Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c10.s2.2

c10.s2.2

The meaning of the ring-stone is clear in the context of Indian religious beliefs. Sir John Marshall, making a probe into the meaning of these ring-stones, says: "It could hardly have been utilitarian, nor are they suited for personal ornaments. The nude figures engraved on them appear to represent a Goddess of fertility, perhaps the Earth-Goddess, *Prithivī*, and they point to the disc having served as votive offerings. The earth itself, it may be recalled, was conceived of as 'wheel-shaped' in the Ṛigveda, and is said to be 'circular' in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. With these may be compared a seal from Harappa (No. 649) exhibiting the Goddess of Fertility with her legs wide apart, but portrayed upside down, with a plant issuing from her womb. These figures of the Fertility-Goddess are particularly significant, because the form of the ring-stones from Taxila and Kosam also call to mind the peculiar ring-stones from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro." (ASIAR. 1927-28, p.96).