Seals. More than five hundred seals have been discovered. These are made of terra cotta and small in size. Some contain fine representations of animal figures- both mythical and real– engraved on them. All of them contain a short record inscribed in a sort of pictorial writing which still remains undeciphered.
Fine Art. The representations of the animals carved on these seals often exhibit a high degree of excellence. A few stone images found at Harappa, recall the finish and excellence of Greek statues and show a high degree of development in the sculptor’s art.unicorn seal mohenjadaro
Trade and Commerce. The seals were most probably used in connection with trade. Indeed there is abundant evidence that the people traded not only with other parts of India but also with many countries of Asia. It is certain that they secured tin, copper and precious stones from beyond India.
Arts and Crafts. Some aspects of the art and industry of the early Indus people have been dealt with above. Agriculture must have played an important part in the daily life of the common people, and among other things wheat, barley and cotton were cultivated on a large scale. Among the industrial classes, the potter, the weaver, the carpenter, the mason, the blacksmith, the goldsmith, the jeweller, the ivory-worker and stone-cutter were the most important.
A great advance in technical knowledge is indicated by the potter’s wheel, kiln-burnt brick, the boring of hard substances like carnelian, and the casting and alloy of metals. A high aesthetic sense is indicated by the beautiful designs of ornaments, the superb relief figures on seals and the execution of fine stone statues.
Religions. The objects found at Mohenjo-Daro also teach us something about the religious faiths and beliefs of the people. The cult of the Divine Mother seems to have been widely prevalent, and may figurines of this Mother-Goddess have come to light. This cult may not be exactly the same as the Sakti-worship of later days, but the fundamental ideas appear to be the same, viz., the belief in a female energy as the source of all creation.
Along with this, there was also a male-god who has been identified as the prototype of the God Siva. On one particular seal, he seems to be represented as seated in the Yoga posture rounded by animals. He has three visible faces, and two horns on two sides of a tall head-dress. It is very interesting to note how this figure corresponds with, and to a certain extent explains, the later conception of Siva. As is well known, Siva is regarded as a Mahayogin, and is styled Pasupati or the lord of beasts, his chief attributes being three eyes and the Trisula or the trident. Now the apparent Yoga posture of the figure in Mohenjo-Daro justifies the epithet Mahayogin,and the figures of animals round him explain the epithet Pasupati. The three faces of the figure may not be unconnected with the later conception of three eyes and the two horns with the tall head-dress might have easily given rise to the conception of a trident with three drongs.
The identification of the male-god with Siva is further strengthened by the discovery of stone pieces which look exactly like a Siva-linga, the form in which Siva in almost universally worshipped to-day.
In addition to the worship of Siva and Sakti, both in human and symbolic forms, we find the prevalence of that primitive religious faith which we call animism. It means worship of stones, trees and animals in the belief that these are abodes of spirits, good or evil. A natural corollary of this faith is the worship of Nagas, Yakshas, etc., who are embodiments of these spirits. Clear traces of all these are found at Mohenjo-Daro.
It is obvious, therefore, that modern Hinduism, which possesses all the features mentioned above, was indebted, to a great extent, to the Indus-valley culture. Indications of the existence of the Bhakti cult (loving devotion to a personal God), and even of some philosophical doctrine like Metempsychosis, have also been found at Mohenjo-Daro. We must therefore hold that there is an organic relationship between the ancient culture of the Indus valley and the Hinduism of today.
General Conclusions
The study of the Indus-valley civilisation raises several interesting problems of a general nature. In the first place it offers a striking resemblance to the ancient civilisations in Sumer and Mesopotamia proper. The developed city-life, use of the potter’s wheel, kiln-burnt bricks, and vessels made of copper and bronze, and above all, the pictorial writings, are some of the common and distinctive features of all the three civilisations of the pre-historic period. The discovery of two seals of the Mohenjo-Daro type in Elam and Mesopotamia, and of a cuneiform inscription at Mohenjo-Daro, leaves no doubt that there was intercourse between these countries. The question therefore naturally arises, were these three civilisations developed independently, or was any of them an offshoot of the other? To put the same thing in another form, did the civilization spread from the Indus valley to the west or vice versa? Or are we to assume that the growth of civilisation in the Indus valley was uninfluenced in any way by the sister -civilisations in the west ?
These and connected questions cannot be answered definitely. It will suffice to say that all the alternative hypotheses mentioned above have their supporters and opponents.
The next question, and one of greater practical importance, is the relationship of the Indus-valley culture with the Vedic civilization of the Indo-Aryans, which is usually regarded as the source from which issued all the subsequent civilisations in India. On the face of it there are striking differences between the two. The Vedic Aryans were largely rural, while the characteristic features of the Indus-valley civilization are the amenities of a developed city life. The former probably knew of iron and defensive armour, which are totally absent in the latter. The horse played an eminent part in the Vedic civilization, but its early existence is doubted in the Indus valley. There were also important differences in respect of religious beliefs and practices. The Vedic Aryans worshipped the cow while the Indus people reserved their veneration for bulls. Not only do the Mother-Goddess and Siva, the chief deities of the Indus valley, play but a minor part in the early Veda, but the latter, according to some interpreters, definitely condemns phallic worship. The worship of images was familiar in the Indus valley, but almost unknown to the Vedic Aryans.
In view of these striking dissimilarities, the Indus-valley civilization is usually regarded as different fromRig_veda and anterior to the culture of the Vedic period. This also fits in well with the generally accepted chronological scheme. For, as noted above, the Indus-valley civilisation goes back to the third millennium BC., while the date usually assigned to the Rig-Veda does not go beyond the second millennium BC. But some would place the Vedic civilization before that of the Indus valley and shift the date of the Rig-Veda to a period before 3000 BC.
The question is not indeed free from difficulties. While the points of difference would undoubtedly incline us to the view that the Indus-valley civilisation and Vedic civilisation represent two different types of culture, the arguments for the priority of the one to the other are not conclusive. The reference to iron in the Rig-Veda would have indeed been a very strong argument for relegating the Vedic civilisation to a later period, but this is at best doubtful. As regards the other points, the data are not established sufficiently well to warrant a definite conclusion. On the whole, however, the priority of the Indus-valley civilisation appears to be more probable, and at present holds the field.
Be that as it may, there is not the least doubt that we can no longer accept the view, now generally held, that Vedic civilisation is the sole foundation of all subsequent civilisations in India. That the Indus-valley civilisation described above has been a very important contributory factor to the growth and development of civilisation in this country admits of no doubt.
Lastly, there is the question of the race of the people among whom the Indus-valley civilisation grew. The preceding discussion would prepare us for some of the replies that have been given. Some hold that they were the same as the Sumerians, while others hold that these were Dravidians. Some again believe that these two were identical. According to this view, the Dravidians at one time inhabited the whole of India, including the Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan, and gradually migrated to Mesopotamia. The fact that the Dravidian language is still spoken by the Brahui people of Baluchistan is taken to lend strength to this view.
There is also a theory that the ” Indus ” people were Aryans, but this at present finds but few supporters. It is impossible to come to any definite conclusion on this point, and there is always the possibility that the people of the Indus valley might have belonged to an altogether separate race.
