Pralaya, कृशानु Shell-cutters with broad bronze sword and Bhagwanpura Copper-hoard culture and archaeology

Degi October 20, 2023

:https://tinyurl.com/5cp4aapv

Prof. Lal's remarkable insight is that a 3-metre thick silt and sand deposit which overlies the remains of Copper Hoard Culture is indicative of massive floodings. http://tinyurl.com/he7er3y Such floodings may have been caused by recurrent plate tectonics, resultant river migrations. 

Location of Bhagwanpura and Pralaya, the Great Flood of ca 3000 BCE (co-terminus with Sumerian Great Flood narrative)

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Greater-Indus-Valley-Civilization-adapted-from-Tokai-University-2000_fig2_329600632


Fig 4. Metal hoard implements from Haryana, including harpoons, so-called bars, and flat axes. Chemical analyses prove these implements are made of copper, not bronze. Recent discoveries at sites in the doab are shedding light on people who made these objects and aspects of their culture.














https://www.rajras.in/ocp-culture-rajasthan/



Earthquakes and upheavals in the Himalayan ranges may also have resulted in discharges of floods together with detritus, silt and sand into the floodplains.

The site of Bhor Saidon on Sarasvati Basin (Pehowa-Kurukshetra road  It is at about 13 Kms to the west of Thanesar) is indicative of such large-scale detritus deposit upto 3 m. thick. Similar detritus deposits are seen in the Copper Hoard Culture sites and in Ganga-Yamuna doab.




I suggest that the abiding Indus Script ayo, aya 'fish' hieroglyph (with variants and ligatures) is a signature pictograph of the Bronze Age Revolution and the basic pictograph is read rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal'. 

Sites such as Kaseri, Ambkheri, Alamgirpur, Hulas, Atranjikhera, Bahadarabad, Mandoli [referred to as Ochre Coloured Pottery (Copper Hoard Culture) Sites] are indicative of migratory patterns from mature periods are indicative of migratory patterns from mature periods of Sarasvati civilization into the Ganga-Yamuna doab. Bahadarabad has reorded artefacts of copper axes, copper ring or bangle, dishes-on-stand and medium sized vases indicative of the continuum of Sarasvati civilization. (See Anantananda Ghosh, 1989, An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, BRILL, p.176).

The encounter of Matsya Avatara with शङ्खासुर may be relatable, as a metaphor, to the use of a bronze sword (ca. 15 kgs.) to cut  and make s'ankha bangles evidence for which dates back to 6500 BCE from Mehergarh.
S'ankha bangle cut with the bronze sword. Mehrgarh, Period 1A, ca. 6500 BCE. S’ankha wide bangle and other ornaments, c. 6500 BCE (burial of a woman at Nausharo). S’ankha  wide bangle and other ornaments from a burial of a woman at Nausharo. Tomb MR3T.21, Mehrgarh, Period 1A, ca. 6500 BCE. The nearest source for the conch-shell is Makran coast near Karachi, 500 km. south (After Fig. 2.10 in Kenoyer, JM, 1998, Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, Karachi, OUP).

This is a 1860 photograph of sankhari, 5 shell-cutters of East Bengal. Note the large curved sword held by the shell-cutter on the left. "Contemporary accounts relate that such Sankharis were generally followers of the Hindu gods Vishnu or Krishna and usually vegetarian. The shells used for manufacturing bracelets were imported from the Gulf of Manaar, a trade which is recorded in written records at least as far back as the tenth century. This print is one of a series of portrait studies of individuals and groups from Eastern Bengal (modern Bangladesh and Assam). It is possible that they were taken in response to the Government of India's call for photographs representing various ethnic types from across the sub-continent."


Shell-cutters at work cutting and polishing shells to make bangles for married women, photoraph of 1873.http://www.oldindianphotos.in/2011/08/men-at-work-cutting-and-polishing.html

Glyph: ‘shell-cutter’s saw’ . The bronze saw weighs over 15 kgs., it is tied to the rope with ropes and taken down to cut a turbinella pyrum, s'ankha shell as shown in this picture of a shell cutter of Calcutta. Evidences have been found of a seal made from turbinella pyrum at Bet Dwarka and of a cylinder seal made from the s'ankha columella in the Ancient Near East.

Shell seal, Dwaraka. Hieroglyph-multiplex of 3 joined animals as a writing system to denote metalwork catalogue. Seal. Bet Dwarka. Made of turbinella pyrum. Note the characteristic Indus Script feature of faces of three animals joined to a bovine body. These are deciphered as hieroglyph-multiplex in Meluhha, Prakritam to signify metalwork: sangaḍa ‘joined animal parts’ rebus: sangara'proclamation';  barad 'bull' rebus:bharata 'alloy of copper, pewter, tin';ranku 'antelope' rebus: ranku 'tin'; kõda'young bull, bull-calf' rebus: kõdā 'to turn in a lathe'; kōnda 'engraver, lapidary'; kundār 'turner'.
A skilled sawyer and shells ready for sawing, Calcutta. Turbinella pyrum shell bangle manufacturing process. [a to f]: preliminary chipping and removal of internal columella; [g to k]: sawing shell circles; [l to n]: finishing the shell blank; [o]: final incising [After Fig. 5.23 in Kenoyer, 1998].S’AN:KHAH KR.S’ANAH = PEARL SHELL WON FROM THE OCEAN AND WORN AS AN AMULET (AV 4.10.1)
Are Kr.s’Anu shell-cutters working with a bow saw?
RV 1.112.21 With those aids by which you defended Kr.s'a_nu in battle, with
      which you succoured the horse of the young Purukutsa in speed, and by
      which you deliver the pleasant honey to the bees; with them, As'vins, come
      willingly hither. [Kr.s'a_nu are somapa_las, vendors or providers of Soma;
      hasta-suhasta-kr.s'a_navah, te vah somakrayan.ah (Taittiri_ya Sam.hita_
      1.2.7); kr.s'a_nu = agni; purukutsa was the son of Mandha_ta_ and
      husband of Narmada_, the river; the text has only 'of the young', Purukutsa
      is added].  

कृशानु[p= 306,1] m. (fr. √कृश् for कृष्?) , " bending the bow " , N. applied to a good archer (connected with /अस्तृ , " an archer " , though sometimes used alone ;कृशानु , according to some , is a divine being , in character like रुद्र or identified with him ; armed with the lightning he defends the " heavenly " सोमfrom the hawk , who tries to steal and bear it from heaven to earth) RV. VS. iv , 27 AitBr. iii , 26 N. of अग्नि or fire VS. v , 32 S3a1n3khS3r. vi , 12 , 3(hence) fire Sus3r. Ragh. Kum. Bhartr2N. of विष्णु VarBr2S. xliii , 54 of a गन्धर्व (Monier-Williams)  kṛśānuḥकृशानुः [कृश् आनुक्; Uṇ.4.2] Fire; गुरोः कृशानुप्रति- माद्बिभेषि R.2.49;7.24;1.74; Ku.1.51; Bh.2.17. -Comp. -यन्त्रम् (= अग्नियन्त्रम्) a cannon; अथ सपदि कृशा- नुयन्त्रगोलैः ......Śiva. B.28.85. -रेतस् m. an epithet of Śiva. kṛśanamकृशनम् Ved. 1 A pearl; अभीवृतं कृशनैर्विश्वरूपम् Rv.1. 35.4. -2 Gold. -3 Form, shape.(Apte. Samskritam)

Source: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/02/indian-hieroglyphs-meluhha-and-archaeo.html

The narrative of such a  pralayḥप्रलयः in ancient text of Satapatha Brahmana provides a lead to researchers to find hydrological evidences for such an event which necessitated migrations of people away from the Sarasvati Basin.
SUMER SCULPTURE 5TH-2ND MILL.BCE Fish-man or water-sprite. Terracotta figurine (8th-7th BCE) Length 12 cm Nr. 3337 Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq:
Sumer sculpture 5th to 2nd millennium BCE. Fish-man or water-sprite. Terracotta figurine (8th-7th BCE) Length 12 cm Nr. 3337 Iraq Museum, Baghdad, Iraq.

The narrative of a pralaya or flood is also relatable to the metaphor of Samudramanthanam which yields riches from the ocean and seafaring trade.

Page [126] of THE THEME OF CHURNING OF THE OCEAN IN INDIAN AND KHMER ART

Figure 5. Pattadakal, Virupaksha temple illar details (ASI). “The temple assigned to about 740 CE is one of the finest of the early Chalukyan art art built in close imitation of the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram….Figure of Surya in anthropomorphic form is depicted on the top, behind the Mandara, with the discus of the Moon shown at the corner…Three representatives of the devas are shown at the other side of the churning stick which is placed on a a full-blown lotus on the figure of the Tortoise.”



Source: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43485245?seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents
Matya Avatar. 4 Vedas as infants. Painting. Source: http://www.markfoster.net/rn/dasavatara-wikibook.pdf
Matsya protecting the Manu and the seven sages at the time of the last prayala

Vishnu, Brahma, Matsya Avatara.Temple ruins at Chediai (North of Tikri on Jammu-Srinagar Highway)
The Matsya or Fish incarnation of Vishnu, the form taken when he saved the primordial man, Manu. Dated 9th Century - Stock Image9th cent.Hoysala style.

Matsya, Central India, 9th - 10th century. British Museum.
Matsya. "When all the waters of all seven seas deluged the earth, oh, keshava, donning the body of a fish you indefatigably upheld all the four Veda s, which by themselves are foreordained to be analogous to ships in transporting souls to the other shore of life, thereby oh, Hari, you are the Almighty of all the worlds, hail to thee" from Jayadeva's Gita Govinda. 19th C. Orissa:British Museum.
Matsya. "When all the waters of all seven seas deluged the earth, oh, keshava, donning the body of a fish you indefatigably upheld all the four Veda s, which by themselves are foreordained to be analogous to ships in transporting souls to the other shore of life, thereby oh, Hari, you are the Almighty of all the worlds, hail to thee" from Jayadeva's Gita Govinda. 19th C. Orissa
Orissa School, early 20th century, an Indian miniature painting - Roseberys Auctioneers LondonOrissa. Canvas painting. Vishnu in Matsya avatar Sarns of an impending flood, asks Satyavrata (Vaivasvata) to build a boat. Matsya pulls the boat to safety through the ocean. This metaphor is signified on Indu Script hieroglyphs.
Shell inlay: Skirt-clad figure carrying fish, Early Dynastic III, ca. 2600-2350 BCE, Mesopotamia, Nippur, Sumerian.:
Shell inlay: Skirt-clad figure carrying fish, Early Dynastic III, ca. 2600-2350 BCE, Mesopotamia, Nippur, Sumerian. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/403212972868428203/
fishman-615x1024.jpg (615×1024):
Both the flood and Cush (son of Ham, grandson of Noah) mentioned in ancient Sumerian history:
Sumerian frieze, fish-man carving. Louvre.





[Anthony Green, A Note on the Assyrian "Goat-Fish", "Fish-Man" and "Fish-Woman", Iraq, Vol. 48 (1986), pp. 25-30; After Plate X, b, on seal. BM 119918. 2.5X2.5X2.5cm. Late Babylonian stamp seal depictingkulullu and kuliltu(?); streams flow from a vase at top left;top centre, a crescent. Previously published: Van Buren 1933: Pl. XX:70, p. 116, with earlier references cited in n.3, to which may be added Munter 1827: Tab. II:18, p. 139. Cf. also Unger 1957: 71, Nr. 2; Unger 1966.)

In Fig. 1 in the following embedded document, a pair of goat-fish images appear, flanking a door entrance, on a Middle Assyrian seal. Sumerian SUHUR.MASH, Akk. suhurmashu/i is sometimes interpreted as 'sea-goat'.




A Note on the Assyrian “Goat-Fish”, “Fish-Man” and “Fish-Woman”



Anthony Green

In their recent edition of inscribed material from Fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud, Dalley and Postgate (1984: No. 95, pp. 159 ff., Pl. 22) have published and discussed a text recording the measurements, apparently in preparation for their covering in gold leaf, of statues for a temple of Nabu, probably the Nabu Temple at Kalḫu itself. As extant, “face B” begins with the dimensions for the statue or statues of the uridimmu (UR.ID[IM?]), which is probably to be identified as an upright figure with human head, arms and torso but the lower body and legs of lion, a type known in the Assyrian period on the palace reliefs and among the apotropaic foundation figurines (Wiggermann, in press: § VII C 5; cf. Green 1985: 77, with Fig. 1 and Pls. XIIIb, XIVa, b).
The next section (ll. 10 ff.) concerns statues of the suḫurmāšu, or “Goat-fish” (literally “Carp-goat”), and kulullû, “Fish-man”. As Dr. Dalley points out, these creatures are known among the apotropaic figurines and named in the appropriate rituals (Dalley and Postgate 1984: 162, n. to ll. 15–19; citing Rittig 1977 for the figurines). An example of the Goat-fish omitted from Rittig's catalogue is shown on Plate V; its inscription (er-ba taš-mu u ma-ga-rù), corresponding to the form prescribed in KAR, no. 298, rev. line 5 (Gurney 1935: 70 f.; Rittig 1977: 157, 167) proves the identity as the suḫurmāšu(cf. Rittig 1977: 188 f., § Ib.2; 206; Green 1983: 93, n. 54; Wiggermann, in press: § VII C 10 b). The mention of statues of the type in the Nimrud text is a significant testimony to their original presence in the repertoire of Assyrian monumental art, for which no examples are now known (notice their absence in the review by Kolbe 1981), although an example is to be found on one face of a ninth(?)-century smaller-scale stone altar from Nineveh (Plate VIa), and statues of the creature appear to be depicted on a Middle Assyrian (Fig. 1 ) and post-Assyrian (Plate Xc) seals. This fact further supports the apparent identical, or at least very close, repertoires of apotropaic figures as foundation figurines and in monumental sculpture (Green 1983). 

Harappa seal (h350B)
Harappa seal (h330)


Seal. National Museum: 135.

The rebus readings of the hieroglyphs are: mẽḍha ‘antelope’; rebus: meḍ ‘iron’ (Ho.) aya 'fish'; rebus: aya 'cast metal' (G.).

A Susa ritual basin dated to ca. 12th or 13th century BCE depicts goat and fish ligatured into a 'fabulous' or 'composite' animal representation, clearly intended to connote the underlying hieroglyphic meaning. 

Deification of glyphs: When did it happen?

At what point in time, the glyphic representations denoting native metal or cast metal artefacts and which were used to authenticate trade transactions of the civilization, using Indus script inscriptions, were deified can only be conjectured. This shift from use in trade to use in cultural/religious contexts may have occurred -- in the interaction areas such as Susa and Meluhha -- between 19th and 13th centuries BCE (i.e. between the time when the continued use of Indus Script glyphs is attested, say, 19th century BCE and the time when the same glyphs or cognate glyphic representations were deified, say, 13th century BCE).




Mohenjodaro seal (m0302)

Susa ritual basin dates from 13th or 12th cent. BCE. It is decorated with goatfish figures, flankin a hieroglyph-multiplex of reedposts, spathes, molluscs. http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/ritual-basin-decorated-goatfish-figures aya 'fish' Rebus: aya 'iron' (Gujarati) ayas 'metal' (Rigveda) meḷh ‘goat’ (Br. mr̤eka (Te.); mēṭam (Ta.); meṣam (Samskritam) Te. mr̤eka (DEDR 5087)  (DEDR 5087) Rebus: meluh.h.a (Akkadian) mleccha (Samskritam) milakkhu 'copper' (Pali) 

Hieroglyph-multiplex or Susa ritual basin has hieroglyph components: reeds, spathe, mollusc (snail). Rebus Meluhha readings in Indus Script cipher signify this to be Hieroglyph: eruva dhatugarbha śāṅkhika,'reed, spathe, mollusc (snail)' Rebus: eruva dagoba sangha.'copper mineral core assemblage'.

Hieroglyhph: eruva 'reed' Rebus: eruva 'copper' 

Hieroglyph: śāṅkhika 'relating to a shell' hö̃giñ 'shell of a mollusc' Rebus: sangha 'assemblage'

Hieroglyph: spathe "A spathe is a large bract that forms a sheath to enclose the flower cluster of certain plants such as palms, arums, Iris and dayflowers. In many arums (Araceae family), the spathe is petal-like, attracting pollinators to the flowers arranged on a type of spike called a spadix." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bract#Spathe):  Kashmiri. gab m. ʻ womb, sprout of a plant ʼ; gāb(h)ā ʻspathe of a plant (Bengali)(CDIAL 4055) Rebus:  gābhā m. ʻ heart, core ʼ (Marathi) gāb(h)ā'foetus' dhātugarbha (Samskritam), dhātu gabbhā (Pali) (Sinhalese dāgoba. The expression is equivalent to dhātu relics+garbha womb, inside. Thus, dāgoba is a dome-shaped shrine containing
relics of the Buddha or a Bauddham arhant.

Hieroglyph: mollusc: śāṅkhika ʻ relating to a shell ʼ W. 2. *śāṅkhinī -- (śaṅkhinī -- f. ʻ mother -- of -- pearl ʼ Bālar.). [śaṅkhá -- 1] 1. K. hāngi ʻ snail ʼ; B. sã̄khī ʻ possessing or made of shells ʼ. 2. K. hö̃giñ f. ʻ pearl oyster shell, shell of any aquatic mollusc ʼ (CDIAL 12380). Rebus: sangha [fr. saŋ+hṛ; lit. "comprising." The quâsi pop. etym. at VvA 233 is "diṭṭhi -- sīla -- sāmaññena sanghāṭabhāvena sangha"] 1. multitude, assemblage Miln 403 (kāka˚); J i.52 (sakuṇa˚); Sn 589 (ñāti˚); 680 (deva˚); D iii.23 (miga˚); Vv 55 (accharā˚=samūha VvA 37).Sanghin (adj.) [fr. sangha] having a crowd (of followers), the head of an order D i.47, 116; S i.68; Miln 4; DA i 143. -- sanghâsanghī (pl.) in crowds, with crowds (redupl. cpd.!), with gaṇi -- bhūtā "crowd upon crowd" at D i.112, 128; ii.317; DA i.280.

7: Visnu (Matsya-Avatara) Vajrayogini, Munshiganj:Visnu (Matsya-Avatara) Vajrayogini, Munshiganj


Matsya

Keshava Temple, Somnathpur
The generic animal features on this statue represent an early avatar of Vishnu. It is identified asMatsya, the fish incarnation, by a correspondent who noticed the statue's fish-like eyes (hard to see in this photo, but more clear in close-up) and its location next to another statue which is apparently Kurma.
Matsya avatar.jpg"Description Painting of Matsya, the fish-incarnation of Viṣṇu. The upper body of Viṣṇu emerges from the body of the fish. A silk sash is draped over his elbows and has an intricate design. On laid and water-marked European paper, dated 1816."
Matsya pulls Manu's boat after having defeated the demon. V&A Museum.
"The Shatapatha Brahmana recounts how he was warned by a fish, to whom he had done a kindness, that a flood would destroy the whole of humanity. He therefore built a boat, as the fish advised. When the flood came, he tied this boat to the fish’s horn and was safely steered to a resting place on a mountaintop. When the flood receded, Manu, the sole human survivor, performed a sacrifice, pouring oblations of butter and sour milk into the waters. After a year there was born from the waters a woman who announced herself as “the daughter of Manu.” These two then became the ancestors of a new human race to replenish the earth. In theMahabharata (“Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty”), the fish is identified with the god Brahma, while in the Puranas (“Ancient Lore”) it is Matsya, the fish incarnation of Lord Vishnu." https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manu#ref123454 








Puranas contain the story of a great flood, "manvantara-sandhya", wherein the Matsya Avatar of the Vishnu warns the first man, Manu, of the impending flood, and also advises him to build a giant boat. Satapatha Brahmana narrates this Flood as follows: 

1:8:1

EIGHTH ADHYÂYA. FIRST BRÂHMANA.

THE IDÂ.

1:8:1:11. In the morning they brought to Manu 1 water for washing, just as now also they (are wont to) bring (water) for washing the hands. When he was washing himself, a fish came into his hands.

1:8:1:22. It spake to him the word, 'Rear me, I will save thee!' 'Wherefrom wilt thou save me?' 'A flood will carry away all these creatures 2: from that I will save thee!' 'How am I to rear thee?'

1:8:1:33. It said, 'As long as we are small, there is great destruction for us: fish devours fish. Thou wilt first keep me in a jar. When I outgrow that, thou wilt dig a pit and keep me in it. When I outgrow that, thou wilt take me down to the sea, for then I shall be beyond destruction.'

1:8:1:44. It soon became a ghasha (a large fish); for that grows largest (of all fish) 3. Thereupon it said, 'In such and such a year that flood will come. Thou

p. 217

shalt then attend to me (i.e. to my advice) by preparing a ship 1; and when the flood has risen thou shalt enter into the ship, and I will save thee from it.'

1:8:1:55. After he had reared it in this way, he took it down to the sea. And in the same year which the fish had indicated to him, he attended to (the advice of the fish) by preparing a ship; and when the flood had risen, he entered into the ship. The fish then swam up to him, and to its horn he tied the rope of the ship, and by that means he 2 passed swiftly up to yonder northern mountain.

1:8:1:66. It then said, 'I have saved thee. Fasten the ship to a tree; but let not the water cut thee off 3, whilst thou art on the mountain. As the water subsides, thou mayest gradually descend!' Accordingly he gradually descended, and hence that (slope) of the northern mountain is called 'Alarm's descent ' The flood then swept away all these creatures, and Manu alone remained here. (Northern mountain called 'Alarm's descent': According to the version of the Mahâbhârata, 'the peak of the Himâlaya to which the ship was tied, was afterwards called naubandhana, 'the tying of the ship.' Professor Weber also draws attention to Ath.-veda XIX, 39, 8, where the term nâvaprabhramsana or 'gliding down of the ship' is used in connection with the summit of the Himavat.)--Satapatha Brahmana Part 1 (SBE12), Julius Eggeling tr. [1882], at sacred-texts.com, p. 216 to p.218

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe12/sbe1234.htm


File:Viṣṇu in the form of Matsya, the first avatar of the god Jaipur ca. 1800 British Museum.jpg
Viṣṇu in the form of Matsya, the first avatar of the god Jaipur ca. 1800 British Museum. From Jaipur.
Watercolour painting on paper of Matsya, the fish incarnation of Viṣṇu, with Manu's boat and the demon Sankhasura. Viṣṇu, with blue skin and holding the discus, conch, lotus and a mace is seen half emerging from the body of a fish, and wards off Sankhasura allowing the safe passage of the boat carrying Manu, the progenitor of humanity, with the Vedas, ancient  British Museum,.Ht. 29 cm. Width 22.7 cm. Patna?  1880,0.2058
In some Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to a progenitor of humanity. According to these traditions, the current time period is ruled by the seventh Manu called the Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvân and his wife Sanjnâ. Vaivasvata Manu, whose original name was Satyavrata, is the 7th Manu and considered the first king to rule this earth, who saved humanity from the great flood — after being warned of it by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, who had also advised him to build a giant ...:
Manu is a title accorded to a progenitor of humanity. According to these traditions, the current time period is ruled by the seventh Manu called the Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvân and his wife Sanjnâ. Vaivasvata Manu, whose original name was Satyavrata, is the 7th Manu and considered the first king to rule this earth, who saved humanity from the great flood — after being warned of it by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, who had also advised him to build a giant ...

I am grateful to Prof.BB Lal for the insights provided by him in his presentation (ppt) which linksking some unique features of Ochre Coloured Pottery (Copper Hoard Culture) settlements with the narrative of a flood recorded in Satapatha Brahmana. figures are taken from Lal's works.

Evidence for large-scale flooding in 3rd-2nd millennium BCE in Sarasvati Basin

After Fig. 2.4 Drainage pattern of Vedic Sarasvati in the Himalayas (BB Lal, 2002. The Saraswati Flows on: the Continuity of Indian Culture. New Delhi: Aryan Books International )

Sarasvati Basin in 3rd millennium BCE (After Fig.1 BB Lal, 2002. The Saraswati Flows on: the Continuity of Indian Culture. New Delhi: Aryan Books International )
(After Fig.2.2 BB Lal, 2002. The Saraswati Flows on: the Continuity of Indian Culture. New Delhi: Aryan Books International )
Bata-Markanda divide

Prof. BB Lal suggests the following tasks for multidiciplinary researches and activities by ASI, GSI and Dept. of Tourism:

•       1. We have discovered at Bhirrana a very early stage of the Harappan Civilization, which goes back to the 6th millennium BCE. There must have been still earlier stages in the evolution. Hence intensive exploration should be carried out in the nearby areas, particularly the sub-Siwalik regions to discover the same. Action: ASI

•       2. The excavated remains at Kalibangan are in a pitiable condition, owing to four decades of utter neglect. These, along with those at Rakhigarhi, another important Harappan site in the region, should be properly conserved and face-lifted for tourism. Action: ASI and Dept. of Tourism

•       3. At Kalibangan, the evidence of hydrology, archaeology and  C-14 method of dating has shown that  the Sarasvati dried up around 2000 BCE. This ought to be confirmed  by independent dating of the emergence of the Bata-Markanda Divide which blocked the route of the Sarasvati in the Himalayas (next slide). Action: GSI 

*      4. Because of the sudden diversion of the waters of the Sarasvati into the Yamuna large-scale flooding took place in the upper Ganga-Yamuna basin, around 2000 BCE: Evidence from Bahadarabad in UP confirms this, where a 3-metre thick deposit of silt and sand overlies the remains of Copper Hoard Culture. The date of this flood, the first of its kind in ancient Indian history, should be determined independently, on geological grounds. Action: GSI

In this context, BB Lal notes that the Satapatha Brahmana, which is ascribable to the 2nd millennium BCE, does refer to a massive flood that wiped off most of the settlements. Only Manu and a few sages were rescued by a fish (Matsyavatara of Vishnu) taking them in a boat to the northern mountains. After the recession of the flood, they returned to the plains and settlements started afresh. This ‘’afresh” is also attested to by archaeology.

  

"...it is justifiable to conclude from the present evidence, as does Max Mallowan in his recent thoughtful and comprehensive article, “Noah’s Flood Reconsidered” (Iraq, vol. XXVI, 1964, pages 62-83) that the Mesopotamian Flood-story, and the Old Testament version based on it, was inspired by an actual catastrophic but by no means universal disaster that took place, not as Woolley claimed, immediately after the Ubaid period, but some time about 3000 B.C., and that it left its archaeological traces in Kish, Shuruppak, and probably at a good many other places yet to be discovered."--Noah Kramer, .Samuel"Reflections on the Mesopotamian Flood" Expedition Magazine 9.4 (1967): n. pag. Expedition Magazine. Penn Museum, 1967  <http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/?p=1740>

What came after Harappan Civilisation? This small Haryana village has answers

Before the excavation at Bhagwanpura, the association of Harappans with people who used Painted Grey Ware was not known.


DISHA AHLUWALIA
Tags

Post a Comment

0 Comments