Heritage Lecture Series: A Cryptanalytic decipherment of the Indus script by Yajnadevam | 10th Dec

Abstract :
The Indus Valley Civilization, the largest Bronze Age civilization, laid the foundation of Indian culture and genetics. Its script, dating back to 4000 BCE, remains undeciphered despite numerous attempts. Our study approaches the script as a cryptogram, validated using Claude Shannon’s methods, with a Sanskrit dictionary aiding decipherment.

Analysis reveals the script has ~100 signs, aligning with proto-abugida characteristics, and its grammar corresponds to post-Vedic Sanskrit. We deciphered over 4300 inscriptions, identifying 74 primary allographs and translating 500+ inscriptions. Findings show Brahmi glyphs evolved from Indus signs, linking the Indus Valley to classical Indian civilization and offering insights into early history and culture.

Speaker Bio :
Bharath Rao, popularly on Twitter/X as @Yajnadevam is a cryptographer and computer scientist who has proposed a cryptanalytic decipherment of the Indus Valley script. He has a Masters in Science in Computer Engineering and has worked for illustrious companies such as Goldman Sachs and Motorola Labs. Currently, he is self-employed in a field related to cryptography. His primary interests are cryptography, languages, ancient scripts, political theory and Indian philosophy. In addition to the decipherment, he maintains the complete Indus script corpus at indusscript.net.