Austro-asiatic and Sarasvati civilization

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Srinivasan Kalyanaraman <kalyan97@g...> wrote:

 

Our monograph points to the possibility of the presence of austro-

asiatic in

the Sarasvati civilization area, the saptasindhu region. This has

been

accepted by HH Hock.

Kuiper's work on Nahali and munda words in Sanskrit, provides a

promising

approach to identify the austro-asiatic cultural substratum in the

vedic,

post-vedic continuum. Many lexemes of Santali/Mundarica/ point to

homonyms

which may explain, rebus, the Sarasvati hieroglyphs related to

furnaces,

minerals, metals and alloys. In fact, the entire corpus of 4000

epigraphs

with over 400 'signs' and over 100 'pictorial motifs' seem to relate

only to

this category. SK Chatterjee thought Munda was the substratum for

austro-asiatic. This can form a starting hypothesis for further

studies to

unravel the interactions among munda-dravidian-indo-aryan dialects

in a

linguistic area starting from 6500 BCE to 500 BCE. A long time-span

indeed.

The start date of 6500 BCE relates to the find of the burial of a

woman at

Mehergarh wearing wide s'ankha bangle and s'ankha ornaments.

(s'ankha =

turbinella pyrum which is native and indigenous to the coastline of

bharatam

and an industry which continues even today in Gulf of Mannar

(Tiruchendur,

Ki_r..akkarai) and the s'ankha dvi_pa near Surat, Gujarat. S'ankha

is a

metaphor which defines early hindu civilization and the work of

riverine,

maritime people in evolving this civilization from Nahali base

(Tapati river

valley not far from Bhimbhetka) -- not far from Omkares'var (at the

confluence of Narmada and Tapati rivers). Why Om- in Omkares'var?

Could be

related to the s'ankha naada, om. Another language metaphor of

extroardinary

profundity in hindu ethos and traditions.

Yes, we have to continue the work started by the late Sudhibhushan

Bhattacharjee whose works have been cited in our monograph. We have

to

continue the work of scholars like Dr. Balasubramanian who have

unraveled

the mysteries of the non-rusting Delhi iron pillar attesting to the

unparalleled excellence of bharatiya metallurgy. The word bharatiyo

itself

means 'caster of metals' in Gujarati. This cannot be mere

coincidence.

The question of austro-asiatic has to be related to the early

civilizational advance in Bharatam from 7th millennium to the sea-

faring

peoples of the hindumahasagar parivar. This may explain why there

was an

eastward bali yaatra and the setting up of Angkor Wat (Nagara

Vatika), the

largest vishnu mandiram in the world. Studies of Nahali > Nagari >

Marathi

may yield some insights into the nature of interactions between

chalcolithic

and neolithic cultures north and south of the vindhya, respectively.

The philological challenge is to provide voice to the paintings on

Bhimbhetka caves. Even Sankalia called a painting on one of the

caves a

representation of Krishna, wielding a cakra and riding a chariot. Of

course,

there are paintings showing ponies (maybe, equus sivalensis, may be

of the

type of Shetland pony with 34 ribs mentioned in the Rigveda or of

Spanish

barb). What was the bronze ratha found at Daimabad called by the

makers of

that civilizational site? Why are two birds shown astride the yoke?

What

does this metaphor of the chariot denote in terms of the yajna

tradition or

metallurgical tradition? Soma? What soma? It could be electrum, like

assem

(s'm) in ancient Egyptian or somnakay as in Gypsy or soma

man.al<http://man.al>'sand containing silver ore' in Tamil. What

soma?

Metal. What yajna? Early

smelting processes of pu_rve yajnika_h.

If we start with a framework devoid of ideology and assumed

invasions, we

may be able to provide a picture of continuity from the days of munda

presence in saptasindhu region.

Dhanyavaadah.

K.

 

 

 

 

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