Understanding Harappan Religion through Material Evidence: Mother Goddess, Pashupati Seal, and Ritual Practices

Abstract

From 2600 to 1900 BC, the Harappan Civilization (also called the Indus Valley Civilization) was home to one of the most unique ancient societies. Other ancient civilizations left behind written records, but not the Indus Valley. Because of the Indus Valley’s ancient society’s unique culture and the material evidence archaeologists uncovered, like bricks, seals and terracotta, researchers have formulated theories about the Harappan religious and spiritual practices based on the artifacts. The most prominent artifacts found throughout Indus Valley and Harappan sites were the terracotta Mother Goddess statues. Many statues exist, and it is believed that due to the artifacts’ emphasis on and exaggeration of breadth around the abdomen and chest, they are representative of an agrarian view of abundance and practice of domestic rituals. Generally, the existence of terracotta Mother Goddesses indicates that the practice of religion and spirituality around the Harappan Civilization aligned with the focus on the forces of nature and fertility. The Pashupati seal is a noteworthy artifact that depicts the god Shiva and is believed to be a Shaman of nature and fertility due to the seal’s depiction of a horned nature surrounded by animals. The existence of the seal is evidence of the Harappan’s articulation of animals and the integration of nature within the Harappan belief systems. Another prominent artifact that is evidence of organized and systematic practices of cleansing is the Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro. This artifact is large and well constructed, indicating that cleansing rituals included communal involvement. The Great Bath also signifies the collective practice of worship and cleansing within the urban life of the Harappan religion. Unlike the other prominent civilizations of the ancient Near East with towering monumental religious structures that are isolated, Harappan civilization’s religion was incorporated within the daily life of its urban civilization. Analyzing comparatives between the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians brings up some methodological issues. Despite the fact that their ancient civilizations preserved detailed scriptures that illuminate their pantheon, their traditions of religious application, Harappans have to be speculated. The lack of such written evidence results in the balancing game for these scholars to be played with the comparative constructs, and the many similarities or the scarce differences that exist. There remain some Harappan practices that do foreshadow and appear to be the building blocks for developing some South Asian practices. The reliance on the proto-Shiva imagery and the ritualistic fecundity, and the structures of ritualistic baths that resemble the orthodox practices of rituals(traceable to modern-day Hinduism), makes the defense of the presence of a continuum prone to reductionism. The gap that the unbroken evidence of the Harappan people and their practices yields, offers many possible and plausible interpretations. The Harappan religion was a convenient system of symbols that merged religion, civilization, and nature that modern thinkers interpret as having great importance to fecundity, purification, and ecological balance. Though the Harappan people’s beliefs and practices appear to be fixed and detailed, there are traces of modern religion, that suggest a continuum.