Pashupati of Mohenjo-daro: A Seal of Indus Valley Civilization

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On the day of Mahashivratri, I thought to write about Adideva, the oldest diety. The earliest evidence of Lord Shiva is found in the form of 'Pashupati seal of Mohenjo-daro.'

Lord Shiva

Excavation of Pashupati Seal-

This seal was found during 1928-29 in Block 1, southern portion of the DK-G area of Mohenjo-daro, near the famous great bath. Mohenjo-daro is a well known center of Indus valley civilization. The seal was numbered 420 by Ernest J. H. Mackey and dated it around 2350-2000 BCE, the intermediate period of Indus valley civilization. At present time this seal can be seen at National Museum, New Delhi. 


Image courtesy: Wikipedia


Features of Pashupati seal-

The size of the seal is 3.56 cm× 3.53 cm× 0.76 cm and is made of steatite (soapstone), a magnesium rich mineral talk, which is decay resistant and soft to carve. To make the stone seals, the stone was sawed and shaped with knives, and then carved using fine chisels and drills. After that the seal was coated with an alkali and heated for some time to make it lustrous.


It has a human figure at the center seated on a platform and facing forward. There are three or probably four faces of that figure (one face may be posteriorly hence not showing). The human figure is wearing a tall bull horned headdress, typical for Indus valley culture. There is a central fan shaped structure between the two horns. It seems that he is wearing a necklace on the chest. The arms are extending outwards and resting on the knees with thumbs facing away from the body. There are bangles in the arms. There is a double band around the waist. The legs are bent at knees with soles touching each other. 

The figure is surrounded with four wild animals- an elephant, a tiger, a buffalo and a rhinoceros. There are two antelopes looking backward under the platform. There are seven script pictographs present in the upper portion. 

Identification as Shiva or Rudra God- 

The human figure was identified as God Shiva or Rudra by John Marshall, who was the Director General of ASI then. He gave following points in support of his theory-
  1. The figure has three faces and Shiva was portrayed with three or five faces. 
  2. The head is crowned with the horns of a bull and trident (trishul) are characteristic emblem of Lord Shiva. 
  3. The figure is in a typical yoga attitude, and Shiva is regarded as Mahayogi- the prince of yogis. 
  4. The figure is surrounded by animals and Shiva is lord of 'wild animals', whose vedic meaning is 'pashu' not cattle.
Thomas McEvilley supported the third point. He told that the figure in the yoga posture is 'Mulbandhasana' according to Kalpsutra's description "a squatting position with joined heels"

Herbert Sullivan wrote in 1964 that "Marshall's analysis has been accepted almost universally and has greatly influenced scholarly understanding of historical development of Hinduism."

S. P. Singh (1988-89) also identified that figure as Vedic God Rudra and identified animals as Maruts. According to Rigveda Maruts are the sons of Rudra.


Image courtesy: All World Gayatri Family 

Maruts are described as bull of heaven, eating up the forest like elephants, roaring like lions, beauteous as antelopes, angry as serpents in the Rigveda (1:64:7-8).

The above 'Protoshiva' horned diety was also found at a pot of Kot Diji, Kalibangan terracotta cake and  the Padri Jar.

Objections-

Although many scholars opined that figure as 'Protoshiva', many objections arose thereafter. 

In 1978 Hiltebeital considered horned figure as 'Mahisha', the buffalo demon foe of goddess. He located goddess in  the form of tigress, one of the surrounding animals.  Sullivan (1964) also agreed that figure as goddess.

In 1992, Fairservis translated the inscription as "a paramount chief Anil......chief of four sodalities, each are represented by one of the animals."

Parpola in 1994, identified it as 'Varuna', the god of water and aquatic animals.

S. A. Rao read the inscription as 'ra-ma-trida-osa' meaning pleasant and shining in three ways. He called him 'Agni'.

M. V. N. Krishna Rao (1882) believed him as 'Indra'.

E. Richter- Ushanas (1997) considered him as Rysasrnga- a sage at the time of Dasarath. 

The 'Shivaling' of Kalibangan-

A stone emblem with a base was unearthed at Kalibangan, Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. It seems to be a Shivaling clearly.


Image courtesy- Quora

Such type of linga shaped object was also found at Rasal- Qala on the island of Bahrain.

Conclusion-

Whoever's that figure may be, all the above scholars considered him as actual or proto Vedic diety. It gives the clues about ancientness of origin of Vedic civilization. 

References-

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashupati_seal
  2. http://literature.awgp.org/book/rigveda/v1.118
  3. Hiltebeitel, Alf (2011). "The Indus Valley "Proto-Śiva", Reexamined through Reflections on the Goddess, the Buffalo, and the Symbolism of vāhanas". In Adluri, Vishwa; Bagchee, Joydeep (eds.). When the Goddess was a Woman: Mahabharata Ethnographies - Essays by Alf Hiltebeitel. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-19380-2.
  4. Mackay, Ernest John Henry (1928–29). "Excavations at Mohenjodaro". Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India: 67–75.
  5. Mackay, Earnest John Henry (1937–38). Further excavations at Mohenjo-Daro : being an official account of archaeological excavations at Mohenjo-Daro carried out by the Government of India between the years 1927 and 1931. Delhi: Government of India.
  6. McEvilley, Thomas (1981). "An Archaeology of Yoga". RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics. 1: 44–77. JSTOR 20166655.
  7. Marshall, John (1931). Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization: Being an Official Account of Archaeological Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro Carried Out by the Government of India Between the Years 1922 and 1927. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1179-5.
  8. Srinivasan, Doris (1975–76). "The So-Called Proto-śiva Seal from Mohenjo-Daro: An Iconological Assessment". Archives of Asian Art. 29: 47–58. JSTOR 20062578.
  9. Srinivasan, Doris Meth (1997). Many Heads, Arms and Eyes: Origin, Meaning and Form in Multiplicity in Indian Art. Brill. ISBN 978-9004107588.
  10. Sullivan, Herbert P. (1964). "A Re-Examination of the Religion of the Indus Civilization". History of Religions. 4 (1): 115–125. doi:10.1086/462498. JSTOR 1061875.
  11. Bryant, Edwin (2001). The quest for the origins of vedic culture the Indo-Aryan migration debate. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195137774. Retrieved 18 November 2014.

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