Interpreting the Dholavira Sign Board of Indus Civilization By Rekha Rao Key words: yajna, soma yajna, Indus civilization, Harappan seals, Dholavira sign board, Indus symbols, fire altars, ancient religious rites, ancient history, linguistics. Introduction Dholavira is a large archaeological site of the ancient Indus valley civilization, situated in the Kutch district of Gujarat in Western India. One of the most interesting and significant discoveries at Dholavira was the sign board found in the northern gateway of the city and is often called the Dholavira Signboard. The credit of finding this sign board with 10 inscribed letters goes to ASI in 1991, by a team led by Prof. R. S. Bisht. The board originally was arranged set pieces of the mineral gypsum to form ten large symbols on a big wooden board. At some point, the board fell flat on its face. The wood decayed, but the arrangement of the symbols inscribed survived. The size of symbols of the signboard are comparable to large bricks that were used in nearby walls. Each sign is about 37 cm (15 in) high and the board on which letters were inscribed was about 3 m (9.8 ft) long. The size of letters being big that could be viewed from a distance, and the width of the board matching with the width of northern gateway of the Dholavira citadel, it is conjectured to be a sign board. The inscription is one of the longest in the Indus script, with one circular symbol appearing four times. Its large size and public nature make it a key piece of evidence cited by scholars arguing that the Indus symbols represents a different type of communication. Another four-sign inscription with big size letters on a sand stone was also found at this site, considered first of such inscription on sand stone at any of Harappan sites. This paper is focused on what the 10 symbols of Dholavira sign board communicate. The significance of 262 Indus symbol has been listed in the book “The Dictionary of Indus Symbols”. The analysis of the symbols of the board for what they communicate is worked according to the symbol analysis of the dictionary. The symbols resemble the objects that are still in use during yajna rituals and picture of such objects are provided as support pictures for clarification. The Intention Behind Erecting a Sign Board It is interesting to see that sign boards were in vogue during Indus civilization, as far back as 3500 years even though script of language did not exist. An insight into Vedas reveal that people performed yajnas to appease deities and the recurrent request was for rains. They had faith in deity Indra who would cut the clouds with his weapon and bring copious rain. Yajnas thus became the major activity of people for which recitation of Vedic chants by Vedic priests was mandatory. All oblations were offered to Agni, the fire in the sacred fire altars who was revered as the celestial priest and carry it to the Gods in the heaven. Thus, fire and fire altars became central to yajnas which required elaborate preparations and many ingredients. Making of the wooden and earthen utensils in specific wood and fetching special type of soil was tough for civilians and hence these were arranged to be disposed for purchase in corporate departments through agents. The place where these were purchased was indicated through symbols in very bold font so that people could notice it and approach them.