The religious practices of the Indus Valley Civilization(C.3000-1500 BCE ,Mature phase 2600-1900 BCE the civilization mainly concentrated in Sind and Punjab but later findings shows that it spread to regions like Baluchistan ,Iran and on the other end to Rajasthan and Gujarat),shows a rich tradition that continued and got assimilated into a larger whole of the Hindu society and religion. It also points to the fact that Indian tradition and Indian civilizations had close affiliations with the Contemporary civilizations of the time including the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations (toponym Meluhha known from the Sumerian records, scholars argue refers to the Harappan Civilization of India).
There are large numbers of figurines found in Indus valley .The Indus civilization was a polytheistic religion. They worshipped Gods and Goddess ie., the divine was personified and adorned both as male and female. Harappans worshipped mother Goddess as a symbol of fertility (Minoan Crete also shows parallels with goddess worship). Swastikas and phallic symbols resembling Siva Lingam have also been found in the remains. One famous seal shows a figure seated in a lotus position and surrounded by animals was named after Pashupati . A L Basham in his :"The Wonder that was India" points out that the Linga had been found out in the Harappan remains :”…Shiva was and still is chiefly worshipped in the form of the linga ,usually a short cylindrical pillar with rounded top ,which is the survival of a cult older than Indian civilization itself …the cult of the linga at all times followed by some of the non Aryan people ,was in-cooperated into Hinduism around the beginning of the Christian era, though at first it was not very important.”
The proto-types of shiva and shakti of the later Hinduism have generally been found in the Pashupathinatha and mother goddess cults of the Indus civilizations .Pashupathinatha had been conceived by the Indus people as a powerful and benevolent God of preservation .The Rudra cult of the pre indo- Aryan Khashas who dominated over the north western Himalayan interiors during the early stages of the Aryan Invasion has been identified as an archetype of the Pasupathi of the Indus civilization(as a terrific God associated with thunder storms.He used lightening was his weapon).It was that terrific aspect of Rudra which was carried into the Rig Vedic Culture(according to Scholars like Bhandarkar ,Mecdonell etc).Shiva in the vedic age was originally known as Rudra ,a minor God addressed only three times in the Rigveda. In Yajur Veda Shiva is referred to as a Deity of a non Aryan group in the western Himalayan interiors. Yajur veda considered him as a pre Aryan god or non Aryan Deity –an out caste in vedic sacraments. Atharvaveda calls him as Pashupathi and thus Pashupathinatha of the Dravidian's and Rudra of the khasha was an converted into the all powerful brahmanic Shiva and was made part of the trinity. (combined benevolence of Pashupati and the vigour of Rudra – both characteristics were attributed to the same God).The Epics deal with the stories of Shiva and Vishnu especially the Mahabharata. The Svetasvatara Upanishads (400 200 BCE)should be considered as the earliest textual exposition of a systemic philosophy of Shivasm. It is with the Puranas (c.320-500 AD)or to be more precise the Gupta Age that Shivasm spread rapidly.
The assimilation was partly the outcome of the raising influence of Brahmanism and the simultaneous rise of powerful empires. Officiating priests and rituals became part of monarchy. In the same way non Aryan chiefs also had to be brought with the fold and influence of Brahmanism. The strongest move towards this was during the Gupta period , whose strength as a great empire relied on its assimilation of the resources and cultural elements of the conquered areas(in other words a sort of cultural fusion). It is not surprising that Shiva assumed a place of importance in the Mahabharata (got its final shape),the Upanishads and the Puranas which were written during the Gupta period which was known as the golden age of classical literature(320-500 AD). Till this period most of them were orally transmitted and it is not surprising that it was influenced by the age in which it was finally shaped as a literary work).
It is interesting to know that the cult of phallus (linga)worship was prevalent in several ancient civilizations .The French Researcher Danielou has drawn interesting parallels between God Shiva and Dionysus –calling him an occidental form of Shiavism Both were gods according to the scholar united the mysteries of death and procreation. Their common characteristics were armies of devoted followers, ecstasy, rituals, dancing etc. The symbols of shiva cult namely the decorated phallus, the horned God ,worship of the bull ,snake, the women of the mountains have been found in pre historic been the common features of many pre-historic cultures like Anatolia, Sumeria, Egypt and especially on Crete .Egypt cult of Phallus is associated with Osiris, Hermes of the Greek mythology, Freya of the ancient Scandinavian culture are all associated with phallus cults. Thus it could be said that Hinduism has an age old tradition –a strange mixture of paganism, animism , rituals and customs and assimilation of different cultural meilus into a composite religion.
