Tracing Magan and Its People via Indus Seals

Abstract

Building upon Rajesh Rao’s statistical analysis of the Indus script and phonetic studies by Sue Sullivan and Yajñadeva, this paper examines Indus seals lacking clear Sanskrit interpretations. Yajñadeva’s decoding of 3,674 seals reveals Sanskrit-based phonetic patterns, though many terms lack direct Vedic parallels and are reconstructed through root-verb alignments and phonetic similarity. Despite extensive archaeological evidence of trade with Mesopotamia and Egypt, foreign place names are rarely identifiable; the sole recognition of Madra hints at more hidden toponyms.

The study highlights recurring glyph clusters on seals—appearing at the start, middle, end, or in isolation—often paired with other repeating forms. While their function has been unclear, Yajñadeva’s phonetic assignments yield coherent Sanskrit words, offering interpretative potential. This paper tries to find a place called Magan in Indus Valley Civilization seals and its related people. Focusing on 48 seals, the research proposes that glyphs read as Moka/Maka—Prākṛta forms of Makran—and their variants Mokana and Mokanī represent geographic names like Oman, Makran, and Magan-linked regions. These may have denoted ancient transhipment ports or entrepôts. The suffixes -ana and -anī, serving as plural markers in both Sumerian and Sanskrit, suggest a wider linguistic continuum.

The interpretation is corroborated by Sumerian cuneiform references to 32 Lords of Magan, including King Manium, linked to the Akkadian Maništušu. This alignment enhances our historical understanding of Maka and highlights the seals as carriers of meaningful geographic information. The study thus opens new pathways for exploring Indus–Mesopotamian intercultural links through seal analysis.