The psychological philosophy behind public baths in Indus Valley Civilisation

Abstract

Historically, public baths have been an integral part of all ancient civilisations. When talking about Indus Valley Civilisation, it is considered one of the oldest civilisation pertaining to mankind. While there is still a huge discrepancy related to the actual dates of the existence of this civilisation, the approximate span of this civilisation is taken as 2500-1700 B.C., as per carbon dating technique. The public baths were a common feature of Indus Valley civilisation, excavated at Mohenjodaro present in Pakistan and this paper presents a psychological perspective pertaining to these structures. Humans have a tendency to have stringent notions above their body and it has been found to be a cause of various psychological issues. This paper presents the view that our ancient civilisations paid special attention to the psychological well-being of individuals and had built the concept of public bath in order to instil a sense of love and ease related to their bodies.