MOST INDIAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS TRAITS … con/rigveda/Shri Vishnu...most indian cultural and...

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MOST INDIAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS TRAITS HAVE THEIR ORIGIN IN THE INDUS-SARASVATI CIVILIZATION VISHNU KANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

Transcript of MOST INDIAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS TRAITS … con/rigveda/Shri Vishnu...most indian cultural and...

MOST INDIAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS TRAITS HAVE THEIR ORIGIN IN THE

INDUS-SARASVATI CIVILIZATION

VISHNU KANTARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

It has been advocated by some scholars that the Indus-

Sarasvati (Harappan) Civilization became extant, leaving

nothing behind. While no doubt that, owning to various

reasons, the highly developed Harappan cities disappeared,

the people did not. The succeeding scenario was rural in

nature, However, the people carried on their daily routine as

usual and kept up their cultural and religious traditions.There

is enough evidence to show that both traditions have their

origin in the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization.Few examples are as:

Cultural :Terracottas in yogic asanas,Harappa ;Mohenjodaro

Earliest agricultural field, Kalibangan

The Thirsty Crow -A Story Painting, Lothal

Terracotta greeting with namaste, Harappa

Religious:Siva in the form of linga- cum -yoni, Kalibangan

Fire altars, Kalibangan

Swastika on a seal , Mohenjodaro

T.C.Tablet depicting the Animal sacrifice ,Harappa

For the past four-five decades India has been witnessing whatmay be called a kind of ‘cultural invasion’ from the West. Onesees, for example, in metropolises like Delhi, Mumbai, etc., 20-25-year-young girls clad in jeans and tops (and, of course,boys) haunting disco-clubs and reveling on Valentine days. Ihave no grudge against that. It had to happen because of‘globalization’.

But if we ignore this recent phenomenon and go deeper wecome across what may be called the ‘basal elements’ of Indianculture. These are more manifest in rural areas than in theurban.

Let us have a look at some of these.

Baba Ramdev : A renowned Yoga Teacher, who is famous forpopularizing yoga world-wide through television shows andmass level yoga camps.

Yoga classes in the camp

Nearly 2,200 years ago, sage Patanjali had codified the Yogasystem. In it he enunciated eight successive steps, viz. yama,niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyanaand samadhi.

Basically, yoga focuses on detoxification of the body orimprove the functional aspects of the internal organs of thebody while poses (asanas) help to increase the overallstrength and flexibility of the body.

Yoga is an invaluable gift of Indian ancient tradition.Recently, 21st June was officially declared as InternationalYoga Day on the suggestion of Indian Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi, in U.N. Assembly.

It is a matter of proud for India since our ancient tradition -Yoga has achieved a high stage now.

• Terracotta figures in Yogic asanas. 1-4 Harappa;5-6 Mohenjo-daro. Mature Harappan

• In Chapter 6, the Bhagvadgita propounds thetechnique of meditation. It says that the sadhakashould keep his back, neck and head straight andshould fix his gaze on the tip of the nose i.e.,samprekshya nasikagram.

• It would be noted that when the gaze is fixed at thetip of the nose the upper eye-lids droop down a bitand the eyes get more than half closed.

• This is precisely what one sees in the case of thelimestone figure of the priest discovered at Mohenjo-daro (next slide). He is indeed in Dhyana-mudra.

Limestone statue of a ‘priest’ in meditative pose (dhyana-mudra) depicting the half-closed eyes and peaceful face. Overall , it shows Simplicity and Sublimity. Mohenjo-daro. Mature Harappan.

Impression of a seal depicting a seated figure surrounded by animals, believed to be Siva in his aspect of Pasupati (Lord of animals). Mohenjo-daro. Mature Harappan.

Terracotta linga-cum-yoni, Kalibangan. Mature Harappan

Modern Siva linga-cum-yoni in a temple.

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Terracotta tablet, depicting the Siva-like seated figure and a person attempting to kill a buffalo, perhaps as sacrifice. Harappa, Mature Harappan.

Animal Sacrifice (Bali): is a ritual , killing and offering of an

animal to appease or maintain favour with a divine agency.

Yajurveda mentions about the animal sacrifice of goat, calf, ox,

bull etc. Buffalo sacrifice is still popular in Rajasthan for offering

to Kali, Bhawani or their family devata on Navarati. However,

government has banned it.

Fire Worship: The ceremonial fire or Havan is lit and Agni isinvoked to make it a holy witness of the occasion. Fire isbelieved to be the purifying element in Hindu rites and rituals.So that, the priest or the person offers samagri, ghee and othermaterial into the Agni. The practice of fire worship is stillpopular today in India.

A ‘Fire-Altar’ with a stele and bi-convexcircular cakes and ash; in a house of the Lower Town,

Kalibangan, Mature Harappan

A row of seven ‘fire-altars’ with stele in each , lower part of a pot with full of charcoal and a well on the left , in the southern half of the Citadel, Kalibangan, Mature

Harappan.

Swastika: is commonly used in Hindu art & architecture and is considered to be a very sacred and an auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It can be seen on temple, houses and entrance for good fortune, luck and well-being.

Swastika on either side of the

door of a modern house

Swastika on a seal, Mohenjo-daro. Mature Harappan

Modern system of ploughing in criss-cross pattern, Kalibangan.

A modern field with mustard plants in the widely distanced

furrows and those of horse gram in the others

Agriculture in Rajasthan

Rajasthan has two principal crops Rabi and Kharif. RabiCrops are winter crops in which the H. Gram and major oilseed Mustard are sown as multiple crops in the samepattern furrows as found in the earliest ploughed field ofKalibangan.

Possible benefits of multiple cropping of gram & mustard are to:• balance input and outgo of soil nutrients, • restore or maintain soil fertility• keep down weeds and insect pest • suppress plant diseases like gram blight• increase over all productivity

It is noticeable that these benefits were certainly fully or partially under the knowledge of Harappans that’s why they ploughed the field in criss- cross manner.

An agricultural field, Kalibangan, Early Harappan

North Indian wedding traditions include the application of

Vermilion (Sindoor) on the bride’s head by the groom. The ritual has

a deeper symbolic relevance with a charm and appeal. Every married

woman is applied vermilion on the medial line of her hair during their

daily make-up as shown in the photograph.

Terracotta female figures, painted. The yellow colour on ornaments suggests that these were made of gold; the hair is black, while the red

on the line of partition of the hair represents the use of Vermilion,Nausharo Period IB, 2800-2600 BCE.

A married woman wearing ivory

bangles. It is believed that this protects

from evil eyes and also eases birth pain.

The famous

bronze figure of a

‘dancing girl’

wearing spiralled

bangles on the left

arm, Mohenjo-

daro. Mature

Harappan

Spiralled bangles, silver,

Kunal,Early Harappan

A newly married lady, on the right wearing a conical ornament (chauk) on the head (covered by the dupatta). She also wears bangles all over her arms.

Gold cone, Mohenjo-daro, Mature Harappan

Three-in-one toiletry gadget, Copper

Modern Mature Harappan, Harappa

From right : a set consists of a

Toothpick for cleaning detritus between the teeth;

Miniature spoon like object for removing wax from the ear;

Tweezers for plucking unwanted hair from eye & eyebrows

Terracotta gamesmen, Lothal, Mature Harappan

Reconstruction showing the use of gamesmen in chess;

with Lothal gamesmen (left) and modern (right)

Cubical Dice - a throwable object with multiple resting

positions is played for generating random numbers. Dice are

gambling and non-gambling devices. Rig-Veda and Atharva-

veda both mention it as aksa - a gambling object. Its faces are

numbered from 1 to 6 with pips (round dots). The following

three styles of numbering were found at Harappan sites.

1. One opposite six Numbers on each opposite sides

add up to Seven, Dhalewan, &

Harappa,Mature Harappan

Three opposite four

Five opposite two

2. One opposite two A Popular style, Lothal, Harappa,

Mohenjo-daro & Kalibangan,

Mature Harappan

Three opposite four

Five opposite six

3. One opposite two Mohenjo-daro, Kalibangan

Three opposite five

Four opposite six

Modern

Terracotta, Mohenjo-daro, Mature Harappan

Cubical Dices

Bone, Dhalewan, Mature Harappan

Excellent story of “The Thirsty

crow”

Line drawing shows a deer, a

pitcher and a crow. The crow

wanted to drink water from the

pitcher but water level in the

pitcher was low.

The crow somehow managed by

inserting small pebbles into the

pitcher and thereby raising water

level to a required height. So that

he drank the water. The deer is

shown watching the event with

full of amazement. Usually ,

grandparents narrate this story to

the children in India.

Painted goblet, Lothal,

Mature Harappan

The former President ,

Shri K.R. Narayanan

(left), being greeted

with namaste by

Bharatratna and the

former PM, Shri Atal

Bihari Vajpayee (right)

and others

A terracotta figurine greeting with

namaste, Harappa, Mature Harappan

Indian Customary Greeting- Namaste