தமிழகத்தில் சிந்து சமவெளிக் கலாசாரத் தொடர்ச்சி - Special Lecture at Palatine Public Library, Chicago (July 27, 2013)

தமிழ்நண்பர்களே, சிகாகோ பலாடைன் நூலகத்தில் ’தமிழகத்தில் சிந்து சமவெளிக் கலாசாரத் தொடர்ச்சி’ என்னும் தலைப்பில் அண்மையில் அகழ்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட தொல்லியல் ஆதாரங்களைக் காட்டி ஆய்வுரை நிகழ்த்துகிறேன். தாங்களும், தங்கள் குடும்ப நண்பர்களும் வந்திருந்து விழாவைச் சிறப்பிக்க வேண்டுகிறேன்.

சிகாகோ தமிழ்ச்சங்கம் தன் அங்கத்தினர்களுக்கு இந்த ஆய்வுச் சொற்பொழிவு பற்றிய நிகழ்ச்சி அறிவிப்பை அனுப்பியுள்ளது. பழைய நண்பர்கள் பலரையும், கவிமாமணி ’சந்தவசந்தம்’ இலந்தையாரும், புலவர் பிரான்சிசு சவரிமுத்து, வேந்தன் அரசு (சின்சினாட்டி), கோவை செல்வன் (விஸ்கான்சின்) பார்க்க இருப்பது கூடுதல் மகிழ்ச்சி அளிக்கிறது. சனிக்கிழமை சந்திப்போம்!

நா. கணேசன்

                                Continuity of the Indus Valley Civilization:

Crocodile - Korravai cult in the Megalithic period Tamil Nadu

(தமிழகத்தில் சிந்து சமவெளிக் கலாசாரத் தொடர்ச்சி)

Special Lecture by

Dr. N. Ganesan

July 27, 2013, 1-4 PM

Location: Room B, Palatine Public Library

700 N. North Court, Palatine, IL 60067

Bronze Age Indus Valley saw the flourishing of the largest agriculture based civilization in the ancient world. The seals unearthed cover a wide geographical area of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) and the glyptic art featured in the IVC seals show the importance of land and aquatic fauna in the cultural life. The characteristic fish sign pointing to the Dravidian language spoken by the elite Harappans has long been explored from the days of Fr. H. Heras, SJ. However, the importance of crocodiles in IVC culture is just coming to light. In the post-Harappan phase also this crocodile deity is found in anthropomorphic form in sites in Haryana, but it has been misidentified as a Boar (Varaaha)! In 2011, Prof. Asko Parpola has characterized an important sign in the Indus script as the Makara. Fresh archaeological material from Tamil Nadu megalithic sites and a Tamil Brahmi inscription found recently near Madurai will be presented here for the first time as important evidence showing continuity of the Indus crocodile cult in the Iron Age Tamil country. Tirupparangunram inscription of the crocodile (Naakra) and Sakthi with a Banyan fig tree and its relationship to the symbols in the earliest silver punch marked coins of Pandyas will be shown. 

This lecture is illustrated with many slides from Tamil Nadu archaeology finds. The IVC seal given here is an equivalent of Proto-Varuṇa portrait in the IVC religion, and its relationship with the tiger-goddess, Proto-Durgā is seen from her shaman priest seated in the tree with a tiger below. It is noteworthy that the Makaram (Thai- தை) is the only Tamil name among 12 months, and throughout India, all calenders retain this Makara sign and name whereas all the other eleven months use from symbols borrowed from the astrology of Babylon in Indo-Greek times.

Dr. N. Ganesan is a specialist in Aerospace structural dynamics. He has been long interested in Tamil literature, Indology, South Indian archaeology and Unicode encoding of southern scripts. He first presented the presence of Crocodile (Makara) cult in Indus religion in 2007. His paper on Dravidian etymology of Makara, published in Prof. V. I. Subramaniam memorial volume, can be read at:

http://nganesan.blogspot.com/2013/02/dravidian-etymology-for-makara.html

Gharial god and Tiger goddess in the Indus valley:

Some aspects of Bronze Age Indian religion,

by Dr. N. Ganesan (naa.ganesan@gmail.com), Houston, TX

http://nganesan.blogspot.com/2013/07/crocodile-korravai-ivc-cult-2007.html

மகர விடங்கர் - கொற்றவை வழிபாடு - சிந்துசமவெளி முத்திரைகளில்

Here is my paper written in 2007 discussing the Crocodile-KoRRavai (proto-Durgaa) cult in  Indus valley. Next week (July 29, 2013 in Chicago, IL) I will be presenting new archaeological evidence for the continuity of this Indus Crocodile cult (1) in post-Harappan sites in Haryana as Anthropomorphic figure which is wrongly identified as Varaaha (Boar, பன்றி)! and (2) in Tamil Nadu megalithic burial sites such as Adichanallur and also in Indus-like inscription in SaaNuur. The recent inscription of the crocodile (Naakra) and Sakthi with a Banyan fig tree in  Tirupparangunram, Madurai and its relationship to the symbols in the earliest silver punch marked coins of Pandyas will be shown. Dravidian name of Mokara/Makara for Indian crocodile attested in Sangam period texts and archaeology is analyzed here.

The original PDF of my 2007 paper on IVC crocodile worship cult is available here for download.

  Gharial god and Tiger goddess in the Indus valley:
      Some aspects of Bronze Age Indian religion

       Abstract: In the Mature Harappan period seals and tablets produced about 4000 years ago, gharial crocodile is portrayed as a ‘horned’ being. As in the famous Pashupati seals (M-304), this horned gharial deity is the central figure surrounded by a typical set of animals. A female being, often connected with tigers, is seen coupling together with the gharial in a fecundity scene in an Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) creation myth. A number of seals show a man on the tree along with a tiger below. This shaman on the tree and tiger motif is linked archaeologically with the gharial deity in the sky, and the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh-like goddess shown between two tigers in IVC tablets and moulds. Also, the same shaman on tree along with a tiger motif is seen in the ‘horned’ gharial “Master of Animals” seals. A comprehensive evaluation of the imagery recorded in the Indus glyptic art is needed to understand the pan-Indus founders’ myth cycle, and the iconography is illustrated with pictures of the IVC sealings. These religious myths of the gharial and tiger divinities are at least as important as the tree goddess worship in M-1186 with a shaman, markhor goat and seven women in front of a bodhi fig tree.

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