Iravatham Mahadevan
Encyclopedia
Iravatham Mahadevan is an India
n epigraphist
, specializing on the Indus script
and Early Tamil epigraphy.
family of Thanjavur district
. He was born in British Burma where his father Iravatham was practising as a doctor
.
Mahadevan was educated in the town of Tiruchirapalli
. After graduating in Science and Law, he joined Indian Administrative Service
.
Mahadevan deciphered the earliest Tamil-Brahmi
inscriptions, and has tentatively suggested a derivation of Brahmi from the Indus script rather than the conventional hypothesis which derives Brahmi from the Aramaic script.
A longtime civil servant, he used a fellowship opportunity to put together the first script concordance of Indian seals in 1970. Gregory Possehl
called Mahadevan a "careful, methodical worker, taking care to spell out his assumptions and methods. ... 'Tentative conclusions' and 'working hypotheses' are more his style than set ideas and fait accompli".
in 1992 for his work on Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.
In 1998, he was elected the president of the Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India and in 2001 he became the general president of the Indian History Congress
. He received the Padma Shri award
from the Government of India in 2009 for arts.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n epigraphist
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, specializing on the Indus script
Indus script
The term Indus script refers to short strings of symbols associated with the Indus Valley Civilization, in use during the Early Harappan and Mature Harappan period, between the 35th and 20th centuries BC. In spite of many attempts at decipherments and claims, it is as yet undeciphered...
and Early Tamil epigraphy.
Biography
Iravatham Mahadevan was born in 1930 in a Smartha Tamil BrahminTamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins from Tamil Nadu who have settled in other South Indian states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka...
family of Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
. He was born in British Burma where his father Iravatham was practising as a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
.
Mahadevan was educated in the town of Tiruchirapalli
Tiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...
. After graduating in Science and Law, he joined Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....
.
Mahadevan deciphered the earliest Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi
Tamil-Brahmi, or Damili is an early phonetic script used to write Tamil characters. It is a variant of many Brahmi scripts used throughout South Asia, namely Ashokan Brahmi, Southern Brahmi, Bhattiprolu script and the Sri Lankan based Sinhala-Brahmi. It is known from surviving inscribed cave beds,...
inscriptions, and has tentatively suggested a derivation of Brahmi from the Indus script rather than the conventional hypothesis which derives Brahmi from the Aramaic script.
A longtime civil servant, he used a fellowship opportunity to put together the first script concordance of Indian seals in 1970. Gregory Possehl
Gregory Possehl
Gregory Louis Possehl was a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of the Asian Collections at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology...
called Mahadevan a "careful, methodical worker, taking care to spell out his assumptions and methods. ... 'Tentative conclusions' and 'working hypotheses' are more his style than set ideas and fait accompli".
Awards and honors
Iravatham Mahadevan was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 1970 for his research in Indus script and the National Fellowship of the Indian Council of Historical ResearchIndian Council of Historical Research
The Indian Council of Historical Research is a Society . The ICHR is registered under Societies registration Act 1860 with the Department of Industries of Delhi Government, Delhi.Role...
in 1992 for his work on Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.
In 1998, he was elected the president of the Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India and in 2001 he became the general president of the Indian History Congress
Indian History Congress
Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 10,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or Life Members....
. He received the Padma Shri award
Padma Shri Awards (2000-2009)
-2000:-2001:-2002:-2003:-2004:-2005:-2006:-2007:-2008:-2009:...
from the Government of India in 2009 for arts.
Publications
- Corpus of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions (1966)
- The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables (1977)
- Early Tamil Epigraphy : From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. (Harvard Oriental Series 62) (2003)
External links
- excerpts from Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.
- Biography at harappa.com
- 'Murukan' in the Indus Script
- Towards a scientific study of the Indus Script The HinduThe HinduThe Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
Magazine, Sunday, Feb 04, 2007. - An interview