Going Back to Prehistory

A FEW weeks ago, I gave you a preview of Ahmad Salim's under-print book, Punjab  Revisited, which as I told you, is a collection of articles/papers on the province by the author himself and a host of others.

          There is an interesting article by Devendra Handa  on The Pre-Harappan Settlements of Ancient Punjab . Handa says that settled life began in the subcontinent probably towards the end of 4000 B.C. in Balochistan . In the Punjab, says the author, pre-Harappan pottery has been "encountered in the pre-defence levels of Harappa at Bhoot, south of Khairpur in Bahawalpur, at Jalilpur in Multan , and a large number of sites in Hissar, Karnal and Jind districts of the present Haryana state."

          Are our archaeologists interested in the pre-Harappan settlements of the ancient Punjab ? If you ask me, they are not. But again, even archaeology is directly influenced by the political culture of people. Archaeology is a serious business meant strictly for serious people who can work only under politically and socially settled conditions, which unfortunately have not obtained in the Punjab and elsewhere in the country ever since independence.

          Much of the most important excavations of historical sites were undertaken by the British , especially by Sir Mortimer Wheeler  (Moenjo Daro et. al.) under conditions in which he could concentrate on the job in hand without fearing that he would be kidnapped or stabbed in the back. An archaeologist requires monumental patience, which we as a people lack. Years of exceptional hard work are needed in excavations plus of course, a lot of money; which too, is a rare commodity in Pakistan . Digging to unravel the past is a far cry. We do not appear to have the resources to maintain the historic monuments we have. For instance, it is said that Emperor  Jehangir 's tomb is the noblest example of Mughal  architecture in South Asia . Visit the place. Don't go inside. Just see what we have done to its boundary walls.

          But to return to Punjab  Revisited . It has two articles on sun worship and naga worship in the ancient Punjab, one by Dalbir Singh  Dhillow and the other by Sukhindar Kaur Dhillow. Dalbir quotes        E. Mackay ( Archaeological Survey of India  Annual Reports . 1928-29) as saying that "the sun was regarded as the greatest of gods. . . . The premier deity of the Pantheon." However, Dalbir is not certain whether sun worship of the Vedic times was Aryan or non-Aryan in origin.

          Sun worship had various names in the ancient Punjab  such as Surya, Savitri, Pushaw, Bhag, Mitra, Varuna and Vivasvat. Be careful while using these names. If you want to worship the rising sun, it is Surya you want to perform. Savitri is the setting sun and Varuna is the "nocturnal sun" as Dalbir calls it.

          Hiuen Tsiang, the Chinese  traveller who strayed in Multan  during the 7th century A.D., gives this account of a temple he found there:

There is a temple dedicated to the sun, very magnificent and profusely decorated. The image of the sun-deva is cast in yellow gold and ornamented with rare gems. Its divine insight is mysteriously manifested and its spiritual power made plain to all. Women play their music, light their torches, and offer their flowers and perfumes to honour it. The kings and high families of the five Indies never fail to make their offerings of gems and precious stones (to the Deva). . . . Men from all countries come to offer their prayers; there are always some thousand doing so.

Sukhindar Kaur, in her article on naga worship quotes from many sources. Interestingly, most of them are of British  or American origin. Thus James Hastings  ( The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics .  Vol. XI, New York , 1934, P. 399): Serpent worship "exists in many forms whether of a single serpent or of species, of a serpent embodying a spirit or god, of a real or imaginary serpent represented in an image, or of a serpent associated with divinity or of a purely mythical reptile."

          Hastings again: "The animal is dreaded and revered on account of the mysterious dangers associated with it, its stealthy habits, the cold fixity of its gaze, its sinuous motion, protrusion of its forked tongue and the suddenness and deadliness of its attack."

          Hopkins  (ed.), The Religions of India . London  1902, P. 102: In Vedic times "Serpent worship is not only known but prevalent."

          William Crooke , Religion and Folklore of Northern India , New Delhi , 1925, P.392: "The serpent is worshipped as a living animal and it has great reverence in the folklore of Punjab  and the Punjab hills."

          Then comes Cunningham  " . . . identified this place not far from Hassan Abdal . Elapatra , the snake-god was adored as the regent of water in this area."

          James Fergussow , Tree and Serpent Worship , reprint, New Delhi , 1971, P. 75: Naga Panchami is celebrated throughout the whole of the Punjab  and this also testifies "the feelings of awe and veneration which the serpent evokes in the minds of the population since the earliest times."

          Nothing earth-shaking in these quotes. Since, however, the revelations have been made by gora sahibs , they must be held in awe.

          TAILPIECE: Bird 1: What has been the result of the PM's visit to the United States ?

          Bird 2: Chief Controller of Examinations, Bill Clinton, has withheld the result. Result later.

Friday, April 21, 1995