The Harappan Script: A New Perspective - Hardcover

The Harappan Script : A New Perspective

Contents Preface 1 The Language Issue 2 The Harappan Seal Motifs and Rigvedic Parallels 3 Making Bridgeheads 4 Interpreting the Signs-I 5 Interpreting the Signs-II 6 Interpreting the Signs-III 7 Water and Light in the Harappan Religion 8 Nature of the Harappan Script 9 Conclusion Bibliography IndexThree thousand years before the birth of Christ a magnificent civilization flourished in the vast area now constituting Pakistan and western part of India More than one thousand Harappan sites dotted across this wide area have already been identified and quite a few excavated Our knowledge of this civilization has greatly expanded since it fist came into notice in 1924 However since its script is still a mystery we are in the dark about their identityThis book is a fresh attempt at reading the Harappan script; analyzing and reading the signs and inscriptions forming its main burden In the absence of a bilingual inscription the author has relied on visual bilinguals and interpretation of Harappan artistic motifs in making initial bridgehead for reading the signs and clinching the language issues It is observed that there are surprising parallels between Harappan motifs and Rigvedic metaphors These parallels cannot be mere coincidence The similarities are possible only if Harappans and Rigvedic Aryans were tapping their imageries from a shared cultural streamThe author is of the view that Aryan language is a serious contender for the Harappan script The script is found to be logo-syllabic with very little grammatical content Although the language of the script appears to be an Aryan the Harappans are not found to be synonymous with Rigvedic Aryans For example the Harappan inscriptions refer to vitra who was held in esteem by them However students of Rigveda know that there this word mainly conveyed hostile and inimical connotations At the same time many Rigvedic political cultural social concepts are reflected in Harappan inscriptions This can only be explained by the fact that the ancestors of the Rigvedic people also formed part of the Harappan social milieu The Harappans perhaps had considerable social and cultural diversity as has been the case in India all through the recorded history The book provides a fresh insight into the unresolved issue of the Harappan script 188 pp. Artikel-Nr. 97061

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