RAS question
The cylindrical seal with a 'horned deity' found at Kalibangan is compared to which famous Harappan artifact?
Correct answer: (B) Pashupati Seal of Mohenjo-daro.
The cylindrical Kalibangan seal showing a horned deity seated cross-legged is compared with the Pashupati Seal of Mohenjo-daro.
Explanation
The Kalibangan find matters because its image is not treated as an isolated local motif: the seal shows a horned deity seated cross-legged, which is why it is compared with the famous Pashupati Seal of Mohenjo-daro. The National Museum describes the Pashupati Seal as a buffalo-horned figure, identified with Shiva in his Pashupati form, seated cross-legged in a yogic posture. That shared visual grammar makes option B the relevant comparison. The point tested here is therefore not just recognition of a seal, but the wider Harappan religious motif that may suggest proto-Shiva worship in Rajasthan during the Harappan period.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The unicorn seal is a different Harappan motif and does not match the horned, cross-legged deity comparison in the question.
- (C) The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro is a bronze figurine, so it is not the seal-type parallel being asked for here.
- (D) The Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro is an architectural structure, not an artefact bearing a horned deity motif.
Concept
This tests Harappan remains in Rajasthan, especially how Kalibangan connects regional finds with wider Indus iconography. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan history questions often link local archaeological sites with pan-Harappan cultural patterns.