Miscellaneous - 2
kodimaram at Sabarimala temple Ambalam Renowned epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan once proposed that a particular Indus symbol—depicting a pillar mounted on a platform (Figure 1)—could represent a pillared assembly hall used by the common people. Intriguingly, the Malayalam word pothikam refers to the base or foundation of a pillar. If we accept the widely discussed theory that the Indus language was a proto-Dravidian (or Malayalam) tongue—potentially a precursor to Tamil—then interpreting this symbol as pothikam becomes another plausible linguistic bridge. But are there cultural parallels to support this hypothesis? Indeed, there are. In Malayalam, pothi can also refer to an ambalam , a small shrine or temple often found along pathways, serving as both a spiritual and communal resting place ( vazhi-ambalam ). The presence of a kodimaram (flag post) in front of temples today—essentially a pillar standing on a platform—visually resembles the ancient Indus depiction, fur...
