Ahimsa : 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization

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In September 1924, John Marshall, Director General of the Archaeological Society of India, informed the world about the existence of the Indus (Harappan) civilization: as ancient as Mesopotamia, as grand as ancient Egypt.

Was this civilization part of the Bronze Age Trading Network? How did it contribute to later Vedic and Tantrik thought? Did the Harappans follow monastic ideals that later contributed to Buddhism and Jainism? Was their script like today's emojis, conveying ideas? Why are there images of rivalry, but no images of war and no images of romance either to be found at the Harappan sites? Why did the cities disappear while the villages continued to flourish?

An eventful century later, Devdutt Pattanaik uses the lens of mythology to reflect on this most mysterious of 'peaceful' civilizations, now spread across geographies in India and Pakistan. With over 500 illustrations, he draws attention to how much Harappan memory persists in our lives today.

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Devdutt Pattanaik writes, illustrates and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has, since 1996, written over thirty books and 700 columns on how stories, symbols and rituals construct the subjective truth (myths) of ancient and modern cultures around the world. His books include 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art, Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana, Olympus: An Indian Retelling of the Greek Myths, Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management, My Gita and Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik.