Pujari Nayaku

Pujari Nayaku
Sculpture of Nayaku
Born	Nayaku c. 2650 BCE Harappa, Mayoralty of Harappa
Died	c. 2570 BCE Mohenjo-daro, Holy Confederacy of Mel-akkam
Known for	Originator of Purogati Founder of Mohenjo-daro First Honoured Elder of Mel-akkam
Office	Honoured Elder of Mel-akkam
Successor	Tarava
Children	None

Nayaku, commonly known as Pujari Nayaku, was an ancient Mel-akkan spiritual leader and statesman who served as the first Honoured Elder of Mel-akkam. Noted for his founding of the city of Mohenjo-daro and his creation of the socio-economic system of Purogati, Nayaku is widely regarded as the ethnarch and spiritual patron of Mel-akkam.

Name

Pujari Nayaku was originally born with the mononym of Nayaku, as surnames did not exist in ancient Mel-akkan naming conventions. The epithet of "Pujari" was first applied by the British amateur archeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham, who described him in 1857 as the "great ancient Mlechhan pujari who ordered built the citadel of Mohenjo-daro, and equipped it with such luxuries as bath-houses and wells". The epithet of "pujari", a term for a Hindu cleric, was thereafter applied to Nayaku by the British, Indians, and eventually the Mel-akkans themselves.