The Vaishnavite interpretation of the Indus Valley Pashupathi Seal

Standard interpretations of the seals and images from the Indus Valley Civilization have struggled to understand the meanings and significance of the motifs. The best researchers across the world have struggled to find the meaning of the symbols of the Indus Valley Civilization. I argue that the lack of success is driven by a lack of understanding of Indian religious stories and an ignorance of how interconnected Indian spirituality and daily tradition is. I make the case for a story-based interpretation of Indus Valley seals and symbols. This has never been attempted so far. I use this technique on the Pashupati seal and the Buffalo Sacrifice Tablet to explain how an indecipherable seal becomes laden with meaning when interpreted the right way. I also propose that Vaishnavite and Shaivite worship is thousands of years older than commonly believed. The Pashupati seal is possibly full of Vaishnavite and Shaivite symbols which all modern scholars of Indian anthropology and religion may have completely missed. Using this new story-based model of interpreting India Valley seals could be the way to unlocking their true significance. It remains to be seen if this model can be used to unlock other seals. However, the direction has a lot of promise.