Stupa as Temple, Srivatsa as Hieroglyph

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Stupa as temple, s’rivatsa as hieroglyph

This monograph tests the following propositions:

Mohenjodaro stupa is the temple. The bath in front of the stupa is the

pushkarini.

The dominant presence of s’rivatsa hieroglyph on

torana of stupas of historical periods (as in Sanchi)

attests to the stupa as a temple.

Stupa as temple

Stu_pa: a knot or tuft of hair , the upper part of the head , crest , top , summit (RV. VS) Two roots are suggested by Sa_yan.a and Un.a_di: styai and stubya. 1. Root (which explains the nature of the structure): styai (sta_yati): to be collected, into a heap of mass (Dha_tup. Xxii.14) *stumba— ‘tuft, mound’.

[*stu— 3] N. thum ‘ridge of a mountain, space round a hilltop’; H. thubā m. ‘lump of

earth’; G. thumṛũ n. ‘a collection of ears of corn’; M. thõ;b m.n. ‘clump’; — Si. tumbasa ‘white ant mound’ or < *tumba— 2 (+?) (CDIAL 13705). stūpya *stūpya pile. 2. *stōpya -

- tuft [stūpyati heaps up � Dhātup. -- stūˊpa -- ] 1. Ku. thūp; heap; A. thup heap,

multitude, thupā heap of straw; -- ext. -- ḍ -- : Ku. thupuṛo dunghill; N. thupro heap, crowd (whence thupārnu to heap up); A. thupuri collected .2. A. B. thop cluster, bunch, B. thopanā; Or. thopa bunch of flowers �, thopā � bunch, tuft of thread. Addenda: *stūpya -- . 2. *stōpya -- : A. thõpā � bunch � AFD 204 (CDIAL 137111) . stūbha *stūbha mound, pillar. [*stu -- 3]Pk. thūbha -- , thūha -- m. heap, thūbhiyā -- , °yāgā -- f. little heap; S. thūho m. camel's hump �; P. thūhā m. pillar, prop ; WPah.khaś. thòā tethering post ; H. thūhā m. heap �; Si. inscr. tube nom. sg. stūpa H. Smith JA 1950, 188 (CDIAL 13712). *stōbhya -- . Ta. tōppu clump of trees, tope. Ma. tōppu grove, clump of trees. Ka. tōpu id., wood. Tu.

tōpu id. Te. to~pu garden, grove, tope. DEDR 3551). *stubya tuft, heap 2. *stōbya -- . [*stuba -- ]1. K. thŏba m. round piece of earthenware, thŏbunu m. short and thick tree ;

S. thuḇu m. tuft; B. thubā bunch ; Si. tubu tail of an animal. 2. S. thoḇī f. flagstone placed over fire for baking bread on ; L. thobā m., °bī f. lump of mud used in building a wall ; P. thobbā m. lump of mud; A. thob, thubi bud ; B. thobā bunch, cluster (CDIAL 13703).

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stambá— m. ‘tuft or clump of grass, cluster, bunch’ AV. [Cf. stábaka—. — For ‘cluster’ words see *stu— 3] Pa. thambha—, °aka— m. ‘clump of grass’; Pk. thamba— m. ‘bunch, tuft of grass &c.’; Kal. istam ‘first blossoms of spring’; Si. tamba ‘dew—lap of a bullock’ (CDIAL 13681). stōma— 2 m. ‘heap, mass’ Kāv., n. ‘riches, head, corn’ lex. [*stu— 3] Si. toma ‘clump of growing corn’ (CDIAL 13727). stíbhi— m. ‘clump, cluster, bunch’ KātyŚr. [Cf. stimbhi— m. lex. — For ‘cluster’ words see *stu— 3] L. thēh m. ‘village’; P. theh m.

‘mound formed by ruins of a town’; Bi. ṭhīhā, ṭhehā ‘carpenter's or blacksmith's block’,

Mth. ṭhihā, ṭhiyā;— altern. < *strta—: Ku. ṭhyā ‘raised platform on which an idol is

placed’; H. ṭhiyā m. ‘mound, heap, lump’. STIM ‘be wet’: *stinta—, *stimya—; — √tim, √*trim, √stip (CDIAL 13695). stábaka— m. (n. lex.) ‘cluster of flowers, tuft’ MBh., ‘quantity’ lex. [Cf. stambá—. — For ‘cluster’ words see *stu— 3] Pk. thavaya— m. ‘cluster of flowers’; M. thavā m. ‘crowd, troop (of living creatures)’; — P. thabbā m. ‘heap, pile (of grass, paper, &c.)’; — WPah.jaun. thō, pl. thōaı ‘buttock’? — Ext. —kk—: Pk. thavakka— m. ‘collection’; S. thoku m. ‘thing’; L. thok m. ‘party, faction, thing’; P. thok m. ‘amount, heap, ready money’; Ku. thok ‘a division of the people’; N. thok ‘thing, affair’; A. thok ‘cluster, bunch, shoal of fish’ (whence thuki ‘remaining in a cluster’); B.

thok ‘lump’; Or. thoka ‘collection, lump’, ṭhoka ‘heap, mass, total’; H. thok m. ‘clump, mass, heap, body’; G. thok m. ‘group, collection, bundle’; M. thok m. ‘a quantity of silk’;

— ext. —l—, —ll—: Or. thoḷā, tholā ‘cluster’. Addenda: stȧȧȧȧbaka— [Also spelt stavaka—]: A. also thokā ‘cluster (as of fruit)’ AFD 204, OB. thokara; B. tholā (CDIAL 13675). <tEppa>(My) {ADJ(dAm)} `ìn a ^bunch, ^clumped''. {V(liJ)} ``to ^grow in a bunch (as bananas)''. Nom. <t[An]Eppa>??. {V(lay)??} ``to ârrange into a bunch''. Nom. <>. {N??} `à ^bunch, a ^clump''. ??format? #65421. 2. Root (stute)(which explains the nature of worship offered at and to the structure): stu (Dha_tup.xxiv.34; Pa_n. 7-3,95) to praise , laud , eulogize , extol , celebrate in song or hymns (in ritual , `" to chant "' , with loc. of the text from which the Sa_man comes) (RV.) thube ‘stu_pa’ (As’okan)(CDIAL 13702). [Stupa is distinguished from Caitya which relates to a funeral pile or mound (from cita_) A_s’vGr. Iii.6); a funeral monument or Stu_pa or pyramidal column containing the ashes of deceased persons, sacred tree (esp. a religious fig-tree) growing on a mound, hall or temple or place of worship.]

Stupa depicted on an ancient S’rilanka coin together with other hieroglyphs such as tree on platform. Excerpts from: Stuupa, and Tomb By B. M. Barua in: The Indian Historical Quarterly

vol 2:1, 1926.03, p. 16-27 to show that the stu_pa as a place of worship of ancestors is a continuum from the Vedic tradition of yore: [quote] The Stupa is classed in Buddhist literature as Saariirikacetiya or sepulchral sanctuary enshrining the charred bones or ashes from the funeral pyre of a deceased hero. The Buddhist hero is a Buddha or a Thera, the greatest hero being the Buddha himself. The Sinhalese word denoting this class of sanctuaries is Daagaba, which is a shorter form of Dhaatugarbha. The


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Dhaatugarbha strictly denotes the underground, inner or lower chamber, containing the relic-casket or steatite-box, and the Stuupa the upper structure or covering mound. Thus as in one cast: the whole sanctuary is denoted by the name of the upper structure, so in the other the name of the lower or inner structure denotes the whole. The word Stuupa is the Buddhist Sanskrit form of the Pali Thuupa.(Note: The place mentioned in the Sutta-Nipaata, p. 103, as Vana is evidently referred to in some of the Votive Labels of Sanchi Stuupa, I as Tumbavana or Tubavana (Buhler's Sanchi Stuupa Inscriptions I. 22, 23, 81, 264, 265 and 330 in Epigraphia Indica,vol. II). The same place came to be known in Buddhaghosa's time by two names: Tumbanagara and Vanasavatthi. See Paramatthajotikaa, II, p.583. The word tumbaa or tumba is in the Chittagong dialect a synonym of tu.m, tubaa, tuppaa, tuuaa and tuup, meaning `a piled up heap', e.g., the heap of earth, of straw, of paddy, of cow-dung. Tumbaa is an East-Bengal and a Maraathi form. Cf. Latin tumba. In the Jaina Prakrit tu.mba and tu.mbii mean alaabu or gourd and tumba also means the navel of a wheel (Haragovinda Das Seth's Paia-Sadda-Maha^n^nava). In Pali tumba means an aa.lhaka which is a measure of grain, and tu.mbii a gourd (See Childers). But these words occur in this sense in comparatively modern works.) … The Stuupa is essentially a mound covering a garbha or chamber in which the bodily remains are deposited. The remains consist of the charred bones and ashes from the funeral pyre where the dead body is burnt. These, as deposited in the chamber, may be covered with the heap of earth, sand, stone or brick, or secured inside a large stone-box along with precious metals and small gold-leaves, or separately in urns. The urn in a Buddhist sanctuary is represented by a vase of crystal or ordinary stone, covered by a lid and inscribed with a label recording whose bodily remains the contents are. Here the hoarding of treasures takes the place of the preservation of the body. (Note: The very expression dhatu-nidhana suggests it. Cf. the phrase nidhim nidketi, meaning 'hoards the treasure', Nidhikanda Sutta in Khuddakapatha. The other expression dhatu-ovopana suggests also the allegory of planting the seed, the seed of the tree of art, the tree of faith and culture.) … The Rg-Vedic hymn (x. 18) gives a vivid description of the funeral of a warrior. It appears that the dead-body was carried to the funeral ground by one path, the path of death and the party returned by another, the path of life. The wife of the deceased hero followed the dead body, accompanied by Other ladies, the ladies who were not widows walking ahead. The earth was dug out to make a grave. The spot was surrounded by an enclosure (paridhi) , by a atone-rampart (pasana) as Sayana interprets it(Mahiidhara, in commenting upon the Yajurveda hymn (xxxv, 15), says that after the burning of the body, the duty of the priest was to raise a bank or lump of earth between the village where the deceased dwelt and the funeral ground, as a rampart against death. See Wilson's Rg-Veda Samhita, vol, VI, p. 47, f.n. 4.). The wife of the hero was urged by the priest to go back, together with other ladies, to the world of mirth and joy and begin her life anew. The circle of atone was set up as a device to separate the world of living ones from that of the dead, the priest's interpretation changing the original motive of guarding the grave and imprisoning the ghost. But this was also put up as a memorial, the kinsmen of the hero being exhorted by the priest to keep alive hits tradition and continue his work for their


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prosperity and glory. The bow was taken off from the hand of the hero for preservation as a source of inspiration to the nation. The body was afterwards gently laid in the grave and covered with the heap of earth marked with a post (sthuu^na). The mother-earth was asked to hold her son in her bosom, not allowing the heap or mound above him to press him heavily, and the tomb was intended to serve as a mansion and a monument…It is well observed that the topes were not especially Buddhist monuments, but, in fact, pre-Buddhistic, and indeed only a modification of a world-wide custom (Buddhist India, p. 80.). There are clear evidences showing that certain sections of the Aryan community began to make solid brick structures instead of heaps of earth, or of stones covered with earth(White Yajurveda, xxxv. 15), and that the urn (asthikumbha), containing the bones and ashes and covered by a lid, came to be buried after the dead body had been burnt(A_s’vala_yana Gr.hya-Su_tra, IV. 5; Sa_yan.a on the Rg-Veda hymn (X, 18). [unquote] Stupa and pushkarini at Mohenjodaro

The pushkarini is situated in front of the stupa of Mohenjodaro. It is possible that the stupa is contemporaneous with the pushkarini (so-called bath).

[quote] The "great bath" is without doubt the earliest public water tank in the ancient world. The tank itself measures approximately 12 meters north-south and 7 meters wide, with a maximum depth of 2.4 meters. Two wide staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south and small sockets at the edges of the stairs are thought to have held wooden planks or treads. At the foot of the stairs is a small ledge with a brick edging that extends the entire width of the pool. People coming down the stairs


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could move along this ledge without actually stepping into the pool itself. The floor of the tank is water tight due to finely fitted bricks laid on edge with gypsum plaster and the side walls were constructed in a similar manner. To make the tank even more water tight, a thick layer of bitumen (natural tar) was laid along the sides of the tank and presumably also beneath the floor. Brick colonnades were discovered on the eastern, northern and southern edges. The preserved columns have stepped edges that may have held wooden screens or window frames. Two large doors lead into the complex from the south and other access was from the north and east. A series of rooms are located along the eastern edge of the building and in one room is a well that may have supplied some of the water needed to fill the tank. Rainwater also may have been collected for this purposes, but no inlet drains have been found. Most scholars agree that this tank would have been used for special religious functions where water was used to purify and renew the well being of the bathers. [unquote] http://www.harappa.com/indus/8.html http://sarasvati97.blogspot.com/2008/06/mohenjodaro-mound-of-dead-stupa-as.html Mohenjodaro, mound of the dead; stupa as temple

Moenjodaro is situated on the left bank of Sindhu river and right bank of Vedic River Sarasvati (Ghaggar.Hakra.Nara extension). Moenjodaro is a Sindhi word meaning ‘mound of the dead’. The Hindi word is: mohan jodad.o This word jodad.o has cognates in many Bharatiya (mleccha, meluhha) languages. The Sindhi word d.a_r.o means ‘feast given to relatives in honour of the dead’. The root of the word d.a_r.o is da_h ‘to burn’ indicating that the stupa or mound

is a veneration of the ashed of the dead after cremation. S.kcch. ḍāṛo m. ‘feast given to relatives in honour of the dead’, G. dahāṛɔ m.; dāha— m. ‘burning’ KātyŚr., ‘place of

cremation’ (Skt.); Ku. dāh, dahā ‘abnormal heat, pain’; A. dāh ‘burning, heat, grief’; B. dāh, dā ‘burning, heat, misfortune’; Or. dāhā ‘burning, burning sensation’, dāu ‘heat, burning pain, torture, oppres- sion’; Bi. dāh deb ‘to burn (a corpse)’; Mth. dhāh ‘flame,

blaze’; H. dāh, ḍāh f. ‘fire, inflammation, jealousy, rage’, ḍāhī ‘jealous’; G. dāh m.

‘burning, hunger’; M. dāh, dahā m. ‘burning’, ḍāhā m. ‘envy’, ḍāh (poet. ḍāho) m.

‘sensation of burning’, ḍāv m. ‘mark made with a hot iron’(CDIAL 6321). Malt. túre to scratch out; turge to bury the ashes of the dead; Ma. turakka to bury, undermine;

(DEDR 3339). Ma. cuṭar fire, brightness; Tu. suḍarů, tuḍarů, tuḍārů lamp; cūḍu heat,

warmth, zeal, hot, warm; cūṭè, tūṭè torch made of palm leaves, etc.; soḍarů smell of

burning. Kor. (O.) sūḍi torch made of coconut leaves. Cf. Skt. cūḍ-, in: upacūḍana-,

upacūlana- singeing, searing, heating; Skt. ( Haravijaya 14.60), Pkt. cuḍulī- torch, Mar.

cuḍī torch of wisps or twigs. (DEDR 2654)

dhatu— n. ‘substance’ RV., m. ‘element’ MBh., ‘metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour)’ Mn.,


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‘ashes of the dead’; Pa. dhātu— m. ‘element, ashes of the dead, relic’; KharI. dhatu

‘relic’; Pk. dhāu— m. ‘metal, red chalk’; N. dhāu ‘ore (esp. of copper)’; Or. ḍhāu ‘red

chalk, red ochre’ (whence ḍhāuā ‘reddish’; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ‘a partic. soft red stone’

(whence dhavaḍ m. ‘a caste of iron—smelters’, dhāvḍī ‘composed of or relating to iron’)(CDIAL 6773) The dominant architectural edifice in Moenjodaro is the stupa. There are indications that this stupa may date back to the mature periods of the civilization, as a temple to venerate the ancestors. Some views and architectural details of the stupa at Mohenjodaro may be seen from the following photographs. A rear view of the stupa at Mohenjodaro.

Steps leading to the stupa at Mohenjodaro, not unlike the steps of a ziggurat at Ur.

Pushkarini (Great bath) in front of the stupa at Mohenjodaro. Monk quarters at the base of the stupa at Mohenjodaro. Mackay had noted: “When further excavations are made on this site (stupa of Mohenjodaro), the axiom will

probably once more prove true that once a site


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becomes sacred it remains so, even to the followers of other religions who may occupy it later.” (Ernest Mackay, The Indus Civilization, Lovat Dickson and Thomson Ltd.; Loc. cit. Gregory L. Possehl, 2002, The Indus civilization – a contemporary perspective, Oxford, Rowman Altamira, p. 149). This is further elaborated as a possibility by Verardi, G. 1987 Preliminary Report on the Stupa and the Monastery of Mohenjo-Daro. In Interim Reports, Vol. 2., edited by M. Jansen and G. Urban, pp. 45-58. Aachen, IsMEO/RWTH. Further investigations are necessary to determine the chronological evolution of the stupa superstructure over any pre-existing ziggurat-like monument. The structure of the stupa at Mohenjodaro is comparable to the Ziggurats of Mesopotamian civilization. Ziggurat of Enlil at Nippur. www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html

Ziggurat at Ur (21st cent. BCE by King Shulgi).

It is a series of platforms which rose to a height of 64 feet using a solid core of mud-brick covered by a thick skin of burnt-brick. As a tribute to the God “Sin” , the ziggurat was called “Etemennigur,” meaning: “a house whose foundation creates terror.” If a Sumerian ziggurat – stepped platforms and pyramid -- represents heaven whose summit was held by tradition to be a temporary abode for the divinities, it is possible that the stupa was an

earlier archetype venerating ancestors as divinities in their divine abode – dhaatugarbha (the womb of the minerals or elements constituting both the cosmos and the living body). A stupa was also a way to enlightenment, jnaana.


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The continuum of using hieroglyphs in writing systems

Mlecchita vikalpa uses hieroglyphs in a writing system. This tradition is continued into

pre-historic periods of Hindu civilization (pre-Mauryan times).

It will be demonstrated that s’rivatsa is a hieroglyph; is a ligature of many glyptic

elements which can be read rebus explaining the meaning of the term which is a unique

continuum of writing system in Indian linguistic area through the use of hieroglyphs.

The linguistic area which used Sarasvati hieroglyphs also used kharoshthi and brahmi

writing systems in pre-historic times. The continuum of writing system evolution in

Indian linguistic area is evidenced by two evidences: 1. evolution of s’rivatsa hieroglyph

and 2. Sohgaura copper-plate inscription. (cf. Richard Salomon, Brahmi and Kharoshthi,

in Daniels and Bright, The World's Writing Systemes, 1996;On The Origin Of The Early

Indian Scripts: A Review Article by Richard Salomon, University of Washington

http://web.archive.org/web/20060516000049/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/positio

n/salomon.html) In his review article, Richard Salomon (1996) presents an overview of

the early Indian scripts and notes that three evidences point to the existence of writing

systems prior to Mauryan times: Sohgaura copper plate, Piprahwa casket,

Mahasthanagarh inscription and Rampurva copper bolt inscription. These three

inscriptions use Brahmi script.

The Sohgaura copper plate uses Sarasvati hieroglyphs together with Brahmi script, thus

enabling interpretation of the hieroglyphs.

Similarly, an inscription in Kharoshthi on the Mathura lion capital which complemented

the inscription with a ligatured composition of hieroglyphs – nandipada (or triratna) and

s’rivatsa (following the Sarasvati mlecchita vikalpa tradition), enables the interpretation

of these nandipada and s’rivatsa glyphs, read rebus in mleccha as hieroglyphs.

The Sohgaura copper plate refers to a pair of kos.t.ha_ga_ra (dva_ra kot.t.haka); the two

storehouses described as tri-garbha (i.e. having three rooms) are illustrated on line 1.

(Fleet, JRAS, 1907). The illustrations indicate that the

three rooms are in three storeys, with supporting pillars

clearly seen. The inscription refers to the junction of

three highways named Manavati, in two villages called


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Dasilimita and Usagama. The storehouses were made at this junction for the goods of

people using the highways, which are indicated in line 3 by mentioning the three places

to and from which they led. One of the names give is reognized by Fleet as Chanchu.

(Fleet, JRAS, 63, 1894 proceedings, 86, plate, IA 25. 262; cf. Sohgaura copper plate/B.M.

Barua. The Indian Historical Quarterly, ed. Narendra Nath Law. Reprint. 41) Some glyphs

on line 1: kut.hi = tree; rebus: kut.hi = smelting furnace; kos.t.ha_ga_ra = storehouse;

s'u_la = spear; cu_l.a = kiln; kan.d.kanka = rim of jar; rebus: copper furnace; bat.a =

quail; rebus: kiln.

http://sarasvati97.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!A74A2ADBFA0A3358!3049.entry

Sonari (Bhilsa) casket

Inscribed Piprahwa casket

(1898 photo); ompare with

Sonari casket, and note the

appearance, on both

caskets, of the final two

characters above the

inscriptional line.

http://www.lumkap.org.uk/Lumbini%20On%20Trial.htm


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http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-

state.edu/Encyclopedia%20Buddhist%20Icon/07%20Stupa%20Charts/StupaCharts24.ht

ml

Piprâwâ reliquary inscription, the Sohgaurâ bronze plaque, and Mahâsthân stone

inscription.

Mahasthan. A 4.4 cm x 5.7 cm lime stone slab bearing six lines in Prakrit in Brahmi script,

discovered accidentally by a day labourer in 1931 was an important find. The text

appears to be a royal order of Magadh, possibly during the rule of Asoka. It dates the

antiquity of Mahasthangarh to 3rd century BC.

Piprahwa is a village in the area of Kapilavastu, north of Birdpur in the Siddharthnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India. There are remains of Buddhist palaces.[1] There is a stupa and some old walls and wells. From this village Lumbini, Nepal, is just 16 km and the border of Nepal is just 1.5 km away.

Rampurva copper bolt

“The starting place for the inquiry is the Rampurva copper bolt at present in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. This was discovered in 1880 by Cunningham and H.B. Garrick. It was buried beside the fallen southerly pillar on which was engraved a set of Asoka’s pillar edicts. The pillar and its lion capital were subsequently fully excavated by Daya Ram Sahni. The more northerly Rampurva pillar is that associated with the famous bull capital. The bolt was examined by Cunningham who concluded that there could be n doubt of its being original and that it must have served to hold the lion capital in place upon its pillar. It is probable that other Asokan pillars and capitals bear mortises for


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similar bolts. This one is described as barrel shaped, of pure copper measuring 2 ft. ½ in. in length, with a diameter of 4 5/16 in. in the centre, and 3 5/8 in. at each end. Cunningham makes no mention of any marks upon the bolt, but Durga Prasad published an impression of four marks. They are made of lines of impressed dots and include the hill-with-crescent, the taurine or Nandipada, and the open cross:

Here then these signs occur upon an object

which must have been made by craftsmen working for Asoka or one of his predessors.”

(F.R. Allchin, 1959, Upon the contextual significance of certain groups of ancient signs,

School of Oriental and African Studies, London.) http://www.jstor.org/pss/609506

Kamboja, yavana

‘D'après l'épigraphie cambodgienne du X° siècle, les rois des "Kambuja" prétendaient

descendre d'un ancêtre mythique éponyme, le sage ermite Kambu, et de la nymphe

céleste Mera, dont le nom a pu être forgé d'après l'appellation ethnique "khmèr".‘

Trans. According to Kampuchean epigraphy of 10th century, the kings of the “Kambuja”

claimed to descend from a mythical ancestor éponyme, the wise Kambu hermit, and

celestial nymph Mera, whose name could be forged according to ethnic name “khmèr”

(George Coedes, 1968, Hinduised States of Southeast Asia, 1968, p 66.)

In Mekong basin, in Bassac (near Vat-Ph’u hill), there was an ancient kingdom referred

to in Chinese texts as Chenla (also, Zhenla). In 613 CE, Isanapura was the capital of this

early Khmer kingdom. Champassak province of modern-day Laos was in the northern

part known as ‘Chenla of the Land’; the Mekong delta and the coast was in the southern

part known a ‘Chenla of the Water’.http://www.asiatravel-cambodia.com/cambodia-

history/chenla.htm .http://www.cambodia-travel.com/khmer/chenla.htm The lineage

after Muni Kambu includes: S’rutavarma Kambuja, S’reshthavarma Kambuja, Viravarma

Kambuja, Bhavavarman I, Jayavarman II. "Yonā, Yavanā, Yonakā


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A country and its people. The name is probably the Pāli equivalent for Ionians, the Baktrian Greeks. The Yonas are mentioned with the Kambojas in Rock Edicts v. and xii of Asoka, as a subject people, forming a frontier district of his empire. The country was converted by the Thera Mahārakkhita, who was sent there after the Third Council (Mhv.xii.5; Dpv.viii.9; Sp.i.67).

In the time of Milinda the capital of the Yona country was Sāgala (Mil.1). It is said (Mhv.xxix.39) that at the Foundation Ceremony of the Mahā Thūpa, thirty thousand monks, under Yona Mahādhammarakkhita, came from Alasandā in the Yona country. Alasandā was evidently the headquarters of the Buddhist monks at that time. Alasandā is generally identified (See, e.g., Geiger, Mhv. Trs. 194, n.3) with the Alexandria founded by the Macedonian king (Alexander) in the country of the Paropanisadae near Kābul.

In the Assalāyana Sutta (M.ii.149), Yona and Kamboja are mentioned as places in which there were only two classes of people, masters and slaves, and the master could become a slave or vice versa. The Commentary (MA.ii.784) explains this by saying that supposing a brahmin goes there and dies, his children might consort with slaves, in which case their children would be slaves. In later times, the name Yavanā or Yonā seems to have included all westerners living in India and especially those of Arabian origin (Cv.Trs.ii.87, n.1). Yonaka, statues, holding lamps, were among the decorations used by the Sākiyans of Kapilavatthu (MA.ii.575). The language of the Yavanas is classed with the Milakkhabhāsā (E.g., DA.i.276; VibhA.388).

The Anguttara Commentary (AA.i.51) records that from the time of Kassapa Buddha the Yonakas went about clad in white robes, because of the memory of the religion which was once prevalent there." [Quelle: Malalasekera, G. P. <1899 - 1973>: Dictionary of Pāli proper names. -- Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1938. -- London : Pali Text Society, 1974. -- 2 vol. -- 1163, 1370 S. -- ISBN 0860132692. -- s. v.]

S’rivatsa metaphor in hindu civilization

S’rivatsa on the chest, zoomed. Red sandstone figure of a Tirthankara, ca. 2nd cent.

Kushana. Region of Mathura, central India (10th Tirthankara, Sitalanatha is


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associated with s’rivatsa la_nchana).

The s’rivatsa shown on the chest of Tirthankara zoomed. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/ssn/ho_1992.131.htm Seated Jain Tirthankara, Solanki period (ca. 900–1250), ca. first half 11th

century India, Gujarat or Rajasthan White marble; H. 38 7/8 in. (98.7 cm) Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1992 (1992.131) This superb white marble sculpture represents one of the twenty-four tirthankaras ("crossers of the ford") or jinas ("victorious ones", i.e., conquerors of desire) of the Jain religion. There is very little physical difference between representations of seated Buddhas and those of tirthankaras in Indian art: both are considered enlightened beings and display the markings appropriate for such personages. In addition, however, there are a few marks specific to either Buddhas or tirthankaras. The auspicious srivatsa mark on the chest and the lack of the urna (tuft of hair between the eyes) indicates that our image is a tirthankara.

Of 24 tirthankara in the jain tradition, who are normally depicted as seated in yogasana postures, 10th tirthankara s’italanatha has the s’rivatsa symbol (digambara tradition)

http://www.herenow4u.de/Images/24_Symbols_for_Tirthankara/10.jpg This image shows four curved W motifs surrounding a circle. See: Srivastava, A. L., 1979. The Srivatsa Symbol in Indian Art. In: EW, N. S., Vol. XXIX(1-4): 37-60. Bapat, P. V., 1953. Four Auspicious Things of the Buddhists: Srivatsa, Svastika, Nandyavarta and Vardhamana. In: Indica, The Indian Hist. Res. Inst. Silver Jubilee Comm. Vol., Bombay, pp. 38-46.


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Divinity Narayana is also shown wearing s’rivatsa motif on his chest on a bronze s’ilpa. This is an evocation of S’ri associated with divinity Narayana in the s’rivaishnava

tradition. http://www.exoticindiaart.com/product/EM89/ (cache) bronze statue 14.5" X 8" X 4"; 9.6 Kg

A dhruva beram (standing s’ilpa used as utsava beram) of Tirumala Venkates’wara has s’rivatsa motif shown on the chest. The motif may represent the material objects of enjoyment in the form of ornaments and weapons. Parasara rishi, Vishnu Purana 1.22.69 in what is referred to as astrabhu_s.an.a_dhya_ya. S’rivatsa as a metaphor, is often referred to as Prakriti s’rivatsa.

In fact, the s’rivatsa motif is shown on the chest of all tirthankara. It is so important. (See fn. 37 “Shrivatsa in the earlier images is generally a vertical line with an S- shaped mark on its left, and its mirror image on the right. Later the symbol changed into a lozenge shaped four-petalled flower. In Hinduism it represents "Shri" the Goddess of fortune. It is the special mark of Vishnu. In Jainism Shrivatsa is found on the chests of Tirthankaras all over Northern India but not in South India. The symbol appears sometimes on the images of the Buddha but not on the chest. (C. Siva Ram Murti in Ancient India, No. 6, pp. 44-46).” (loc. cit. Ashok Kumar Roy, 1984, A History of the Jains, New Delhi, Gitanjali Publishing House). Ebook at http://wwwedit.cs.wayne.edu:8080/~manishk/JainismDocuments/HistoryOfJainism.pdf

S’risuktam is a sukta of 15 verses and is a Rigveda khila. Sayana, Prithvidhara and Nanjiyar have commented on this sukta. One view of the sukta is that it is a tribute to the metal, gold – associating s’ri with wealth. Listen to the suktam rendered by MN Venkata Sastry: http://www.ee.duke.edu/%7Evkp/audio/sree.mp3 Also at http://www.divyajivan.org/realaudio/sri_suktam.ram

The suktam and translation are at http://www.srividya.org/slokas/HTML/sri_suktam.htm S’ri is said to have two children: kardama and ciklita. Association is with a_pah, ‘waters’. The very first line refers to:

s’ri_m as hiran.yavarn.am, harin.i_m, suvarn.a rajata srajam. This evokes association with gold and silver. The sukta is also an invocation to soma (interpreting cikli_ra as cikri_ta, ‘the purchased one, that is soma’. The literal meanings of kardama and cikli_ta are ‘mud’ and ‘mire, ooze’. At Arikamedu was found one square copper coin with the motifs: an elephant, a ritual umbrella, S’rivatsa symbol, and the front of a horse.[ K. V. Raman, “A Note on the Square Copper Coin from Arikamedu” in The Ancient Port of Arikamedu, p. 391-392.]


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A stone s’ilpa of matsya in Dhaka museum may be seen at the exquisite Huntington Archive http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30020643&detail=large

Aayagapatta are homage tablets or slabs which symbolize the cosmos. One of the symbols shown is s’rivatsa. Right quadrant of ayagapatta showing s’rivatsa motif Site: Manoharpura (on the Delhi-Jaipur highway), Kusana late 1st-3rd century, 50 CE - 299 CE Red sandstone, Lucknow state museum http://huntington.wmc.ohio-

state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30000348&detail=large A curving fish-tail enveloping the tied fish in the center, that is, one S motif and its inverse on either side tie up the fish in the center. Fish-tail envelopes the s’rivatsa shown as a fish tied with molluscs (cephalopod spirals) on either side. The double-S glyphs tying the fishes together into one clump is also explained as a rebus word for snail or cephalopod:

sa_ngi. Rebus: sangi ‘priest who accompanies pilgrims’ (Gujarati). This mleccha word sanga ‘priest’ also occurs as a substrate in Sumerian language.

Suvarn.a matsya or a pair of fishes with their noses touching each other with uplifted tails is an auspicious motif of the bauddha tradition. It is interesting that a metal magnet was called matsya mantra to determine direction while on high seas, indicating the association of matsya with metal. In Pali texts, matsya people are associated with Surasena. Matsya is a mahajanapada mentioned in the bauddha tradition of 16

janapada.

“How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brahmanas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Srivatsa on Your chest? “ (Srimadbhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter Sixteen, ‘The two doorkeepers of Vaikuntha, Jaya and VIjaya, cursed by the sages’.


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Cephalopod fossil. The shell component of this motif may be read as: ha_ngi snail (K.); sa~_khi possessing or made of shells (B.); ho~gi pearl oyster shell, shell of any aquatic mollusc (K.); ha_ngi snail (K.)(CDIAL 12380). gongha = snail’s shell (Santali). Cf. conch (English). Cypraea moneta or a cowrie used as a coin. Rebus: kangar ‘portable furnace’ (K.) A possible depiction of a kaula mangra ‘blacksmith’ working with s’ankha ‘shell’ and and indicaton of jhasa ‘fish’; rebus: jasa ‘prosperity, fame’. Kola ‘fish’; manger ‘crocodile’; Rebus: kaula mangra ‘smith, artisan’. mer.ed, me~r.ed iron; enga mer.ed soft iron; sand.i mer.ed hard iron; ispa_t mer.ed steel; dul mer.ed cast iron; i mer.ed rusty iron, also the iron of which weights are cast; bicamer.ed iron extracted from stone ore; balimer.ed iron extracted from sand ore; mer.ed-bica = iron stone ore, in contrast to bali-bica, iron sand ore (Mu.lex.) me~e.he~t = iron (Santali) mer.hao = entwine itself; wind round, wrap round roll up (Mundari) kaula mengro ‘blacksmith’; rebus: mangar ‘crocodile’ (Mundari) S’rivatsa is supported by a branch of curving glyphs like coiled shell, comparable to the coil shown on the Bharhut makara composition. Makara Bharhut, c. 100 BC Indian Museum, Calcutta The water animal is shown below a ledge with kneeling rams. Makara has the snout of a crocodile, ligatured to the trunk of and forequarters of an elephant, cephalopod, and the fins and tail of a fish. http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/calcutta/cm13.html

This is the cental motif of twin fish enveloping the central motif, thus constituting the s’rivatsa. The second image of the second section of the ayagapatta also found at Manoharpura, is now at National Museum, New Delhi. http://huntington.wmc.ohio-

state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30000353&detail=large


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These images are definitive indicators of the evolution of the s’rivatsa (or curved W motif) in bharatiya metaphors across the entire gamut of panthas of dharma-dhamma continuum in relating the motif to Narayana, the Buddha (Bauddha) or the Tirthankaras (Jaina). Jain votive plaque. Ayagapata.

Mathura UP, Kankali Tila. Kushana (2nd c. CE). 65 x 57.5 cm. J249 (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1985), no. 39, p. 105 S’ri_vatsa or Nandipa_da glyphs are derived from a pair of fishes as seen on many artifacts and on the necklaces worn by yakshi on sculptures.

S’ri_vatsa symbol [with

its hundreds of stylized

variants, depicted on

Pl. 29 to 32] occurs in

Bogazkoi (Central Anatolia) dated ca. 6th

to 14th

cent. BCE

on inscriptions: The symbol occurs in Mathura (ca. 2nd to 1st cent. BCE) and

in Sa_n~ci_ (ca. 2nd –1st cent. BCE). Sarnath, Va_ra_n.asi, UP, Railing fragment, Sarnath Museum, No. 422 (AIIS, VNS, A27.33)[Pl. XX, 8]

Bharhut Stu_pa, south gate corner pillar, c. 2nd cent. BCE, Indian Museum, Calcutta, 27.72, (AIIS, VNS, 242.34)[Pl. XX, 9] Sarnath, Rail post, c. 1st cent. BCE, Sarnath Museum No. 420 (AIIS, VNS, 200.13)[Pl. XX, 10]

A Nasik cave inscription has s’ri_vatsa superimposed on nandipa_da symbol and is ascribed to ca. 2nd cent. BCE. [Note: nandipa_da is made up of two fish-tails joined together; s’ri_vatsa encloses a fish within two fish-tails].


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The evolution of the s’ri_vatsa symbol is vividly described as related to a pair of ‘fish’. This is apparent from the two fish-tails exquisitely sculpted on Sa_n~ci_ Stu_pa (c. 2nd cent. BCE) and also in Sarnath railings and Bharhut stu_pa.

[Pl. 33, Nandipa_da-Triratna at: Bhimbetka, Sa_n~ci_, Sarnath and Mathura]

The cultural continuum and the civilization which had the stupa as a monument, a temple, and which was as a linguistic area can be seen from the etyma for the word, stu_pa which is a unique mleccha/Samskr.tam/Vedic word, attesting to the essential semantic unity among all present-day Bharatiya languages in a vernacular continuum, emphatically proving mleccha as the lingua franca of the civilization..

Nandipada shown on Greek warrior’s sword. Greek Warrior. Bharhut, c. 100 BC Kolkata, Indian Museum. Greek warrior as dvarapala. The evidence includes his hairstyle, tunic, and boots. In his right hand he holds a grape plant (closeup), emblematic of his origin. The sheath of his broadsword (closeup) is decorated with a nandipada. The warrior stands with his feet turned out, like First Position in classical ballet (compare: foot positions in SE Asia). http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/calcutta/cm11.html Deccan Satavahana period Chutus and Mudas Mulananda Circa 125-345 AD (Lead) Karshapana Good VF Pb (Lead)Karshapana 14.13g. 27mm. Arched hill (or Stupa?) with river motif below.


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Tree within railed lattice; Srivatsa to right, above standard, Nandipada and swastika at left. Two curvilinear glyphs (cf. cephalopod) emanating from the railed lattice. Mitchiner CSI 42ff.

http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/civitas/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=2574&large=1 2nd century BCE coin of the Kunindas, incorporating on the reverse the Buddhist triratna symbol on top of a stupa.

Amoghbhuti Late 2nd Century BC Silver Drachm, Bilingual Obverse: Deer and Deity, Brahmi Legends Reverse: 6 symbols, Kharoshti legends Weight: 2.4 gm MAC#4443 [quote] Kuninda, which referred as Kulinda in ancient literature, issued very attractive silver coinage in late 2nd century BC. These coins were issued by king Amoghbhuti who ruled in the fertile valley of Jamuna, Beas and Sutlaj rivers (modern Punjab in

northern India). The obverse of the coins shows a deer and Laxmi (goddess of wealth) is holding lotus in her uplifted hand. Between horns of deer, a cobra symbol is depicted. The reverse shows 6 symbols. Hill and river below, Nandipada (hoof of bull), tree in railing, Swastik and Y shaped symbol. Interestingly, the coins were bilingual. On obverse, legends were in Prakrit (closely related to Sanskrit), written in Brahmi script while on reverse were in Kharoshti. The legends on obverse reads Rajnah Kunindasya Amoghabhutisya maharajasya. The reverse bears Maharajasa in Kharoshti script at the same place where Indo-Greek and Saka coins depicted their ruler's names. These coins represent the first ever effort of an Indian ruler to issue silver coinage which could compete in market with that of Indo-Greek coinage. [unquote]. http://www.med.unc.edu/~nupam/ancient1.html

#6727: 049, Yaudheya, AE unit, 3rd cent. AD Karttikeya standing facing/Yaudheya deity standing with hand on hip, lotus + nandipada symbols in field (MAC.4711+) http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=6727

Mathura lion capital dated to the 1st century CE, describes in kharoshthi the gift of

a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Nadasi Kasa, "the wife of Rajuvula" and

"daughter of Kharahostes. Kharahostes was an Indo-Scythian ruler in the northern

Indian subcontinent around 10 BCE- 10 CE. Kharahostes was the father of Nada Diaka ,

wife of MahakshatrapaRajuvula. But according to newer view proposed by Dr S Konow,


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the chief queen of Rajuvula was Aiyasi Kamuia and she was daughter of Kharahostes

who was himself a Kamuio (Kambojaka).

Kharahostes Family (in the name of Azes) (circa 10 BC (?)) AE Tetradrachm Senior ISCH

139.50T

19 x 20 mm. 9.44 gm. Die position=6h

reverse

Obverse: King holding whip; mounted on horse walking right. Monogram 157 to right;

three pellets and letter in left field. Greek legend.

Reverse: Goddess standing left; Dhra and Kha and

Nandipada symbol in left field; 'flower' and monogram in

right field. Kharosthi legend with Nandipada at 10h.

http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/indoscythian/indoscythian_2.html

Coin of Kharahostes. From

Whitehead, "Catalogue of

coins in the Panjab

Museum, Lahore", Chicago,

1914 edition Coin

of Kharahostes (c. 10

BCE?).

Obv: King on horseback,

with levelled spear. Greek legend XAPAHWCTEI CATPAΠEI ARTAYOY ("Satrap

Kharahostes, son of Arta"). Kharoahthi mint mark sam

Rev: Lion. Kharoshthi legend Chatrapasa pra Kharaustasa Artasa putrasa ("Satrap

Kharahostes, son of Arta").


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Coin of the

family of Kharahostes (c. 10 BCE?)[4], in the name ofAzes.

Obv: Horsemounted king holding a whip. Monogram to right with circle within three

pellets, and letter in left field. Greek legend.

Rev: Goddess standing left. Nandipada symbol in left field. Flower and monogram in

right field.

See: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol II, Part I, p 36 & xxxvi; Khroshthi Inscriptions,

No 15, A3; Notes on Indo-Scythian chronology, Journal of Indian History, xii, 21;

Comprehensive History of India, 1957, Vol II, p 270, Dr K. A. Nilakanta Sastri; History of

Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, p 201, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich

Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth,

Unesco; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1905, p 795,

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Journal of Indian History - 1921, p viii,

University of Kerala, University of Allahabad Department of Modern Indian History,

University of Travancore; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, pp 41, 306-

09, Dr J. L. Kamboj; Cultural Contours of India: Dr. Satya Prakash Felicitation Volume,

1981, p 99, Satya Prakash, Vijai Shankar Śrivastava; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

of Great Britain and Ireland, 1990, p 141, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and

Ireland; Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 394, Dr H. C. Raychaudhury, Dr B. N.

Mukerjee; Kunst aus Indien: Von der Industalkultur im 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr. Bis zum 19.

Jahrhundert n ..., 1960, p 9, Künstlerhaus Wien, Museum für Völkerkunde (Vienna,

Austria); History of Civilizations of Central Asia, 1999, 201/ 207, Ahmad Hasan Dani,

Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford

Edmund Bosworth, Unesco; Aspects of Ancient Indian Administration, 2003, 58, D.K.


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Ganguly; District Gazetteers, 1959, p 33, Uttar Pradesh (India); Five Phases of Indian Art,

1991, p 17, K. D. Bajpai; History of Indian Administration, 1968, p 107, B. N. Puri; The

Śakas in India, 1981, p 119, Satya Shrava; Ṛtam, p 46,by Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit

Parishad, Lucknow; Prācīna Kamboja, jana aura janapada =: Ancient Kamboja, people

and country, 1981, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; Indian Linguistics, 1964, p

549, Linguistic Society of India; A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early

Mahayana, 1998, p 230, Akira Hirakawa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharahostes


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Map of Meluhha region and Mints (focus on central asian cities – contact areas of

Sarasvati civilization -- during the Sassanian period, from ca 10th cent. BCE)

http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/maps/m_casia_cities.html

http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/maps/maps.html

Triratna

S’rivatsa as a hieroglyph for sangha, dharma, puja http://kalyan96.googlepages.com/srivatsa.pdf What is the ‘meaning’ of s’rivatsa sacred metaphor? This is the question posed in this monograph and answered by analyzing the orthographic components of the glyph and the underlying cultural idiom of the lingua franca, mleccha. The conclusions are striking. S’rivatsa is a hieroglyph connoting sangha, dharma and puja. The orthographic tradition evolving cultural metaphors dates back to Sarasvati civilization (c. 3300 to 1900 BCE; cf. terracotta namaste metaphor.) S’rivatsa and associated glyptic variants are related to three facets common to sana_tana dharma, bauddha and jaina traditions: (1) sangha; (2) dharma-dhamma; (3) puja (homage); and one facet unique to bauddha tradition: (4) stupa. Buddhapa_da

Chinese : 三宝, 三寶 (sānbǎo)

Vietnamese: Tam bảo

Japanese : 三宝 (sambō, sampō)


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are venerated and such pa_da are often decorated with the glyphs which are unique representations of a cultural idiom to pay homage to profound spiritual thought communicated by the enlightened Buddha. This makes the architectural-sculptural (va_stus’ilpa) tradition of Bharatam a unique contribution in the history of thought. Ka_tya_yana notes: ks.atriya_d ekarjat sangha pratis.edha_rtham (Katyayana Va_rttika V.1.168.1). This is a reference to two-facets of polity: rule of kingdom (ekarjat) and republic (sangha). In the context of Bauddha and Jaina spiritual orders, sangha has the connotation of a community of ascetics (bhikku, arahant). Panini (4.1.168-169) notes: janapada s’abda_t ks.atriyad aN~ s’alveya ga_ndha_ribhyan ca (That is, the suffix aN` is associated with both the name of a region and of the people settled therein). We find hieroglyptic representations in many sculptures to connote the sangha. These hieroglyphs are the vis’vakarma’s expression of the lingua franca in the tradition of mlecchita vikalpa (cryptography). This is notable in the context of s’rivatsa hieroglyph and makara hieroglyph. S’rivatsa and associated glyptic variants are related to three facets common to sana_tana dharma, bauddha and jaina traditions: (1) sangha; (2) dharma-dhamma; (3) puja (homage); and one facet unique to bauddha tradition: (4) stupa. Buddhapa_da are venerated and such pa_da are often decorated with the glyphs which are unique representations of a cultural idiom to pay homage to profound spiritual thought communicated by the enlightened Buddha. This makes the architectural-sculptural (va_stu-s’ilpa) tradition of Bharatam a unique contribution in the history of thought. There are many evidences of sculpture which represent the four facets. Some of these will be presented in this monograph in the context of unraveling the mlecchita vikalpa, and identifying the lingua franca which gave rise to these hieroglyphs. Various names are assigned in many studies related to art history, to the glyph: which adorns the highest rung of the toran.a (gateway) of Sanchi stu_pa: s’rivatsa, nandipa_da (sometimes also calle triratna). S’rivatsa has a synonym, ‘nandya_varta’ meaning one of the 80 marks of the Buddha. Literally, s’rivatsa means ‘favourite of s’ri or lakshmi’; it is also a name of Vishnu. S’ri connotes wealth in bharatiya tradition. Sometimes, the composition of s’rivatsa mounted over a circle with an embedded-lotus is also called nandya_varta. http://www.fak12.uni-muenchen.de/ind/ The sacred glyph associated with the 18th Tirthankara, Aranatha is also sometimes referred to as nandya_varta. This is a depiction of the four arms of svastika_ as an endless, curvilinear loop. Were these the lexemes used by people who venerated the sculptural metaphor? The answer is: NO.


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What was the s’rivatsa glyph called in the times when the artisans created the glyph variants? What semantics are associated with this glyph? Or, what was the ‘meaning’ of the glyph? The first step in understanding ‘meaning’ is to identify the underlying cultural words used to designate the components of the glyph. A resolution can be attempted by (1) reviewing the orthographic variants of the glyph in early sculptural representations and (2) evaluating the context in which the glyph was recognized for thousands of years and in dharma-dhamma continuum of Hindu, Jaina and Bauddha thought. At the outset, it should be noted that s’rivatsa is a pan-bharatiya metaphor over millennia and is not restricted to any particular pantha or magga (ma_rga) or matam or region. Evidences exist to relate the metaphor to sana_tana dharma, bauddha dhamma, jaina dharma traditions of centuries predating 1st century CE (Mathura lion capital). S’rivatsa vaks.as is part of vis.n.u sahasrana_mam denoting he who has s’rivatsa on his chest; why does s’rivatsa adorn the chest of Narayana? Ramo vigrahava_n dharmah, says Va_lmi_ki. (R. Balakanda 1.21.10). How does a s’ilpaka_ra depict this personification of dharma on a s’ilpa? By depicting the glyph of s’rivatsa on the chest of the s’ilpa. S’rivatsa is seen on the breast of Kr.s.n.a is alluded to in the Mahabharata, dyogaparvan: tato.anuvrajya govinda.n dharmarAjo yudhiShThiraH . rAGYA.n sakAshe dyutimAnuvAchedaM vachastadA .. 33..\\ yo naiva kAmAnna bhayAnna lobhAnnArthakAraNAt . anyAyamanuvarteta sthirabuddhiralolupaH .. 34..\\ dharmaGYo dhR^itimAnprAGYaH sarvabhUteShu keshavaH IshvaraH sarvabhUtAnA.n devadevaH pratApavAn .. 35..\\ ta.n sarvaguNasampannaM shrIvatsa kR^italakShaNam . sampariShvajya kaunteyaH sandeShTumupachakrame .. 36..\\ Trans. “And the illustrious king Yudhishthira the just, having followed Govinda to some distance, addressed him in these words in the presence of all those kings. And the son of Kunti embraced that foremost of all persons, who never, from desire, or anger, or fear, or purpose of gain committed the least wrong, whose mind was ever steady,


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who was a stranger to covetousness, who was conversant with morality and endued with great intelligence and wisdom, who knew the hearts of all creatures and was the lord of all, who was the God of gods, who was eternal, who was possessed of every virtue, and who bore the auspicious mark on his breast. And embracing him the king

began to indicate what he was to do.' “ (KM Ganguli’s translation). Square seal (silver) from Karur, with symbols like the Srivatsa and legend "Kuravan". Ist century B.C. Early Tamil Epigraphy. From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century CE by Iravatham Mahadevan; Crea-A:, Chennai and the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, 2003One facet is emphatic. The Bauddha thought was exemplified by paying homage to this

glyph. The glyph is held high on a flag.

INDIAN

COINS KUSHAN Stater. AV 8.01 g. Nimbate king standing facing, holding trident and

lowering his r. hand to altar, above which is a second trident, Nandipada symbol; in r.

field. Rev. Siva standing before his bull, Nandi, holding wreath and trident, tamgha

upper l.; OhpO. Mitchiner 3395.

KONOW STEN (ED.) Kharoshthi inscriptions with the exception of those of Asoka

(Corpus Inscriptionum indicarum vol.II, part I) New Delhi, Archaeological survey of

India, 1991. cxxvii + 195pp.+ 36 plate Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol.II, Part I. After

a lengthy historical introduction Konow describes, transcribes and translates inscriptions


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of the Greek chiefs, inscriptions connected with the old Saka and Kanishka eras, and

inscriptions outside the Kharoshthi area.

Cave 18 at Nasik Subject of Photo: Rock-cut caitya-arch as torana over entrance to cave, carved in the form of wooden lattice-work topped by triratna and deocrative http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30030827&detail=large

Mathura lion capital, 120 BCE.

". Architectural fragment of stone

pillar. Four addorsed lions. Kushana

period. 1st century BCE. 47 cms. Govt.


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Museum, Mathura. http://huntington.wmc.ohio-

state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=2506 Scan number:

0001037

S'rivatsa on the Mathur lion capital with inscription in Prakrit using Kharoshthi script.

(Source: Wikipedia). See brief essay on Kharoshthi/Brahmi scripts .

The inscription records that a teacher named Budhila was given a gift so that he might

teach the Mahasanghikas. Đại Chúng Bộ: Ma Ha Tăng Kỳ Bộ: Mahasanghika (skt). "The

Wardak vase in Afghanistan containing the relics of the Buddha was presented to the

teachers of the Mahasanghikas by one Kamalagulya during

the reign of Huviska. At Andharah in Afghanistan, Hsuan-

Tsang found three monasteries belonging to this sect,

which proves that this sect was popular in the North-West.

The cave at Karle in Maharashtra records the gift of a

village as also of a nine-celled hall to the adherents of the

school of the Mahasanghikas. Clearly, the Mahasanghikas

had a center at Karle and exercised influence over the

people of the West. They were not thus confined to

Magadha alone, but spread over the northern and

western parts of India and had adherents scattered all

over the country. In the south, the inscriptions at

Amaravati stupa, about 18 miles west of Bezwada. The stupa was propably constructed

in the second century B.C., its outer rail was erected in the secend century A.D. and the

sculptures in the inner rail are supposed to belong to the third century A.D. The

Nagarjunakonda represents, next to Amaravati, the most important Buddhist site in

southern India. These structures at Nagarjunakonda obviously flourished as important

centers of the branches of the Mahasanghika sect and became places of pilgrimage. It is

thus apparent that the Mahasanghikas extended their activities both towards the North

and the South, particularly in Guntur and Krishna district."

In Dhammapada's commentary on Petuvathu, Dvarka is associated with Kamboja as its

Capital or its important city. (ref: The Buddhist Concepts of Spirits, p 81, Dr B. C. Law).

See evidence below:


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"Yasa asthaya gachham Kambojam dhanharika/ ayam kamdado yakkho iyam yakham

nayamasai// iyam yakkham gahetvan sadhuken pasham ya/ yanam aaropyatvaan

khippam gaccham Davarkaan ti// [Buddhist Text Khudak Nikaya (P.T.S)]

The depiction of molluscs flanking s'rivatsa may denote s'ankha; read rebus: sangha.

S'rivatsa is read koleji 'fish'; rebus: kole.l 'temple, smithy'. (This is mleccha of Sarasvati

hieroglyphs).

There are references to Mleccha hordes (that is, S'aka, Yavana, Kamboja, Pahlava)

in Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana (1.54.21-23; 1.55.2-3).

tair āsīt saṃvṛtā bhūmiḥ

Śakair Yavanamiśritaiḥ || 1.54-21 ||

tais te Yavana-Kambojā barbarāś cākulīkṛtāḥ || 1-54-23 ||

tasyā huṃkārato jātāḥ Kambojā ravisannibhāḥ |

ūdhasaś cātha saṃbhūtaḥ barbarāḥ śāstrapaṇayah || 1-55-2 ||

yonideśāc ca Yavanāḥ Śakṛddeśāc Chakāḥ smṛtāḥ |

Romakūpeṣu Mlecchāś ca Hārītāh saKirātakāḥ || 1-55-3 ||

Vanaparva of Mahabharata notes: "......Mlechha (barbaric) kings of the Shakas, Yavanas,

Kambojas, Bahlikas etc shall rule the earth (i.e India) un-rightously in Kaliyuga..." (MBH

3/188/34-36). Anushasanaparava of Mahabharata affirms that Mathura, was under the

joint military control of the Yavanas and the Kambojas (12/102/5).

tathā YavanaKambojā

Mathurām abhitaś ca ye

ete niyuddhakuśalā

dākṣiṇātyāsicarmiṇaḥ. Note the curvilinear branches which envelop the s’rivatsa glyph on Mathura lion capital (1st century CE). Sangi means ‘associate’. Ha_ngi means ‘shell’. The curved glyph denotes such a shell. Hence, the underlying word is sangi, associate. The pair of lion cubs are si~h; rebus: s’ri ‘wealth’. The pair is connoted by the lexeme sanghar.i; rebus: sangha. The two fishes are tied together to create the glyph of s’rivatsa. Dama means ‘cord’; rebus: dhamma ‘dharma’ (cf. esha dhammo sanantano: Gautama, the Buddha’s sermon). San:gad.a means ‘jointed animals’. This connotes the


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sanghata ‘association’. A fish is kolli. Rebus: kolami ‘smithy’. The entire composition represents an association, nigama or guild of smiths, artisans. A pair is sama. Saman.a is an ascetic. S’rivatsa connotes an association, sanghata of saman.a, ascetics. Inscriptions on Mathura lion capital

Made of sandstone, the capital has an inscription in kharoshthi recording the gift by Queen Nadasi Kasa (agra-mahesi of King Rajuvula), of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha. A few lines indicate the nature of the lingua franca at the time the gift (dana) was made: H’ dhamadana O1 sarvabudhana puya dhamasa O2 puya saghasa puya This is a gift (da_na) for dhamma. Puja to all Buddha’s, puja to Dhamma, puja to sangha http://depts.washington.edu/ebmp/etext.php?cki=CKI0048 This epigraphical evidence points to the tradition of puja to dharma-dhamma, sangha and the Buddha-s. A dialogue between a wandering s’raman.a and the bhikkhu Ananda begins as follows in Anguttara-Nikaya alluding to many Buddha-s: The s’raman.a asks: "Who are you, friend?" (Ananda:) "I am a bhikkhu, friend." "One of what bhikkhus, friend?" "One of the ascetics that belong to the Sakyan's son ('samana Sakyaputtiya')." (AN V 196,11-13) [quote]The expression 'samana Sakyaputtiya' (plural in Pali) can thus be understood as an early equivalent for 'sangha' - an alternative term that serves to specify the sangha outwardly. In profiling the sangha, the Buddha is presented as the point of reference in other contexts as well. Looking at the concept of former and future Buddhas,[5] we find that the foundation and leadership of a sangha is regarded as an essential feature of a "fully enlightened one" ('sammasambuddha').Note: cf. Richard Gombrich, "The Significance of Former Buddhas in the Theravâdin Tradition", in: Somaratna Balasooriya et al. (eds.), Buddhist Studies in Honour of Walpola Rahula, London et al., 1980, pp. 62-72; Padmanabh S. Jaini, "Stages in the Bodhisattva Career of the Tathagata Maitreya", in: Alan Sponberg, Helen Hardacre (eds.), Maitreya, the Future Buddha, Cambridge et al., 1988, pp. 54-90. [unquote] http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/freiberger.html


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North West Frontier Monument: sculptural fragment with monks seated around Triratna Alternate Name: First sermon of Buddha who is represented by symbols Lahore Museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11052&detail=large


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sculptural fragment depicting devotion to a triratna Subject of Photo: devotion to a triratna Kolkata, Indian museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=6636&detail=large


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Veneration – puja of s’rivatsa

Bharhut stupa, vedika Alternate Name: railing pillar, showing a roundel with a triratna Allahabad museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohio-

state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=21266&detail=large

Buddha pa_da and srivatsa. Venerated. Amaravati. Govt. Museum, Madras. http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac04/big/bsl27757.jpg


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An evidence for the veneration of s’rivatsa is provided by a sculptural representation which shows the glyph carried on a flag- pole by one of the elephant-drivers.

East gate. Sanchi. The right post is topped by a s’rivatsa.

http://www.art-andarchaeology. com/india/sanchi/sane1.html

Makara. Lions. Veneration of stupa. Amaravati. Govt. Museum, Madras.

http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac04/big/bsl27691.jpg Procession of animals: antelope, elephant. Lion. Set 2: winged horse, tiger, bull, winged lion. Veneration of stupa. Amaravati. Govt. Museum, Madras. http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac04/big/.jpg

Veneration of cakra Stupa 2 at Sanchi. S’rivatsa and


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Triratna carved on a medallion of a vedic pillar. Fifth pillar E from N gate. Sunga. C. 100 BCE. Stone. Structural. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=12420 The veneration of the tri-ratna and s’rivatsa is demonstrated by the sculpture of worshippers offering puja, thus offering a representation of the facet of puja, veneration or homage. Triratna. Jysaba, Grey schist. Peshawar museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11624


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Puja is offered not only to triratna but also to the stupa. Slab with lions, triratna, puja

to stupa. Satavahana. 55 in. h. Stone.Amaravati Site museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11914

First sermon. Triratna on pedestal. Relief sculpture. North West Frontier. 1 CE to 300 CE. Grey schist. 5 in. h. Lahore,Central Archaeological Museum.

http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11067

Silver coin of Vijayamitra 12 BCE – 15 CE Apracarajas (Bajaur area) in the name of Azes II. Buddhisttriratna symbol in the left field on the reverse.


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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/AzesIITriratna.jpg/300px-AzesIITriratna.jpg

Sanchi stupa gateway. Worship of dhamma cakra. Amaravati Stupa was still used by worshippers up until certainly 1344 CE. The main part of the Amaravati Stupa was a solid great dome which most likely stood about 18 metres high. The

dome was made of pale green limestone which was probably painted with bright colours. A small box made of stone, pottery or metal was usually placed within the dome of a stupa. This box contained the ashes of the Buddha or an important Buddhist figure. The lower part of the dome was covered with large stone reliefs. This section of sculpture shows different scenes from the Buddha's life.

The top of the slab shows a row of symbols called triratnas. The triratna is a symbol representing the Three Jewels of Buddhism: The

Buddha, The Law set out by the Buddha, and the monastic brotherhood. These three elements are the most important andprecious in Buddhism which is why they are called


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jewels. Below the triratnas is a row of lions. Lions were important symbols of power and protection. Lions and other wild animals appear in many places on the Amaravati Stupa.

http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/buddha/explore/dome_c4.html Srivatsa, Triratna, combined. Nasik Cave 18. Caitya arch as torana over entrance. 101 to 200 CE. Rock-cut stone. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.

edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30030827

Srivatsa sculpture. Amaravati. http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac01/big/bsl27348.jpg http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac01/big/bsl27350.jpg

Tirthankara, Solanki period (ca. 900–1250), ca. first half 11th century, Gujarat or Rajasthan. (See also another murti at http://ignca.nic.in/images/ag02/medium/bagr062g.jpg ) White marble; H. 38 7/8 in. (98.7 cm). The sacred s’rivatsa mark on the chest and the lack of the urna (tuft of hair between the eyes) indicates that this murti is a tirthankara. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/ssn/hod_1992.131.htm The fish hieroglyphs on epigraphs of the Sarasvati civilization has been explained rebus: Ma. kolli a [kind of] fish. Tu. koleji id. (DEDR 2139). S’rivatsa is one of the as.t.amangala (eight auspicious) symbols. S’rivatsa means child of divinity of fortune and beauty. Endless knot, dpal be'u (Tibetan), shrivatsa are synonyms. The components of the art form of s’rivatsa are: upwardly curved fishes symmetrically paired.


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S’rivatsa on Jain votive plaque. Ayagapata. Mathura UP, Kankali Tila. Kushana (2nd c. CE). 65 x 57.5 cm. J249 (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1985), no. 39, p. 105 http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/museums/delhi/dm_begram2_th.jpg Srivatsa (Begram bone ca. 1

st cent. BCE)

The srivatsa is an auspicious symbol which appears as a mark or dot of chest hair of Visnu, as well as one of the Jain Tirthankaras. It apparently originated in the Indus Valley culture and is thought to symbolize the “source of the natural world” (Liebert 1986:280). The srivatsa emblem can take a number of shapes. In the Begram plaque described in the previous section, where the symbol is presented atop a triratna, the upper part of the symbol takes the form of a inverted triratna with the middle prong pointed but the outer prongs curled inward (Plate 391). www.ecai.org/begramweb/docs/begramchapter3_3.htm Begram. Flat relief. Bone 13.5X6.6 cm. Plate 391 http://ecai.org/begramweb/BegramASP/PlateDisplay.asp?plate=Pl.391 Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh) Stupa 2, vedika., northwest quadrant, inner face, pillar, upper half medallion, Srivatsa, sandstone Shrivatsa within a triratana, over a Chakra wheel, on the Tonana gate at Sanchi. Buddhapada featuring the triratna, from 1st-2nd century Gandhara

Source: http://asianart.com/eskenazi/ (downloaded May 2002)

"A Buddhapada stone featuring two yakshis. India; Gandhara region; circa 1st-2nd century C.E. grey schist; 89 x 127 cm."

Commentary by John Eskenazi Ltd., the gallery showing this piece:

"When Gandharan art was first observed and studied by western art


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historians, there was a tendency to ascribe a primarily western inspiration to it. In many ways during the colonial period this not only justified the political activities of the day. Westerners admired Gandharan art more than other indigenous Indian artforms and wanted to collect it, as those who could afford to collected Greek and Roman art. Consequently they preferred to think of it as part of that tradition. This thinking, however, is no longer justified. Closer, impartial investigation of this fascinating and beautiful art style more logically shows that as well as being motivated by Buddhism, an Indian philosophy, it drew the substance of its aesthetic from India also. This Buddhapada stone is a case in point, a subject which is conspicuously Indian and which shows figures emanating entirely from that tradition rather than the Hellenised world. As an object of devotion, the Buddhapada stone developed in India, certainly by the 1st century B.C.E., when it was normal to represent the Buddha aniconically, a practice observed at the great stupa railings of Bharhut and Sanchi, which feature numerous lesser figures.” http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/0100_0199/kushanart/buddhapada/buddhapada.html Caitya hall at Bhaja caves. Caitya cave has a stupa in the centre for circumambulation. Is the stupa a version of the s’ivalinga? Kubera or Vaisravana was worshipped in Khotan in a popular and wealthy shrine, as referred to in Hsuan Tsang’s chronicles and Tibetan `Annals of Li-yul'. Hsuan Tsang notes: “The f irst ancestor of the k ing was the e ldest son of K ing Anoka and res ided in the k ingdom of Taksas ’ i lā (Ta-ch'a-s hih- lo)… As he had no heir , he went one day to pray at the temple of Vais ’ravana…” The ‘Annals of Li-yul’ notes: “beyond the Himalaya L i-yul , or ig inal ly an inhabited

country , was converted into a lake by it s Nāgas or Spring-deit ies , whom the bad t reatment accorded by the people to certa in Rs is had angered…Then Buddha directed his disc iple Sariputra to pierce the lake with the butt end of his staff and Vais ’ravana to do the same with the end of his pike. ” http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/VIII-5-B2-7/V-1/page/0209.html.en “A caitya or a stupa does not bear the sense of a conveyance, but the gradual transformation of the concept of a chariot (a la Puspaka) into that of a palanquin (sibika) in course of time cannot be ruled out as an impossibility. Although the caitya or stupa primarily has funerary connotation, one should not miss its relevance to the concept of a journey -the


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Great Journey or.Mahaparinirvana, to be precise, in the Buddhistic tradition. The interpretation of a divine chariot (Puspaka), originally associated with Vaisravanas (sons of Visrava of the Ramayana) to that of a caitya or stupa of Vaisravana-Jhambhala of the Buddhistic contexts is indeed an ingenuity of the Central Asian artists.” http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41025.htm#_ftnref21 D.C. Bhattacharya, 1998, Icons of Cultural Linkage. The extraordinary sacredness attached to the s’ankha in pan-bharatiya traditions of hindu, bauddha and Jaina is a celebration of the essential cultural unity and indigenous evolution of hindu civilization. Fig. 39 Bishamon, Japan is a Japanese equivalent of the Indian Vaisravana (Kubera). Bishamon is the Bauddha patron of warriors dressed in ful armor carrying a spear and a miniature pagoda, a metaphor of a treasure-house. Vaisravana images were made in Japan from the Heian period (794-1185). “At the Kotohira shrine on the island of Shikoku, sailors worship a god called Kompera, which is a corruption of the Sanskrit word for crocodile, Kumbhira. The divine architect mentioned in the Rig Veda, Vishvakarma, who designed and constructed the world, was regarded in ancient Japan as the god of carpenters, Bishukatsuma.” http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWHChinaJapanKorea.html The Kotohira shrine may be a reference to Kubera (kompera < kubera). On an exquisite sculpture of Vais’ravana, sculpted on a conch-shell, Kubera is shown holding a conch trumpet (s’ankha) – referred to as a Tibetan conch-shell --, an emphatic association of Kubera, as a divinity of wealth, with s’ankha nidhi, one of the nine treasures (navanidhi). A detail of the conch-shell in the school of thangka painting, shows the Buddha. The natural size of this shell trumpet is 20 x 16 inches / 50 x 40 cm “A conch shell is an essential implement in both Hindu and Buddhist ritual. Some shells in their natural condition ar used as containers for consecrated water and often placed on top of a water pot on an altar. Others, such as those examples, are used as trumpets. Hindus in India believe that the sound of a conch shell drives away evil spirits. Presumably the Buddhist also adopted the same practice for their rituals, and hence the custom is prevalent in Tibet. Conch shell horns are blown as a sound offering. The larger shells are blown from a monastery rooftop to gather the monks together. The "metal shield and decorations make it more practical to utilize the shell, which might otherwise be broken, or not be of the right shape or size. A conch shell is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. When a conch is placed on an altar as an emblem, it signifies the Buddha´s proclamation of his teachings.” ‘Om’ sound of the Tibetan conch-shell can be heard at http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/objects/shells/conch.wav http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/objects/shells/Shells-7-1.htm


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Kharosthi Script

[quote] 3rd BCE - 4th CE.The Kharosthi Script was more or less contemporarily with the Brahmi script, appearing around the 3rd century BCE mainly in modern-day northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, although some examples do occur in India. Like Brahmi, Kharosthi seemed to have been developed for Prakrit dialects (which was the common speech of everyday life as opposed to Sanskrit which was the liturgic language). For instance, the earliest example of Brahmi and Kharosthi did not have the dipthongs /ai/, /au/, and the vocalic /r/ and /l/, which existed in Sanskrit but not in Prakrit. In particular, Kharosthi seemed to be used primarily for the Prakrit dialect of Gandhari. The evidence for this is in the form of a diacritic mark that denotes a transformation of an intervocalic constant (sometimes from a stop to a fricative), which existed in Gandhari. Structurally, the Kharosthi and the Brahmi are nearly identical. The characters in both represent a constant followed by the short vowel /a/ (Lawrence Lo's notation: a "C-a" sign). Both denote change in vowel by adding marks to a sign. Consonant clusters are formed in both system by juxtaposing two signs closely together, sometimes forming a ligature. There are some difference, though. For one, while Brahmi had different signs for different initial vowels, Kharosthi used the same marks that change vowels in C-a signs on the sign for initial /a/ to denote other initial vowels. Another difference is that while Brahmi differentiated long and short version of the same vowel, Kharosthi used the same sign for both. Eventually the Kharosthi script fell out of use by the 3rd or 4th century CE, and the descendent of Brahmi eventually took hold in the northwestern India to Assam in the east -- the extent of Asoka Empire and the outlying areas. [unquote]

http://www.tuninst.net/Linguistics/script-brahmi/brahmi.htm

The following table shows the remarkable possible derivation of Telugu script – vowels I,

o -- from Kharoshthi writing system:.

http://www.tuninst.net/Linguistics/script-brahmi/brahmi.htm

Veneration – puja of flower ornament, tree, sacred glyphs


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A sculptural variant of the nandya_varta (that is, a composition including dharma cakra and s’rivatsa) is to present three wheels as tri-ratna (representing the Buddha, dharma and sangha). In some variants, the wheel or flower with petals, is bordered with a string of s’rivatsa sacred glyphs as shown in a scruptural fragment of a female figurine holding triratna,

from Hadda. Kusana. 50 to 300 CE. Stucco. 9 in. Kabul Museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11863 Pillar in chaitya hall 7. Bedsa. detail of carving on 5 pillars on right (#7-#11 from front) with triratna and spiral above and two flowers below. Stone. Rock-cut. Satavahana. 20 to 40 CE. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&Ob

jectID=20957 Jewelry from Ur. The shape of the wheel is sometimes shown as thie three jewels shown on top of this set from Ur.

Comparable jewelry have been found in Sarasvati civilization. What was the shape of this wreath-like jewel called? ta_mam. (l.) Sanchi stupa. Western torana, Southern pillar, outer face. 10 to 30 CE. Veneration of tree, flowers, wreath. (r.) Railing from Bharhut stupa. Sunga. 100 to 80 BCE. Kolkata, Indian Museum. Note the garlands or wreaths on the tree branches on both sculptures. da_ma ‘wreath, garland’; rebus: dhamma (Pali) (dharma Skt.). kut.i ‘tree’; gud.i ‘temple’ (Tu.); kut.hi ‘furnace’ (Santali) kur.y Hindu temple (To.); gur.y

temple (Ko.); gur.i temple (Go.); gud.i temple (Te.Kol.); id. (Pa.Ga.Go.); small pagoda or shrine (Tu.); central room of house, living room (Kui); kud.s. outer room of dairy, in: kud.s. was. fireplace in outer room of lowest grade of dairies (To.); gud.d.i_ temple, tomb (Go.)(DEDR 1655). kut.am a house (Skt.lex.) kut.i, kut.hi, kut.a, kut.ha a tree (Kaus'.); kud.a tree (Pkt.); kur.a_ tree; kar.ek tree, oak (Pas;.)(CDIAL 3228). Source: http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30000334 Source of photo: http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=2635


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Adorning a tree with wreaths and garlands is demonstrated in a sculpture from Sanchi, c. 50 BCE to 25 CE. Early Indian stone sculpture. Los Angeles CCU Museum of Art, California. Da_man ‘wreath, g arland’; rebus: dhamma. http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac11/big/bsl44327.jpg The flower on the earth is comparable to the flower (wreath) which is a part of sacred s’rivatsa glyphs.

Bharhut stupa. Vedika. Roundel and triratna. Sunga. Sandstone. 44.5 in. h. Allahabad Municipal Museum.

http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=21267

Stupa slab showing

Buddhapa_da, Agniskanda and Srivatsa. Satavahana. Stone. Amaravati Site Museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.

edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11905 Veneration – puja of the feet of Buddha (buddhapa_da) with s’rivatsa and other sacred glyphs


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Buddhapa_da. Show the auspicious glyphs of cakra, svastika (satthiya_ in Punjabi), s’rivatsa, punnaghat.a. Nagarjunakonda.

http://www.ignca.nic.in/asp/body.asp?imgsrc='ac08;sl27922' MIHO Museum. http://www.miho.or.jp/booth/html/imgbig/00001179e.htm Tiratna, Chinese: 三宝, Sanb_o, Japanese: Sambo or Sampo) are

the three central concepts in Buddhism. The Buddha (Chn: 佛, Fó, Jpn: Butsu) is the Awakened One. see

also The Tathagata and Sakyamuni Buddha. The Dharma (Chn: 法, F_, Jpn: Ho) is the teachings or law as

expounded by the Buddha. The Sangha (Chn: 僧 Seng, Jpn: So) are the individuals comprising the: noble Sangha

(Arya Sangha), those beings possessing some degree of enlightenment, and the ordinary Sangha (Bhikkhu Sangha) which refers to the community of people practicing the Dharma [1]

1. Refuge : An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha. Thanissaro Bhikkhu : Third edition, revised, 2001 Laks.an.a on buddhapa_da. North West Frontier. Kusana.

1CE to 300 CE. Grey Schist. 36 in. h. Lahore, Central Archaeological Museum. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.

edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=11086


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Triratana Buddhist symbol. 1st century CE, Gandhara. Other early aniconic symbols include the trisula, a symbol use since around the 2nd century BCE that combine the lotus, the vajra diamond rod and a symbolization of the three jewels (The Buddha, the dharma, the sangha). The first hint of a human representation in Buddhist

symbolism appear with the Buddha footprint. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_symbolism Source: http://asianart.com/eskenazi/ A Buddhapa_da stone featuring two yakshis. India; Gandhara region; circa 1st-2nd century C.E. grey schist; 89 x 127 cm. Commentary by John Eskenazi Ltd., the gallery showing this piece: "When Gandharan art was first observed and studied by western art historians, there was a tendency to ascribe a primarily western inspiration to it. In many ways during the colonial period this not only justified the political activities of the day. Westerners admired Gandharan art more than other indigenous Indian artforms and wanted to collect it, as those who could afford to collected Greek and Roman art. Consequently they preferred to think of it as part of that tradition. This thinking, however, is no longer justified. Closer, impartial investigation of this fascinating and beautiful art style more logically shows that as well as being motivated by Buddhism, an Indian philosophy, it drew the substance of its aesthetic from India also. This Buddhapada stone is a case in point, a subject which is conspicuously Indian and which shows figures emanating entirely from that tradition rather than the Hellenised world. As an object of devotion, the Buddhapada stone developed in India, certainly by the 1st century B.C.E., when it was normal to represent the Buddha aniconically, a practice observed at the great stupa railings of Bharhut and Sanchi, which feature numerous lesser figures. Before images of the Buddha appeared, various aniconic symbols were used in India, such as the Turban, the Bo-Tree, the Dharmachakra and the Buddhapada. This distinct vocabulary was universally understood by Buddhists. At the Amaravati stupa, further south, where the sculptures span a period of four hundred years, there are two distinct Buddhapada forms. In one, where the footprints appear in a narrative context, they are a small element in scenes featuring figures posed around them, just as figures of minor deities flank the Buddha in iconic representions at the same stupa. The figures are distinctive at Amaravati, princely men, beautiful women, lions, etc., and it appears they had a recognised significance, At the very least showing the appeal of Buddhist theology to the great and powerful, but more likely these figures represent the deities of other religions acknowledging the Buddha’s message of truth. Their steady gaze and outward looking pose testifies to the fact that they are bearing witness to the Buddha’s enlightenment and ministry and this is a theme which the Buddhapada form itself appears to represent. The second Buddhapada form found at Amaravati is a large stone with a raised pair of feet. These are footmarks, not the impression of where he once trod. It is the aniconic representation of the Buddha’s spiritual example. (He cannot be present, because he has passed into nirvana.) This is a focus of devotion rather than part of a narrative. Amongst the Amaravati Buddhapada are a complete example is in the British Museum


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London (Knox, 1992:121) showing the footmarks surrounded by foliage. In the bottom right hand corner is a seated yaksha holding a lotus. There is also a Buddhapada fragment in the Madras Museum (illus. Bachhofer, 1939/1973). Both date from what Knox classifies as the “Early” Amaravati period, i.e. 1st century B.C.E. - 1st century C.E… On the footprints themselves, the Dharmachakras in the centre are a longstanding Indian tradition but there they have a wheel-like centre. In that form they are found on Ashokan pillar capitals (Mitra, 1971: 65), repeated at Amaravati in the early period. Czuma (1986: cat. no. 1) suggests the Dharmachakra form developed from a solar disc image and that it was a recognised holy symbol prior to the Mauryan period, when it became associated with Buddhist art. Here, the lotus at the centre is a development on the solar disc form, the lotus symbolising the Buddha’s purity of spirit. This appears to be a Gandharan innovation. Another Buddhist symbol, the Triratna, symbol of the Threefold Way, appears close to the heel and this incorporates the same lotus. A single lotus appears between the feet. On the toes, as well as the repeated Triratna, Svastika forms appear below, another long established and auspicioussymbol which became incorporated into Buddhist and Jain art in this period.” http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/0100_0199/kushanart/buddhapada/buddhapada.html Orthographic variants of s’rivatsa hieroglyph Clarity of the constituents of the composite glyph is achieved by a review of the variants

of representation of the glyph. Jaina votive tablet from Mathurå. From Czuma 1985,

catalogue

number 3. (svastika_ -- satthiya, s’rivatsa, pair of

fishes, standard

device – sangad.a,

‘furnace’)

The clearest enunciation of the glyph comes from Jaina a_ya_gapatta.

(A_ya_gapat.t.a is a tablet of homage delivered as a donation after a yajna, also explained as deyyadhamma -- Sn 486 (= deyyadhammana_ adhi__hana-- bhuta SnA 412); Th 1, 566; J vi. 205 (a_ya_ga- vatthu worthy object of yajna donation). Ayagapattas are Jain votive slabs which symbolize the cosmos and are often decorated with auspicious symbols (Czuma 1985:53). J. 250 Red Sand stone, 88 X 82 cm. Ist cent.


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CE, Kankali Mound ( Mathura ) This sacred tablet is decorated with auspicious symbols and diagrams symbolising the cosmos. The innermost circle consists a small figure of Jina or Trithankara seated in meditation. Next circle shows four good – fortune (s’rivatsa) symbols. The square corners are filled with composite na_ga kanya.

Mathura, 1st cent. CE One of the motifs on the top panel showing a pair of fishes, an M glyph, is a fish tied to two inversed S motifs (third from left). A Tirthankara sitting in padmaasana yogic posture is venerated on this panel. The motifs are read as: Top row: A yoked pair of fish, mirror, s’rivatsa, vardhamanaka. Bottom row: ratna-traya, lotus, bhadra_sana (?), and a full vase. S’rivatsa motif is associated with S’italanatha Tirthankara in the Jaina tradition (just as Pars’vanatha is associated with the svastika motif and Neminatha with the s’ankha motif). Darpan.a is the name of a mountain, a seat of

Kubera.

See five variants at http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/srivatsa1.jpg s'ri_vatsa symbol variants found at Kankalitila, Mathura, late 1st cent. BC: Jaina a_ya_gapat.a; in these five specimen, a fish is shown in the middle apparently bound by two snake-hoods on either side; apparently, this ligatured pictorial formed the basis for the evolution of the s'rivatsa symbol almost looking like a stylized trident. (After Pl. 30 C in: Savita Sharma, 1990, Early Indian Symbols, Numismatic Evidence, Delhi, Agam Kala Prakashan; cf. Shah, U.P., 1975, Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, p. 77). An idential symbol is depicted at sa_n~ci stu_pa (Smith, VA, Jaina Stu_pa, p. 15, Pl. VII, L. Buhler, Epigraphica Indica II, pp. 200, 313; Agrawala, VS, Guide to Lucknow Museum, p. 4). The s'ri_vatsa also appears on the chest of a small Jina figure on a_ya_gapat.a (Shah, UP, FIgs. 11-12, J. 250 and J. 252, Lucknow Museum). http://www.herenow4u.de/Images/24_Symbols_for_Tirthankara/10.jpg This image shows four curved W


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motifs surrounding a circle. See: Srivastava, A. L., 1979. The Srivatsa Symbol in Indian Art. In: EW, N. S., Vol. XXIX(1-4): 37-60. Bapat, P. V., 1953. Four Auspicious Things of the Buddhists: Srivatsa, Svastika, Nandyavarta and Vardhama_na. In: Indica, The Indian Hist. Res. Inst. Silver Jubilee Comm. Vol., Bombay, pp. 38-46. Divinity Narayana is also shown wearing s'rivatsa motif on his chest on a bronze s'ilpa. This is an evocation of S'ri associated with divinity Narayana in the s'rivaishnava tradition. http://www.exoticindiaart.com/product/EM89/ (cache) bronze statue 14.5" X 8" X 4"; 9.6 Kg. A dhruva beram (standing s'ilpa used as utsava beram) of Tirumala Venkates'wara has s'rivatsa motif shown on the chest. The motif may represent the material objects of enjoyment in the form of ornaments and weapons. Parasara rishi, Vishnu Purana 1.22.69 in what is referred to as astrabhu_s.an.a_dhya_ya. S'rivatsa as a metaphor, is often referred to as Prakriti s'rivatsa. (See fn. 37 "S’rivatsa in the earlier images is generally a vertical line with an S-shaped mark on its left, and its mirror image on the right. Later the symbol changed into a lozenge shaped four-petalled flower. In Hinduism it represents "S’ri_" the mother divinity of fortune. It is the special mark of Vis.n.u. (C. Sivarama Murti in Ancient India, No. 6, pp. 44-46)." (loc. cit. Ashok Kumar Roy, 1984, A History of the Jains, New Delhi, Gitanjali Publishing House). Ebook at http://wwwedit.cs.wayne.edu:8080/~manishk/JainismDocuments/HistoryOfJainism.pdf S'risuktam is a sukta of 15 verses and is a Rigveda khila. Sayana, Prithvidhara and Nanjiyar have commented on this sukta. One view of the sukta is that it is a tribute to the metal, gold – associating s'ri with wealth. http://www.ee.duke.edu/%7Evkp/audio/sree.mp3 Also at http://www.divyajivan.org/realaudio/sri_suktam.ram The sukta and translation are at http://www.srividya.org/slokas/HTML/sri_suktam.htm S'ri is said to have two children: kardama and ciklita. Association is with > a_pah, `waters'. The very first line refers to: s'ri_m as hiran.yavarn.am , harin.i_m, suvarn.a rajatasrajam. This evokes association with gold and silver. The sukta is also an invocation to soma (interpreting cikli_ta as cikri_ta, `the purchased one, that is soma). The literal meanings of kardama and cikli_ta are `mud' and `mire, ooze'. At Arikamedu was found one square copper coin with the motifs: an elephant, a ritual umbrella, S'rivatsa symbol, and the front of a horse.[ K. V. Raman, "A Note on the Square Copper Coin from Arikamedu" in The Ancient Port of Arikamedu, p. 391-392.] Twin fish and s’rivatsa on Ayagapatta (lower quadrant). Manoharpura Kusana c. 1st to 3rd cent. CE. Red sandstone. Lucknow State Museum, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30000346 This panel shows two patterns, both related to fish in the centre. In


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one, two fish are linked together by a wreath or garland or rope. In the second pattern, two curvilinear glyphs (S and mirrorimag of S-shape) are tied to the fish. The curvilinear glyph is comparable to the cephalopod. The pattern in the s’rivatsa is a variant of two fishes bound together. In this pattern, the fish-tails constitute the dominant glyph with one fish-body ligatured in the center to provide a clear orthographic representation of two curved, upturned fish-tails emanating from a pair of over-lapping fishes. http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate. edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=30000353


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The compound Buddhist

symbols: Shrivatsa within a

triratana, over a Chakra

wheel, on the Tonana gate

at Sanchi. 1st century BCE. These images are definitive indicators of the evolution of the s'rivatsa (or curved W motif) in bharatiya metaphors across the entire gamut of panthas of dharma-dhamma continuum in relating the motif to Narayana, the Buddha (Bauddha) or the Tirthankaras (Jaina). S’rivatsa as a sacred glyph achieves its pinnacle on Sanchi stupa gates in breath-taking architectural, sculptural splendor. The compound Buddhist symbols: S’rivatsa within a

triratana, over a Chakra wheel, on the Tonana gate at Sanchi. 1st century BCE. Yaks.a and Buddhist symbol, toran.a, Sa_n~ci (Ananda K. Coomarawamy, Part I, 1980, Yaks.as, 2nd edn., Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, Plate 10, 2, p.40). Upper part of north toran.a, Sa_n~ci, with a cauri_-bearing yaks.a; showing also a symbol (often but wrongly styled vardhama_na). There was originally a Buddha triad consisting of a Dhammacakka between two Yaks.as. First of first century BC. S'ri_vatsa symbol is the centre-piece on this panel.

Triratna gold pendant. A lotus flower within a circle. A diamond rod, or vajra. A trident, or trisula, with three branches, representing the three-fold jewels (tri-ratna) of Bauddham: the

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Madhya Pradesh, Shunga. c. 185-72 BCE AMICO Contributor: The Cleveland Museum of Art Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html as.t.aman:galaka ha_ra (eight sacred glyphs)


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Necklaces with a number of pendants (cf. Marshall, J. and Foucher, The Monuments of Sanchi, 3 vols., Callcutta, 1936, repr. 1982, pl. 27). The first necklace has eleven and the second one has thirteen pendants (cf. V.S. Agrawala, 1977, Bha_rati_ya Kala_, Varanasi, p. 169); he notes the eleven pendants as: sun, s'ukra, padmasara, an:kus'a, vaijayanti, pan:kaja, mi_na-mithuna, s'ri_vatsa, paras'u, darpan.a and kamala. "The axe (paras'u) and an:kus'a pendants are common at

sites of north India and some of their finest specimens from Kausambi are in the collection of Dr. MC Dikshit of Nagpur." (Dhavalikar, M.K., 1965, Sa_n~ci: A cultural

Study, Poona, p. 44; loc.cit. Dr.Mohini Verma, 1989, Dress and Ornaments in Ancient

India: The Maurya and S'un:ga Periods, Varanasi, Indological Book House, p. 125). Note that one of the pendants looks like the 'device' normally found in front of the onehorned bull, the san:gad.a, portable brazier and lathe (also meaning, battle). On the second ha_ra, clock-wise, after in.aikkayal or mi_nayugala (twin fish), and axe, the pendant looks like a tree or a bunch of coral? [tukir = coral, paval.am; vaicayanti = tukirkot. i, i.e. creeper containing coral; thus a sign interpreted as a man:gala sign, i.e. vaijayanti may be connoted by this Tamil phrase: tukir-kot.i, i.e. a bunch of corals on a creeper. In Skt., vaijayanti can be interpreted as an attribute of victory]. Homonym: tukilikai = writing instrument (Ta.lex.) This ha_ra with 13 pendants may be a combination of 8 welfare insignia (as.t.aman:gala) PLUS 5 weapons (aimpat.aitta_li). Kuber'a navanidhi also includes padma and s'an:khu. If s'an:khu connotes a javelin, what did padma connote in the repertoire of weapons? Or, is it just a symbol of plenty since it is said to contain many seeds. The Tamil idiom is: can:ka niti, patuma niti: "can:kaniti patumaniti iran.t.um tantu": te_va_ra. tan-ittirutta_n.t.aka. Tiruna_) explained in the Katirvel Pillai's Tamil lexicon as 'nidhi' (treasure) heaped like a s'an:kha and like a padma. On both the ha_ra, the padma is depicted as a circle with petals. Rebus readings of s’rivatsa hieroglyph ligatures Metaphor of veneration (homage). Terracotta image. Sarasvati civilization. Brooklyn museum of Art. http://www.ignca.nic.in/images/ac24/big/bsl45400.jpg The tradition of orthographic ligaturing is clearly traceable to Sarasvati hieroglyphs of a smithy and artisan’s work rendered in mlecchita vikalpa (cryptography). http://kalyan97.googlepages.com Like the makara ligatured glyph, s’rivatsa and its variants are also hieroglyphs to be read rebus. The pendants on the necklaces clarify that the s’rivatsa composition together with a wheel or jewel/ornament is composed of the component glyphs. A number of semantic clusters related to the glyph components are presented. The semantic clusters of lexemes point to a linguistic area of the times when the s’rivatsa and makara glyphs were designed by artisans, kaula mangra. The lexemes span the


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entire spectrum of Indic languages ranging from Mundarica to Telugu to Gujarati. The cultural idioms implicit in the underlying language words relatable to the hieroglyphs constituting s’rivatsa and variants continues into the historical periods, as abiding cultural metaphors related to 1. A pair of fishes (sangha_ri; sangal.a ‘pair’; sanghara ‘river fish’; (samana ‘equal, mirror image’) 2. Cephalopod (sa_~khi ‘snail’); supernatural beings (dha_ma) 3. A bonding (cord or wreath tying the two fishes together with the fish-tails curved upwards) (dama ‘cord’, puccha ‘fish-tail’, kola ‘tail’; kola ‘fish’; sanghara ‘river fish’) 4. Wheel or wreath, i.e., lotus-shaped ornament (Chakka ‘wheel’, da_ma ‘wreath, flower, garland’) 5. Worshippers venerating sacred glyphs Rebus readings – homonyms of hieroglyphs -- are (sacred lexemes): 1. sangha ‘community’ ; samana ‘ascetic’ 2. dhamma ‘dharma’; dhamma-chakka ‘wheel of law’; dha_ma ‘divine abode’ 3. kole.l ‘temple, smithy’ 4. kur.y ‘temple’; kut.i ‘tree’ (tree as shrine) 5. puja ‘worship’ Mlecchita vikalpa (cryptography)

Each of these component has an underlying cultural idiom with emphatic semantics related to the glyphs: 1. Rebus: sangha. san:gha_r.i pair of fish roes (Or.)(CDIAL 12859). san:gha_t.ika_ a pair, couple (Skt.lex.) sa~gherna_ to hobble two cows together left leg to right leg to prevent straying; sa~ghera_ the rope with which this is done (H.)(CDIAL 12864). san:gal.a pair (Si.); sam.gha_d.a, sam.gha_d.aga, sam.gha_d.i_ pair (Pkt.); san:gha_r.i two rolls of thread for twisting to the sacred thread (Or.)(CDIAL 12859). Rebus: sanghi. sa_~nkhii ‘snail, shell, cephalopod’. ha_ngi snail (K.); sa~_khi possessing or made of shells (B.); ho~gi pearl oyster shell, shell of any aquatic mollusc (K.); ha_ngi snail (K.)(CDIAL 12380). Rebus: yas’as son of dharma and ki_rti; venerated, excellent, beautiful appearance , beauty , splendour , worth RV. AV. VS. S’Br. GrSrS.; dhana, wealth; honour , glory , fame , renown. jhasa a large fish S’Br. i , 8 , 14 ; a fish MBh. R. VarBrS. Rebus: sangha. Sanghara is the name of a river fish of Saptasindhu region. “Price of river sanghara fish crossed Rs 150 per kg. It was around Rs 100 per kg about a fortnight ago.” News report of 13 Feb. 2004 http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040213/cth1.htm


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Rebus: dhamma. dama (nt.) [Sk. daman to dyati to bind (Gr. di/dhmi); as in Gr. de/sma (rope), dia/dhma (diadem), up/dhma (sandal)] a bond, fetter, rope; chain, wreath, garland S iv.163 (read damena for damena) (Pali lex.). To shackle; to tie: da_mvu~ to tie with a cord (G.); da_e~ tying a number of bullocks together for treading corn (H.)(CDIAL 6285). dau~ra_, dara_ rope (Or.); d.a_vara_van.,

d.a~_vara_van. to hobble (L.); da_mri long rope for tying several buffalo-calves together (A.); dau~ri_ rope to which threshing bullocks are tied (Bi.); da~_mar,

dau~rar. rope to which the bullocks are tied (Mth.); da~_wri_ id., rope, string (H.)(CDIAL 6283). Thread; rope: da_ramu cord, rope(Te.); ta_ram cord, rope (Pirapulin:k. It.t.avil. 20); da_ra string, thread (Ka.Tu.); da_ra- waistband, girdle (Pkt.); davara(ka)- string (Skt.)(DEDR 3167). cf. davara string (Skt.); davaraka

(Jain.); do_raka leather strap (Ka_tyS'r.); d.o_ra thread, string, mat fibre (Pkt.)(CDIAL 6225). da_man string , cord , rope , fetter RV. AV. S3Br. MBh.; girdle; chaplet , wreath, garland for forehead MBh. Hariv.; ta_mpu rope (Pin..)(Ta.); da_vu (Ka.); ta_mpu rope to tie cattle, tether (Kalit. 111); ta_mpukkayir-u id.; ta_mpun-to_n.t.i-

yum-a_tal lit., to be like drawing rope and pitcher; to be familiar, intimate, hand and

glove with (Ta.lex.) Image: capstan: tavar-ai capstan, machine for winding up a cable in small craft (Ta.); dabara id. (Te.); tavar id. (Ta.)(Ta.lex.) da_van.a, da_man.i_

tethering rope (Pkt.); d.a_van.u, d.a_n.u forefeet shackles; d.a_vin.i_, d.a_n.i_ guard to support nose-ring (S.); d.a~_van., d.a~_van.i_, d.a_un.i_ hobble; da_un.i_ strip at foot of bed, triple cord of silk worn by women on head; da_vun. picket rope (L.); da_un., daun., daun string for bedstead, hobble for horse; da_un.i_ gold ornament worn on woman's forehead (P.); daun.o, daun.i_ peg for tying cattle to; do~r. place for keeping cattle, bedding for cattle (Ku.); dan long cord on which a net or screen is stretched, thong; dana_ bridle (A.); da_mni rope (B.); daan.a string at the fringe of a casting net on which pebbles are strung; da_un.i rope for tying bullocks together when threshing (Or.); da_wan girdle (H.); da_wani_ rope; da~_wani_ a woman's ornament (H.); da_man., d.a_man. tether, hobble (G.); da_mn.u~ thin rope, string; da_mn.i_ rope, women's head ornament (G.); da_van. picket-rope (M.)(CDIAL 6283). ta_van.i a piece of cloth worn generally by girls over their petticoats; pieces from the shroud kept as relic of the deceased (Chr.); saddle cloth (Ta.lex.) ta_van.i long rope to tie cattle in a row; cattle-fair; cattle-shed (Ta.lex.) da_ma-, inst. da_me_na rope, fetter, garland (Pali); da_ma- (Pkt.); da_m rope, thread, bandage (Wg.); rope (Tir.Shum.); thick thread (Pas'.); du_m net snare (Pas'.); do_mo twine, short bit of goat's cord; do_m thread (Sh.); do_n. thread (D..); gu-dmu cow's tethering rope (K.); da~_u, da_va~_ hobble for a horse (P.); dau~, dao~, da_ma_ peg to tie a buffalo-calf to (A.); da_m, da_ma_ cord (B.); da~_w rope to tie cattle (WPah.); dua~_ tether; da_i_ long tether to which many beasts are tied (Or.); da_m tether (G.); rope, string, fetter; da_ma_ id., garland (H.); da_ve~ (M.); dama chain, rope; dam garland (Si.); damat.a_, damat.i_, damat.k rope (Pas'.); d.amat.ik (Shum.); damo_r. (Wot..); damor.i_ (Sv.); da_mlo tether for cow (N.); da~_wali, da_u~li, da_mli bird-trap of string; da~_wal, da_mal coeval (< tied together)(N.); da~_vli_ small tie-rope (M.)(CDIAL 6283). daye~ro the man who drives the animals treading out rice (N.)(CDIAL 6282). da_vur, da~var, d.a~_var spider (L.)(CDIAL 6281). Image: a


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necklace: ta_vad.a a kind of necklace formed of lotus beads hanging as low as the navel, worn by men (Ka.Ma.); ta_r..vat.am (Ta.); ta_vad.a, ta_val.a, ta_l.i

(Te.)(Ka.lex.) da_in.u to shackle (the forelegs of an animal)(S.); da_un.a_ to hobble horse or ass (P.)(CDIAL 6289). nida_na tying down to; ground (lit. or fig.), foundation, occasion; source, origin, cause; reason, reference, subject (Pali) Rebus: dhamma. dha_ma ‘a class of superhuman beings, name of Brahma, Yama, Kr.s.n.a’; ‘abode’ as in: paramdha_ma ‘supreme divine abode’. Rebus: dhamma. Jewel/flower. tarba ‘flower’; tarba-mala ‘garland of flowers’

(Mu.) Five ornamental types of crowns are identified by their shapes (mut.i-y-ur-uppu): ta_mam (wreath-shaped), mukut.am (cock's comb-shaped), patumam (lotusshaped), ko_t.akam (tapering, curved), kimpuri (shaped like the mouth of a shark) (Ta.lex.) da_ma garland (Pali); da_ma_ garland (H.); dam id. (Si.) da_ma wreath , garland MBh. Hariv.; f. id. RV. viii , 61 , 6. ta_mam = wreath, flower garland, chaplet, especially worn on shoulders; 4. necklace of beads; string, as of pearls; 5. woman's waist ornament of 16 or 18 strings of beads; 6. row, line; 7. flower (Ta.lex.) Rebus: dhárma m. what is established, law, duty, right AV. [dhárman-- n. RV. -- _dhr_] Pa. dhamma-- m. (rarely n.), As.shah. man. dhrama--, gir. kal. &c. dha_ma--; NiDoc. dham_a employment in the royal administration ;Dhp. dharma--, dhama--, Pk. dhamma-- m.; OB. dhama religious conduct; H. kamdham work, business ı; OSi. dama religion (Si. daham Pa.). dharmin--, law, duty, right AV. [dhárman-- n. RV. -- _dhr_] Pa. dhamma-- m. (rarely n.), As.shah. man. dhrama--, gir. kal. &c. dha_ma--; NiDoc. dham_a employment in the royal administration; Dhp. dharma, dhama--, Pk. dhamma-- m.; OB. dhama religious conduct; H. kamdham work, business ; OSi. dama

religion (Si. daham Pa.). dharmin--, dharmi__ha--, dharmya--, dharmá--, dharmiká-- ; dharmagha_a--, RV. -- _dhr_] Pa. dhamma-- m. (rarely n.), As.shah. man. dhrama--, gir. kal. &c. dha_ma--; NiDoc. dham_a employment in the royal administration; Dhp. dharma--, dhama--, Pk. dhamma-- m.; OB. dhama religious conduct; H. kamdham

work, business ; OSi. dama religion (Si. Daham < Pa.). dharmin--, dharmi__ha--, dharmya--, dharmá--, dharmiká--; dharmagha_a--, *dharmaprek_a--, dharmarak_ita--, *dharmasa--; gramyadharma--, saddharma--. (CDIAL 6753). Rebus dharma-cakra. sakkaram (SITI) wheel of authority; the king's order; an officer entrusted with the execution of the king's order; (CII 3), 'the discus'; an emblem on seals (DC Sircar, 1966, Indian Epigraphical Glossary, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 64-65). Rebus: Ko. kolel smithy, temple in Kota village. (DEDR 2133). Ma. ko, kon, koman king; koyil, kovil palace, temple (DEDR 2177). kolli a kind of fish (Ma.); koleji id. (Tu.)(DEDR 2139). Image: needle-fish: ko_la_ flying fish, exocaetus; garfish, belone

(Ta.); ko_la_n, ko_li, ko_la_-mi_n needle-fish (Ma.)(DEDR 2241) xola_ tail (Kur.); qoli tail (Malt.)(DEDR 2135). Images: tail; monkey: ku_lam tail of a quadruped;


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monkey (Ta.lex.) 9. Rebus: Puja. pu_j to pay homage to (Vedic. lex.) pu_ja_ honour, worship (A_s'vGr..); worship (Pali); puda offerings, worship (Si.)(CDIAL 8317). pu_j Jain devotee (P.); pu_ju venerable (S.)(CDIAL 8319). puchi_ fish's tail (S.); pu_chi_ id. (H.)(CDIAL 8249). pod.asu scales of fish (Tu.); pola, polasu, polusu id. (Te.); plo_kosi id. (Kui.)(DEDR 4480).Rebus: pu_cai cat (Tol. Po. 623)(Ta.lex.) kola ‘tiger’ (Santali) Rebus: pu_je, pu_ja_, pu_jye honour, respect, reverence, veneration, homage to superiors, adoration or worship of the gods or idols; pu_je geysu to cause to show respect; pu_jya to be honoured, honourable, respectable, venerable, worshipful; a father-in-law; pu_jyate honourableness, venerableness; pu_jye a respectable woman; pu_jisu to honour, to revere, to worship, to adore; to receive with honour or hospitably; pu_jita honoured, respected, reverenced, worshipped, adored; pu_ja_-

vacana a word or title of respect; pu_ja_ri the officiating bra_hman.a or other person of a temple (Ka.Te.Ta.); puja_ri_ (M.); pu_jana reverencing, honouring; worshipping; worship, respect (Ka.lex.) pu_ca_-virutti inam land granted for performing worship in a temple (I.M.P.N.A. 240); pu_cittal to perform acts of ceremonal worship (Tiv. Iyar-.

Na_n-mu. 63)(Ta.lex.) pu_cciyattuvam honour, respect (Civacamava_. 65); pu_cciyam < pu_jya that which is venerable, worthy of worship; honour, reputation (Tan-ippa_. ii,279, 665); pu_cciyan- one deserving respect (Maccapu. Macca_va.

19); pu_can.am coin tied in a piece of cloth and set apart as a votive offering (Na_.); pu_cai worship, homage to superiors; adoration of the gods with proper ceremonies (Ku_rmapu. Kan.n.an-civapu_cai. 1); pu_caimiccam unexpended balance in the daily allowances of a pagoda, i.e. in the daily allowances for the worship in a temple (W.G.)(Ta.lex.) Priest: pujhar a sacrificing priest, the title given to the family of a sacrificing priest; puja, puja agha worship, to offer sacrifice and worship (Santali.lex.) Worship: pu_can-am solemn ritual, worship; devotion (Tiruvil.ai. Narapari. 120); pu_can-ai daily ritual or worship (Kur-al., 18); honouring; pu_can-aipat.aital to honour, perform worship (Kampara_. Pirama_.184)(Ta.lex.) pu_ju (pl. pu_nga) flower (Kui)(DEDR 4345). pu_ja_ worship (lit.offering of flowers (A_s'vGr.); puja (As'.); puya

(KharI.); pu_a_, pujja_ (Pkt.); puja (OSi.); puda offerings, worship (Si.)(CDIAL 8317). pu_jayati honours, worships (A_s'vGr..); pu_je_ti (Pali); pu_jayati (As'.); pujayam.ta

(KharI.); pu_e_i, pujjai (Pkt.); pujay (OSi.); pudanava_ to offer gifts in a temple (Si.)(CDIAL 8316). pu_jita honoured (Mn.); worshipped (Pali); pu_iya (Pkt.); pidu

(Si.)(CDIAL 8318). pu_jya to be honoured (Mn.); pujja to be worshipped (Pali); pu_jiya

(Pali); pujja (Pkt.); pu_ju venerable (S.); pu_j Jain devotee (P.); worshipful (H.); puj

(G.)(CDIAL 8319). Flower: phulla expanded, blown (of flowers)(MBh.); open: in su-phulla

(R.); full-blown flower (Skt.); blossoming (Pali); opened, blossoming; n. flower (Pkt.); ad.a-pholu half-blown (K.); phulu flower (S.); phull flower (L.P.); fu_l (WPah.); phu_l

(Ku.Bi.Mth.Bhoj.Aw.H.G.M.); phul (N.A.B.); phula (Or.); phu_la (OMarw.Konkan.i); pul open flower, peacock's tail (Si.)(CDIAL 9092). phullati expands, opens (as a flower)(MBh.); phullita blossomed (Pali); phullai blossoms (Pkt.); pholun to expand, open (as a flower) (K.); phulan.u to blossom (S.); phullan (L.); phulln.a_ to swell (P.); fuln.u to bloom, become old (WPah.); phuln.o to swell, blossom, become overgrown,


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grow grey; phul-phuli_n.o to get puffed up (Ku.); phulnu to swell, blossom, thrive (N.); phuliba to blossom (A.); phula_ to swell, blossom (B.); phuliba_ to swell, expand (Or.); phulab to blossom (Mth.); phu_lai (OAw.); phu_lna_, phulna_ to swell, blossom (H.); phu_lai blossoms (OMarw.); phulvu~ to swell, blossom (G.); phuln.e~

(M.)(CDIAL 9093). pholila flower-scented oil (K.); phulelu any fluid perfume (S.); phulel a partic. scent (P.); a cheap scent made from flowers (N.); phuleri, phulauri,

phulori, phuluri floral oil (Or.); phulel (Mth.); phula_ela (OAw.); phulel

(H.G.M.)(CDIAL 9094). phurr.u_, pl. phurr.ua~_ flower (WPah.)(CDIAL 9091). phulva_ri_ flower garden (OAw.); phulwa_r.i_ (H.)(CDIAL 9096). pu_l pl. flowers (Ga.); pu_p- (pu_t-) to flower; puvvu flower; pu_k- (pu_t-) to flower, blossom (Ga.); pu. flower (Ko.); flower, neck feathers of a jungle cock (Kod..); pu.vi id. (Kod..); pu.f

flower; (pu.t-) to blossom (To.); pu_ flower (Ta.Tu.); to flower, blossom (Kond.a); to blossom, flower, bloom, flourish (Ta.); flower, blossom (Ma.Ka.Te.); pu_vu id. (Ma.); flower (Ka.Te.); puvvu flower (Ka.Te.Ga.); pu_ppu flowering, blooming (Ta.); pu_kka

to blossom, bud (Ma.); pu_kkal flowering (Ma.); pu_mbe flower bus of a plantain (Tu.); pu_cu to blossom, flower, bloom (Te.); pu_ta flowering, blossoming, blooming (Te.); puv, pu_ta flower (Kol.); pu_ta id. (Nk.); pu_ (pl. pu_vul) id.; pu_p- (pu_t-) to flower, blossom (Pa.); punga_r, pungar, punar flower; poongagai id. ; puya_na_,

pu_ina_, po_i_a_na_, puiya_na_, po_y-, pu~_y-, puy-, pu_y- to flower, bloom, blossom; po_y- id. (Go.); puyu (pl. pu_nu) flower, blossom; pu_ki honey (Kond.a); puy (pl. -ku) flower;l pu_ki vi_za bee (Pe.); puy flower; pu_ki vi_je bee (Mand..); pu_pa to blossom, bloom; pu_ki, pu_ki viha bee; pu_ki niju, pu_ki ni_ru honey (Kui); pu_yu_ (pl. pu_nga), pu_nga, pu_yu (pl. pu_nga) flower; pu_ki viha bee; pu_ki ni_yu~ honey (Kuwi); pu~_p, pu_mp flower (Kur.); pu~ydna_, pui~dna_ to bloom, flower (Kur.); pupu flower; puthe to blossom (Malt.)(DEDR 4345). pus.pa

flower (Skt.Dhp.NiDoc.); puppha id. (Pali.Pkt.); pesup (Ash.); pu_s.pa (Pas'.); puhupa (OAw.); puph, phu_p, pu_hup (H.); pup (Si.); (w)is'pi_k (Pr.)(CDIAL 8303). pus.pita flowering (MBh.); pupphita (Pali); pupphia (Pkt.); pipi blown (of flowers)(Si.)(CDIAL 8304). pus.payati flowers (MBh.); pupphati flowers (Pali); pipenava_ (Si.)(CDIAL 8305). Honour, worship: pus.ya honour, worship (Ka.lex.) The semantic clusters of lexemes point to a linguistic area of the times when the s’rivatsa

and makara glyphs were designed by artisans, kaula mangra. The lexemes span the entire spectrum of Indic languages ranging from Mundarica to Telugu to Gujarati. The cultural idioms implicit in the underlying language words relatable to the hieroglyphs constituting s’rivatsa and variants continues into the historical periods, as abiding cultural metaphors related to sangha, dharma, temple and puja. http://kalyan96.googlepages.com/srivatsa.pdf S’rivatsa hieroglyph is a ligatured composition with many glyptic elements. They connote (rebus, in mleccha): S’ri ‘prosperity’ (image: si ‘lion cub’ ; vatsa ‘cub’] ca~_gi_ species of good horse (G.)(CDIAL 4564 ‘species of a good horse’


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Dhamma ‘dharma’, that which holds everything together in a cosmic and consciousness order (Rigveda) [image: dama ‘cord, knot’] da_m tether (G.); rope, string, fetter; da_ma_ id., garland (H.) da_mvu~ to tie with a cord (G.) damr.a m. a steer; damr.i a heifer f.; damkom a bull calf (Santali.lex.) H. dhamek name of the stūpa at Sārnāth (H.); dharmapre_ks.a ‘having an eye for what is right’(R.)(CDIAL 6759). Stupa [image: stabaka ‘clluster of flowers’] Puja [image: puy ‘flower’] Kole.l ‘temple’ [image: koleji ‘fish’] Kur. xolā tail. Malt. qoli id. (DEDR 2135). Rebus: Ta.

kol working in iron, blacksmith; kollaṉ blacksmith. Ma. kollan blacksmith, artificer. Ko.

koll smithy, temple in Kota village. To. kwall Kota smithy. Ka. kolime, kolume, kulame,

kulime, kulume, kulme fire- pit, furnace; (Bell.; U.P.U.) konimi blacksmith; (Gowda)

kolla id. Koḍ. kollë blacksmith. Te. kolimi furnace. Go. (SR.) kollusānā to mend implements; (Ph.) kolstānā, kulsānā to forge; (Tr.) kōlstānā to repair (of plough- shares); (SR.) kolmi smithy ( Voc. 948). Kuwi (F.) kolhali to forge. (DEDR 2133). Si_h ‘lion’; simha id. (CDIAL 13384) si = lion (Santali) pom, pon ‘gold’; pon ‘four ; pon gel ‘forty’; pong and.a ‘four fours = 16’ (Santali) pon price of cultivating rights (Santali.lex.) Baci ‘small calf’ (Go.Santali); bachuri (Or.) bachiya ‘female calf, heifer’ (B.) In Vietnamese the cardinal number four is: ba http://wals.info/feature/description/53 11243 vatsarūpa— m. ‘young calf’ Hcat. [VATSÁ—1, RŪPÁ—] WPah.khaś. b e ċhrua n. pl. ‘calves’; Ku.bāchuru, °ro, bāchur ‘calf’, A. bāsaru, B. bāchur, Or.bacharu, Bi. bachru m., Bhoj. OH. bacharū m., G.vāchrũ n., M. vāsru, vasru n.; Ko. vāsrũ ‘young calf’. Addenda: vatsarūpa—: Garh. bāchru ‘calf’.

vatsa m. (prob. originally , `" yearling "' , fr. a lost word %{vatas}) a calf , the young of any animal , offspring , child (voc. %{vatsa} often used as a term of endearment = my dear child , my darling) RV. &c. &c. ; a son , boy (see %{bAla-v-}) ; a year (see %{tri-v-}) ; N. of a descendant of Kan2va RV. Pan5cavBr. S3a1n3khS3r. ; of an A1gneya (author of RV. x , 187) Anukr. ; of a Ka1syapa Katha1s. ; of the step-brother of Maitreya (who passed through fire to prove the falseness of Maitreya's allegation that he was the child of a S3u1dra) Mn. viii , 116 (Sch.) of a son of Pratardana MBh. Hariv. ; of a son of Sena-jit Hariv. ; of a son of Aksha-ma1la1 Cat. ; of a son of Uru-kshepa VP. ; of a son of Soma-s3arman Katha1s. ; of the author of a law-book Cat. ; (with %{carakA7dhvaryu-sUtra-kRt}) of another author ib. ; of a serpent-demon VP. ; N. of a country (whose chief town is Kaus3a1mbi1) Katha1s. ; Nerium Aistidysentericum L. ; the Kutaja tree L. ; pl. the descendants of Vatsa A1s3vS3r. (cf. Pa1n2. 2-4 , 64 Sch.) ; the inhabitants of the country called Vatsa MBh. Katha1s. ; (%{A}) f. a female calf , little daughter (voc. %{vatse} = my dear child) Ka1lid. Uttarar. Prab. ; m. n. the breast , chest L. [Cf. {vatsara} and $ for $ ; Lat. vetus , {vetus-tus} , {vitulus} ; Germ. {widar} , {Widder} ; Eng. {wether}.]

zrI 1 (cf. %{zrA}) cl. 9. P. A1. (Dha1tup. xxxi , 3) %{zrINa4ti} , %{zrINIte4} (Gr. also pf.


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%{zizrAya} , %{zizrIye} ; aor. %{azraiSIt} , %{azreSTa} &c. ; for %{azizrayuH} see 2. %{abhi-zrI}) , to mix , mingle , cook (cf. %{abhi-} and %{A-zrI}) RV. TS. VS. Br. ; (= 1. %{zri}) , to burn , flame , diffuse light RV. i , 68 , 1.

zrI 2 mfn. (ifc.) mixing , mingling , mixed with ; f. mixing , cooking.

zrI 3 f. (prob. to be connected with 1. %{zri} and also with 1. %{zrI} in the sense of `" diffusing light or radiance "' [1098,3] ; nom. %{zrI4s} accord. to some also %{zrI}) light , lustre , radiance , splendour , glory , beauty , grace , loveliness (%{zriye4} and %{zriyai4} , `" for splendour or beauty "' , `" beauteously "' , gloriously "' cf. %{zriya4se} ; du. %{zriyau} , `" beauty and prosperity "' ; %{zriya@AtmajAH} , `" sons of beauty "' i.e. horses [cf. %{zrI-putra}] ; %{zriyaH@putrAH} "' , goats with auspicious marks "') RV. &c. &c. ; prosperity , welfare , good fortune , success , auspiciousness , wealth , treasure , riches (%{zriyA} , `" accordñaccording to fortune or wealth "') , high rank , power , might , majesty , royal dignity (or `" Royal dignity "' personified ; %{zriyo@bhAjaH} , `" possessors of dignity "' , `" people of high rank "') AV. &c. &c. ; symbol or insignia of royalty Vikr. iv , 13 ; N. of Lakshmi1 (as goddess of prosperity or beauty and wife of Vishn2u , produced at the churning of the ocean , also as daughter of Bhr2igu and as mother of Darpa) S3Br. &c. &c. ; N. of Sarasvati1 (see %{-paJcamI}) ; of a daughter of king Su-s3arman Katha1s. ; of various metres Col. ; (the following only in L. `" a lotus-flower ; intellect , understanding ; speech ; cloves ; Pinus Longifolia ; Aegle Marmelos ; a kind of drug = %{vRddhi} ; N. of a Buddhist goddess and of the mother of the 17th Arhat "') ; m. N. of the fifth musical Ra1ga (see %{rAga}) Sam2gi1t. ; mfn. diffusing light or radiance , splendid , radiant , beautifying , adorning (ifc. ; see %{agni-} , %{adhvara-} , %{kSatra-} , %{gaNa-} , %{jana-zrI} &c.) RV. iv , 41 , 8. [The word %{zrI} is frequently used as an honorific prefix (= `" sacred "' , `" holy "') to the names of deities (e.g. S3ri-Durga1 , S3ri1-Ra1ma) , and may be repeated two , three , or even four times to express excessive veneration. (e.g. S3ri1-s3ri1-Durga1 &c.) ; it is also used as a respectful title (like `" Reverend "') to the names of eminent persons as well as of celebrated works and sacred objects (e. g. S3ri1-Jayadeva. S3ri1Bha1gavata) , and is often placed at the beginning or back of letters , manuscripts , important documents &c. ; also before the words %{caraNa} and %{pAda} `" feet "' , and even the end of personal names.]

Ta. cer ..i (-pp-, -tt-) to thrive, flourish, grow well as vegetation, prosper (as kingdom, family, country), be fertile, be superabundant, be cheerful as countenance; (-v-, -nt-) to grow, increase (DEDR 2789) śrı— f. ‘light, beauty’ RV., ‘welfare, riches’ AV. Pa. Pk. sirī— f., Pk. sī— f. ‘prosperity’; M. —s hon. affix to names of relationship (e.g. ājā—s, ājī—s) LM 412. — Si. siri ‘health, happiness’ (EGS 180) ← Pa. – (CDIAL 12708). Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, 22 Sept. 2008 [email protected]


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Stupa as Temple, Srivatsa as Hieroglyph

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