Image: Iravatham Mahadevan
Image: Iravatham Mahadevan

This is a pictograph of an elephant's tail. It was used as a classifier (counter or measure word) for elephants. A modern translation might be the noun parade.


Illustrative Text Reference:

Mohenjo-daro: Seal: M-278 a:  Jagat Pati Joshi and Asko Parpola, 1987: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 1: Page 68: Collections in India: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.


Image Credit:

Indus Script Sign Number 2648: List of Sign Variants: Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977: The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables: The Director General Archaeological Survey of India.