The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables c8: Preface

The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables c8

Language: English

Preface

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We are happy to be able to publish the present volume which contains nearly 3900 photographs of 1537 Indus seals and inscriptions belonging to collections in India. About one fourth of these objects are illustrated for the first time here.

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This is number one of the three volumes planned, for the time being, to complete the photographic *Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions*. The purpose of the Corpus is to provide a basic tool for the research of the little understood script, language and religion of the Indus Civilization and for the study of the administrative organization and external cultural contacts of the Harappans. The Corpus will contain the literary and sphragistic remains of one of the earliest cultures of mankind, a forgotten urban civilization that has had a profound impact on the subsequent traditions of South Asia up to the present day.

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The publication of such a work in international collaboration was first proposed by one of us to the 29th International Congress of Orientalists meeting in Paris in 1973. The proposal was accepted in a unanimous resolution. After the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, had agreed to collaborate with the University of Helsinki in bringing out the Corpus, after the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters had agreed to publish it in its *Annales*, and after distinguished experts from many countries had supported the scheme, an application for financial assistance was submitted to the International Union of Philosophy and Human Studies (CIPSH) through the International Union of Oriental and Asian Studies. The General Assembly of UNESCO meeting at Nairobi in 1976 agreed to support the Corpus as a scholarly project of a confirmed international character and of major importance.

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With the financial assistance of UNESCO, granted through the CIPSH in 1978-80, it was possible to start preparing new photographs of the Indus seals and inscriptions for the Corpus and to reproduce old ones. In India, the work was co-ordinated by the Director General of the ASI, Shri B.K. Thapar. The photographers of the ASI, however, had many other duties, and the progress was slower than had been anticipated. In spite of the best efforts, only about 500 objects, approximately one third of the relevant material, were photographed by 1980. The actual number of photographs taken was much larger, however, because each side of every object was to be photographed. An impression of most of the objects was taken in plasticine, also. After the retirement of Shri B.K.

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Thapar, the photography was stopped for a while, but after further negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, Government of India, carried out with the kind assistance of the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, the photography was taken up again in 1982 by the ASI under the supervision of Dr Debala Mitra, the new Director General. This additional photography covered, again, about one third of the objects and also included most of the relevant material in the National Museum of India; the expenses for it were defrayed by the Finnish Ministry of Education.

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In 1983, the late Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi, paid an official visit to Finland, and an agreement of cultural exchange was signed between the two countries. In order to expedite the publication of the Corpus, Dr Asko Parpola suggested that this project be included in the cultural exchange programme for the years 1984-1986. This met with the approval of the Finnish Ministry of Education, and the Government of India deputed an official delegation to plan Indo-Finnish collaboration in archaeology with the Corpus project as its main concern. The delegation, consisting of Prof. B.B. Lal, former Director General of the ASI, Dr M.S. Nagaraja Rao, the then Director General of the ASI, and Dr K.V. Ramesh, Director of Epigraphy, ASI, visited Finland in June 1984, and a mutual understanding was reached.

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Since a choice between two sets of photographs was sure to guarantee a higher and more even quality to the publication than a single set, it was agreed to enlist the services of an expert photographer for photographing the seals and other material anew. The Finnish Ministry of Education made travel grants and a publication subsidy available in 1984-1986. During this same three-year period, the University of Helsinki, for the first time after a very long interval, had substantial research funds of its own, and the project was granted money to employ two photographers and one half-day research assistant as well as for purchasing equipment. The Chancellor of the University of Helsinki also helped with travel grants. The Research Council for the Humanities at the Academy of Finland, which had supported the Corpus project from its initiation until 1981 by allowing Dr Parpola to work on it while employed as its Research Fellow, took over the main financial responsibility for the project from the beginning of the year 1987.

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This financial support has made it possible to carry out the work with dispatch. The project could enlist the services of Ms Erja Lahdenperä and Mr Jyrki Lyytikkä, two young photographers, as well as of Mrs Virpi Hämeen-Anttila. In 1984-85, with the kind assistance of the ASI, the Museums involved, and the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, Ms Lahdenperä photographed 1378 Indus seals and inscriptions available in India. She also reproduced the old photographs of the Indus seals and inscriptions in the Sind and Punjab series of the ASI's photo archive. The double set of negatives taken is now deposited in the archives of the ASI and the Department of Asian and African Studies, University of Helsinki. In addition to publishing the present volume, one purpose of the Indo-Finnish collaboration in archaeology has been to establish in India and in Finland a comprehensive photo archive, which will enable researchers to get good prints of individual objects.

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After her return, Ms Lahdenperä made enlarged prints of the Indus seals and inscriptions and their impressions from the new negatives which she had taken of them. Mr Jyrki Lyytikkä printed the photos of the old Sind and Punjab volumes and also did a good deal of supplementary printing from Ms Lahdenperä's new negatives. The major part of the old photographs of the ASI's photo archive had been identified in 1975 by Dr Parpola, but a lot remained to be done, including the identification and sorting of the new photos as well. This was done carefully and efficiently by Mrs Hämeen-Anttila.

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Within the cultural exchange programme, the ASI sent Dr K.V. Ramesh to work on the project for three weeks in November-December 1986. The outlines of the preface and introduction subsequently drafted by Dr Parpola and the principles of selecting the photographs were then agreed upon. During the spring and summer of 1987, the photographs were selected, arranged and prepared for the press by Asko Parpola with the assistance of Virpi Hämeen-Anttila. Mrs Hämeen-Anttila also skilfully carried out the layout of the photographs; drew the map planned by Dr Parpola and the symbols in Table 1 and in the page captions; and substantially helped Dr Parpola in the preparation of the list of basic data for the objects illustrated. Shri Jagat Pati Joshi, Additional Director General of the ASI, was nominated by the Government of India as the co-editor for editing the work of the Corpus in the light of the fund of information available in India on the subject.

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Because all existing material was not accessible when the photography was done by the photographers of the ASI in 1978-83 and by Erja Lahdenperä in 1984-85, Ms Lahdenperä left for supplementary photography in India in March 1987. She was also to carry out colour documentation and to photograph better impressions of some seals. This tour had not yet been fully completed when the volume went to the press in order to meet the publication schedule necessitated by the financial arrangements. Whatever was received prior to the end of August 1987 could be included in this volume. The remainder will be included in the addenda part of the third volume of the Corpus. In any case, it would not have been worthwhile to postpone the publication of this already bulky volume for the sake of a few missing items, since the Corpus will never be complete in the absolute sense of the term: new objects keep turning up, and we trust that eventually further volumes of the Corpus will be published.

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We beg the reader's indulgence for some flaws caused by the tight schedule. As the printing had to be commenced long before the book emerged in its final form and a few mistakes passed unnoticed until a late stage, these errors and their consequences could not be eliminated fully. They are catalogued and explained in the Corrigenda section.

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The introduction, it should be noted, pretends to be nothing but an introduction. Its aim is to place the objects illustrated in their historical context, to hint at the various aspects involved in their study, with select references to the existing literature, and to explain the principles and conventions of their publication in the Corpus.

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The publication of this volume would not have been possible without the generous help, support and collaboration of the Governments of India and Finland and of many persons and institutions to whom we extend our cordial thanks.

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The late Professor Jean Filliozat of the Collège de France, Vice-President of the Congress, took personal interest in passing the resolution in favour of the Corpus at the 29th International Congress of Orientalists.

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Among the experts recommending the project to UNESCO were Dr F. R. Allchin, of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge; Dr A.K. Bhattacharyya, then Director, Indian Museum, Calcutta; Dr Jean-Marie Casal, the late Director of the Mission Archéologique de l'Indus, Musée Guimet, Paris; Dr Raoul Curiel, then Curator of the Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque National, Paris; Prof. George F. Dales, Jr, of the Dept. of South and South East Asian Studies, University of California at Berkeley; Prof. A.H. Dani, then Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Islamabad; Prof. Walter A. Fairservis, Jr, then of the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Prof. B.B. Lal, then of Jiwaji University, Gwalior, and formerly Director General of the ASI; the late Prof. J.E. van Lohuizen - de Leeuw, of the Institute of South Asian Archaeology, University of Amsterdam; Dr R. Nagaswamy, Director of the Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology, Madras; Dr S.T. Satyamurti, then Director of the Government Museum, Madras; Dr C. Sivaramamurti, the late Director of the National Museum of India, New Delhi; Dr Odette Viennot, Paris; and the late Professor Sir Mortimer Wheeler, The British Academy.

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Prof. Yrjö Blomstedt, the editor of the *Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae* and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Helsinki, has been an indispensable and ever obliging supporter of the project from the very beginning. We cordially thank the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters and its office holders, especially Prof. Blomstedt and Prof. Lauri Honko, for kindly accepting the Corpus for publication and for procuring the major part of the very considerable printing expenses.

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Prof. Louis Bazin, Secretary General, International Association of Oriental and Asian Studies, and Prof. Jean d'Ormesson, Secretary General, International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, were most helpful in securing UNESCO support and in administering the grant. We are much obliged also to Prof. R.N. Dandekar of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, the President of the International Union of Oriental and Asian Studies, for his personal interest and kind help.

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Through the good offices and kind help and collaboration of Shri B. K. Thapar, then Additional Director General, the project had the full support of the ASI from the beginning. Since the project was actively initiated, it has been graciously coordinated by the successive Directors General, Shri B.K. Thapar (1978-80), Dr Debala Mitra (1981-83), Dr M.S. Nagaraja Rao (1984-86), and Shri R. C. Tripathi (1987).

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Among the officers of the ASI who kindly made accessible the materials and rendered valuable assistance, we especially thank Shri M.C. Joshi, Joint Director General; Dr K.V. Ramesh, Director, Epigraphy; Dr K.D. Banerjee, Course Director; Shri B.M. Pande, Deputy Director, Institute of Archaeology; Shri R.S. Bisht, Superintending Archaeologist; Shri S.A. Sali, Superintending Archaeologist (ret.); Shri R.P. Sharma, Assistant Director, Institute of Archaeology; Kum. Madhu Bala, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Kalibangan Excavation Report Section, Purana Qila; and Kum. Purna Iyer, Assistant Superintending Archaeologist (ret.), and Kum. A. Banerjee, Assistant Superintending Archaeologist in the Central Antiquities Collection, Purana Qila. Photographers of the ASI who have worked for the project include Shri Sovan Chatterjee, Shri R.S. Rana, Shri R.K. Sehgal and Shri Rajbir Singh. The modellers Sarvashri G. Sudarshanam, Shri Kapil Deo and Shri D. K. Malik are responsible for making the seal impressions.

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At the National Museum of India, we have been afforded all possible help by the Directors, Dr C. Sivaramamurti, Dr I. D. Mathur, and Dr L.P. Sihare. We also thank Dr. S.P. Gupta, Assistant Director, and the Keepers, Dr G. N. Pant, Dr L. A. Narain, Dr Shashi Asthana, and Shri D.P. Sharma for valuable assistance. At the Indian Museum, Calcutta, we are grateful to the Directors, Dr A.K. Bhattacharyya and Dr R.C. Sharma, and to Dr Dilip Guha, Curator of the Prehistoric Gallery. We thank the Trustees of the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Bombay, and Shri B.V. Shetti, Curator of Archaeology and Numismatics. At the Government Museum, Madras, we thank the Directors, Dr S.T. Satyamurti and Dr H. Harinarayanan, and Shri Devasahayam, Curator of the Department of Archaeology. We are grateful to the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Haryana State, Chandigarh, and to Shri P.K. Sharan, Deputy Director. We further express our most sincere thanks to the Directors of the Kachchh Museum, Bhuj; the Baroda Museum, Vadodara; the Patna Museum, Patna; the State Museum, Lucknow; the Central Museum, Nagpur; and the Archaeological Museum, Trichur. All these institutions have kindly made their material available and given valuable help.

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Shri Iravatham Mahadevan, IAS (ret.), Madras, has been of invaluable help to us over the years. We thank him especially for graciously putting at our disposal his indexes to the museum registration numbers and other concordances, which have been of great value in cross-checking the data.

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We thank Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao, Minister; and Smt. Krishna Sahi, Minister of State; and also former Minister, Smt. Sheila Kaul; Shri K.P. Singh Deo, Smt. Sushila Rohtagi, former Ministers of State; and Shri P.K. Thungon, former Deputy Minister of State; Smt. Serla Grewal, former Secretary (now Secretary to the Prime Minister); Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, former Additional Secretary (presently Secretary, Indira Gandhi Centre for Art and Culture) in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (formerly designated as the Ministry of Education, Culture and Social Welfare), Government of India; Shri Y.S. Das, former Secretary; and Shri M. Varadarajan, Secretary, Culture; and Shri I.U. Ramchandani, Secretary (ret.), the Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO. Shri P.A. Nazareth, former Director of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India, has also helped the project.

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The Ambassadors of India in Helsinki, Shri A.R. Kakodkar and Shri K.P. Fabian, have taken a great personal interest in the project and done much to further it.

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The Finnish Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi have also been of great assistance to the project. We are much obliged to the Ambassadors Ms Riitta Örö, Dr Risto Hyvärinen and Mr Jan Groop, and to the First Secretaries Mr Hannu Himanen, Mr Mikko Pyhälä and Mr Antti Koistinen, as well as to Ms Kirsti Lintonen. Mr Himanen and Mr Pyhälä devoted much of their time and energy to the project in the course of many years.

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The generous financial support of the Finnish Ministry of Education has been indispensable to the project. Our very special thanks go to the Director of International Affairs, Mr Kalervo Siikala, and to Counsellor Ritva Kaipio, both of whom have taken a great personal interest in the publication of the Corpus.

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Our grateful thanks for its generous support and encouragement go also to the University of Helsinki. The Chancellor, Prof. Nils Oker-Blom, the Rector, Academician Olli Lehto, and the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Prof. Yrjö Blomstedt, have done everything in their power to further the project. We would also like to mention especially Mr Matti Malmberg and Ms Marja Nikkarinen of the University administration, Prof. Heikki Palva, Prof. Simo Parpola and Mr Harry Halen, Lic.Ph., of the Department of Asian and African Studies, and Mr Mauri Laakso and the other staff of the Department of Photography for all possible assistance. Prof. Rauno Ruuhijärvi has kindly allowed the Corpus project to use the photo laboratory of the Department of Botany for years.

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At an early stage of the project, Mr Lauri Pohjakallio, M.A., of Kuopio Museum, kindly helped in planning the photography. Dr Ingo Pini, Editor, Corpus of Minoan and Mycenaean Seals, Marburg, FRG, and Dr Poul Kjaerum, Moesgård Museum, Århus, editor of the Dilmun seals found at Failaka, have given valuable advice, especially on the technique of taking impressions. Dr Paul Yule, formerly of Kommission für Allgemeine und Vergleichende Archäologie des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Bonn, and now in charge of the Corpus of Prehistoric Asian Metal Finds, has kindly supplied us with photos and information of copper and bronze objects. Dr Michael Jansen and Mrs Alexandra Ardeleanu-Jansen, of the Forschungsprojekt Mohenjo-daro, Lehrstuhl für Baugeschichte und Denkmalspflege, Rheinisch-Westphälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen, have given us access to the unpublished original archaeological field books of the excavators of Mohenjo-daro discovered by them in Pakistan. Mrs Ute Franke-Vogt, Institut für Vorderasiatische Altertumskunde, Freie Universität, Berlin, who is working on these records, has sent us copies of her unpublished lists and informed us about the results of her visits to various Indian museums.

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The devoted and skilful assistance of Ms Erja Lahdenperä and Mrs Virpi Hämeen-Anttila, as well as of Mr Jyrki Lyytikkä in the last stages, has been indispensable.

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We thank Ms Virginia Johnson, B.A., for kindly checking our English.

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Our printers, Vientipaino Oy, have done excellent work. We greatly appreciate the expertise and ever ready helpfulness of the director, Mr Jorma Kettunen, the foreman, Mr Heikki Simonen, and the mounters, Mr Ari Niemi and Mr Petri Telaranta.

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Last but not least, our profound thanks go to the Academy of Finland for taking over the financial responsibility of the project at a crucial stage. It is hoped that this essential support will continue until the project is completed.

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We trust that the time, labour and money invested in the publication will have been worthwhile. The volume will surely encourage enlightened research on the difficult but fascinating problems of the Indus Civilization. We would like to end this preface by appealing to private persons as well as to institutions owning collections of Indus seals and inscriptions - anywhere in the world - to write to Prof. Asko Parpola, Department of Asian and African Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, or to Shri Jagat Pati Joshi, Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi, India. Photographs of objects (all sides with data on measurements) sent to the editors can be included in the proposed third volume of this Corpus and thereby be made available to research. Purely private communications from knowledgeable quarters will also be greatly appreciated.