The Pashupati Seal Row: Is the Famous Harappan Icon Really Lord Shiva?

The Pashupati Seal Row: Is the Famous Harappan Icon Really Lord Shiva?

The internet is currently divided over a piece of steatite (soapstone) no bigger than a couple of inches. A full-blown historical and cultural debate has erupted over the famous 4,300-year-old Harappan "Pashupati Seal" found at Mohenjo-daro.  

The spark? A characteristically provocative social media post by controversial American historian Audrey Truschke.

When India’s Ministry of Culture shared an image of the ancient artefact, calling it a prime symbol of India's "unbroken civilisational continuity" and identifying the seated figure as "widely seen as Shiva-Pashupati," Truschke fired back. 

 "This isn't Shiva," Truschke countered. "It's more likely adapted from proto-Elamite iconography, showing a Eurasian deity 'lord of animals'."  The pushback was immediate, intense, and furious. Here is a breakdown of why this tiny seal is causing such massive waves, and the actual history behind the arguments.

The Ministry's Stance: A Symbol of Continuity

The Indian government and traditionalist scholars view the seal as an early manifestation of Lord Shiva. The Ministry highlighted specific iconographic details:  

The Yogic Posture: 

The tricephalic (three-faced) figure sits cross-legged in what is identified as Mulabandhasana, a complex yogic posture.  

The Surrounding Wildlife: 

He is flanked by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and a water buffalo, with two deer beneath his seat—aligning perfectly with the concept of Pashupati (the Lord of Animals), an epithet of Shiva.

The Horned Headgear: 

The three-pronged crown or horns resemble the Trishula (trident) or the crescent moon associated with Shiva.

For many, this isn't just an archaeological find; it is proof that Hindu spiritual traditions, yoga practices, and Shaivite roots stretch back over four millennia in an unbroken thread.  

Truschke’s Argument: The Proto-Elamite ConnectionTruschke, 

A Rutgers University historian frequently criticized in India for her revisionist takes on South Asian history, argued that the seal’s origins lie outside the purely indigenous landscape. She pointed toward Proto-Elamite iconography—a civilization that flourished in southwestern Iran between 3200 BCE and 2700 BCE, contemporaneous with the early Indus Valley Civilisation.  

According to this view, the "horned deity surrounded by wild beasts" is a shared Eurasian motif rather than an exclusively Vedic or Hindu one. Scholars in this camp argue that linking the Indus Valley directly to modern Hinduism is an exercise in anachronism, especially since the Harappan script remains undeciphered and the Rig Veda does not explicitly mention the visual details found on the seal.  

The Century-Old Academic Battleground

To be fair to the current debate, this argument didn't start on X (formerly Twitter). It actually started in the 1920s with Sir John Marshall, the British archaeologist who led the excavations at Mohenjo-daro.It was Marshall who first coined the term "Proto-Shiva" for this seal. Ever since, mainstream archaeology has debated it:

The "Proto-Shiva" Camp	The Skeptic Camp
Points to the striking similarities in yoga, animal association, and phallic imagery (lingam stones found at IVC sites).	Points out that Shiva's sacred animal, the bull (Nandi), is noticeably absent among the animals on the seal.
Argues for deep cultural assimilation between pre-Vedic populations and later Vedic traditions.	Suggests the figure might represent a shaman, a tribal chief, or a completely forgotten deity with no lineage to modern faiths.

Why the Outrage is Real

The fierce reaction to Truschke’s comments goes beyond academic disagreement. For many Indians, the Indus Valley Civilisation is the foundational bedrock of their heritage. Attempts by Western academics to routinely detach Harappan achievements from indigenous Indian traditions are often perceived as a patronizing hangover of colonial-era historiography.

By dismissing the Shiva connection as a mere adaptation of Iranian/Eurasian motifs, critics argue that Truschke is selectively erasing the unique cultural evolution that happened within the subcontinent.  

Prima facie observation of Proto Elamite Iconography Pashupati Posture Idols in India

If anyone observes Proto Elamite Iconography and Pashupati posture idols scattered at many places all over India, he can very well find similarity with Pashupati Shiva. Audre Truschke said so because she did not visit these Indian places and the idols. Her vision remains limited US and Europe. Unfortunately western scholars have been commenting upon Hinduism and Indian civilization without its proper study. What is most important is that Hinduism is a sea of knowledge contained in many books and without reading those books, making any comment on them is injustice to this sea of knowledge.   

What's the Takeaway?

Until someone finally cracks the Indus Valley script, we may never know exactly what the person engraving that seal 4,300 years ago was thinking. Was it Mahadev in deep meditation, or a Eurasian Lord of the Wilderness?

What we do know is that ancient India wasn't isolated. It traded, exchanged ideas, and shared motifs with the world—while building a distinct identity whose echoes are still felt in every yoga studio and temple today.

For a deeper look into how the internet and historians are reacting to this unfolding debate, you can watch this Pashupati Seal Controversy Explainer, which breaks down the arguments put forward by both Audrey Truschke and Indian historians regarding the civilisational identity of the Indus Valley.