Religion Flashcards
Script and religious building
The script of indus valley civilization is not deciphered. Therefore philosophy and metaphysics of their religion is not known.
No architecture is discovered which could be described as religious building without doubt
Mortimer wheeler view on Harappan religion
Indus valley civilization mainly worshipped shiva in yogic form, pashupati form, linga form
Indra worshipping Aryan invaded IVC and defeated it. However Aryans incorporated Shiva worship in Vedic fold and identified him as Rudra
BB lal view
Religion of ivc people was vedic as indicated by presence of fire altars, swastika, features of Shiva, linga worship, importance of peepal tree, presence of soma ritual.
Even in 1920s John Marshall pointed out similarities between hinduism and Harappan religion. He named seal of ivc as pashupati seal.
Iravatham Mahadevan
Ivc was Dravidian civilization speaking Dravidian language(a tribe in baluchistan still speaks language of dravida family - brahui)
Aryans migrated into India and intermingled with Harappan people and ultimately pushed them southwards
In this intermingling, Aryans absorbed the features of Dravidan culture. Hence the similarity between Harappan religion and Aryan religion.
No temple has been excavated at any site
Temples apart, not even any clearly identifiable major
religious structure has been found anywhere in the
region. Several unconvincing theories attempt to
explain this, including the possibility that temples
were built from perishable wood, their religion
focused on household rituals. One possible
explanation is that the citadel itself was a religious
complex, from which the priest-king or a conclave of
priests operated.
Fertility Cult(mother goddess)
The cult of mother goddess worship was most important feature of Harappan culture. In majority sites a female figure is found with no cloth on upper half of the body and heavy jewellery.
In one such figure a tree is coming out of womb of mother goddess indicating the worship of fertility and mother goddess was perhaps symbol of fertility.
Fertility cult
Linga worship
John Marshall also mentioned Linga
worship, but it is not certain.
o Stylized representations of linga and yoni –
prevalence of fertility cult.
Fertility cult (pashupati seal)
The most tantalizing source of information
is the variety of seals but these are subject
to varying interpretations as their script
remains undeciphered.
4 traits: Proto Shiva?
▪ Yogic posture(moolabandha mudra)
▪ Surrounded with animals: Rhino, Elephant, Tiger, Buffalo + 2 deer
▪ Three faces with horn
• wearing 🔱
▪ Ethyphallic
It seemed like Shiva was main god of Harappan religion.
Animal as objects of veneration, were important components of Harappan religion:
o Out of around 5000 inscriptions, around 1500 have
animals
▪ 1159 Unicorns – Most remarkable
▪ 95 hump-less bull (bison)
▪ 55 elephants
▪ 54 humped bulls (zebu)
▪ 21 tigers
▪ 15 hare
▪ 14 buffalo
▪ Also, rhinoceros, monkey, elephant, and occasionally birds but never cow.
▪ Three more animals notably absent on seals: Horse, Camel and Donkey.
• Although camel bones are found in Kalibangan.
▪ Snake was also a cult object, often represented in pottery paintings.
o Many animals depicted are mythical in nature or
composite creatures.
plants were venerated
Harappan seals also clearly indicate that plants were venerated.
o Tree worship (tree spirit may be) – peepal.
o Some seals show men making offerings and women
dancing around a goddess who emerges from a tree.
Natural forces worship
Harappan worshipped natural forces like fire water trees etc
Water bodies are found near worship places like fire altar of kalibangan
Cultic symbols
Auspicious Swastika
Evidence of Yoga , horned deity, amulets
maybe. Many terracotta figures.
o At Balathal (Rj), a skeleton in Yogic posture was
discovered
• Horned deity? – terracotta m, asks, pottery paintings,
sealings.
• Amulets – indicate belief in superstitions (charms, spells to
protect from bad spirits)
Rituals and practices?
Animal sacrifice, Human sacrifice
• Ritual bathing – Great Bath
• Fire pits → altars?
o Kalibangan, Banawali, Lothal, Nageshwar but not in
Harappa/Mohenjodaro
Burial system – belief in afterlife, diversity of funerary practices and death rituals.
As with other aspects of Harappan civilisation, there is no uniformity in burial practices, even
though it needs to be stressed that burial was not a general means of disposal of the dead
but was adopted by some members of the community. Diversity of practices likely coexisted,
such as consigning the dead to the river/sea. Of cremation there is limited evidence, but it
must have been more prevalent.
Important cementaties
Important cemeteries: Harappa (R37), Kaligangan,
Farmana, Lothal, Dholavira and now Sanauli and
Rakhigarhi
Burial types
o Burial of the whole body was the practice. But
some partial burials (of skeletons removed from
elsewhere) are known.
o Most common type of burial in Harappa was
extended burial (with N-S orientation)
o Fragmented, secondary burials.
o Kalibangan - Symbolic burial. Rare. Indicates rituals.
o Lothal – three twin burials.
o Rakhigarhi – Couple burial
o Harappa and Sanauli – Wooden coffin
Grave goods
Grave goods: Burying household items with the bodies
implies belief in life after death.
o Generally pottery with 15-20 pots, (rarely upto 40)
presumably making provisions for afterlife.
