Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c40.s2: Harappa
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c40.s2
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Harappa
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Harappa, on the old bed of the Ravi, is in the Montgomery District of the Punjab, south-west of Lahore, more than 400 miles north-west of Mohenjo-daro in the Larkāna District of Sindh. The area is a wide one, nearly 2½ miles in circumference, according to Cunningham, who visited it in 1833. The mounds, which rise conspicuously within this circuit, are of considerable elevation, the highest among them being 60 to 65 feet.
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‘The site is manifestly of a great city covering a vast area and containing many strata of successive buildings.’ By a careful comparison it has been found that the finds from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro belong to the same stage of culture and approximately to the same age, third to fourth millennium B. C. Peoples of both these places ‘were living in well-built cities and were in possession of a relatively mature culture with a high standard of art and craftsmanship and a developed system of writing.’¹
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¹ Sir John Marshall, *Archaeological Survey Report* for 1923–24, pp. 47, 48.
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General Cunningham records the fact that ‘the brick-remains within the mounds of Harappa had sufficed the contractors to ballast 100 miles of the Lahore-Multan railroad, and it was apparent that most of the actual walling had thus been long ago removed.’² Most of the mounds marking the site were thus completely honey-combed with the diggings of the modern brick-hunters. The three which seem to have suffered least have been excavated.
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² *Ibid*, 1920–21, p. 50.
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It has been determined that there are ‘as many as seven successive layers of buildings, indicating a very prolonged occupation of the site’; no doubt there are other strata still unexposed below them. ‘In the topmost stratum, which occurred at the depth of 13 feet from the summit of the mound, was revealed a round brick granary standing about 6 feet high. The next three strata were devoid of any structural remains (though the lowest of them was packed with a large number of undulating stone rings of the same character as those described by General Cunningham). In the fifth stratum from the top two brick structures were observed. One of these is a square room with thick walls and paved interior which was divided into two smaller chambers at a later date. A narrow covered drain in its south wall and two low masonry benches on the inside seem to point to its having been used as some sort of an image shrine.
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In this connexion it is interesting to observe that, at this very spot, has been found the defaced terra-cotta of a statuette which might have been an object of worship.³ The other structure found on this level is a confused mass of brick-remains in which a thick wall 30 feet in length, resting partly on a solidly built platform, stands out prominently. A small square seal of white plaster in perfect preservation was sticking to this wall. The next lower stratum is represented by the somewhat better preserved structure which had been laid bare in this area and a number of tunnels left by the brick diggers. The seventh stratum will probably be found to be occupied by a building of considerable magnitude, though so far only a portion of its floor has been exposed. This floor consists of two courses of brick laid as stretchers and headers on a strong sub-stratum of pounded brick.’¹
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³ Still Sir John Marshall finds it difficult to say whether idol worship existed in those early times. Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni, on the other hand, has quoted Marshall’s approval of the former’s identification of phallus at Harappa (*Mohenjodaro and Indus Civilization*, Vol. I, p. 191).
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¹ *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1923–24, pp. 53–54.
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Portions of walls have also been found at several places. Most of these belong to dwelling houses. One of them has been followed up for a length of about 18 feet. There were also two other walls running parallel to it on the other side. ‘This, however, turned out to be all that had survived of the buildings. That the structure was an important one is evidenced by several interesting objects which came to light in it.’² At another place have been discovered two thick walls running parallel to each other at a distance of about 2 feet. ‘They are broken at both ends and contain no openings or doors. These walls came to light at the depth of 11 feet below the surface, but above them and intersecting them at right angles were two others that must be assigned to considerably later date. Two other trenches at this spot revealed a corner of a brick-building³ in which two earthenware vessels containing human bones lay buried.’⁴
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² *Ibid*, p. 52.
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³ Bricks at Harappa are of uniform size, 11″ × 5½″ .. 2½″ to 3″.
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⁴ *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1923–24, p. 53.
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A well-preserved water reservoir, lined with brick and provided with a narrow covered channel, has been found at a depth of about 8 feet. ‘By the side of the tank was standing a large earthen jar with its pointed bottom fixed in the ground. It was filled with earth in which were several smaller jars and terra-cotta figurines. The exact purpose of the reservoir has not yet been ascertained.’⁵
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⁵ A similar tank found at Mohenjo-daro was thought by Mr. R. D. Banerji to be a *charaṇāmṛita kuṇḍa* (a receptacle for the holy water used for the washing of the sacred image). But Sir John Marshall hesitates to accept this interpretation as he is doubtful about idol worship being in vogue at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (*Ibid*, p. 52).
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The other buildings brought to light are somewhat better preserved and include ‘what appears to have been a temple with stout brick walls.’ There is another large-sized structure consisting of a double series of parallel walls without connecting walls of any kind. The exact purpose and nature of this building are not known. ‘Like the highest mound at Mohenjo-daro, the summit of certain mounds at Harappa would appear in later times to have been occupied by certain Buddhist structures of which only small fragments, with a few terra-cotta panels of the early Gupta period, have survived.’
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‘The inhabitants of Harappa appear also to have been in the habit of offering in their temples terra-cotta cones, with or without figures of animals, of which several specimens have been recovered. A large cone of dark stone, 11 inches high, resembling the Siva-liṅga of modern times, must have been,’ declares Rai Bahadur Dayaram Sahni, ‘used for worship.’¹
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¹ ^1 *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1924–25, p. 74.
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The ancient inhabitants of Harappa are stated to have cremated the dead, although there may have been some instances of burial. They are stated to have first burned the dead body on a funeral pyre and then to deposit a part of the cremated bones in earthen vessels or brick-structures resembling the *samādhi* of modern times. This is proved by the discovery of a well-preserved sepulchre constructed with the burnt brick of the usual size and lying east to west, with probably another structure of the same kind adjoining it on the south side, but placed at right angles to it. ‘The former structure consists of a horizontal platform of a single course of bricks laid flat and protected on three sides by bricks standing upright on the narrow edge. The roof was composed of an inclined plane of a single course of bricks.’ At the second stratum, also, there was a stout concrete floor, composed of nodules of hard overburnt brick, which was littered with burnt bones and ashes, indicating that the platform was probably used as the cremation floor. In the next stratum, also, another funeral structure has been uncovered in which a few cremated bones were found. ‘The existence of two *samādhis* and the remains of cremations at several other spots appear to show that the whole of this area was at one time the crematorium of the ancient city. This view received some corroboration from the close proximity of
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COARSE SANDSTONE LIṄGA AT HARAPPA
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[Figure: KUSHAN STUPA BASED ON STUPA AT TAXILA OF KUNALA ELEVATION OUTLINE SECTION. PLAN SCALE OF FEET]
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KUSHAN STŪPA BASED ON KUNAL STŪPA, TAXILA
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the old bed of the river.'¹ In another place, underneath a platform, was a mass of cremated human bones, and about 16 feet from it, a large heap of ashes and charcoal with human bones 'which undoubtedly represents the remains of several funeral pyres.'² A double rectangular sepulchre has been found at the third stratum. It comprises two distinct compartments, one of which had an irregularly shaped relic-chamber, 1 foot 5 inches by 1 foot 4 inches by 1 foot 2 inches. The contents consisted of a number of cremated bones. Human bones were found scattered all over. One large collection of animal bones of dogs, sheep, oxen, and horses has been found buried. From this collection Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni concludes that 'they might be the remnants of a big animal sacrifice.'³
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¹ *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1924-25, p. 75.
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² *Ibid*, p. 77.
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³ *Ibid*, p. 79.
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A brick-built grave has also been uncovered.⁴ A group of eleven burial jars has been found. Some of them contain fragmentary sculls and long bones, etc., of babies and adults of various ages.⁵
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⁴ *Ibid*, p. 80.
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⁵ *Ibid*, 1927-28, pp. 86, 87; 1928-29, pp. 76-77.
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Of the other structures a series of fourteen walls, all running parallel to each other and of the same length, 51¾ feet, appear to represent an important construction. 'All of them terminated on the west on an open corridor, 24 feet wide, beyond which stretched a similar set of walls in precise correlation with those in the opposite series. These walls exhibit two distinct kinds, namely, a stouter kind and a thinner type. All these walls arise from a uniform level at the depth of 12 feet below the surface of the mound, and have finished ends towards the central aisle. The walls of the thicker type are arranged approximately at equal distances from each other, the interval between them being 17 to 18 feet in figures, and had it not been for the thin walls which intervene between them, it might have been thought that they enclosed a series of spacious rooms.'⁶
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⁶ *Ibid*, 1924-25, p. 76.
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Two little circular structures paved in brick on a thick sub-stratum of hard burnt nodules of brick look like 'hearths or chimneys of some kind.'
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Another little structure consists of a paved platform, surrounded by a single course of brick laid on edge, which might have been a bathing platform, as a large earthen jar was standing on one side of it.
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Fragments of solidly built structures have been discovered in several other places. A very big building of considerable dimensions has been found with an open courtyard between the two portions of the building with another open court at the back on the west side. ‘One of the two rooms in the western portion measures 14 feet by 12 feet internally, while the other, which is separated from it by a passage or gallery, is incomplete. The former was provided with an entrance, 3 feet 10 inches wide on the east side, with a small rectangular drain and a masonry bench along one of the walls. Several strata of buildings came to light below this level, but they are too fragmentary. Two cells looking like kitchens or baths have been found. They are provided with drains and a gabled roof. Another solidly built house has been discovered. One complete room in this structure has internal dimensions of 15 feet by 5 feet 10 inches and is provided with one door on the south and presumably two on the north side.’¹
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¹ *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1924-25, p. 80.
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A circular brick granary has also been found.²
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² *Ibid*, p. 78.
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In a structure composed of bricks three fragmentary terra-cotta panels have been found. ‘One of the three panels represents a votary kneeling with the palm resting on the projected base of the sculpture. (The head of the figure is broken off and the feet are not indicated.) Another panel represents only the legs of a standing figure, while the third depicts a female figure rising from the ground after the fashion of the earth goddess in representations of the enlightenment of the Buddha.’³
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‘The inhabitants of Harappa appear also to have been in the habit of offering in their temples terra-cotta cones, with or without figures of animals, of which several specimen have been recovered.’ Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni is inclined to think that ‘a large cone of dark stone, 11 inches high resembling the Śiva-liṅga of modern times, must have been used for worship.’³
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³ *Ibid*, p. 78. In order to discover Buddhistic remains, the Rai Bahadur is anxious to identify the fragments of the three earthen jars with very narrow mouths with the Buddhist monk’s bottles.
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Concerning the existence of the temples at Harappa, Sir John Marshall does not seem to have any doubt. Summarizing the account of Sahni, Marshall declares that ‘the temples stand on elevated ground and are distinguished by the relative smallness of their chambers and the exceptional thickness of their walls—which suggest that they were several storeys in height. To a temple, also, doubtless belongs the spacious courtyard with chapels or other apartments on its four sides.’ But he is doubtful ‘whether the worship performed in these temples was iconic or aniconic. The only objects found in association with them and intended apparently for cult-worship are of two kinds, viz. “ring-stones” and “chessman.” He, however, assures that ‘the fact that no anthropomorphic images have yet been unearthed in these temples must not be interpreted as a proof that the worship of such images was unknown.’ In proof of this he mentions that ‘on a tablet of blue faience, which has just come to light, is depicted a figure seated crosslegged (like Buddha on a throne) with a kneeling worshipper to right and left and behind the worshipper a snake (*nāga*), while at the back is a legend in the pictographic script of the period. Now it is possible that this seated figure is nothing more than a royal personage, but the presence of the kneeling devotees, and particularly of the *nāgas*, certainly suggests that the central figure was intended to represent a deity rather than a king.’¹
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¹ *Archaeological Survey of India Report*, 1924–25, p. 61.
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Further excavations² have brought to light numerous fragments of dwelling houses, including remains of pilasters and other members. There are also three circular structures but their purposes and other details are wanting.³ The general account given above, however, represents fairly the kinds and conditions of structures at Harappa.
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² *Ibid*, 1926–27, pp. 97–103; 1927–28, pp. 85, 86–87; 1928–29, pp. 97, 103.
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³ *Ibid*, 1928–29, Plate XXX, (a).