Abstract
Unicorn imagery on the seals of the Harappan civilization (HC) is shown to be a chimera. This study tries to interpret the iconography of the unicorn and the associated cult object in terms of interrelated myths-specifically Vedic myths around Prajāpati as Mṛgaśiraṣa (Orion). A reading of composite seal M1171 depicting the body of a bull with protomes of a bull, unicorn and an antelope strengthens our interpretation. The research implies that the Mature Phase of the HC within the timeframe of ~ 2600–1900 BCE may reveal memories of the Vedic astronomy as we understand it since millennia.
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Notes
The four principal Vedas, Ṛg-,Sāma-, Yajur- and Atharva- Veda, are each traditionally subdivided into four functional texts: the Saṃhitās (main texts), the Brāhmaṇas (on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices), the Aranyakas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upaniṣads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).
In ancient Egypt, the most important heliacal rising has been that of Sirius, the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere (Brosch 2008, p. 9; goddess Sopdet, and of fertility of Nile; also Isis) around the onset of Summer Solstice, observed since at least 3000 BCE, a coincidence of association with beneficial flooding of the Nile. Interestingly, in Vedic lore, this star was also referred to as Śukra, the rain god. Again in ancient Egypt, Orion was regarded as a god, called Sah. Because Orion rises before Sirius, Sah was closely linked with Sopdet; Isis as Sirius has Orion as a consort. The Orion constellation has an identification as a hunter as well as association with several myths of Greek and later Roman origin.
Anuvaka V, X.5.1, 5–7 (Ṛgveda 10.161. 5–7; as translated by Wilson [1850–88] 1928, p.102).
“5. (Rudra), the benefactor of man, whose eager virile energy was developed, drew it back when disseminated (for the generation of offspring); again the irresistible (Rudra) concentrates (the energy) which was communicated to his maiden daughter. 6. When the deed was done in mid-heaven in the proximity of the father working his will, and the daughter coming together, they let the seed fall slightly; it was poured upon the high place of sacrifice. 7. When the father united with the daughter, then associating with the earth, he sprinkled it with the effusion: then the thoughtful gods begot Brahma: they fabricated the lord of the hearth (of sacrifice); the defender of sacred rites.”.
The Zend Avesta word for girdle (aivyaonghanem) actually translates as kushti, a sacred thread of the Zoroastrians worn around the waist separating the upper torso. This provides a link to the Vedic Prajāpati as Yajňya: A belt or a girdle or a piece of cloth round the waist of Orion as Yajňya, Yajňopavita or Upvita as the cloth of Yajňya will naturally be named after him as Yajňopavita. All through the Subcontinent’s history the upanayanam ceremony mimics the Orion/Mṛgaśiraṣa myth of the Indo-European era prior to the Iranian and Indian split (as per Tilak [1893] 2008)– where the newly initiated boy in the ritual is adorned with a Mekhalā, ajinā and danḍa (a girdle, skin and a staff); he becomes Prajāpati. Mekhala is a grass chord around the waist with three knots just over the navel– three stars of the belt of Orion; and when it is worn for the Yajňya, it is tied with a mantra as the knot dear to Soma. To become a Brahmin, is to imitate Prajāpati: Prajāpati assumed the form of a deer, so the boy is clothed in a deer-skin, Prajāpati has a girdle around the waist so the boy has Mekhala with three knots above the navel and Prajāpati has a staff so the boy has it too.
Sirius (Mṛgavyādha) and Orion (Mṛgaśiraṣa) both have bow and arrow myths associated with them. One zodiac Stella from Dendera Temple in Egypt, on display in Louvre records astronomical events of ~ 50 BCE, that shows Sirius in the form of a five-pointed star between the horns of a celestial cow carried in a boat; the boat is followed by the goddess Satet (also known as antelope goddess wearing a pair of long antelope horns and goddess of fertility) with a bow and arrow pointed at Sirius (Brosch 2008). Orion is also a lover of Goddess Dawn (Aldebaran) and has a dog (Sirius) as companion–all this has parallels in the Vedic mythology wherein uṣās (the Dawn) is another description for Rohiṇī (Aldebaran).
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Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks are due to Prof. Mayank Vahia [Dean, School of Mathematical Sciences, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, V. L. Mehta Road, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400056, and former Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi habha Road, Mumbai 400 005] for useful suggestions.
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Dolas, P.M. Astronomical clues in unicorn iconography of the Harappan civilization. Indian J Hist. Sci. 57, 1–9 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43539-022-00030-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43539-022-00030-8