Some ancient relics never cease to pique the interest of modern societies.

Sample this: A 4,500-year-old metal figurine, one of the most critical excavations related to the Indus Valley Civilization — arguably the world's oldest human civilization — might have been something no archaeologist or historian ever thought before.

The "Dancing Girl" of Mohenjodaro, a 4.1-inch tall bronze statuette, was long thought to be a toy figurine or perhaps a prop for magic art, but now a paper written by a veteran Indian historian claims that she might have been an avatar of a widely worshiped Hindu Goddess.

She was Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology, says this paper published by the Indian Council of Historical Research, according to a report in the Indian Express.

If true, this is an addition to the long-standing claims of several right-leaning historians that the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, was indeed a worshiper of Lord Shiva.



Authored by a Banaras Hindu University professor, the report notes, “where there is Shiva, there should be Shakti”, a manifestation of Goddess Parvati, though “till date, no one has identified any idol or statue of Parvati in Harappan Civilization”.

Indians on social media got talking about it on Monday morning.

Looks like Amish Tripathi has competition for crap "historical" fiction from the ICHR https://t.co/Uqyq1RKgIk — Alok ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ कुमार (@alokpi) December 26, 2016

Mohenjodaro ‘Dancing Girl’ is Parvati, claims ICHR journal |

This was waiting to happen https://t.co/e181B49Z4G — Rànā Safvi رعنا राना (@iamrana) December 26, 2016

Dancing Girl is Parvati.

But we haven't figured out the Indus Valley script.

They speak Brahui in Balochistan, which is like Tamil

Go figure — Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) December 26, 2016

Remember when SushamaSwaraj removed the image from govt calendar? Mohenjodaro Dancing Girl is Parvati: ICHR journal https://t.co/04zeE5NQDF — rama lakshmi (@RamaNewDelhi) December 26, 2016

Parvati or not, pl return the statue to us as it was sent to Delhi for exhibition only. File case pl @abdulbasitpk1 https://t.co/zzqxj5DjKr — Amir Mateen (@AmirMateen2) December 26, 2016