Thirsty crow pot
Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 6 "The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation"
Meaning
This is a painted pot from Lothal, the Harappan port in Gujarat. Its scene looks like the fable of the thirsty crow, in which a clever crow drops pebbles into a pot until the water rises. The same story appears much later in the Panchatantra. NCERT uses the pot to show that Harappan stories and ideas may have lived on in Indian culture for more than 4,000 years.
Example
On the Lothal pot, a bird is shown near a vessel, which matches the crow-and-pitcher tale. It belongs to the Mature Harappan period (c. 2600–1900 BCE). It is listed with other continuities, such as the plough, full-arm bangles and the "namaste" figurine.
Don't confuse with
- Panchatantra: this is a much later collection of written fables. The Lothal pot is a Harappan image that only hints that the story was older.
Related concepts
- Decline of the Harappan civilisation
- 4.2 kiloyear event
- Late Harappan phase
- Cemetery H culture
- Jhukar culture
- Sinauli
- Aryan invasion theory
- Mortimer Wheeler
- Mythical massacre at Mohenjo-daro