Which of the following characterizes/characterize the people of Indus Valley Civilization? 1. They possessed great palaces and temples. 2. They worshipped both male and female deities. 3. They employed horse-drawn chariots in warfare. Select the correct statement/statements using the codes given below.

The correct answer is B (only statement 2). Statement 2 is true and the other two are false.

• Statement 1 is false. Harappan towns had citadels, granaries and the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, but no securely identified palaces or temples. Scholars still debate whether the citadel buildings were administrative or ritual structures. The Great Bath is a public bath, not a temple.
• Statement 2 is true. Terracotta mother-goddess figurines point to worship of a female deity. The Pashupati seal, a male figure with animals, is read by many as a proto-Shiva image, though this identification is contested. Together they suggest both male and female deities were revered.
• Statement 3 is false. Horse remains are doubtful in Harappan contexts, and there is no evidence of chariots used in warfare. The cart figurines are not war vehicles. Chariots and horses are prominent in the Rigveda, which is a later Vedic source.

The core concept is the Harappan material record: what archaeology can prove versus what later texts describe. This links to the Mains debate on urban planning, the decline of the Harappan cities and the Aryan migration question.

Trap: Assuming that a sophisticated urban culture must have had palaces and temples, or picking horses and chariots because the Vedic texts mention them.