IBRAHIM SHAHSupervised By: Prof. Dr. Muhammad Farooq Swati2026-07-272026-07-272007http://repository.uop.edu.pk/123456789/464Hinduism mayloosely be defined as a major religious and cultural tradition of the South Asian subcontinent, which developed from Vedic religion. It is practised primarily in India (Bharata), Nepal and to someextent in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It comprises a diverse family of devotional and ascetic cults and philosophical schools, all sharing a belief in reincarnation. In general it involves the worship of one or more ofa large pantheon of gods and goddesses, including Brahma, Siva and Visnu (incarnate as Rama and Krsna), Kali, Durga, Parvati and GaneSa. The polytheistic religion, which the Aryan invaders brought into the subcontinent, was one, whichfit their warlike, pastoral society. Manyoftheir deities resembled the gods of their cousin Aryans, the Greeks and the Romans. These in all probability mingled with deities and practices of Harappan origin and most certainly with nature gods and goddesses of Dravidian culture, which paved the way for what cameto be known as Hinduism. Hindu India absorbed elements that challenged its pattern of existence, not all of which, like Buddhism, were of internal origin. Many invaders and rulers left their mark on India, but none destroyed the resilient culture. From these pressures and compromises there emerged Hinduism, which becameidentified with the core of Indian culture. One major exception was the religion of Islam, which, having penetrated India, first early in the eighth and then more vigorously in the eleventh century AD,refused to blend with Hindu culture. The result was the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India (Bharata). The present study is mainly concemed with the remnants of Hindu art found in Pakistan. Antiquity robbers through clandestine diggings brought a major portion of this cultural heritage — mainly sculptures — to light. How much of it went abroad is difficult to say. That which has remained in Pakistan now lies scattered in different museums and private collections. Only a small portion of this material comes from proper excavations.enThesis