Hoysaleshvar Temple

House of Clay
Realm of punishment described in a
verse in the Rg Veda (7.89), the earliest
Hindu religious text. As described in this
verse, the House of Clay is a place to
which evildoers—particularly those
guilty of speaking falsely—will be sent
by the god Varuna, who is considered
the guardian of righteousness and cos-
mic order (rta).
As its name indicates, the House of
Clay is a gloomy and joyless place. What
is notable in the original verse is the lack
of any notion of reincarnation (sam-
sara), which later became a central
Indian assumption. At the time it was Sightseers at the Hoysaleshvar Temple in Halebid.
seen as an undesirable and permanent The temple is known for the detailed and
state after death. elaborate stone carvings that ornament its facade.

The Hoysalas were originally hill

House of Lac chiefs who were vassals to the
In the Mahabharata, the later of the two Chalukyas (a central Indian dynasty
great Hindu epics, this is one of the that ruled from the seventh to eighth
stratagems through which the epic’s century C.E.), but who became indepen-
antagonist, Duryodhana, tries to kill the dent in 1093. At their peak they ruled
five Pandava brothers, who are his much of the states of Karnataka and
cousins and the epic’s protagonists. northern Tamil Nadu, but by the begin-
Duryodhana builds the Pandavas a ning of the fourteenth century had seen
magnificent palace, without telling their power decline. By the middle of the
them that it is constructed completely of century, their kingdom had been
lac, a highly flammable substance. After annexed by the Sangamas, whose capi-
the Pandavas have settled into the tal was at Vijayanagar.
palace, Duryodhana has his minions set The Hoysalas are most famous for
it on fire in an effort to burn them alive. the magnificent temples they constructed
The Pandavas are saved by the sagacity at the cities of Belur and Halebid, which
of their uncle Vidura, who not only are treasure-houses of medieval south-
warns them of the danger, but has con- ern Indian sculpture.
structed an underground passage allow-
ing them to escape from the house and a
tunnel to convey them far away without Hoysaleshvar Temple
being discovered. When the house is set Largest and most magnificent of the
afire, the Pandavas escape through the Hoysala temples at Halebid, the
tunnel and for some time are safe from dynasty’s capital city; the temple itself
Duryodhana, since they are presumed was built in 1141–1182. The
to have died in the fire. Hoysaleshvar Temple is dedicated to
the god Shiva, in his form as “Lord of
the Hoysalas.”
Hoysala Dynasty Hoysala temples were built from a
(11th–14th c.) Southern Indian dynasty particular type of stone—variously
that ranged over the southern part of described as chlorite schist, steatite, or
the southern Indian state of Karnataka. soapstone—that is quite soft when
The capital city was Dorasamudra, newly quarried, but gradually hardens
which is now called Halebid. with exposure to air. This initial
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 Hrshikesha

malleability makes the stone easy to result of a curse. The elephant and the
carve and facilitated the lush detail crocodile struggle for one thousand
characteristic of Hoysala temples. The years, so evenly matched that neither
Hoysaleshvar Temple is known for the can best the other. Huhu is finally
quantity of lush detail, which surpass- released from his curse when the god
es other Hoysala temples. See also Vishnu himself comes down from
Hoysala dynasty. heaven and kills him. See also
Gajendramoksha.

Hrshikesha
(“Lord of the Senses”) Epithet of the god Human Sacrifice
Vishnu, particularly in his avatar or The practice of human sacrifice was
incarnation as the god Krishna. See uncommon in the history of Hindu
Vishnu and Krishna. religious life, but not unknown. One of
the common mythic motifs in the wor-
ship of certain fierce and powerful
Hsuan Tsang deities is for devotees (bhakta) to offer
(605–664) Chinese Buddhist scholar and their own heads to the Goddess as the
translator, whose account of his extend- ultimate sacrifice and act of devotion,
ed stay in India (629–645) provides one but experts are uncertain how fre-
of the few reliable sources for Indian life quently this rite was performed. One
in that period. mythic example of this is the demon-
Hsuan Tsang’s purpose in coming king Ravana, who cuts off nine of his
to India was to find reliable copies of ten heads before the god Shiva grants
the Buddhist scriptures, which had him divine power. The resolve to com-
become severely garbled and corrupt- mit this action is also attributed to the
ed during their transmission to China. Bengali saint Ramakrishna, although
He was a highly learned man and dur- the goddess Kali intervened before he
ing his stay spent years studying in could carry it out.
Buddhist educational institutions, The one place where human sacri-
particularly the Buddhist university at fice was undoubtedly a regular prac-
Nalanda. He traveled all over northern tice was at the temple of the goddess
India and because of his piety and Kamakhya in Assam. This temple is
learning was honored by the kings he one of the Shakti Pithas, a network of
met, including the Emperor Harsha. sites sacred to the Goddess that
For further information see his Si-yu- spreads throughout the subcontinent.
ki: Buddhist Records of the Western Each Shakti Pitha marks the site where
World, Samuel Beal (trans.), 1969. a body part of the dismembered god-
dess Sati fell to earth, taking form
Huhu there as a different goddess. In this
In Hindu mythology, Huhu is a partic- case, the body part was Sati’s vulva,
ular gandharva, or celestial musician. and the presence of such a highly
He has the misfortune to displease a charged part of the female body made
Hindu sage, when his amorous water Kamakhya a very powerful goddess.
play with some celestial damsels When the new temple was dedicat-
breaks the sage’s meditation. The sage ed in 1565, she was reportedly offered
curses Huhu to become a giant croco- the heads of 140 men, and this prac-
dile, and he remains in this state for tice continued until the British halted
many years. The crocodile preys on the it in 1832. The men offered as human
creatures in the lake, and one day sacrifices were reportedly volunteers,
seizes the leg of a giant elephant. This who believed that they had been
elephant is really King Indradyumna, called by her to do this; in the time
who has also assumed this form as the between announcing their intention
290
 Hypogamous Marriage

to be sacrificed and their deaths they tice that keeps the home pure and
were treated as virtual divinities, since clean, but which fosters unhygienic
they were considered to have been conditions directly outside the home.
consecrated to the goddess. For fur- Another example of this disjunction
ther information see E. A. Gait, A can be seen in the traditional use of
History of Assam, 1963. See also pitha. cow dung as a purifying substance, or
the way that the Ganges River is
always considered pure, even in its
Humors, Bodily lower reaches where it is full of sewage
See tridosha. and industrial effluents. These exam-
ples clearly show that purity and
Hundi hygiene are very different concepts
In earlier times, the name for a letter and that, from a religious perspective,
of credit issued from a mercantile purity is by far the more important of
house. By the early 1800s, these letters the two.
functioned as a virtual currency, since
in some cases they would pass Hypergamous Marriage
through twenty or thirty transactions A marriage in which the wife comes
before being returned for payment. from a group with lower social status
Hundis are significant because they than the husband. Although the ideal
allowed families to transact business Hindu marriage is between a man and
over large areas without having to woman of equal social status, hyperga-
actually carry large sums of money mous marriage was admitted as a possi-
with them and thus helped to foster bility in the dharma literature, although
long distance trade. it was not encouraged. In most cases, it
In modern times, this is also the was specified that a man’s first wife
most common term for a temple should be of equal social status, but that
collection box, where visitors deposit he was then permitted to marry women
their offerings. of lower status.
In modern India, where the predom-
Hygiene inant form of marriage is still arranged
Orthoprax Hindus (that is, Hindus who marriage, most marriages are still
stress correct religious practice) lay between men and women of equal sta-
great stress on cleanliness of their bod- tus. However, a hypergamous marriage
ies and their immediate environment. is likely to generate less opposition than
Although to the outside eye this scrupu- a hypogamous marriage, where a
lous attention would seem to indicate a woman marries a man from a lower sta-
concern for hygiene, these actions are tus group. In the dharma literature,
performed primarily to protect and hypergamous marriage was known as
retain religious purity. anuloma, “with the hair” (i.e., in the nat-
In many cases, concerns for hygiene ural direction).
and purity overlap, as in the pervasive
practice of bathing (snana) and the Hypogamous Marriage
regulations concerning bodily cleanli- A marriage in which the wife comes
ness. Both of these simultaneously from a group with higher social status
remove dirt and impurity (ashaucha), than the husband. Such marriages were
but in other cases these concerns strictly forbidden in the dharma litera-
clearly diverge. ture, and this prohibition illustrates the
One example of this divergence is role of women in determining a group’s
the way that household refuse is often social status.
simply put out in the street—a prac-

291
 Hypogamous Marriage

It is deemed acceptable for women

to marry people of higher social status
(hypergamous marriage), because it is
believed that they are improving the sta-
tus of their group by becoming associat-
ed with a higher status group. Marriage
to a man of lower status was strictly for-
bidden, since the exchange of women
implies some sort of equality between
the two groups, and thus drags the com-
munity’s status down. In the dharma lit-
erature, hypogamous marriage was
known as pratiloma, “against the hair”
(i.e., in an unnatural direction). For fur-
ther information see Jadunath Sarkar, A
History of the Dasanami Naga Sanyasis,
1958.

292
 Impalement

I
Vivasvan (Surya), the sun, and thus he
and his offspring are descendants of
the sun.

Ilangovadigal
Poet traditionally named as the author
of the Tamil epic poem Shilappadigaram
(“The Jeweled Anklet”). The poem high-
lights several themes important to
Iconic Image Hindu culture, particularly the need for
A pictorial or representational likeness kings to be righteous in their judgments,
of a deity, such as a statue or picture. and the power gained by a wife through
This is in contrast with an aniconic devotion to her husband.
image, in which there is no such repre- The main characters in the poem are
sentational image, and the connection a young couple, Kannaki and Kovalan.
between image and deity is symbolic. When Kovalan is executed because of a
tragic misunderstanding, his wife
Kannaki pronounces a curse on the city
Ida Nadi of Madurai, which causes many of
One of the vertical channels (nadi) in the citizens to die before Kannaki
the traditional conceptions of the subtle retracts it at the behest of Madurai’s
body. The subtle body is an alternate patron goddess.
physiological system believed to reside Ilangovadigal is believed to have
on a different plane of existence than lived in the first or second century C.E., a
the actual body, but with certain corre- date that makes his authorship improb-
spondences to it. It is visualized as a set able, since the poem was probably writ-
of six psychic centers (chakras) running ten several centuries later.
roughly along the course of the spine,
connected by three parallel vertical
channels. Above and below these cen- Impalement
ters are found Shiva (awareness) and One of the favored means of execution
Shakti (power), the latter as the latent that seems to have been particularly
spiritual energy known as kundalini. prevalent in ancient southern India. To
The ida nadi is the vertical channel impale someone is to kill them by pierc-
on the left side of the body. As with ing them with a sharp stake.
the rest of the subtle body, the ida nadi The most stunning instance is
has certain symbolic correspondences; reported to have taken place in the city
in particular, it is identified with the of Madurai, where 8,000 Jain ascetics
moon and is thus visualized as being were impaled by one of the kings in the
light in color. Pandya dynasty, after the latter had
renounced Jainism to become a Shaiva,
that is, a devotee (bhakta) of Shiva. A
Ikshvaku tradition persists that the ultimate
In the Ramayana, the earlier of the responsibility for this can be traced to
two great Indian epics, Ikshvaku was a the Nayanar saint Sambandar, who had
king who was the founder of the Solar converted the king and whose surviving
Line. The Solar Line is one of the two poetry shows a deep animus for the
great Indian mythic lineages in ancient Jains. If this report is true, it also indi-
India, along with the Lunar Line; the cates one of the rare cases of religious
most illustrious members of the Solar persecution in Hindu India, which on
Line were the god-king Rama and his the whole has been remarkably tolerant
brothers. Ikshvaku is the grandson of of differing ways of religious life.

293
 Impurity

Depictions of this mass impalement can purification, inauspiciousness can only

be seen in murals painted at the be transferred from one person to
Minakshi temple in Madurai—whose another, most often through the medi-
construction far postdates the alleged um of gifts (dana). For more informa-
event—as well as in popular art of differ- tion see Gloria Goodwin Raheja, The
ent kinds. Poison in the Gift, 1988; and David F.
Pocock, “The Evil Eye,” in T. N. Madan
(ed.), Religion in India, 1991.
Impurity
See ashaucha.
Independence Day
Indian national holiday celebrated on
Inauspiciousness August 15—one of the few holidays cele-
This concept refers to events or condi- brated according to the solar calendar—
tions that in their very essence hinder or which marks the date in 1947 on
are inimical to life, prosperity, and gen- which India gained independence from
eral well-being. Along with purity and Great Britain.
impurity (ashaucha), auspiciousness
and inauspiciousness are fundamental
categories in Hindu life. Indigenous Aryan Theory
Inauspicious conditions can be The theory that the Aryans were indige-
caused by a variety of factors. At times nous to the Indian subcontinent, rather
the inauspiciousness lies in the very than immigrants from other lands. The
moment itself—in an hour or day con- word Arya (“noble”) is the name used for
sidered to be unlucky, in unusual themselves by the people who com-
events such as eclipses, or in astrologi- posed the Vedas, the earliest Hindu reli-
cal conjunctions that are considered gious texts.
inherently unlucky. In such “danger- Nineteenth-century European schol-
ous” times, one’s activities should be arship discovered structural relation-
severely curtailed, except for things that ships between Sanskrit and classical
are absolutely necessary. Certain nor- European languages and speculated
mally innocuous activities can become that all these languages came from a
inauspicious in conjunction with partic- common parent. Based on further
ular times, and at these times such activ- analysis, these researchers hypothesized
ities should be avoided. that people speaking this parent lan-
Inauspiciousness can also arise from guage originated in central Asia, some-
certain conjunctions in one’s natal where near the Caspian Sea. From there,
horoscope, or from erecting a home or some went west to Europe, some went
building in an inappropriate place. As a southwest to Turkey, and some went
quality, inauspiciousness is conceived of south toward Iran, and later to India.
as a physical entity that is generated The conclusion that these Indian pil-
by certain conditions, and which then grims came from Iran is based on com-
attaches to individuals, families, or parisons between the Avesta and the
larger communities. Veda, the Iranian and Indian religious
Some of these inauspicious condi- texts. These texts show broad linguistic
tions can be avoided by refraining similarities, and thus indicate that the
from certain activities at certain times, people speaking the languages were
yet there are certain conditions that closely related. This entire theory is thus
cannot be avoided—in particular, the based solely on the observed similarities
inauspiciousness arising from eclipses between languages, and assumptions
or other astrological conjunctions. about how it changed.
Whereas impurity (ashaucha) can Indigenous Aryan theory supporters
be removed or destroyed through reject this claim and maintain that the

294
 Indra

Aryans are the original inhabitants of

India, and as proof point to the artifacts
found in the Indus Valley civilization,
an ancient urban network in northeast-
ern India. Both of these claims are highly
tenuous and do not address the philo-
logical evidence behind the original
Aryan theory. The Indigenous Aryan
theory has political implications that
have helped to spur its growth. Some
supporters are reacting against the
Aryan migration theory’s perceived
colonialist bias, since the theory was
developed by Europeans and assumes
that the dominant groups in modern
India must have come from outside.
Other supporters of this theory are the
Depiction of the god Indra, king of heaven and
proponents of Hindutva, who claim one of the eight guardians of the earth.
that all Indians are “really” Hindus, and
thus one social group, whatever their Indra
particular religious beliefs. This asser- One of the oldest and most powerful
tion has profound political implica- Hindu deities. His status has changed
tions in modern India, where Christians over the years and this evolution shows
and Muslims are not only religious com- how Hinduism has transformed.
munities, but social and political ones. In the earliest Hindu scriptures, the
By connecting Hindu identity and good hymns in Rg Veda, Indra is the Vedic deity
Indian citizenship, Hindutva propo- par excellence. As with most Vedic deities,
nents are marginalizing Christians and Indra is associated with certain natural
Muslims as outsiders. phenomena, in this case the power of the
storm; he was seen as inhabiting the
region (antariksha) between the earth
Indira Ekadashi and sky, the region where storms take
Festival falling on the eleventh day place. In many ways Indra seems a para-
(ekadashi) of the dark (waning) half digm for the virtues and powers cele-
of the lunar month of Ashvin brated in the Vedas, and (as many have
(September–October). As with all the inferred) celebrated as virtues by the
eleventh-day observances, this is dedi- Aryans themselves. Indra is the invincible
cated to the worship of Vishnu, on this warrior and the performer of great deeds.
day in his form as the Shalagram. Most One of the central hymns in the Rg
Hindu festivals have certain prescribed Veda (1.32) describes Indra’s battle with
rites, usually involving fasting (upavasa) the serpent Vrtra, who is finally killed
and worship, and often promise specific and cut into pieces, allowing the pent-up
benefits. This ekadashi falls during the waters that Vrtra has blocked to flow
pitrpaksha, the fortnight dedicated to freely over the land.
the ancestors, and faithfully observing Indra is a drinker of the intoxicating
this festival day is believed to result in beverage soma, whose influence leads
the rescue of millions of one’s forebears him to expanded reveries on his own
from woeful incarnations and bring greatness; he is the ultimate man’s man
them rebirth in heaven. The name in a culture that is usually believed to
“Indira” is an epithet of Lakshmi, have stressed manly virtues. Of the 1,028
Vishnu’s wife. hymns in the Rg Veda, nearly a quarter
are devoted to Indra, who is described as
the power encircling the earth.
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 Indradyumna

Some of Indra’s attributes and func- happened, he curses Indra to have a

tions remain constant as the Hindu tra- thousand vulvas on his body, although
dition changed and developed. In later the curse is later modified to give Indra
Hindu mythology, Indra’s realm is still a thousand eyes. Indra’s helplessness
the atmospheric region between the before his own lust and his inability
earth and sky, and he is still considered to withstand Gautama’s curse are
the god of the storm, the bestower of sure signs that his divine position
rain, and the wielder of the divine thun- has slipped.
derbolt. Indra is also one of the eight Although he is still regarded as the
Guardians of the Directions, holding bestower of rain and the wielder of the
sway over the eastern quarter. thunderbolt, another indication of his
Yet some things about Indra changed diminished power can be seen in his
around the first millennium; most encounter with the adolescent god
importantly, Indra has been “demoted” Krishna. When Krishna persuades the
to being merely the ruler of the heaven- village elders to cease making offerings
ly realms and the king of the gods. Far to Indra, the latter sends torrential rains
from being the supreme, unchallenged that threaten to destroy the village. In
power in the universe, his position is the face of this threat, Krishna calmly
much more precarious, for he is seen as lifts Mount Govardhan, and for seven
affected by the workings of karma. days and nights holds it over their heads
Indra is actually subject to replacement to block the rain. Although Indra
when he is spiritually exhausted or expends all his strength, he is unable to
when a challenger on earth grows spir- prevail against the adolescent Krishna,
itually strong enough to unseat him. clearly demonstrating where the real
Many of the stories in the classical divinity lies.
Sanskrit texts have their plot advanced In the Mahabharata, the later of the
by Indra’s throne becoming hot (a sign two great Hindu epics, Indra is revealed
that a human being is gaining the to be the divine father of Arjuna, one of
power to replace Indra), and with Indra the five Pandava brothers who are the
taking some action to counter this epic’s protagonists. Arjuna shares his
threat. In cases where the challenger is father’s strengths and weaknesses; he is
a celibate ascetic, whose source of heroic and gallant, the archetypal war-
power is the power of renunciation, rior who relishes the clash of battle and
Indra usually dispatches an apsara is unceasing in defense of his personal
(divine nymph) whose heavenly and family honor. He can also be selfish,
charms can seduce the ascetic and by egocentric, and boorish, and has many
destroying his celibacy destroy his extramarital liaisons, some of which
power as well. In other cases the threat produce offspring. Both are wonderful
can come from people completing one warriors, if that is what is needed at
hundred great sacrifices; here Indra the time, but they lack other qualities
somehow forestalls the hundredth sac- to make them productive in times
rifice, as he does by stealing the sacred of peace. This story of Indra and Arjuna
horse of King Sagar. Indra is the lord is further evidence that Indra has
and ruler of the gods, but his position fallen from the most important deity
can only be retained by keeping a sharp to a minor one who is not an object
eye on all possible threats. of worship.
This loss of “divine” position is seen
by the way Indra is portrayed in certain
mythic tales. In the story of Ahalya he is Indradyumna
portrayed as a lecher and an adulterer, In Hindu mythology, a righteous king
seducing Ahalya by assuming the form who is a great devotee (bhakta) of the
of her husband, the sage Gautama. god Vishnu. He has been cursed to
When Gautama discovers what has become a giant elephant by the sage
296
 Indus

Agastya, who becomes angry when the When the god-king Rama and allies
king, deep in meditation, fails to greet are storming Lanka, in an effort to
the sage with proper respect. After much regain Rama’s kidnapped wife Sita,
pleading, Agastya decrees that the curse Indrajit begins to perform this sacrifice.
will be broken when Vishnu touches the Warned about this danger by Brahma,
elephant on the back. As a result of this Rama sends his brother Lakshmana to
curse, Indradyumna roams the earth as interrupt it. Lakshmana successfully
an elephant for many years. disrupts the sacrifice, and in the ensuing
On one occasion when he is drink- battle kills Indrajit.
ing at a lake, his hind leg is seized by a
giant crocodile. The crocodile is actual- Indrani
ly a gandharva or celestial musician (Feminine form of Indra) The wife of
named Huhu, whom another sage had the god Indra, the ruler of heaven.
cursed to become a crocodile. Their Perhaps reflecting Indra’s diminished
struggle lasts for a thousand years, with status in later Hindu mythology, Indrani
the elephant unable to get free, and the is not a prominent figure. Her only
crocodile unable to overpower the ele- important role is as an object of desire
phant. Finally Vishnu himself appears, in the story of Nahusha, who through
kills the crocodile, and restores his meritorious deeds has displaced
Indradyumna to his previous form. The Indra as the king of heaven. Nahusha
release of Indradyumna from both the assumes that he is entitled to Indrani as
curse and the crocodile is known as well as Indra’s throne, and makes
Gajendramoksha, the “release of the advances toward her. For his hubris, the
elephant king.” sage Agastya curses Nahusha to be
reborn as a giant serpent.

Indrajit
(“Conqueror of Indra”) In the Ramayana, Indraprastha
the earlier of the two great Indian epics, The name given to the earliest of the
Indrajit is the son of the demon-king cities built on the site now occupied
Ravana by his wife Mandodari. In some by modern Delhi; Indraprastha was
later versions of the Ramayana, he is built on the banks of the Yamuna
portrayed as the son of the god Shiva River, in the southeastern part of
himself, born after his mother had mar- modern Delhi.
ried Ravana. Like his father, Indrajit is a In the Mahabharata, the later of the
great devotee (bhakta) of Shiva, and two great Hindu epics, Indraprastha is
because of his devotion Shiva teaches named as the capital of the Pandavas,
Indrajit how to make himself invisible. the five brothers who are the epic’s pro-
For a warrior, this power is obviously tagonists. According to the epic, the
very valuable, and through it Indrajit is city is built after their uncle, King
able to conquer Indra’s heavenly realm Dhrtarashtra, has divided his kingdom
and take Indra as a prisoner back to between the Pandavas and his own
Lanka, hence his name. sons, the Kauravas.
The god Brahma goes to Lanka, the Although the epic is replete with
kingdom of Ravana, to arrange for Indra’s descriptions of Indraprastha, there is
release, in return for which Indrajit little hard connection between the
demands physical immortality. When he archeological site and events described
is told that this is impossible, Indrajit in the epic.
requests a different power—that when he
performs a certain sacrifice he will
receive horses and a chariot so that he can Indus
kill whatever enemy he faces, and while in River whose source lies in the high
the chariot he cannot be killed. Himalayas, but which flows through

297
 Indus Valley Art

Pakistan for most of its length. The Indus, as well as a web of settlements
Indus is traditionally considered one of stretching east to the upper Ganges
the seven sacred rivers of India—the basin, south through the modern state
others are the Ganges, Yamuna, of Gujarat and into modern
Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, and Maharashtra, and along the coast of
Cauvery—although in modern times modern Pakistan. The greatest concen-
this has diminished, especially since the tration of these settlements has been
creation of Pakistan in 1947 rendered it found along the banks of the Ghaggar
inaccessible to most Hindus. River, a small and seasonal watercourse
Despite its diminished religious sig- that runs through the state of
nificance, the Indus remains important Rajasthan. Some historians claim that it
from a historical perspective, since is the bed of the ancient Saraswati
many archeological sites from the Indus River. Evidence from the sites seems to
Valley civilization have been discovered indicate that the sites further to the
on its banks. south developed later, but remained
vital after the cities in the Indus River
Valley, particularly Harappa and
Indus Valley Art Mohenjo-Daro, had fallen into oblivion.
Despite the plethora of artifacts that The discovery of these sites in the early
have been recovered from the cities of twentieth century prompted significant
the Indus Valley civilization, objects historical revision, since before then it
that could be interpreted as works of had been generally assumed that the
art are surprisingly sparse. No traces of people known as the Aryans were the
decoration have been found inside or earliest developed culture in India.
outside the buildings, nor has any mon- The most striking feature of these
umental architecture been discovered. cities is their uniformity—their general
The art objects that have been found city plan was nearly identical from place
in Harappa, a city on the Ravi River in to place (although they differed in
Pakistan, have all been on a smaller scale), the bricks used throughout all the
scale: several stone statues of male tor- cities were exactly the same size, and
sos, the head and torso of a bearded there was a standardized set of weights
man, a copper statue of a young woman and measures. Each of the cities also
naked except for bangles and jewelry had a large central granary, which stored
(said to be a “dancer,” because her arms the grain necessary to feed such a siz-
and legs are lifted), statues of women able urban population. Such evident
with elaborate headdresses believed to uniformity over such long distances
be icons for a Mother Goddess cult, and bears clear witness to a strong and
the images of plants, animals, and centralized government, which some
humans carved on the Indus Valley analysts have speculated was religious
Seals. The latter show delicate and quite in nature.
realistic work, indicating a great deal of Another striking feature of all the
skill in working the stone, as well as the cities was an advanced sanitation sys-
ability to make realistic figural images. tem. All the houses had channels for
water, and an elaborate network of
Indus Valley Civilization drains and sewers ran throughout the
(3000–2000 B.C.E.) An ancient and highly city, even in those sections where the
developed urban culture, so named houses were the smallest, and people
because the first two sites discovered, presumably the poorest. Mohenjo-Daro
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, both lie also has a great tank built of brick and
on the Indus River in what is now sealed with pitch, which the archaeolo-
Pakistan. Further searching has gists have dubbed the “Great Bath.” Why
uncovered other sites along much of the were the people who built these cities so
concerned with sanitation and bathing?
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