Who was the Shiva of Indus Valley?
The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, was a Bronze Age civilization that existed from approximately 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent.
While there are many deities and figures depicted in the art and artifacts of the Indus Valley Civilization, there is no evidence that a deity named “Shiva” was worshiped at that time.
Among the thousands of seals belonging to the Indus Valley civilization, the Pasupathi seal continues to generate debate among scholars. On display at the National Museum in New Delhi, where it was relocated with other Mohenjo Daro artefacts before Partition in 1947, the seal is one of the oldest portrayals of the Hindu god Shiva, with “Pasupathi” (lord of animals) being one of his epithets or a “proto-Shiva” deity.
The seal was discovered at Mohenjo Daro in 1928-1929, at a depth of 3.9 metres below the surface. Ernest J. H. Mackay, a renowned British archaeologist who oversaw excavations at Mohenjo Daro, dated the seal to the Intermediate I Period (about 2350–2000 BCE).
In his 1937–1938 report, the seal is numbered 420 and given its alternative name. The steatite seal measures 3.56 cm by 3.53 cm and has a thickness of 0.76 cm. It features a central human figure seated on a platform and gazing forward.
The Hindu god Shiva is a later development in Indian religious history, and is believed to have been formed through the fusion of various regional deities and traditions.
The earliest known mention of the deity is in the Rigveda, one of the oldest texts in Hinduism, which was composed between 1700 BCE and 1100 BCE, long after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization.
It is important to note that the absence of evidence for the worship of Shiva in the Indus Valley Civilization does not mean that the civilization lacked a sophisticated religious or spiritual system.
The religion of the Indus Valley Civilization is not well understood, and many of its beliefs and practices remain a mystery.
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