The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c17.131

c17.131

Of other figure-seals, the most elaborate is again from Mohenjo-daro. It shows a deity (god or goddess?), with flowing hair and horns flanking a central feature as on the “Śiva” seals just mentioned, standing nude between the branches of a pipal tree, before which kneels a worshipper apparently with similar hair and head-dress. Behind the worshipper stands a human-faced goat, of a type occasionally seen on seals, and below are seven clothed ministrants or votaries (?) with long pigtail and tall head-dress, perhaps engaged in a ritual dance. The whole scene is repeated, less clearly, on another seal from the site,¹ and a part of it on a seal from Harappā,² whilst the seven “votaries” occur on another broken seal from the same site. Another repeated scene on Mohenjo-daro seals shows a standing human figure with knobbed hair and outstretched arms holding back two rearing tigers:³ a composition recalling one characteristic of the Sumerian Gilgamesh and his lions, with which it is doubtless related. A tiger, with the addition of horns, appears on another seal in a mythological scene where the animal is being attacked by a “minotaur” or bull-man reminiscent of the Sumerian Eabani or Enkidu whom the goddess Aruru created to combat Gilgamesh.⁴ The semi-bovine monster or god occurs also on other seals and may be related to the horned deity already mentioned.