[INDOLOGY] Lead cubes with Indic numeration found in Thames River

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Dear Dr Jacob Schmidt,

> I wonder if it would be considered inauspicious to pick them up, or
whether they would already have served their ritual purpose (whatever
exactly that might have been)?

As per the occult beliefs around such occult practices, there is no harm
such objects inflict on the person who collects them.

Warding off of the evil (ill fate in this case) which is intended in such
practices is done through two kinds of rituals.

1. Transfer of evil

2. Desruction or  throwing away or washing off

In the method #1, the objects used for the removal of evil eye are believed
to collect evil eye into themselves and are believed to transfer to the
person crossing them over.

In the method #2, the objects used to for the removal of dosha are thrown
into flowing water or any such nature form that can destroy, take away or
wash off the dosha.

The objects found in the present instance belong to method #2 . So, as per
the belief system of their users, the flowing river waters would have
washed off the evil (in this case , ill fate ).

On Thu, May 14, 2020 at 4:59 AM Jacob Schmidt-Madsen via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> The grids on the sides of the cubes are indeed magic squares. Every row
> of numbers, whether read orthogonally or diagonally, adds up to 36,
> which identify the magic squares as associated with Rāhu. This is also
> borne out by the inscriptions at the bottom which read: "aum rāhave
> namaḥ".
>
> A quick search online reveals several reports of circular and triangular
> tokens with magic squares of either Rāhu or Ketu turning up in rivers in
> England, America, Canada, and New Zealand. E.g.:
>
> [1] http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?topic=20365.0
>
> [2]
>
> http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/286825-lead-elephant-coins-lead-bull-squares.html
>
> A poster on the latter forum states that: "I saw this a few summers ago
> in St. Louis MO. There was a whole family beside the river and two were
> throwing these type coins in and a few other items. Didn't ask anything
> as you could tell they were trying to keep it private."
>
> I did not find any reports about cubes, but the circular tokens can, for
> instance, be bought here:
>
> https://www.nanubhaiindia.com/products/283-rahu-yantra-coin.aspx
>
> I wonder if it would be considered inauspicious to pick them up, or
> whether they would already have served their ritual purpose (whatever
> exactly that might have been)?
>
> Best,
> Jacob
>
> Jacob Schmidt-Madsen
> Postdoctoral Researcher
> University of Copenhagen
> Denmark
>
> Richard G. Salomon via INDOLOGY skrev den 2020-05-14 00:30:
> > How strange! I wonder if these are "magic squares," which Allen
> > Thrasher studied years ago (but I don't know if he's on this list).
> >
> > Rich Salomon
> >
> > On Wed, May 13, 2020 at 1:58 PM Valerie Roebuck via INDOLOGY
> > <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> >
> >> Intriguing. However, not the River Thames, but the River Sowe at
> >> Coventry (the city in the MIdlands where Lady Godiva took her famous
> >> ride).
> >>
> >> Valerie J Roebuck
> >> Manchester, UK
> >>
> >>> On 13 May 2020, at 20:31, Charles DiSimone via INDOLOGY
> >>> <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Dear friends,
> >>>
> >>> Is anybody familiar with the lead cubes in the attached picture?
> >>> These were intriguingly found in the Thames River recently. The
> >>> story from a local periodical is here:
> >>>
> >>
> >
> https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/mystery-60-peculiar-cubes-inscriptions-18232422
> >>>
> >>> I imagine these were deposited in the river rather recently, but
> >>> maybe someone knows more. I’m curious what the ritual
> >>> surrounding depositing such items in a body of water might be.
> >>>
> >>> All my best,
> >>> Charles
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>>
> >>> Dr. Charles DiSimone
> >>> Ghent University _______________________________________________
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> >>
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-- 
Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.


Director,  Inter-Gurukula-University Centre , Indic Academy
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.


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