During the Mature Harappan phase, religious/ritual expression is most visible in portable material culture—especially stamp seals, terracotta figurines, and standardized animal iconography—rather than in large, unequivocal temple architecture.
Harappan square stamp seals—typically steatite and often bearing an animal in profile plus Indus script—become a widely used medium that also carries recurring motifs (including unicorn, bulls, and elephants), linking administration, identity, and possible ritual meaning.
The so-called Indus "unicorn" becomes the dominant seal motif at major sites such as Mohenjo-daro. Many examples pair the animal with an object often interpreted as an offering stand or ritual/administrative device, underscoring the motif’s centrality in Harappan visual culture.
Ornate terracotta female figurines—often labeled "mother goddess" in museum descriptions—are found at Mohenjo-daro and other Indus sites. Their elaborate headdresses and emphasized sexual/fertility traits have been interpreted as signaling reverence for fertility or the generative power of the feminine, though precise function remains debated.
The famous "Pashupati" seal motif—showing a seated, horned figure in a yogic posture, with animals arranged around—becomes a touchstone for interpreting Harappan religion. Some scholars and museums present it as an early or "proto" form of Śiva as Lord of Animals (Pashupati), while the identification is not universally accepted.
Seal imagery using a central human figure with flanking animals (often discussed in relation to the broader "Master of Animals" theme) appears in the Indus corpus, providing another visual framework for discussing authority, protection, or cosmological order in Harappan iconography.
Indus-style stamp seals and sealing practices appear beyond the core region (including finds in Mesopotamia and Oman), reflecting an extensive maritime and overland exchange network in which Harappan symbolic systems traveled with merchants.
Mesopotamian sources refer to "Meluhha," widely associated with the Indus region, and record imports such as carnelian—supporting a historical backdrop for the movement of Indus objects and symbols (including animal motifs) across regions.
The bronze "Dancing Girl" from Mohenjo-daro, produced with lost-wax casting, shows that Harappan iconography also included sophisticated small-scale metal figures—often interpreted as linked to performance, status, or ritualized social life.
The "Priest-King" (also called "King-Priest") steatite sculpture from Mohenjo-daro is commonly dated to the late third–early second millennium BCE (often around 2000–1900 BCE). While its role is uncertain, it has been influential in discussions of leadership, dress, and ceremonial display.
As the Mature Harappan urban system transforms and declines toward the end of the third millennium BCE, the classic square stamp seals and their highly standardized animal motifs become less prominent, marking a shift in the visual/administrative practices that carried much of the civilization’s iconography.
Major museum presentations continue to foreground the Pashupati seal as a key Harappan religious image—often noting that some scholars identify the horned figure as an early Śiva (Pashupati)—illustrating how a single motif has shaped popular and scholarly narratives about Indus religion.
Michael CarricoHarappan Religious Motifs: Figurines, Pashupati Iconography and Animal Symbols (c. 2600–1900 BCE)