Consider the following statements regarding the identification of proto-Shiva, a figure represented on Harappan seals.

A. It is shown in the form of Gajapati.
B. It is shown seated in a Yogic posture.
C. It is surrounded sometimes by animals.
D. It is shown with a female figure identifiable with Parvati.
E. It is shown in a laughing posture.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

B, C only

The correct answer is Option (2) → B, C only

Given statements:

A. It is shown in the form of Gajapati. (Incorrect)
B. It is shown seated in a Yogic posture.
C. It is surrounded sometimes by animals.
D. It is shown with a female figure identifiable with Parvati. (Incorrect)
E. It is shown in a laughing posture. (Incorrect)

Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship. Some animals – such as the one-horned animal, often called the “unicorn” – depicted on seals seem to be mythical, composite creatures. In some seals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a “yogic” posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, has been regarded as a depiction of “proto-Shiva”, that is, an early form of one of the major deities of Hinduism.Besides, conical stone objects have been classified as lingas.

Many reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past. While this is plausible in the case of stone querns and pots, it becomes more speculative when we extend it to “religious” symbols. Let us look, for instance, at the “proto-Shiva” seals. The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c. 1500-1000 BCE) mentions a god named Rudra, which is a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions (in the first millennium CE). However, unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda is neither depicted as Pashupati (lord of animals in general and cattle in particular), nor as a yogi. In other words, this depiction does not match the description of Rudra in the Rigveda.