The Pashupati bronze plate is part of a private collection of 9 plates discovered in Pakistan. It was potentially the world's first printing press, used four thousand years ago. It is the longest Indus inscription ever found. It is not standard; it appears to be extended prose instead of the short format usually characteristic of Indus script. It uses characters not found in the Mahadevan (1977) catalog, including ideograms for eye, hand ear, and tongue on line 4.

The figure seated with yogic pose combines numerous allusions to nature. His helmet has one horn shaped like a fish tail, one like a shark fin. The visor resembles a bird beak. The large goggles evoke the compound eye of an insect. He has a lotus flower behind him. However, the winged helmet of the Roman god Mercury is very similar. If this figure is a synthesis of Pashupati, Shiva, and Hermes, it might date much later, perhaps the 4th century B.C.

The cup of life

        The subject of this plate is the cup at which horned Pashupati is gazing. Like the Holy Grail, it is a vessel meant to contain Soma, a vivifying Water of Life. The quest for Amrita, the elixir of immortality, is the theme common with the Hindu legends of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The sacred animal and standard were an alchemist's code: a way to share insights hidden in plain sight, like the esoteric art of the Renaissance. In this case, the horned Pashupati takes the place of the unicorn, and the standard has only the drinking basin. Usually the standard has two components, water and food, or another complement. An example is a standard that looks like a boat and a sail, representing the elements of water and air. Here, the Pashupati comments on the cup of life. Here, we present a conjectural interpretation, and because non-Indus glyphs are included, have consulted contemporary civilizations of Egypt and China. This plate is evidence of a community of esoteric sages, conversant with Indus characters, and numerous enough to warrant mass produced publications.

The Secret of Life

Line 1

INTERPRETATION DRAFT

1	2	3	2	4	5	6	7	8	9
𓊙			Ψ	∝				血
THRESHING floor Turn. Earth. North New Moon N9	EGO, pride crown, head consciousness	WATER stream	threshing floor	threshing floor	MEDICINE hands shaping pottery Shen šn V7	MAKE hands shaping pottery		threshing floor	threshing floor
Hierogl O50A	Indus script #197

∝ 𓎛 𓍱 𓍲 ☤ 4

𓊙		𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙
THRESHING floor	EGO, pride crown, head	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor
Hierogl O50A	Indus script #197

𓊙		𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙
THRESHING floor	EGO, pride crown, head	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor
Hierogl O50A	Indus script #197

𓊙		𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙
THRESHING floor	EGO, pride crown, head	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor
Hierogl O50A	Indus script #197

𓊙		𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙	𓊙
THRESHING floor	EGO, pride crown, head	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor	threshing floor
Hierogl O50A	Indus script #197