Indus Akam sign and the Namboothiri Manas in Kerala

Indus Akam sign and the Namboothiri Manas in Kerala 

- By Rahul Kartha 

I had explained the below (Fig1) Indus place (or address) sign while discussing the etymology of Meluha. This symbol is to be read, according to the renowned epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, as ‘Akam’ (which in Malayalam means inside). Most of the Indus cities had a citadel (Akam) atop a mount where the ruling/priestly elite lived. Down beneath, the rest of the town was laid out. This gridded city, perhaps, was referred to as Puram (meaning outside) - the opposite of Akam in Malayalam. This word might have been loaned out to Sanskrit as Pura-as in Hasthina-pura-meaning a city). 

Akathiyar (Akathi-ar) would literally means the one who is inside in Malayalam. Akathiyar (Agasthyar in Sanskrit) was the priest-ruler of the Indus valley. It is believed that the Agasthyar led the velir clans (Dravidians) of the Indus valley to the south of the peninsula and this is corroborated by an account in Ramayana (The Vindhya Mountains began to grow taller day by day. The panicked Devas approached Agasthya for help. When Agasthya came before the Vindhyan, the mountain bowed down out of admiration and respect for the great sage. Agasthya said he was on a pilgrimage to the South and told the Vindhyan to remain in that position until he comes back. Vindhyan agreed. Agasthya advanced to the south and never came back). 

There is another legend in connection with the Agasthyarkoodam Mountains in Kerala. All the maharishis went to the Himalayas (to attend the wedding of Shiva & Parvathy) and this affected the balance of the earth. Then Shiva advised Agasthya to move to the south to restore the balance. Agasthya proceeded to the south and finally arrived at the Agasthyarmala (literally the mountain of Agasthya) in Kerala. Since he loved the place, he stayed on. Agasthya is presumed to have played a pioneering role in the cultural development of the south of the sub continent at large. He is believed to have developed Kalaripayattu and is regarded as the father of Tamil. 

Akathiyar (Agasthya) was apparently not a single person. This could have been the generic title of the leader (who was both a head priest and a ruler at the same time) who lived in the acropolis. The Malayalam word Akathan which would mean the head of the family (or the husband) was perhaps based on this notion. In the Vedas, Agasthya and Vasishta were both referred to as Kumbha-sambhava or Kumbha-Yoni (literally a Jar born. This would explain the use of Indus jar symbol as the male honorific suffix ‘an’ - as in avan/akathan/kumaran in Malayalam).                                                                   

                                   

                                               

Vasishta was also referred to by the name Manasa (This would mean mind born in Sanskrit). However, it seems the word Manasa was originally used in reference to Agasthya (or Akathiyar) but later applied to Vasishta (perhaps out of confusion) as well because they were twins and developed in the same manner. Mana (in Sanskrit) means mind. So one may wonder how Mana-sa would refer to a person who lived inside the palace/citadel. Iravatham Mahadevan considers Mana-sa as an incorrect loan translation of the word Akathi-yar. Akam means inside the house in Malayalam. But the word Akam is also used to refer to the human mind (in the sense that the mind is inside the human body). The second meaning apparently was the base for the incorrect translation to Sanskrit. Thus Mana-sa (based on the Sanskrit Mana-meaning mind) began to be used in reference to the person inside the fort (or Agasthya/Akathiyar). 

It is also interesting to note that the term Mana (in Sanskrit means mind) would refer to a house in Vedic literatures as pointed out by Monier Williams. There was supposedly a confusion caused by the different meanings of Akam. Akam in Malayalam would also mean inside the house. Apparently this might be the reason why the place of residence of the Aryan Namboothiris (Brahmins) of Kerala was called as Mana. 

Fig 3: Statue of Agasthya Muni on top of Agasthyarkoodam or Agasthyamalai. PC – Laser Shine 

References 

Mahadevan, I. (1986). Agasthya Legand and the Indus Civilization. Journal of Tamil Studies