Harappan civilization is the most widely known civilization. The main towns of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro have provided us with most of the information about this civilization. The remains excavated from these places have served the archaeologist to learn more about this civilization. The Indus valley civilization is largely known to influence the Hindu culture. Out of the many discoveries that have been made, the article they wrote wherein the figurines found were highlighted have largely helped us to know about the religious beliefs of the people.
Many sculptures have been discovered while excavating the places which tell us about the different beliefs of the people-
- A female deity–
It is said that the harappan people worshipped mother goddess. The goddess symbolizes fertility. The figurine of the deity is one of the most important discoveries which tell us a lot about the civilization.
- Shiva–
It is said that the harappan people worshipped lord Shiva. The famous pashupati seal says it all. This seal contains lord Shiva in a yogic posture having the elephant, rhino, tiger and bull around him. He also has 2 deer under his thrown. He is wearing a crown which has horns on it. This symbolizes that the people worshipped him. Furthermore, a Hindu Shiva lingam was also located in the Harappan ruins which clearly suggest the worship of Shiva.
- Pashupati-
The remains of this civilization suggest that the people also worshipped a male god. The seal number 420 depicts the imagined Hinduism god properly. Many other seals also depict the same picture but seal number 420 depicts it in the best way. The deity is shown to be wearing a headdress with horns like the crescent moon.
Lingas have been dug from the ground and are used to show the erect male phallus depicting the male reproductive power of lord Shiva. Not only are the female but also male gods are of equal importance to these people
This shows that the Indus valley people had a lot of beliefs. They were religious and believed in worshipping the idols. With many articles they wrote, we came to know that some even worshipped nature but idols were an important and integral part of the Indus valley civilization. Other than all this the people also worshipped the sun, moon, trees and other things that are present in the nature.
