Mohenjo-Daro Seal 420

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Mohenjo-Daro seal 420 (3rd millennium BC)

The Mohenjo-Daro Seal 420 was excavated in Mohenjo-Daro in what is now Pakistan in the 1920s and is located in the New Delhi National Museum . It plays an important role in religious research, as some researchers assume that a preform of the Hindu god Shiva is depicted on it, which would have far-reaching consequences for the history of Hinduism. In addition, this seal is interpreted as an indication that yoga was already practiced in the Indus culture . Since the Indus script can not yet be read, all interpretations of the illustration remain speculative. The more recent research is therefore rather skeptical.

description

The steatite seal measures 36 × 36 mm and shows a person surrounded by animals and six uninterpreted characters . The lower right corner has broken off.

The central figure is a person on a throne in a frontal view, in an unusual sitting posture in which the heels touch and the toes point down; the spread arms rest on the knees. The head does not look particularly natural, it may be an animal head or a mask, but there may be three faces shown, two of which are looking to the side. The figure wears a hip band with hanging tassels , which can also be interpreted as an erect penis . Chest and arms are perforated, which is interpreted as bracelets and breast jewelry . The hairstyle or headgear ends in two horns bent upwards, the middle part is erected in a fan shape. Below the figure's throne are two horned animals, possibly gazelles . Four animals are depicted to the left and right of the figure: elephant , tiger , rhinoceros and buffalo .

The seal belongs to a small group of Indus seals depicting human figures, while the majority of the seals depict cattle. There is another seal from Mohenjo-Daro with an identical figure, but without animals.

Proto-Shiva

Shiva, medieval sculpture from the Kailasa temple in Ellora .

In 1931, archaeologist John Marshall , who led the Mohenjodaro excavation, suggested that the seal be a prototype of the historical Shiva. He gave the following reasons:

  • As in Mesopotamia, the horned hairstyle indicates a deity.
  • The figure on the seal is three-faced; Shiva Mahadeva was also sometimes depicted with three faces in medieval sculptures.
  • The figure is sitting in a typical yoga posture; Shiva is called Mahayogin ("Great Yoga Master").
  • The four animals above the figure indicated Pashupati ("Lord of the Animals"), a form of Shiva.
  • The three-part hairstyle is reminiscent of Shiva's weapon, the trident ( trishula ).
  • Gazelles are also found on medieval depictions of Shiva's throne.
  • The figure could be ithyphallic ; Shiva is sometimes shown with an erect penis (urdhvalinga).

For a long time this interpretation was hardly contradicted in research, and it was preferred over other interpretations. More recently it has been pointed out that the picture has been partly over-interpreted. In addition, Pashupati is the protector of pets, while the seal only depicts wild animals. Iconographic parallels can also be found not only with Shiva, but also with the Buddha and the Tirthamkaras in Jinism .

Doris Srinivasan explains that the horns and the yoga position indicate the divine character, but that it is not possible to interpret the figure as Proto-Shiva. The face of the figure resembles cattle or buffalo masks of the Indus culture, which excavations have brought to light in the meantime. Modern research tends to see the figure as a "buffalo god" without ascribing a closer relationship to a specific Hindu deity. This interpretation is supported by a find in Harappa in 1997 , which shows a person in the same posture and next to a man fighting a bull.

It also appears problematic that Shiva is not recorded in this position in the Vedic epoch immediately following the Indus culture , but only at a later time, which means that there is a gap of over 2000 years between the seal and Shiva in the yoga posture.

The interpretation that the figure represents the fire god Agni , Vishvarupa or even the mistress of animals is not recognized by research. The German Indologist Friedrich Otto Schrader also rejected Marshall's proposal, but saw clear parallels to the Celtic god Cernunnos , as he is depicted on the Gundestrup cauldron .

yoga

Bhadragorakhasana, illustration from 1830.

Two years before John Marshall came up with the interpretation as Proto-Shiva, the Bengali archaeologist Ramaprasad Chanda established a connection between the seal and yoga. Three years later he identified the sitting posture as the Bhadrasana.

The American art historian Thomas McEvilley contradicted Marshall's interpretation as Proto-Shiva. With the addition of five other seals from Mohenjo-Daro (Seal 222 & 235) and Harappa , he came to the conclusion that the figure was sitting in Mulabandhasana, as the yoga master BKS Iyengar describes in the book Light on Yoga - Yoga Dipika . These six seals clearly show that the soles of the feet are pressed together, the toes pointing down, and the body resting on the heels with the knees pointing horizontally outward. The arm position is also identical for all of them.

Since this Mulabandhasana is a very difficult yoga position that is only mastered by a few yoga masters, it can be assumed that yoga was already practiced in the Indus culture. In addition, the figure is flanked on one of the seals by two adorants and erect cobras , which indicates the divine character.

Yoga researchers like Mircea Eliade and yoga masters like TKV Desikachar agree with this interpretation . Other researchers reject this interpretation on the grounds that similar sitting postures are common in Asia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The number refers to the listing of seals in: EJH Mackay: Further Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro , 2nd Vols. New Delhi, 1938
  2. ^ Franke-Vogt: The Glyptik from Mohenjo-Daro , 81
  3. ^ SG Mustafa, A. Parpola: Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions , Helsinki 1991 ISBN 951-41-0556-7 , No. 1181 (plates 137 and 424)
  4. ^ Sir John Marshall, Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization ; London (1931), vol. I. p. 52-56
  5. ↑ Doris Srinivasan: Unhinging Śiva from the Indus Civilization ; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1984), p. 82
  6. ↑ Doris Srinivasan: Unhinging Śiva from the Indus Civilization ; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1984), p. 77-89
  7. ^ Franke-Vogt: The Glyptik from Mohenjo-Daro , 80
  8. ↑ BA Saletore: Identification of a Mohendjo Daro Figure ; in The New Review X (1939), p. 28-35
  9. ↑ Buddha Prakash: Ṛgveda and the Indus Valley Civilization ; Hoshiapur (1966)
  10. ↑ Herbert P. Sullivan: A Re-Examination of the Religion of the Indus Civilization ; in History of Religions 4 (1964-64), p. 122
  11. ^ Friedrich Otto Schrader: Indian Relations of a Nordic Find ; in ZMDG (1934), p. 185ff.
  12. ↑ Ramprasad Chanda: Survival of the Prehistoric Civilization of the Indus Valley ; in Memoirs of the Archeological Survey of India 41 (1929), p. 25th
  13. ↑ Ramprasad Chanda: Are Five Thousand Years Ago ; in Modern Review (1932), p. 158
  14. ^ Thomas McEvilley: An Archeology of Yoga ; in RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 1 (1981) p. 44-77
  15. ^ BKS Iyengar: Light on Yoga ; George Allen & Unwin (1966). ISBN 81-7223-501-1 . p. 344ff (with illustrations)
  16. ↑ Doris Srinivasan: Unhinging Śiva from the Indus Civilization ; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1984), p. 81

literature

  • Ute Franke-Vogt : The Glyptik from Mohenjo-Daro: Uniformity and Variability in the Indus Culture: Investigations on Typology, Iconography and Spatial Distribution , Mainz am Rhein 1991, Baghdader Research Vol. 13, pp. 79-82, No. 222
  • Thomas McEvilley: An archeology of yoga , in RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 1 (1981) p. 44-77.
  • Sir John Marshall : Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization . London (1931), vol. I.
  • Doris Srinivasan: The So-Called Proto-Śiva Seal from Mohenjo-Daro: An Iconological Assessment ; in Archives of Asian Art , Vol. 29 (1975/1976), p. 47-58.
  • Doris Srinivasan: Unhinging Śiva from the Indus Civilization ; in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1 (1984), p. 77-89.