Indian History

As is the case with the civilizations of the ancient world, religion must have played an important role in the lives of Harappan people. However, nothing can be said with certainty about the religious life of the people of Indus valley civilization since our information on the topic is fragmentary.  The Harappan religion was polytheistic.  On the basis of information gathered from Harappan seals, seal impressions, terracotta and metal figures, cemeteries, etc, we can come to the conclusion that worship of the Mother Goddesses was very much prevalent in the society. It is very much to the point to underline the fact that worship of Mother Goddesses came into vogue in Hinduism one thousand years after the decline of Harappan culture. Other traits of later Hinduism such as worship of Pashupati Shiva, sacred animals trees etc, were practised by the Harappan people.  Among the male gods, the most striking is a three faced horned deity seated cross legged on a throne and surrounded by four

Vardhamana Mahavira A contemporary of The Buddha, Vardhamana , known to his followers as Mahavira, was born in village Kundandagrama  near Vaishali in Bihar in a kshatriya (the warrior class) family about 540 BC. His father Siddhartha was the chief of the Jnatrikas clan and his mother Trishala was sister of Chetaka, the Licchavis king of Vaishali. Mahavira was also related to Bimbisara, the ruler of Magadha, who was married to Chellana, the daughter of Chetaka. Mahavira was married to Yashoda and had a daughter whose husband, Jamali, became the first disciple of Mahavira. Though Mahavira was educated in all branches of knowledge he shied away from materialistic life. At the age of 30, when his parents were dead, he renounced his family, became an ascetic, and proceeded in search of truth. For over twelve years, he went from one place to another and led a life of torture by subjecting his body to all kinds of hardships but it was of no avail. During this period he met another asceti