Archaeological research is a critical tool which can write a new chapter in the research on Indian history. This imperative instrument can bring new evidences into light which can therefore, open a crucial juncture in the history writing of this sub-continent. A recent development was the decision of the Government of India to change the nomenclature of the Harappan Civilization as Saraswati-Indus Civilization. Consequently, NCERT started using the term Saraswati-Indus Civilization in its textbooks.
The Saraswati-Indus Civilization is the birthplace of Indian art, culture, and religion. Several scholars believe that the birth of the Vedic traditions also took place during the development of this civilization. It is important to note here that the oldest text in the Indian sub-continent, the Rigveda, was also composed on the banks of the river Saraswati. So, is it valid to hypothesize that the people living on the banks of the river Saraswati 4500 years ago were followers of the Vedic customs and traditions? Also, were people living on the banks of the river Indus followers of a different religious belief, since the Indus River finds less mention in the Rigveda as compared to the Saraswati?
It is mentioned in the Third Mandala of the Rigveda that the Vedic people lived on the banks of the River Saraswati and the River Drishadvati and subsequently performed yajña. In the current period, the largest site of Rakhigarhi in Haryana is on the confluence of the now dried up beds of River Saraswati and River Drishadvati. Excavations in Rakhigarhi have yielded 4300-year-old fire altars. Moreover, one of the fire altars is shaped as a shyenachitt, which is also mentioned as pure in the Rigveda.
Fire Altar at Rakhigarhi – credits ASI
The excavated sites of Lothal and Kalibangan, situated in Gujarat and Rajasthan, was excavated by S.R. Rao, and both of these sites are on the banks of the tributaries of River Saraswati. Both of these excavated sites have yielded fire altars, with Lothal providing evidence of personal and community fire altars. This points towards the prevalence of fire worship among the people residing in both of these sites.
In Haryana, on the banks of the now dried-up River Saraswati, is the site of Banawali. From this site, an apsidal temple built for yajña purpose was found, which is clearly illustrated in the book ‘Harappan Architecture’ by Dr. J.P. Joshi, former Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. This is an indication of the prevalence of fire worship in this city. In Rajasthan, from the site of Binjoron, the banks of the dried-up River Saraswati, excavations have yielded 4200-year-old fire altars. These fire altars are also indicators of the Vedic customs and rituals. From Tarkhanwala Dera in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, excavations have revealed square-shaped fire altars which find distinct mention in the reports of the Archaeological Survey of India.
From Kunal, in Haryana, the early phase of the Saraswati-Indus Civilization has yielded a fire altar meant for community worship, which finds mention in the journal of U.P. State Archaeology. This is common knowledge that during the Vedic period, fire altar worship was more popular than idol worship. In this note, it is mentioned in the excavation report of Lothal that the prevalence of the mother goddess is almost negative in the sites located in Gujarat and Rajasthan on the banks of the river Saraswati. This is an indication of the possibility that mother goddess worship was less popular on the banks of the River Saraswati, and fire altar worship was more popular, as evidenced from the excavated sites in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
From the banks of the River Indus, 20% sites of this civilization are located, prominent among them being Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Chanhudaro. Interestingly, these sites have yielded information on the prevalence of mother goddess worship, but no evidence of fire altar worship is present at these sites. Therefore, we can probably say that the people residing on the banks of the River Saraswati were followers of the fire altar worship and probably did not follow mother goddess worship, as evidenced by archaeological materials. The Rigveda also mentions that the people residing on the banks of the River Saraswati and the River Drishadvati were fire altar worshippers. The text also has very little mention of the River Indus.
The current scenario of archaeological cultural material in the form of idol worship is more prevalent in sites situated on the banks of the Indus and this points towards a hypothesis that probably the former did not engage in fire altar worship and thus were probably not followers of the worship of fire altar. This also adds a new avenue of research in the archaeology of this magnificent civilization.
(Shubham Kewaliya is Assistant Professor, Department of History at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi)