Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Snake | Nag totem in Indus valley civilization

This article is a translation of a topic from the book "वेदकालीन नाग जातियों,राजाओं तथा संस्कृति की खोज" by Avantika Prasad Marmat


A natural object or animal that is believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and that is adopted by it as an emblem.

The "Nag totem" is important. Since ancient times primitive castes of the world have been influenced by this totem. Most countries in the world have also been affected by the "Nag Totum". From the excavation work done by the Department of Archeology in India "Indus civilization" and later other civilizations came to light. The Indus civilization has been accepted as a pre-Aryan civilization. In the postures obtained from the excavation,

 a serpent stands behind two male form deities side by side with the Mahishmund chief deity. 

On the second Indus-Mudra, Shaktidhar is standing behind a bull fighting a human.  

In the third Indus posture, the serpent is guarding the deity with its head placed on the wooden bench. 

It is necessary to analyze the pictures of the said Indus postures, because for the antiquity of the Nag-totum, these paintings provide very valuable and important material for the history of the Naga caste. 
Picture no.1 : The following is revealed-

1. The Mahasamund-dominant deity sits in the middle.

2. Two male forms sub-deity are sitting next to the principal deity.

3. Male form A serpent stands behind the sub-gods.

The standing of the serpent "snake" below the sub-deities in the pose is an important view, but this context has not been considered. In our opinion, both the serpent and the male form deity are one and the same. One in the animal (snake) form and the other in the male form. In the snake-totmag, the snake was not only the snake, but also the serpent was the metaphor of the serpent. Both were devoted to each other, both were synonymous with each other. By erecting the male form the sub-deity and the serpent behind it, the mudrakar(ancient painter) has made the then ideology clear by imprinting the oneness of the "serpent totem age". 

Picture No. 2 :The following is revealed -

1. There is a Shaktidhar man who is killing the bull.

2. The bull, Shaktidhar is fighting a man.

3. Snake stands behind the bull. What was the rationale for the mudrakar(ancient painter) to put the snake behind the bull? It has not been considered, which is necessary. The bull (Taurus) is believed to be the vehicle of Shiva, near whom the snake lives. In Indus-civilization bull was considered sacred and revered. Taurus is just another form of snake. To show the unity of the snake and the bull, the mudrakar(ancient painter) has put the snake behind the bull.

In our opinion, the serpent, in the form of a bull, is fighting with the Shaktidhar man. What else could be the significance of the snake standing behind the bull? Perhaps this picture represents the duality of Nag and different beliefs. The story of such a struggle has been mentioned by the scholar writer Dr. Rangeya Raghav that in the story of Garuda Webilonia, the bull used to eat, when the snake came out and killed it. This confirms the serpent form of the bull and may be the symbol of "Garuda", perhaps a Shaktidhar man. Confirming our view, another Babylonia legend is cited, according to which in Babylonia there was a deity Ju-Garuda who was killed by a "snake", that snake hid in the bull's body.

Picture no.3: The following is revealed-

1. A wooden bench is placed and a serpent is placed on it.

2. Nearby is Devadrum (tree). The question arises that if the intention of the serpent is to protect the deodrum (tree), then the wooden head and the head of the serpent is placed on it, what is its meaning?

In our view, the serpent's head is placed on the wooden bench is a symbol of serpent-rule. Since the Devdrum (tree) and the Nag shape are in contact with each other, it seems appropriate to consider the tree as a tree serpent. Tree-worship, snake-worship is a great achievement of the Indus civilization. The presence of snake in the above three Indus-postures proves the fact that the people of Indus-civilization "snake" totemism was under a wide sphere of influence, due to which the serpent (snake) and the serpent (human) were complementary to each other. 

- translated by siddhesh haware

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