Image: Iravatham Mahadevan
Image: Iravatham Mahadevan

Mahadevan's sign number 404 is a composite character. The verb to trade is surrounded by four points of light. A speck of light denotes that something is true. It follows that a point of light at each of the cardinal points is an ideograph for the adverb everywhere. Therefore, sign number 404 means to trade or to sell everywhere.


Illustrative Text References:

Mohenjo-daro: Seal: M-234 a: Jagat Pati Joshi and Asko Parpola, 1987: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 1: Page 58: Collections in India: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.

 

Mohenjo-daro: Seal: M-626 a: Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Asko Parpola, 1991: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions: Volume 2: Page 7: Collections in Pakistan: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.


Image Credit:

Indus Script Sign Number 404: Sign List of the Indus Script: Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977: The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables: The Director General Archaeological Survey of India.