Harappan Religion

Abhinav Anshu
Ramjas College
Roll no. 0154
 Harappan civilization: religion

There were four great ancient civilizations. The four civilizations were of ancient China, Babylon
(Mesopotamia), ancient India and ancient Egypt. The four great civilizations developed along
the rivers. These civilizations had several things in common. They developed along the
geographical facilities provided by nature. There are also differences among them because of
their cultural, sociological, and religious backgrounds. A careful study of these river valley
civilizations will be greatly beneficial to us. Archaeologists have discovered civilizations and
cultures that began to emerge along the rivers in the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Approximately 5000 years ago the first complex, centralized civilizations began to crystallize
independently along a number of river valleys. These civilizations laid the foundations to the
organization and centralization of human religious, social, economic, political, institutions and
practices. They form the basis of human civilization up to the present time which includes writ-
ten religious scriptures, religious practices and legal codes, social structure, culture, economic
and political infrastructures. These civilizations laid the foundations for political centralization
and organization upon which nearly all subsequent civilizations are built. They also provided
many of the roots of human civilization. They also taught the process of constructing buildings,
monuments, houses, shops, schools, written articulation of legal codes, and the construction of
the legal and political infra- structures necessary to run the government. About 5000 and 2000
years B.C. the famous river valley civilizations began. These civilizations emerged along the
banks of a number of river valleys in Asia, Europe and Africa such as, Nile River Valley
Civilization (in Africa, especially in Egypt); Euphrates and Tigris River Valley Civilization
(Mesopotamian); The Hwang Ho (the Yellow) River Valley Civilization (in China) and The Indus
(Sindhu) River Valley Civilization (India). Life began in simple ways and became more and more
complicated for people over the centuries and millenniums. They became the forerunners of
the organization and centralization of human religious, social, economic and political
institutions and observances. How did the complex and centralized civilizations emerge along
rivers? The rivers sup- plied a continuous and dependable flow and supply of water for farming
and other uses, the fertile land for irrigation and food, vegetables and fruits for human utility.
These rivers along with climate, vegetation, geography, and topography shaped the
development of the early river valley civilizations. The rivers also inspired new economic,
institutional, and organizational and technological innovations and developments. On the
banks of these rivers and adjoining areas people began to stay together and then built their
villages. After a number of years, towns, cities, shops, schools and other facilities began to
appear. When the institution of royal families and kings came up they built beautiful palaces.
Religion played an enormous role in shaping and cultivating of each of the River Valley
Civilization. Religion dictated how the peoples of the River Valley Civilizations lived their lives
and man- aged their affairs. Religious leaders played prominent roles in every River Valley
Civilization to form the government, organize religious events, and conduct religious and royal
ceremonies. From ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to China’s empire and the Indus River Valley
civilizations, all the River Valley Civilizations had an important and unique role to play in the
growth and development of human civilization. 1

The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period
2600–1900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest
India. The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappans Civilization, after Harappa,
the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of
British India, and is now in Pakistan. The discovery of Harappa, and soon afterwards, Mohenjo-
Daro marks the beginning for Discovering Harappans civilization.

Dates Phase Era

7000–5500 Early Food-Producing

Mehrgarh I (aceramic Neolithic)
BCE Era

5500–3300 Mehrgarh II-VI (ceramic Neolithic)

3300–2600 Early Harappans

Regionalisation Era
3300–2800 Harappans 1 (Ravi Phase)

2800–2600 Harappans 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII)

2600–1900 Mature Harappans (Indus Valley Civilization)

2600–2450 Harappans 3A (Nausharo II)

Integration Era
2450–2200 Harappans 3B

2200–1900 Harappans 3C

1
Emmanuel E. James, A Study Of Religions
1900–1300 Late Harappans (Cemetery H); Ochre Coloured Pottery

1900–1700 Harappans 4 Localisation Era

1700–1300 Harappans 5

Painted Gray Ware, Northern Black Polished

1300–300 Indo-Gangetic Tradition
Ware (Iron Age)

The basic elements of what can be described as ‘Harappa Religion’ were outlined by John
Marshall in 1931. Although some aspects of Marshall’s interpretation can be criticized
especially his tendency to read elements of later Hinduism into the evidence. However since
the Harappa Script has yet not been deciphered this sets up
certain limitations for us. The people of this civilization knew
the art of writing, for inscriptions have been found on their
carved seals. Current scholarship is also investigating the
connections between this language and later ones in India. It is
generally believed that the language is closer to Dravidian ones
of southern India than to any other and that the script relied
upon homo- phones, i.e., different words having the same
pronunciation. Until we decipher the script, most of our
statements about their culture will have to be tentative and
based on archaeological evidence. The people of the Harappa
civilization were impressive builders who lived in what appear
to have been planned cities. The cities were divided into a citadel-like area, which seems to be
the center of civic and religious activities, and a large residential area. Streets often run parallel,
and houses are situated at right angles to the streets and reached through lanes perpendicular
to the streets. The houses at Mohenjo-Daro range from one-room tenements to large ones with
a dozen rooms and a courtyard. Almost all of the larger houses had a well attached to them. A
remarkable drainage and sewer system existed in the houses. This feature alone seems to give
the Harappa culture a distinctive character. There were bathrooms even on the second floor,
and the household drain system was connected with the street. The presence of these
connected drains indicates some township authority that probably planned and supervised
these functions. Apart from the many houses, there are a number of other buildings both in the
citadel area of Mohenjo Daro and in the lower town that have tentatively been identified as

2
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization#Religion
 houses of worship. A recently excavated citadel mound in
Kalibangan contains a series of raised brick platforms and fire
altars. Nearby are pits containing ashes and animal bones.
There are also bathing places near a well. The whole complex
seems to be a place of religious ritual, and we can hypothesize
that there existed a form of fire ritual, ablutions with water,
and animal sacrifices. Some of the houses also seem to have a
room with afire altar, suggesting a domestic fire ritual.

From the buildings that have tentatively been identified as worship halls, some stone sculptures
and large numbers of terracotta figurines have been unearthed in the excavations. Scholars
surmise that some were used as icons in worship. These include statuettes of what seems to be
a mother goddess. This female figure wears only a short skirt, but has abundant jewelry and a
fan-shaped head- dress with two cups on either side. These little cups have smoke stains in
them, leading us to believe that they were used for fire or incense
offerings by the worshipper. Because images of this figure were
common in this civilization and it is similar to figures found in other
excavations, Marshall, who made the initial study, says that they may
be earlier forms of the goddesses known as Parvathi and Kali.
Although some Western scholars believe that goddess worship in a
society indicates a high status for women, we have no hard evidence
in the Harappans civilization to support this thesis. The Indus people
according to some historians were probably Dravidians, who lived in
ancient times in parts of north western India, Afghanistan, parts of
the Mediterranean, Central Asia and Europe. According to another view,
the Indus people were probably Aryans, whose civilization was a precursor to the Vedic
civilization that was established in India by a subsequent wave of Vedic Aryans. According to
some they were Sumerians. Some historians also suggested that the people of Indus valley
probably shared an affinity with the ancient Egyptians and other African cultures. According to
Professor Spyridon Marinates, the Indus civilization was probably similar to that of ancient
Greece. Both worshipped Mother Goddess and the Bull played an important role in their
religious lives.

The worship of female goddess associated with fertility has long been held as one of the major
features of Harappa religion. This conclusion is based on the following factors: a) The concerns
that agricultural societies are invariably known to have with fertility; b) The importance of
goddess worship in later Hinduism; c) The discovery of a large number of terracotta female
figures that were labeled Mother Goddesses. However this has been oversimplified. Some of
the female figures could be toys of other decorative items rather just being idols of goddesses
or motherly figures. Alexandrea Adelman Jansen researched these female figures and found
various features in them that distinguished them. Those of religious importance were slim, had
feather like head dresses and wore short skirts. These statues were adorned with necklaces,
armlets, anklets and earrings. These statues were used in auspicious rituals at home and other
religious purposes. A voluptuous woman either depicts a pregnant women or a wealthy one.
These above mentioned slim and voluptuous female statues were found in Mohenjo-Daro,
Harappa, and Banawali.

According to Marshall the Harappa worshipped male deities also. About 2,000 flat square or
rectangular seals and many amulets have been found in the excavations around the Indus River.
Some of the seals most likely were protective like the amulets; the purpose of the others is not
yet clear. A few seals represent a man seated in what may be called a yoga-like posture on a
low throne with animals near him. The man appears to have three faces. The animals near him
include deer, antelope, a rhinoceros, an elephant, and a buffalo. On his head is a hat with two
horns, with an object like a plant protruding between them.
Marshall Points out that this kind of headdress was worn
only by divine beings and kings in Sumer in the Ancient Near
East. The suggestion is that because of both the headdress
and the animals around him, this god may be a prototype of
the one known as Siva in later years. Except for a set of
bangles and some jewelry, there is no clothing on this being.
The male deity in the Indus Valley is seated with his feet
drawn up beneath him, toes turned down, heels touching
each other, and hands extended above the knees-a position
that was typical of yoga in later years. Although they have
no evident direct link with this deity, several stones that seem to have a phallic significance
have also been found in the excavations. This find is intriguing because the god Siva is generally
depicted by a lingam, a conical stone some consider to be a phallic symbol, which for Hindus
represents the beginnings of creation. This seal is known to be Pashupati Seal based upon name
given to the god Pashupati, precursor of Lord Shiva.

Another aspect of the fertility belief of the Harappans was the worship of male and female
creative energy in the form of stone icons of lingas and yonis. Although George Dales argued
that the contexts in which these stone were found don’t suggest cultic significances. Some of
the ring stones had lines of them and may have had architectural use, either to guide masons in
pillar building or to measure angles.
 The Harappans seals amulets depict a number of trees,
plants, animals some of which may have had cultic
significance. The pipal tree appears often and may have
been venerated. Sometimes there is a figure peering out
from between its branches, possibly a tree spirit. The pipal
tree is still important in the Hindu tradition, and we know
that it has been so for about 2,500 years. If it indeed had
religious significance during the Indus Valley period, this has
been one of the more enduring features of the religious
tradition. In some seals a horned person is coming from the
pipal tree and a row of seven figures with long braids is standing in front of it. The notion of
seven beings is important in later Hindu mythology. It is ambiguous rather the figures are male
or female, but because they are seven in number, scholars have speculated their connection
with the later traditions of the seven rishis or the seven mothers.

Many animals ate represented on the seals. The religious nature of some of these is still
unclear, although scholars have attributed that some of the animals depicted on seals and
sealing may have had cultic significance. For instance the humped and hump less bull, snake,
bull, elephant, rhinoceros, antelope etc. The bull seems to have been particularly important.
Two Harappans sealing appear to represent animals being carried in processions; one of them
resembles a bull or a cow. The composite animals (tiger-human, bull-elephant etc.) and the
unicorn depicted on the some seals may also have had some sort of religious or mythological
significance. Some of the terracotta, shell, faience, and metal tablets may have been amulets.
The might exemplify a protective function or auspiciousness such as the swastika. Terracotta
masks and puppets found at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa include those in the form of real and
mythical animals, and these may have been used in the religious, political or politico-religious
rituals.

In the citadel mound at Mohenjo Daron, there is a huge swimming-pool-like structure that
archaeologists call 'the Great Bath'. It is built of brick, and the bottom of the pool is of bricks set
with gypsum mortar. Its measures 12 x 7 m (39 x 23 ft.) and is about 3 m (10 ft.) deep. The
whole structure is surrounded by porticos and
rooms. Two flights of stairs lead into the pool.
There is an elaborate system for filling the pool
from an adjacent well and draining it. The care
with which the complex was built has led scholars
to believe that it was meant for religious rituals of
some sort. The great bath probably the scene of an
elite rituals activity involving ceremonial bathing. A
human sacrifice scene is represented by a cylindrical seal found at Kalibangan which shows a
woman flanked by two men who hold her with one hand and raise sword over her head with
the other. The fire altars suggest ritualistic practices found on the citadel mound at Kalibangan.

Scholars are not yet sure how the people in these cities disposed of their dead. Since the
manner of disposal frequently reveals about religious traditions of the culture it is very
important in constructing the religious history. The most common method of burial of the
Harappans was to place the corpse in an extended position with the head towards the north
accompanied by a grave goods such as food, pottery, and ornaments in a simple pit or brick
chamber. Various types of burials was found at various site: symbolic burials with grave goods
but no skeletons (Kalibangan), fractional and urn burials at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
Multiple burials of men and women found at Lothal.

There are differences among the scholars regarding the heritage of the Indus valley civilization.
The Vedic period and then the Hindu and Jain religions followed in the footsteps of Indus valley
civilization. However, there is an underlying thread of continuity. The problem is that we do not
really know what the religious beliefs of the Indus people were and so we cannot with any
certainty identify what springs from Indus religious beliefs and practices which is found in
contemporary Hindu beliefs. But that does not mean Harappans civilization contribution to the
growth of religion is nil. Not only Harappa but all river valley civilizations laid the foundations
for religious, social, cultural, economic and political centralization and organization upon which
subsequent civilizations are built. They also provided many of the roots of human civilization all
the way to the present. If one were transported back in time to one of these early civilizations,
one would find much that was familiar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.) Emmanuel E. James, A Study Of Religions

2.) Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India

3.) Religious Studies,

http://www.colorado.edu/ReligiousStudies/rlst2610/files/oxtoby%2002.pdf