Introduction:-
An outline of the features of religious beliefs and practices of Indus valley people can be obtained by studying the seals, sealing, inscribed copper talles, store statements and terracotta figurines discovered by the excavations of different sites of Indus civilization General cervning ram (1884) was the first scholar- to collect the seals from the contraction of the railway line passing through Harappan region collected stone materials from the Harappan site later, sin john Marshall and his colleagues (1927-31) M.S Vats (1940) ‘ Land G.F.Dales (1963), at Mohenjodaro (Mound of the dead) Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1953), at Harappa, B.B.Lal (1961) B.K. Thapar (1969) at Kalibangan department of Archaeology, govt of India (1961) at Rupan and so collected seals and studied them in detail J.P. Guha (1967) studied the seals, statuettes if khuili, Zhob, Mohenjodaro and Harappa in detail and interpreted them with regard to various aspects of human life at Indus and Harappa.
Worship of Mother- Goddess :
The view of sir John Marshall is that the foremost among the Indus pantheon was Mother-Goddess. A large number of terra cotta female figures recovered from the Indus sites are considered to be representation of the Mother-Goddess. Similar figures have been found from the historic sites of Kuili culture in south Baluchistan and Zhob valley in the north. The Zhob symbols wear hoods over their heads and the Kuili figures have a series if necklaces on other person. Mother-Goddess models have been found all over Western Asia and according to the archaeologists, the range of the cult of the Mother-Goddess models at one time extended without break from the Indus to the Nile. To quote sir John “But in no country, the worship of the Divine Mother is so deep- rooted and universal as in Indian where she became a prototype of the ‘Cosmic Energy (Prakriti) and the counterpart if the Cosmic Soul (Purusha). Here worship which originated in a matriarchal society in course of time formed the basis of time formed the basis of latter Saktism.” Again “in the Vedic mythology, goddesses play only subordinate part the principal deities were exclusively male Critics point out that the idea of Mother-goddess or Earth-Goddess was well know to the Vedic Aryans. To begin with it appears in the from of Prithvi. Later on, it is called Aditi, Prakriti. Durga, Gauri, Kali, etc. It is true that the principal gods of the Vedic Aryans were males and the females played a subordinate part, but the same was the case with the people of the Indus Valley whose principal gods were mostly males and goddesses played a secondary role. The Pipat God, which was possibly the prototype of the Vedic Prajapati, was the supreme deity of the Indus pantheon and his seven attendant messengers were also male deities of composite from. Like their Sumerian counterparts, they were human in the upper part and avian in the lower part. The buffalo-head god was a strange compound of heterogeneous elements. His horned-head was that of a buffalo, arms were centipedes, thoraxis tigrinc and the part below waist is a combination of two looped cobras. Other deities represented on the Indus seals were almost all males. The tree-spirit figuring on a number of seals in the act of hypnotizing the tiger-demon was masculine in appearance. The same was the case with the indwelling sprit of the Acacia, which has tried to throttle with his centipede arms the two tiger-headed demons that were ready to carry away the tree of life. A number of seal-amulets showed bullmen and the semi-bovine super-human begins which were invariably endowed with masculine traits, Under these circumstance it is not proper to maintain that female element was dominant in the Indus religion.
It is also pointed out that the Mother-Goddesses is not be found in the glyptic art of the Indus valley. All that we possess are the terracotta figures putting on elaborate headdresses, neck ornaments and a fan-shaped or arched framework of some light material. Ordinarily, the figurines of the Indus valley are in a standing pose and their arms hang parallel to – the body.
However, some of them wearing the arched head-dresses are seen raising their arms to the level of the head and touching their for heads with both hands as though in a saluting pose. Dr. Mackay hinted at the similarly between the fan-shaped headdress of these figurines and the crest of the so-called Pashupathi from of Shiva found at Mohenjodaro. According to Dr, CL. Fabri, the headdresses of the Indus figurines were borrowed from Crete However, according to Dr. K. N. Sastri, the female figures might have represented some minor gods which held a subordinate position under the Pipal god which was the supreme deity of the Indus age. It is to be noted that only tire figurines wearing arched headdresses appear in the saluting pose. This points to some connection between the headdresses and the saluting pose. It is suggested that the saluting figure is worshipping the divine symbol, which she is carrying on her head. According to Dr. K .N. Sastri, it follows that the headdress and the saluting pose of the female figurines incident that the models represented a minor deity and not the Mother-Goddess.
According to sir John Marshall and Dr. Mackay, the Pipal Deity, the votary and the seven messengers were all males: The main deity is nude but the seven messengers are said to be dressed up in tunics. It is contended that the seven attendants are not dressed up in tunics. It is also pointed out that the seven attendant messengers were not clad in anything like tunics.
They were fabulous creature were shown as male deities. The cult of the Mother-Goddess did not dominate the Indus religion. The male gods loomed large on the horizon of that age Pipal God was the supreme deity and a large number of subordinate male deities ruled over the destinies of the poor mortals inhabiting the Indus region.
Tree-Worship:
The seals and painted pottery of the Indus valley show the figures of the Pipal and Acacia tress they were regarded as celestial plants and were supposed to be inhabited by divine sprits. The former was the abode of the crest of homed headdresses of the deities of lower grades. The Pipal was the tree of creation and Knowledge to those who donned its branches on their heads. The gods alone enjoyed this privilege. The tree of life figure with great frequency on the seals of the Indus Valley. Around this magic plant, most of the adventures and mighty exploits of the gods and national heroes of the Indus valley were grouped. The Sami tree is usually identified with Jand Or Jandi. The Jand tree is still believed to be the abode of a Devata and many religious ceremonies are performed under it.
There was a struggle between the gods and demons for the possession of the tree for donning its branches its branches as crests or pigtails on their heads. Certain demons were always trying to steal away the tree or its branches. The tree was heavily guarded by a sprit. In addition to the guardian sprit, there were also other sentinels to protect the tree. The most important of them was a composite animal whose face was human but the body comprised the features of various animals. The object of the combination of the various elements was to invest the animal with the best traits and characteristics of all the creatures, which were virility of a ram, the brutality and aggressiveness of a tiger and the deadly bite of a cobra. Such a composite animal was considered to be the most fitting guardian of the tree of life. There are also other single-bodied but three headed animals in the form of sentinels. In one case, the heads are those of unicorn, bison and an indeterminate quadruped with long hooked horns curving forward. On a sealing at Mohenjodaro a bull protected by a cobra is engaged in fighting a human adversary and is thus preventing him from coming near the sacred tree. Another sealing shows an Acacia tree being protected by a bull, which is engaged in fighting a male. Another composite gurdian is seen watching a huge monster or a tiger whom he evidently killed in a combat In another case, a votary is seen presenting an object to an Acacia tree. A cobra or a Naga deity is also seen guarding the tree. In another seal, an Acacia tree is seen being guarded by the buffalo headed goat.
A study of the seals tells us that although the demon was always trying to steal away the tree or its branches it failed to do so however. On one occasion it was able to steal two branches of the tree of life, but his success was short-lived and soon the demon was killed by the guardian. Many seal the torture of the tiger demon.
Dr. Mackay excavated from Chanhu-Daro a seal which shows the tree of life and three pictograms, Lower down is a tiger with its tongue sticking out and almost touching the mouth of the tree spirit, which is sitting in half-kneeling pose. According to Dr. Mackay, the tiger is licking the face of the man, perhaps, in anticipation is not accepted by other scholars.
A large number of seals and seal impressions from the Indus sites show the Acacia alone, with or without any inscription. However, a few of them show the Acacia tree enclosed by a railing. Another sealing shows that it was surrounded by a platform. Tree worship is very old in India and its persistence in historic times clearly times clearly shows that the ancient traditions relating to this cult were lather on incorporated by the Hindus in their religious system in a highly modified from.
Worshin-Of Siva; –
A male deity is shown on a seal with three faces and eyes and seated on a low Indian throne in the posture of a Yogi with animals on each side. The deity is considered to be “the prototype of the historic Siva”. The figure has a pair of horns over its head and that indicates that it is the figure of a deity. The presence of the animals justifies the title of Siva as Pashupathi or Lord of Animals.
The people of the Indus valley also practised the worship of Linga and Yoni symbols. Some of the polished stones have been identified with the Linga and oilier pierced stones have been identified with the Yoni. The likelihood that both Siva and Linga worship have been , inherited by the Hindus from the Indus valley people is perhaps reinforced by the prevalence of the bull (the vehicle of Siva) or of bull-like animals amongst the sea symbols The people had faith in amulets and charms and that shows that they were afraid of demons. There was also the practice of Yoga. The worship oh the sacred “incense-burners “was also prevalent.
According to Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the importance, not necessarily the deification, of water in the life of the Indus valley people is stressed by the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro and by the almost extravagant provision for bathing and drainage throughout the city. Purification by bath or ceremonial ablution must have been a part and parcel of the religion of the people.
To quote Wheeler, “The Indus religion was a melange of much that we already know of third millennium Asiatic religious observance, augmented by specific anticipation of the latter Hinduism”
Disposal of the dead:
Appears that the people of the Indus valley disposed of their dead by method cremation. A number of urns containing human bones and ashes, and vessels of burnt and other offerings for the use of the dead in after-life have also been found. Similar urns have been found by Sir Aurel Stein on many sites in Baluchistan. Cases of burial are rare and belong to the time of the decline of the civilization.
Conclusion:
- The religious beliefs and practices of Indus people are rich and variegated , The Indus people worshipped Mother-Goddess. The terracotta female figurines recovered from Indus sites are representation of Mother-Goddess, The cult of the Mother-Goddess did not dominate the Indus religion, the male gods loomed large on the horizon of that age.
- The Indus people worshipped tress like the Pipal and Acacia trees. The seals and painted pottery show the Pipal and Acacia trees. The tree of life namely Sami occurs with great frequency on the seals of the Indus Valley.
- The Indus people also worshipped Linga and Yoni and Siva, They had faith in amulets and charms. The practiced Yoga. The worship of the sacred “incense burners” was also ’ prevalent. People cremated the dead. Cases of burial were rare and belong to the time of decline of the civilization.