History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c12.9

c12.9

The archæological evidences, according to Wheeler, Piggott and others, therefore, suggest that the Indus Valley Civilization was evolved in a state ruled over by priest-kings from two main seats of government—the two capital cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro—linked by a great navigable river, Indus, with its five tributaries, which formed the main artery of communication between them. These priest-kings seemed to exercise an absolute and autocratic power. From this it follows that there should have existed an organised system of peasantry to produce food for the large population of these cities and of smaller towns of the kingdom. Of this, however, there is little direct evidence. Curiously enough, there is also no evidence of large temples or palaces. This seems to imply that worshipping in household shrines rather than congregational religious rites in temples was the system in vogue. Many features of the Harappan religious rites and worship are still retained in the Hindu society as their derivation from the Aryan traditions cannot be easily accounted for. The people who had developed this Indus Valley Civilization, it is believed, were of mixed origin and diverse types though there is still some controversy about it.