Shiva Min(uksha), Mahakala and the Amorites in India

Contd.

        The Indus-Saraswati civilization (largest of its kind in the world) was a highly articulate one, the chief elements of which can be seen through the corridors of archaeology - the eternal yogi in meditation, the majestic priest-king in trefoil-studded robe, the splendid seals, the enchanting dancing girl, the magnificent cities and so on, but all the characters are muted and frozen. Little is known about their political, ethnic, linguistic, or religious affiliations. Chronology and geography are said to be the two eyes of history and without a precise geographical perspective, it is impossible to study of the seals. Early Magadha (Mah-Gud) was Magan, west of Baluchistan but its ejection to Bihar by Jones greatly hampered the study of this culture. Melukhkha is widely considered to be a name of the Indus-Saraswati culture but this not the full story - Dilmun, Magan and Melukhkha which were often was mentioned together in the Sumerian texts was 'India'. Ancient Mar-Khase (Khasa-land) was a part of 'India'. Mar-Khase is Khas-la or Kosala. It was also read as Khashemar (Kashmir). Mannu (Manium) ruled Dilmun, Magan and Melukhkha. M. A. Nayeem links Mannu with Bahrain. Dilmun ('one-two' in Sumerian) accords with Dravida. R. Thapar's view that Dilmun included Gujarat is correct. In the Matsya Purana, Manu is the Lord of Dravida which cannot be modern South India. Elam or Ilam has the sense of an original home in the Dravidian languages. Melukhkha was the ancient name of Baluchistan.

        The name Uksha may be linked to such terms as Achaemenian, Ikshvaku and the Achaeans. It appears in a very early layer of Indo-Iranian tradition. 'We worship Ukhshan, the son of the great Vidi-sravah, known from afar'., runs the Farvardin Yast. Ukshya-tereta and Ukshyatnemah were the forerunners of the saviour Saoshyant.

in the head-dress of Proto-Shiva or Minuksha

       One corollary of Jonesian Indology, elucidated by R. Thapar and S. Ratnagar, is that there is no trace of Hinduism in Indus-Saraswati religion. The absurdity of the contention is proved not only by the figure of the ithyphallic Shiva-like Yogi depicted in some seals but also the inscription in these seals which are of crucial religious significance. The clear echoes of the fierce Rudra in Nimrod of the Old testament shows that Indian history and religion has to be perceived from an international perspective. The Yogi has been recognized as an early form of Shiva by many scholars and reminds one of the procreative power of God (Purusha) extolled in the RigVeda to be at the origin of all things. The Yogi is a Lord of beasts like Shiva Pashupati and is ithyphallic like Min, the Egyptian God of fertility and harvest. Min was one of the most ancient gods of Egypt whose cult dates from the pre-dynastic period and was linked to fecundity. He was the Lord of the Eastern desert which seems to point to his eastern origin. This is also indicated by his name Amsu which is similar to the name of Amsa, a Vedic Solar God said to belong to the so-called 'Indo-European' period.

       Apart from their common ithyphallic nature, that the Proto-Shiva was also called Min is evident from the inscription. The fish-sign can be read as 'Min' as the word for 'fish' in Sanskrit, Dravidian and even Sumerian was 'Min' (munnu). Thus the last two signs can be read with certainty as Min-uksha.

       Urban civilization ended abruptly in the north and other areas and in the dark ages that followed, much of the history of the glorious era was obliterated. The name Minuksha is not known in Indian literature but it may have survived in Minakshi, the famous fish-eyed Goddess of Madurai which has quaint echoes.  Her name Minakshi may have been derived from that of her husband Shiva Minuksha. Min was known as Amsu and in India Amsa was a solar-god. This shows the link of the Dravidian cultures with Indus-Saraswati. The ancestors of the Pallavas also seem to have been Harappans. 

        The link of Shiva with Indus-Saraswati religion seems to be indicated by the presence of Mahakala, an allied god. The symbol depicts a Ziggurat and can be read as Maha or Mah, name of the Goddess. The sign stands for a city or citadel and can be read as Bala or Kala (Kella in Bengali). It designated a plot of land in Sumerian. D. Diringer writes that in early Chinese writing the sign designated a gate or Dvara. The 'Gate' had a religious (and probably also juridical) significance and the root Dvara is the key to names like Maha Anga Dvara (Mohenjo-daro), Darab, Dvaravati, Djiroft, Der, Dwaraka, Chanhu Daro, Sutkagen-Dor and the Persian Gates.

       The important text appears in a total of 27 inscriptions of which a large number are in the form of copper tablets from Mohenjo-daro and seems to be of great ritual significance. It can be read as Maha Kala Dvara Uksha which echoes Darius and shows the great influence of Shiva Mahakala in Indus-Saraswati. The name strongly resembles Mekal, the Canaanite God. Mekal was also an ancient city in Palestine. The name Mahakal may be linked to the place-name Makkas mentioned in the Achaemenian documents with Purash. 

      The sign before in the proto-shiva seal may be a compound of and may have been read as 'Ukshu' or just 'Shu'. As the Brahmi 'Ma' was written as , the three signs preceding may tentatively be read as Mashmasshu, the name of an important class of Sumerian priests. The Mashmasshu may have been easterners. 'Nin' or 'Min' in Sumerian meant 'great' which may echo the name of an early god. Were they Indo-Aryans?

       As the links of the Proto-Shiva with Mekal and Min shows, Hinduism, which is a disparate mix of diverse doctrines, cults, and social traits, holds the key to a meaningful study of world religion. Owing to its composite structure, this ancient religion has been likened to an armadillo by Wendy Donigher but T. McEvilley (The Shape of Ancient Thought) discusses it from a broader West Asian perspective.

The Jaiminīya Upanişad Brāhmaņa and other texts (~900 B. C.) mention teachers such as Yaśasvin Jayanta Lauhitya, Śyāma Jayanta Lauhitya, Dakşa Jayanta Lauhitya, Jayanta Pārāśarya, Jayanta Vārakya etc.. The mysterious epithet Jayanta may be the precursor of the terms 'gentiles' and 'giant'. The Amorites are described as giants in the Old Testament. In the Ramayana also Ravana is portrayed as a giant. The term Lauhitya may stand for the Gulf area.