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  • 41. Surya

    Description:
    This is arguably the oldest sculpture at the shrine, dated by Ambika Dhaka to the eighth century CE. The sculpture significantly precedes the Harshanth Temple, built in the second half of the 10th century. The Harshnath stone inscription records the devotion towards Lord Harsha of an early founding figure of the Chauhan line, Guvaka-I. He was a local chieftain and feudatory of the powerful imperial Pratihara dynasty, who lived roughly during the first quarter of the ninth century CE. The Shaiva association with the hill could have fairly preceded the time of Guvaka, but what can be said with full certainty was the much older Surya association of the hill. The figure carries standard iconographic features of the Sun God like the fully bloomed lotuses in two hands, long tunic, boots and retinue figures in pairs like his companions - Danda and Pingala, his wives and his sons, the Ashvins.
    Keyword:
    Sikar, Architecture, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Rajasthan, Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Harshnath Temple
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 42. Parvati in penance

    Description:
    Inside the sanctum of the temple are preserved beautiful sculptures of nayikas on the wall, while at the centre of the principal/back wall, there is a colossal image of Parvati in penance or the pancagni tapa. Interestingly, their names are scribed in the 10th-century Kutila script. The inscribed epithet calls her vikata, a possible explanation for this unusual name would be Gauri treading the vikata-marga by performing penance. Interestingly, the unusual epithet, Vikata, also appears in the Harsha stone inscription of VS 1030. Shiva, who occupies a central place in the sanctum in the form of a linga placed on yoni, is coupled with the representation of Shakti on the surrounding walls inside the sanctum. A four-armed Parvati is performing the penance of the pancagni tapa, also shown visually depicted with fires on either side. She stands erect on an iguana and hence has been labelled as Godhasana Gauri. On either side are two standing and two sitting female attendants.
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Temple, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Sikar, and Architecture
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 43. Shesasayi Vishnu

    Description:
    Despite the overall Shaiva mood of the Harsha Temple complex, there were once multiple Vaishnav temples on the hill. This particular image of Shesasayi Vishnu or the reclining Vishnu on the serpent Lord Shesa, was likely once the main cultic image inside a now-lost Vaishnav shrine. Nine planets adorn the top of the image, while Vishnu is served by Lakshmi near his feet. Three ayudhapurusa (personification of his weapons) are placed behind him. The reclining Vishnu is shown in his standard iconography wearing a kirita-mukuta, vanamala and with four arms holding a chakra in his left hand above, mace in his right hand which is also supporting his head, flower in his lower right hand while the left lower hand is broken. Image courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Temple, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Sikar, and Architecture
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 44. Lakulisa/Urdhvareta-Shiva

    Description:
    This Shaiva figure was possibly part of a deva-kostha or sculptural niche placed on the walls of the now-lost Shaiva shrine. The four-armed seated figure holds a trident and a staff in its upper two hands, while the lower two hands are significantly damaged. The figure is ithyphallic and represents the Urdhvareta aspect of Shiva, signifying full control over vital energies through ascetic vigour. This is likely an image of Lakulisa, the preceptor of the doctrine of Pashupata tradition. Given that the Harshnath Temple was clearly under the control of and likely erected by the ascetics of the Lakulisa-Pashupata tradition, the depiction of Lakulisa on temple walls comes as no surprise. Image Courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Temple, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Sikar, and Architecture
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 45. Natesa

    Description:
    The panel depicting Shiva in his dancing form, Natesa, might have once adorned the ceiling of a lost Shaiva temple on Harsha Hill. Even though Natesa is not typically depicted as an independent sculpture in Rajasthan temples, he often appears as an important figure in the architectural spaces. He is elegantly portrayed above the doorway of the main temple at Baroli and elsewhere at Nilakantha and the later Chauhan Temple at Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra. Natesa is surrounded by various dancers and musicians. He is gracefully holding ḍamru in his right hand and possibly a trident in his left hand, which is significantly damaged. Tightly cloistered figures of dancers and musicians in action and angular postures not only provide visual centrality to the figure of dancing Natesa but also enhance the rhythmicity of the scene. To his immediate left is a musician holding a pakjavaja-like drum. The instrument occupies a central position in the squarish space created between Natesa and a dancer on the sides and between the face of the drummer and the dwarf at the bottom Image courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
    Keyword:
    Sikar, Architecture, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Harshnath Temple, Rajasthan, Temple, Temples of India, and Shakhambari Chahamanas
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image