This is a depiction of Shiva in the form of lingodhbhav-murti. Stella Kramrisch described this particular image from Harsha: ‘In the universal night the pillar there was nothing; fiery pillar appeared above the waters. Other than it had no beginning no end. Brahma flew into the empyrean and failed to reach its top; Vishnu dived into the depth of the sea and failed to find its bottom. The two great gods thereupon submit and become the acolytes of the fiery pillar. The Fiery Pillar is in its splendour to its greatness and Shiva; he reveals himself. The stele is traversed in its middle by the Fiery Pillar. On the left Brahmā is seen soaring upwards; he is also seen standing, his self-appointed mission unfulfilled, an attendant divinity of the Fiery Pillar. To the right of the Pillar, Viṣnu, blowing his conch, hurls himself downward with the same result; he becomes an acolyte of the Pillar and his standing image swings in the same rhythm as the image of Brahmā. The top of the slab, the high region traversed by the pillar, is a palpitating mass of movement and its shapes are Hamsa-birds and celestial spirits. The vision of the flaming pillar has been given form in this image competently though not adequately; the form is sleek and slight but succeeds in translating the Fiery Pillar into the trunk of the Tree whose branches are Brahmā, Viṣnu and the celestial host.’ (Hindu Temples, vol 2, Plate LXVII, page 402). This is one of the most iconic and celebrated images of lingodhbhav-murti, reputed for its delicacy of the figures, sense of movement and visual impact. Within the incorporative landscape of Harsha Hill, including shrines dedicated to various deities, this image marks the Shaiva domination and supremacy at the complex.
Image courtesy: Akbari Fort and Museum, Ajmer
A four-armed Indra placed inside a devakostha-niche, easily identifiable by his vahana, an elephant. The loose architectural fragment from Harsha Hill is now housed in the Government Museum, Sikar. Although the two hands on the left side are broken, the upper right holds an ankush and the lower one gracefully rests on his right leg.
Image courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
A four-armed Ganesha, once adorning the temple wall on the Harsha Hill is now housed in the Government Museum, Sikar It is depicted holding an axe and a mala in his lower two hands. The upper two hands carry a bowl of sweets and possibly a flower.
Image courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
This sculpture is arguably the oldest at the shrine, dated by Ambika Dhaka to the 8th century CE The sculpture thus significantly precedes the Harshnath Temple, which was built in the second half of the 10th century. The Harshnath stone inscription records the devotion towards Lord Harsha by an early founding figure of the Chauhan line, Guvaka-I, 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 may have preceded the time of Guvaka, but what can be said with certainty is the much older association of the hill with Surya. The figure exhibits standard iconographic features of the Sun God, such as fully bloomed lotuses in two hands, a long tunic, boots and retinue figures in pairs like his companions - Danda and Pingala, his wives and his sons, Ashvins.
A white stone image of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, placed over the Nandimandapa facing the Harshnath Temple. The image could be a later replacement of the original image. The Verse-12 of the Harshnath stone inscription records ‘Resembling (in height) the peak of Meru, it is pleasant on account of an excellent arched doorway (torana-dvara), and well-carved bull (Nandi), and is full of manifold objects of enjoyment’. The mentioned image of Nandi, whether original or a later replacement, presents a visual correspondence to the epigraphical description of the temple complex.
Shafts of a pair of columns that once surmounted a torana or doorways at the entrance of the temple complex. Verse-12 of the Harshnath stone inscription records ‘Resembling (in height) the peak of Meru, it is pleasant on account of an excellent torana-dvara (arched doorway), and well-carved Nandi, and is full of manifold objects of enjoyment.’ The mentioned shafts formed the arched entrance described in the verse.
Architectural fragments affixed on a late medieval structure on Harsha Hill. Loose fragments include remains of a superstructure, a panel depicting dancing figures, etc.