Image: Iravatham Mahadevan
Image: Iravatham Mahadevan

This is a pictograph of seven counting rods. It is the numeral seven. You should note that the counting rods are laid out sequentially. Hence, they represent a sequence of seven things. This contrasts with Mahadevan's sign number 1344, which represents a group or cluster of seven items.


Illustrative Text Reference:

Mohenjo-daro: Seal: M-861 a: Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Asko Parpola, 1991: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 2: Page 79: Collections in Pakistan: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.

Comment:

Inscription M-861 refers to a stepped shrine, which may have had seven storeys. (Unfortunately, the photograph is not clear.) It may be that each storey required a different offering.


Image Credit:

Indus Script Sign Number 110: Sign List of the Indus Script: Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977: The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables: The Director General Archaeological Survey of India.