Eternal India Encyclopedia

ARCHAEOLOGY

Eternal India

encyclopedia

namely V

, 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 100. The smallest disc

weighs 50mg equal to a

dhanya

masaka

gunja

) and 10

masakas

equal to a dhanya or

masaka

gunja) and 10

masakas

equal to one

suvama masaka

of the

Arthasastra.

It weighs 5

Gunjas.

The unit 100 mg of Lothal gold discs runs in the ratio V

,1,

,5,10,25,27.5,30 and 32.5 with two variants 28 and 29. The unit

weight of 27.584g of the mature Harappans or 26.61 lg of Late

Harappans was, it appears, the basis for modelling the Greek

Uncia of 27.2g. The Indus decimal graduation continued in the

Vedic

period, for, the

Yajurveda

(Ch. 17, Verse 2) mentions the

decimal multiples 1 to 10.

The Indus length measure is determined by Mainkar on the

basis of the Mohenjo-Daro and Lothal scales. The Lothal scale

has smaller divisions 1.704 mm, while the length in the Mohenjo-

Daro scale is 6.705 mm. Four divisions of Lothal scale are equal to

one division on the Mohenjo-Daro scale. The greatest accuracy

was achieved in drawing 40 divisions in 68 mm on Lothal scalf. It

must have involved great skill and fine instruments to draw lines at

1,704mm distance in 2300 B.C. The practical use of the Mohenjo-

Daro—Lothal integrated scale can be demonstrated by measuring

the brick walls and foundations. The longest side of Lothal brick

(250rhm) is equal to 10 major graduations of the other scale within

limits of error. Mainkar has taken the distance between the 6th and

21st longer lines as the major division on Lothal scale. The width of

the wall of Lothal dock (1.04 m) is equal to 40 large graduations on

Lothal scale and the width of its foundation 1,78m is 1000 times the

small graduation (Rao S.R. 1985, 560-565, V.B. Mainkar,

1984,141-151). Brij Bhushan Vij says that the dimensions to

which the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro was constructed indicate

that the idea of angles and their trigonometric functions were within

the speculative imagination of the Harappan engineers and they

had perhaps the knowledge of the value of

(Vij B.B., 1984, 153-

156).

Astronomy

Two hollow cylinders of conch

shell one from Lothal with 4 slits

each in the upper and lower margins

and the other from Dholavira with 6

slits each in the two margins were

used not only for measuring angles

of 45° (fig:30) and 30°, respec-

tively, but also for measuring

the

whole sections of the horizon

viewing the object through the

lower and upper slits. It could

serve as a compass as well as sex-

tant for navigators for ascertaining

the position of the star or sun, at its

helical rising.

Perhaps the

ring of 12 slits corresponds to the

Zodiac of

directions of wind arid division of the sky as in the

Vedic and later Greek Zodiac.

The

Sulba-sutras

which were a part of the

Srauta Sutras

are

geometric manuals for the construction of sacrificial altars. It is

interesting to find that in the rules given for construction of altars,

certain assumptions similar to the Euclidean postulates are taken

for granted (S.N. Sen 1971, 145). For instance that (1) a straight

line can be divided into an infinite number of equal parts is

archaeologically

attested

to by the very minute

divisions on the Lothal

scale. (2) that a circle can

be divided

into any

number of

parts

drawing diameters is also

borne out by the

terracotta floor tiles of

Kalibangan

which

circles are so divided. The

geometrical rules for the

construction

sacrificial

altars are followed in the

sienna citi

constructed by Sila

Varman at the ancient site of

Kalsi near Dehradun (IAR

1952-55). Similar rules must

have existed in Harappan

times for the construction of

fire altars at Lothal,

Kalibangan (fig: 31)

and

Rangpur.

Perphaps

these

correspond to the

Garhapatya,

Ahavaniya

and

Daksina agnis.

The seal No.320 from Harappa has a

fire-altar device and an inscription

reading

pag-bhag-arakaha

'seal

mighty God Arka' white seal No. 307

(fig : 27) from Harappa depicts a God in

an arch of flame. The inscription below

reads

bhag-rka

'God Arka'. Fire-

worship was popular at Lothal and

Kalibangan, where animal sacrifices

similar to the

gavam-ayana

of the

Brahmana (Aitrariya Br, IV. 17)

were

performed (Rao 1990, 284 ff). The

brick-built sacrificial altars contain

bovine bones, terracotta 'cakes' (fig:32) or lumps and in the case of

the Lothal altar a circular gold

rukma

was also found. A similar

ornament is seen on the forehead and arm of the statue of the

‘Priest’

from Harappa (fig:33).

The offering of a bull in Harappan sacrifice was later observed

only in a symbolic form in the Vedic

Gavamayana

sacrifice (Rao

1987,11). Maybe that

gavam

stood for the solar gait and the

sacrifice originally lasted for 360 days, but later on finding that the

year had 365V

days the suspension of the sacrifice for a certain

number of days was observed.

Two halls each with 3 altars in two different houses of the

Lower Town at Lothal answer to the description of

yajanasala.

The word

dama

is used for the hall in the Indus seals as well as

Brahmana

literature.

Sattra

is another cognate appearing in seal

inscriptions. It stood for a year-long sacrifice similar to the

gavam-

ayana.

N. Mahadevan observes that “by holding the session of

gavam-ayana

they also hold the walk of the

aditya.

The

Visuvan

{equinox)

occurred exactly in the middle of the

sattra.

The passage

Aghasu hanyante gave Arjunyo paryuhate

Aitareya Brahmana

suggests suspension of cow’s gait in

Maghas

and resumption in

Phalgunis

which could add 15 days more to the year of 350 days.