāmitra with also
the West.

THE DATE OF VIŚVĀMITRA

22
 Like Indra, Janaka etc. Viśvāmitra appears to be
a timeless name. In the ancient period sons of famous
figures often assumed the name of their fathers. But
Viśvāmitra of the Rigveda appears to be a distinct
person. Was he the same as the Viśvāmitra of the
Rāmayaņa? He is said to have been a Kshatriya but
became a Brahman later. Why he fell out with his king is
not known and the significance of his elevation to the
rank of a Brahmin is also rather mysterious. He is
expressly declared as a ‘ruler of the Earth’ but the
significance of this is not easy to grasp. Magadha was far
wider than the Bihar area and the influence of Viśvāmitra
may not have been limited to India-Pakistan. After his
disgrace following the Ten-Kings war Viśvāmitra is said
to have gone to the ‘forest’ which is an ambiguous
destination. It can be recalled that Rāma also went to the
forest or Vana in order to respect his father’s vow. B. B.
Lal’s linking of Rama with South India and Ceylon
lacks proper warrant35. The present version of the
Ramayana cannot be older than about the 4 th century
BC and this implies that it was orally transmitted for
more than a millennium. In fact if Valmiki had indeed
composed it he must have used the Harappan symbolic
language. The brief messages in the original

35
B. B. Lal’s identifications of Nandigrāma, Śŗńgaverapura,
Bhāradvāja Ashrama etc. are not supported by any firm evidence
such as inscriptions found at these sites. Śŗńgaverapura may have
been near Sangala.
23
inscriptions were probably greatly expanded by later
writers.
B. B. Lal linked Rāma to the early phase of
Northern Black Polished Ware which placed Rāma at the
end of the 8th century BC or the beginning of the 7th
century BC. Lal’s date of the Bharata War has been
disproved by the Sanauli finds. If Rāma’s date is taken to
be 1800-1700 BC his exile to the ‘Forest’ or ‘Vana’ can
be linked to Banawali or the city of Bana (Wala=city).
Rāma was a world hero whom Basham dubbed as a petty
tribal king of UP bloated up by Valmiki. Contrarily,
Sukumar Sen pointed out that Rāma and Vāyu are
greatly venerated in the Avesta. The Achamenian kings
traced their ancestry to Arya Ram Anna and Ram-Behist
was the Sasanid ancestor. The Old Testament cites Ram
and also his sons. The Sumerian king-list mentions
Warad Sin (1834-1823 B.C., middle chronology) and
Rim-Sin or Ram-Sin (1822-1763 B.C.) as kings of Larsa
and Ur36 who appear to be Bharata and Rāma of the
Vālmĩki Rāmāyaņa. Warad Sin ruled for twelve years
which agrees with the account in the Dasaratha Jataka.
Like Viśvāmitra, Rāma may also have been a follower of
the god Mitra. About Rāma the Dasaratha Jataka says;
"Years sixty times a hundred, and ten thousand more, all told,
Reigned strong-armed Rāma, on his neck the lucky triple fold."

This corresponds to the 60 year long tenure of Rim-Sin,

the longest reigning monarch of Sumerian history. Like
36
Ranajit Pal, ‘The Statesman’, Calcutta, October 20, 1991.
24
Rāma, Viśvāmitra may also have belonged to 18 th
century BC.

MITRA, ŚIVA AND GAVYÛTI

Although less influential than Agni, Vişņu or

Śiva, Mitra was an important deity of Bronze-age India-
Pakistan. His cultic influence was great and this extended
beyond the boundaries of the sub-continent. He
belonged to the group of Solar deities called Adityas.
Other members of this group were Sūrya, Savitŗ, the
Aśvins, Vivasvat, Vişņu, Bhaga, Amśa, Dakşa,
Aryaman, Dhātŗ, Mārtanda, Pūsan and the goddess Uşas
and Suryā. Only one complete hymn (RV., III.59.1) is
addressed to Mitra in the Rigveda where he is said to
bring men together and watch the tillers with unwinking
eyes; he is also said to uphold the sky and the earth. He is
the great protector, for those under his shelter are never
harmed. But this one hymn may not be a true index of his
importance. With Varuņa he is addressed in twenty-four
hymns. A total of eight hymns are addressed to Varuņa
himself who was probably an older god superior to Indra
in the earlier stages. ‘Homage to the eye of Mitra and
Varuņa, let the worshipper offer to the great god with
truth.’ says the Rigveda (RV x:3:37). Together with
Varuņa, Mitra thrives in Ŗta and is also a keeper of Ŗta.
Mitra and Varuņa wield māyā (magic power) with which
they hold the Sun fixed. They are guardians of dharman
(the moral order) and are masters of ‘asurasya māyā’
25
with which they control the universe. They see paths
better than human eyes and are ‘bhūripāśau’, with
nooses, with which they capture and punish the
wrongdoers. In the Mahābhārata, Mitra is called Śiva. In
the Rigveda Mitra has the title gavyūti (having wide
pastures or grasslands)37 which corresponds exactly to the
Avestan gaoyaiti. This takes him closer to Śiva who is
shown as the master of lands symbolized by the animal
motifs in a famous seal found at Mohenjo Daro. Śiva is
also linked to asceticism and Yoga which have larger
implications. Mitra is likened to the morning Sun
whereas the night belongs to Varuņa. Mitra is linked to
pastures whereas Varuņa is linked to waters, a role
attributed also to Nārāyaņa. He is often called an Asura
and described by terms meaning ‘wise’. Varuņa
corresponds closely to the Iranian Ahura Mazda.

THE LOAD-BEARER SIGN

The man-sign occurs in numerous texts (134)

and can confidently be given the value ‘Mān’, as Mānava
is the Sanskrit word for man. Some idea of its syntactic
character can be formed from the fact that it occurs 86
times as the final symbol, 33 times as a medial symbol
and only 12 times as the initial symbol. It occurs very
rarely (3 times) as a sole symbol. The symbol-pair
37
The term gavyūti occurs 12 times in the Rigveda; once with
Mitra, once with Varuņa, thrice with both of them and thrice with
Soma, which gladdens Mitra. Soma alone is called urugavyūti.
Uşas, the Ašvins, Agni and Yama are also called gavyūti.
26
occurs in 87 texts and must have been an important
Bronze Age term. It can be read as Ukshaman which
appears to be royal title that strongly resembles the later
Persian royal title Achaman. A closely related common

symbol is which can be read as ‘Mānya’ which had a

sacred sense in Vedic times. Macdonell and Keith hold
that Agastya was the son of Mānya or Māna. The load-

bearer sign occurs in many texts (80) and can be

provisionally read as Bhāra-man38 as Bhārah is the
Sanskrit word for load. Bhārabhŗt was an epithet of
Vişņu and Kŗşņa was called Bhārahārina. Was Mitra also
known as Bhārabhŗt?
MITRA IN THE SEALS

The slanted cross symbol for Mitra has the

frequency of 91 which shows his great importance. The
invocation to Mitra in the Bogahzkoy treaty between the
Hittites and the Mitanni shows that his chief role was that
of a mediator and the keeper of Ŗta. Is seal no. 4648 10
(Harappa) which has the sole symbol of Mitra an
invocation to him? A seal from Chanhu Daro (6118 01)
has the symbol of Mitra in one face and two symbols on
the other. As already explained, the load-bearer symbol
may be read as a Bhāraman or Bhārabhŗt.

38
I. Mahadevan suggested a possible reading of this symbol as
Satavahana from the word ‘Sata’ meaning ‘Jar’ .
27
Thus the seal can be read as “Mitra/Bhāraman Eka-Dyu”.
The Rigveda mentions Eka-Dyu as a poet. Is ‘Bhāraman
or Bhārabhŗt linked to the mythology of Mitra? The
symbol occurs only from Chanhu Daro in about six
seals and Parpola suggests that it may give the name of
Chanhu Daro. But can be read as Dil-min (in
Sumerian) which implies that Chanhu Daro was known
as Dilmun. S. N. Kramer placed Dilmun in the Harappan
area. The symbol may also designate Bahrein which was
an entrepŏt known as Dilmun at one stage. Seal no. 2493
00 from Mohenjo Daro, again seems to link Mitra
to Bhārabhŗt or Bhāramaņ. Mitra was seen as a friend of
peasants.
MANU RULED DILMUN, MAGAN AND MELUHHA

In view of the difficulty of reading the seals, it is

important to gather information about the Indus-
Saraswati people by studying the language and culture of
people who had close contact with them. In this context
Bahrein assumes great importance as it was an entrepŏt
for Indian goods sent to Sumer. A. L. Oppenheim
writes39;

39
A. L. Oppenheim, ‘The Seafaring Merchants of Ur’, in ‘The
Cities of Indus’, ed. G. Possehl, New Delhi, 1979, p. 161.
28
 As to the political history of Telmun, it should be stressed
here that there exists no evidence whatsoever that the island
was under the rule of a Mesopotamian king up to Burnaburiaš
(Kramer 1944). The claims based upon the “Geographical
Treatise,” the Sargon legend etc. and the text of the statue D
of Gudea cannot prove Mesopotamian supremacy over
Telmun. (as against Cornwall 1952)

It is very likely that in the early epochs Bahrein was ruled

by dynasts from India and Pakistan.40 This is also
supported by inscriptions. Uperi, king of Dilmun, paid
tribute to Sargon II. Was he related to Vasu Uparicara
mentioned in the Mahabharata? (M.B. Santi Parva, Chap.
336, Stanza 14). M. A. Nayeem41 refers to mi-il-ku Ma-
nu-um in a Susa text who seems to be a Manu. Mi-il-ku

may refer to Melukkha. The symbol-pair which is

read as Uksha-Man may be linked to the name Manu.

THE SYMBOL FOR THE MOON OR CHANDRA

Like the Vedic people, the Indus-Saraswati people

were also greatly amazed by the moon. The symbol
appears in numerous seals and I. Mahadevan gives its
frequency as 136. From its visual appearance it can be
recognized as a depiction of the moon and be given the

40
King Naram Sin claimed to have defeated a confederation of 32
kings led by Manium who may have been a Manu. At a later date,
king Esarhaddon claimed to be a king of Dilmun, Magan and
Meluhha which, as Oppenheim suggests, may only have been a
hymnical boast.
41
M. A. Nayeem, ‘Bahrein’, Hydrabad, 1992, p. 414.
29
value ‘Chandra’. The symbol is often found as the pair

which occurs in 54 texts and must have designated a

very important Bronze-Age word. The first symbol may
be taken as a depiction of the trunk of the elephant with
tusk and, remembering Ganesha, can be given the value
‘Kana’. This seems to correspond to the Sumerian term
‘Gana’ and stood for ‘Land’. 'Gána-ni-en-na' was the
'land of the lord', 'Gána- ku-ra' was the food land and
'Gána-apin-la' was the plough land. The name
Waššukhani, of the capital of the Mitannis also has a
Kana-ending. C. J. Gadd 42writes about the land of
Khana near the confluence of the Khabur and the
Euphrates. Gadd43 also mentions the bringing back of the
statues of the gods Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum

from a distant land, the land of Khani. The symbol pair

can thus be read as Chandra Kana which probably

corresponds to the Djiroft area known as Konar Sandal.

SÛRYA IN THE SEALS

Mitra, Varuņa and Aryaman are often linked to

the Sun, symbolized in the seals as, which is exactly

similar to the moon-sign but rotated 180 degrees. It
42
C. J. Gadd, ‘Hammurabi: The End of His Dynasty’, Cambridge
Ancient History, vol. II, part 1, Cambridge, 1973, p. 225.
43
Ibid. p. 226.
30
occurs in only 13 texts but is of great importance. Seal
no. 4001 00 from Harappa may refer to a king named
Surya Mitra or else it can point to an association of Mitra
with the Sun.

The symbol-pair can be read as ‘Sarasa Tri’, and

corresponds to Saraswati which is the name of a river as
well as a goddess in the Rigveda. Some seals seem to

indicate another Saraswati in the Makran area.

This other Saraswati may have been the Helmand. The
seal can be read as “Surya Mitra Tad Sarasa Tri ___ Nira
Uksha ____”.44

VIŚVĀMITRA AND HARISH CHANDRA IN THE

SEALS

Hariśhchandra is an immortal figure of Indian

tradition. He was a son of Triśaňku and was famous for
his liberality, probity and unflinching loyalty to truth. In
a famous Puranic legend Hariśchandra gave up his
country, wife, son, and finally himself to meet the
excessive demands of Viśvāmitra for Dakshina.
Vasişţha, his family priest, is said to have praised his
44
In the 1996 paper published in the ABORI, the box-like symbol
was read as ‘charu’ which was identified as a bronze kettle with
lid and hook by which it could be hung over fire. But this may have
a different interpretation.
31
qualities in the presence of Viśvāmitra, who refused to
believe them. A quarrel thereupon ensued, and it was at
last decided that Viśvāmitra himself should judge the
king. Viśvāmitra, accordingly, subjected him to the
most crucial test with a view to see if he could not be
but once made to swerve from his plighted word. The
king, however, stood all the tests with exemplary
courage, adhering to his word though he had to forego
the kingdom, to sell off his wife and son, and at last,
even his own self to a low-caste man, and – as the last
test, as it were, of his truthfulness and courage – to be
even ready to put his own wife to death as a witch.
Viśvāmitra thereupon acknowledged himself
vanquished, and the worthy king was elevated along
with his subjects to heaven.
At least ten seals, all from Harappa, have a
longish inscription which seems to be of great
importance. All are on stamped seals and J. E.
Mitchiner informs that all bear the motif of a gharial
with a fish in its jaws. This device is fairly common and

appears in about 39 seals. The blank symbol denotes

the sky and can be read as ‘div’ or ‘deva’. From the
hint of the Nira sign (Niral, shade of a tree), the first
symbol can be read as Agni. The second symbol depicts
a standard and can be read as Dhvaja. If it is

32
paired with the first symbol one gets Agnidh. The third
symbol of the fish can be read as Min. If Dhvaja is
paired with Min one arrives at Min Dhvaja which may
be the parent word for Vindhya which in that
case may stand for the Aravalli hills area. Skipping the

fourth symbol for the time being, the fifth symbol

can be read as Chandra. The sixth, seventh and the
eighth symbols can be read together as Viśvāmitra
(Vŗş-Sap-Mitra). Returning now to the 4th symbol its
reading ‘Harish’ is demanded by the context, but there
are other points. It is likely that many Roman letters
such as A, T, D, E, S etc are linked to Harappan
syllabary. This may be true also of the letter H. The

combined form is quite common (30 occurrences)

and suggests the reading Hariś Chandra. The Cretan
representation of the bull on altar may also suggest that
the symbol may be linked to an altar45. The yūpa is
extolled as 'ever green' etc. which seems to link it with
Hari. This may be linked to the name Hariyupiya.

A SEAL MENTIONING TRIŚAŃKU, FATHER OF

HARIŚCHANDRA
The validity of the reading of the sign-pair
is strikingly demonstrated by the reading of some allied

45
See chapter 1
33
seals and this unmistakably demonstrates the close links
of the seals with the Vedas and Puranas. In seal no.
2470 00 from Mohenjo Daro this pair occurs together

with the mysterious symbol of a man with shackles or

some enforced disability. Significantly, it is preceded
by three strokes which can be read as ‘tri’. From the

name of Hariśchandra in this seal, the symbol pair

can be surmised to be Trishanku46. We do not know

46
Satyavrata (Triśańku) was a son of Prithu of the Solar Dynasty,
who was an ancestor of Rāma. When he became old he crowned
his son Hariśchandra as king of Ayodhya, and renounced his
kingdom. Satyavrata, who lived a righteous life, desired to ascend
to the heavens with his mortal body and requested his priest
Vasişţha to perform the necessary rites to achieve this goal.
Vasişţha refused and said that a mortal being cannot enter the
heavens with his physical body. Satyavrata was adamant and
approached Vasişţha's son Śakti to help him, promising the young
sage wealth and fame. This angered Vasişţha and he cursed
Satyavrata, turning him into Triśańku, leaving him in a horrific
form and debilitating afflictions. Trishanku was forced to leave
his country and wander the wilderness. During this time he met
Viśvāmitra and appealed for help. Viśvāmitra who is said to have
had a rivalry against Vasişţha, accepted Triśańku's request and
agreed to assist him and raise him to the heavens with his physical
body. The yajnas began and with the ascetic powers of the sage,
Trishanku started ascending to heaven. Upon his arrival in
heaven, the Devas were alarmed by this unnatural occurrence.
Led by Indra, they refused to permit Trishanku to enter, and
tossed him out. Trishanku started falling back to earth.
Vishwamitra was furious and refused to accept defeat at the hands
of Indra. He used his powers to arrest Trishanku's fall, causing the
latter to be suspended mid-air upside-down.
34
what the Bronze Age people thought about heaven yet
it is reassuring to find a visual representation of
Triśańku in the seals. Seal no. 2266 00 from Mohenjo
Daro probably contains crucial information about
Triśańku which cannot be grasped fully. It is possible
however, that the pair designates a country-name.
The elephant trunk with a tusk has been read as ‘Kana’
which stands for a ‘Land’. The first symbol of the pair
may be the depiction of a sacrificial animal and the
symbol pair may give

the name of the land to which Triśańku probably fled.

Many seals, all from Harappa, have the text

which can be read as Triśańku Jaya. Four other seals,
again all from Harappa, seem to hail Triśańku as a
righteous king. ‘Tad Dharma Triśańku’. The seals
unmistakably link

Tad Dharma Triśańku

Triśańku’ and Hariśchandra to Harappa. Viśvāmitra

may have been linked to Rakhigarhi.
35
MITHRA IN IRAN

Culturally, India and Iran formed a single entity

and the worship of Mitra was not limited to India-
Pakistan. Mitra corresponds closely to the Avestan
Mithra and the information given in this text agrees in
general with Vedic data though the god of Mithra Yast
sounds more militaristic. Many theophoric names on
green chert mortars, pestles and plates from the
Persepolis treasury also point to the great importance of
Mithra. R. N. Frye states47 that out of sixteen names
known, five are linked to Mithra – rtmtr, dtmtr, mtrk
(var. mrtk?), mtrprn and mtrpt. In contrast,48 the name of
Ahura Mazda appears only thrice, - mzddt, mzdštr and
mzprn. Many more Mithra-related names, such as
Irdamišša, Dadamišša, Miššakka, Mišparna, Miššabadda
etc. are found in the inscribed clay tablets found at
Persepolis. Many seals from Mohenjo Daro carry a text
similar to 1412 10/20 which can be read as Harish

47
R. N. Frye, ‘Mithra in Iranian History’, in J. R. Hinnels,
Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Congress
of Mithraic Studies, vol. 2, 1975, Manchester, 1975,
48
I. M. Diakonoff gave the important information that names of
ancient Medians often included the prefix Ram, in preference to
common deities like Mithra, Ahura Mazda etc. Cambridge
History of Iran Vol 2, p.140.
36
Mitra/Makha49 Kana Mitra Uksha. Makha Kana appears
to be Magan which was allied to Dilmun and Melukkha.
Was Harish Mitra a titular king of Magan who also ruled
the Indus-Saraswati area?

49
See chapter 8.
37