The Indus Script and the Rg-Veda

by Egbert Richter Ushanas

This book offers a detailed study of the Indus script in relation to the Rg-Veda. In the first chapters of this book, the author discusses and rebuts several well-known misconceptions about the Vedas and the Vedic Period.

The deciphering of the Indus script has been met with suspicion and ridicule. Many people are nowadays of the opinion that the Indus script is altogether indecipherable. The masterkey of this book is the discovery of a symbolic connection between the Indus signs and the metaphoric language of the Rg-Veda. Nearly 200 inscriptions, amongst them the longest and with the most interesting motifs, have been decoded here by setting them syllable for syllable in relation to Rg-Vedic verses. The results that have been gained by this method for the pictographic values of the Indus signs are surprising and far beyond the possibilities of the most daring fantasy. At the same time many problems of the Rg-Veda are solved and new insights won.

About the Author:

Egbert Richter-Ushanas has studied Indian and Western philosophy, science of religion, and ancient and modern Oriental and Indian languages. He has published translations of the Bhagavadgita, several Upanisads, the Yoga sutras, other works of Indian philosophy, and a monography on Vedic cosmosophy. He has travelled through India several times. In the last four years he has worked on the decipherment of the Easter Island script. At present he lives in his hometown in Bremen, Germany and works as a freelance writer.

Reviews

"The book is highly technical... It is obvious that the effort which has gone into this work is tremendous." --N.V.C. Swamy

"...this book will attract the attention of scholars working in the field." - The Adyar Library Bulletin VOL. 62

" All the ten chapters in this book are full of information and interpretations. ...those who are initiated into the mysterious script, the book opens new vistas.... The book is nicely produced. There are copious footnotes, a general index, and an adequate bibliography." - Prabuddha Bharata