HARAPPAN

RELIGION:RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
The basic elements of what can be loosely described as
‘Harappan 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 —he did succeed in
identifying several important features of Harappan religion.
The worship of female goddesses associated with fertility has
long been held as one of the major features of Harappan
religion. This conclusion is based on the following factors: (a)
the concerns that agricultural societies are invariably known
to have with fertility; (b) cross-cultural parallels with other
ancient civilizations; (c) the importance of goddess worship in
later Hinduism; and (d) the discovery of a large number of
terracotta female figurines that were labelled ‘Mother
Goddesses’. Certain representations on seals are also relevant.
For instance, a seal showing a nude woman, head downwards,
with her legs apart and a plant issuing from her vagina is often
interpreted as a prototype of Shakambhari, the Earth Mother.
Describing all female figurines as representations of a single
great ‘Mother Goddess’ associated with fertility and maternity
clearly over-simplifies the situation. The attributes of the fi
gurines and the contexts in which they were found have to be
considered carefully before assigning them a religious or
cultic signifi cance. Not all female figurines necessarily
represented goddesses , and not all goddesses necessarily had
maternal associations. Some of the Harappan female fi
gurines may have had a cultic signifi cance and may have
been part of household rituals. Others may have been toys or
decorative items. A study of the Harappan terracottas by
Alexandra Ardeleanu-Jansen (2002) has underlined the great
variety in the form of female fi gurines. The type which is
frequently interpreted as having a religious signifi cance is a
slim female fi gure with a distinctive fan-shaped headdress,
wearing a short skirt. She is heavily ornamented with
necklaces, armlets, bangles, anklets, and earring. Such fi
gurines may have been religious images worshipped in
households, votive offerings made to a deity, or part of the
paraphernalia of domestic rituals. It is interesting to note that
such figures do not appear on Harappan seals and tablets or in
stone or metal sculpture. There is also a matronly, pot-bellied
type of female fi gurine who may represent either a pregnant
woman or a prosperous woman. She is naked and sometimes
wears some jewellery and a turban or head-dress.It is
interesting to note that female fi gurines—including those
with possible religious signifi cance—are found in large
numbers at sites such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and
Banawali, but not at sites such as Kalibangan, Lothal, .
The relationship between the female fi gurines and the male
and animal fi gurines with which they are associated needs to
be explored. Marshall suggested that the Harappans also
worshipped a male god represented on a steatite seal
discovered at Mohenjodaro, usually referred to as the
Pashupati seal. This shows a male fi gure with a buffalo horn
head-dress seated on a dais with his legs bent double under
him, heels together, toes pointed down. He is fl anked by four
animals—an elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo, and tiger.
Beneath the dais are two antelopes or ibexes. Marshall
thought the male fi gure was three-headed and ithyphallic
(with erect penis). He saw a striking resemblance between this
deity and the Shiva of later Hindu mythology, who is also
known as Mahayogi (the great yogi) and Pashupati (lord of
the animals).
Another aspect of the fertility-related beliefs of the
Harappans was the worship of male and female creative
energy in the form of stone icons of lingas and yonis
(representing the male and female sexual organs
respectively). A number of such stones were identifi ed
by John Marshall. Many years later, George Dales
argued that the contexts in which these stones were
found do not suggest cultic signifi cance. Some of the
ring stones had lines on them and may have had
architectural use, either to guide masons in pillar
building or to measure angles. Alternatively, they may
have been used to make astronomical calculations.
Marshall himself had suggested that some of the linga-
shaped objects may have been grinders or unfi nished
weights. Dales made his arguments forcefully; however,
a terracotta piece which closely resembles a linga with a
yoni-pitha (yoni base) has recently been found at
Kalibangan.
The Harappan seals, sealings, amulets, and copper
tablets depict a number of trees, plants, and animals,
some of which may have had cultic signifi cance. 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. Some of the animals
depicted on seals and sealings—for instance, the
humped and humpless bull, snake, elephant, rhinoceros,
antelope, gharial, and tiger— may have had cultic signifi
cance. The bull, a symbol of male virility in many ancient
cultures, seems to have been particularly important. We can
note the steatite bull statuettes discovered at certain sites,
including a very sophisticated terracotta bull found at
Mohenjodaro.
The Great Bath was probably the scene of an elite ritual
activity involving ceremonial bathing. A triangular terracotta
cake found at Kalibangan has a carving of a horned deity on
one side and an animal being dragged by a rope by a human
on the other. A Kalibangan cylinder seal shows a woman fl
anked by two men who hold her with one hand and raise
swords over her head with the other; this may represent a
scene of human sacrifi ce. The most striking evidence
suggesting ritualistic practices comes from the ‘fire altars’
found on the citadel mound at Kalibangan.

Society of harrapans
The composition of the Harappan society from the
archaeological records is fairly clear. From the economic
activities, we can infer the presence of various craft
specialists, traders, and farmers in the society. The
construction of important buildings like citadels,
granaries indicates the existence of a labour class. The
presence of seals, standardization of artefacts, use of
uniform weights indicate the existence of a ruling class
which regulated various economic activities.While the
debate on the nature of Harappan religion continues,
there is no doubt that there existed a priestly class.
The Harappan society seems to have been divided into
three sections: (1) The elite class associated with the
citadel; (2) A well-to-do middle class; and (3) A
relatively weaker class occupying the lower towns that
were generally fortified. Some of the craftsmen and
labourers, however, resided outside the fortified area. It
is not known whether these divisions were based purely
on economic factors or had a socioreligious basis. At
Kalibangan site of Harappan culture it appears that the
priests lived in the upper part of the citadel and
performed rituals on altars of fire in the lower part of it.
The different aspects of Harappan society show that the
people led a highly developed, peaceful, fun-loving and
comfortable life. Social rules and norms were well
regulated and their mode of living was well disciplined.
As a result, social life was simple and contented. Women
in the Harappan society seemed to enjoy high respect.
The worship of Mother Goddess stands as clear proof to
the esteemed position of Harappan women.
The earliest large-scale urban society in South Asia
emerges during the Harappan Phase of the Indus
Tradition, 2600- 1900 BCE. This society has been
defined as a complex chiefdom by some scholars
(Shaffer ), and a state level society by others (Kenoyer ).
Although these terms have significance for living
societies, it is unlikely that these differences can be
easily identified archaeologically and many scholars
prefer to focus on the questions of hierarchy and
heterarchy. Generally speaking complex chiefdoms have
one large settlement and only one or two levels of
smaller satellite towns or villages. State level society,
tends to be more stratified, with four or more tiers of
settlements with multiple. The largest cities, such as
Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala
may have been relatively independent city-states with
direct political control only over local settlements and
lands. Several competing classes of elites would have
been present in these urban centers; merchants, ritual
specialists and individuals who controlled resources
such as land, livestock and raw materials. The elites and
their supporting communities probably maintained
different levels of control over their respective regions.
During the 700 years of the Harappan Phase (Indus
Civilization), the structure of political control in major
cities appears to be relatively decentralized. There is also
no indication of territorial states that competed with
each other through military conflict.
the presence of hierarchical classes in the Harappan
Phase cities is supported by the layout and organization
of the cities. Many other categories of evidence, such as
‘ritual’ objects, ornaments, seals and weights provide
additional evidence for social stratification. Although
there appears to have been occupational specialization
in the Indus cities, the lack of separate burial areas or
highly differentiated habitation areas and material
culture suggest that rigidly defined social strata, such as
the later varna system, or hereditary castes (jati) were
not the norm. Earlier generalizations about uniformity
in artifacts have stressed the authoritarian nature of
Harappan culture, but most of the uniformity can be
explained through the presence of a common belief
system or conservative ideology that required specific
symbols and artifacts for ritual purposes as well as for
defining class affiliations. These symbolic objects also
would reinforce the hierarchy of the society and help to
legitimize the socio-economic and political order. The
role of kin related learning processes and the diffusion of
craft specialists from specific communities to all of the
major settlements is also an important mechanism for
maintaining