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  • 701. Harshnath Temple

    Description:
    The temple, now in a state of considerable ruin, consists of a mulaprasada of tri-anga specification, joined by a rangamandapa. It lacks the pitha but starts from a single plinth-course. The vedibandha is damaged in some places but originally had kumbha with intricate udgama motifs with a small central box carrying a figure. The jangha, now almost entirely ruined, had dikpalas at the karnas as evidenced by remains in the northeastern corner, The surasundaris were possibly located at the pratirathas and the salilantara-recesses. Inside the sanctum is a shivalinga in active worship, which seems to be contemporaneous with the main shrine. The temple lacks any superstructure which may have collapsed over the centuries since its construction. Stylistically the architecture of the Harshnath Temple follows the Maha-Maru style but also incorporates elements of the emerging Maru-Gurjara style, evident in the base mouldings and other temple features.
    Keyword:
    Sikar, Temples of India, Harshnath Temple, Rajasthan, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), 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

  • 702. Ruins of sub-shrines

    Description:
    Around a dozen of subsidiary shrines were built on Harsha Hill in the 10th and 11th centuries. These were dedicated to various Brahmanical deities, as evidenced by architectural fragments. Unlike a Panchayatan temple or a planned temple complex, the irregular placement and size proportions of these sub-shrines suggest a randomness and unplanned construction over an extended period. They exhibit a variety of pitha usually corresponding to the Maha-Maru styles, but some of them also exhibit Maha-Gurjara features.
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Sikar
    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

  • 703. Shrine of Harsha Bhairon

    Description:
    Close to the Harshnath Temple complex is the Bhairon shrine, featuring a semi-iconic rock locally known as the Harsha Bhairon. He is believed to be a manifestation of the folk hero, Harsha, who decided to settle on the hill to worship Shiva and was blessed by the latter to be worshipped at the hill as Bhairon. Several 10th-century sculptures are fixed on the walls of this complex. Today, the Bhairon shrine serves as the epicenter of pilgrimage to Harsha Hill, considered to be the family deity of several local castes.
    Keyword:
    Sikar, Temples of India, Harshnath Temple, Rajasthan, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), 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

  • 704. Enigmatic six-headed Shiva

    Description:
    This enigmatic deity, seemingly Shaiva, has six heads and twelve hands. Although all hands are broken, one appears to hold an attribute in the form of a trident. The waist portion is buried in the earth. The headgear comprises a jata-mukuta on four of the heads on the sides, which is typically associated with Shiva, and kirita-mukuta on the front and back heads, typically associated with Vishnu. While five of the faces exhibit a fierce form, one appears benevolent. The Sadashiva form of Shiva has five faces- Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva, and Sadyojata, represented through fierce and benevolent face types. However, labeling this image as a clear syncretic mixture of Sadashiva and Vishnu is challenging because the kirita-mukuta is placed above the fierce image types as well. The image might have some tantric associations. The Harsha Hill once had a yogini shrine. An intriguing image of Shiva/Bhairav, now housed in the Government Museum, Sikar, depicts Shiva with four hands. The upper two hands hold a skull-scepter and cobras. His lower left hand is holding a cup, or more precisely, a skull, while the fingers of his right hand dip towards its contents. The combined iconography suggests strong tantric influences. Similarly, the six-headed image under discussion may also reflect similar tantric influences.
    Keyword:
    Sikar, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Harshnath Temple, Rajasthan, 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

  • 705. 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

  • 706. Tantric image of Shiva

    Description:
    This elegant Shaiva figure was part of a deva-kostha or sculptural niche placed on the walls of a now-lost Shaiva shrine and is now housed in the Government Museum, Sikar. The figure has four hands, with the upper two holding a skull-scepter and cobras. In his lower left hand, he holds a cup, or rather a skull, with the fingers of the right hand dipping towards the potion contained within it. On the left is an image of vyala, which was once placed in the salilantara recess of the temple wall. Iconographically, the figure suggests a tantric influence. The potion held in the cup/skull represents the spiritual nectar of the bliss attained after the completion of tantric sadhana in both Shaiva and Buddhist tantric traditions. Image courtesy: Government Museum, Sikar
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Sikar
    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

  • 707. Chaturmukha-shivalinga

    Description:
    The four-faced linga, placed in the sanctum of the Harshnath Temple, is actively worshipped at the site. It has three benevolent faces, while the one facing north bears a fierce expression. They collectively represent the Sadashiva form of Shiva. The idol is contemporaneous to the main shrine but there is some debate over whether it was the original cult image in the shrine or a later replacement. Ambika Dhaka (2001:377) highlights a strong possibility of it being a later replacement based on two points. 1) According to the texts, the fierce face should be facing southward, but here it faces north. 2) There is a noticeable difference in the circumference of the linga in situ compared to the socket, with the latter being larger.
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Sikar
    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

  • 708. 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

  • 709. Main temple atop the Harsha hill

    Description:
    The temple, now in a state of ruin consists of a mulaprasada of tri-anga specification, joined by a rangamandapa. It lacks the piṭha but starts from a single plinth course. The vedibandha is damaged in some places but otherwise had a kumbha with an intricate udgama motif and a small central box carrying a figure. The jangha, which is almost destroyed, once had dikpalas at the karṇas as evidenced by remains in the northeastern corner. The surasundaris likely adorned the pratirathas and the salilantara-recesses. Inside the sanctum is a shivalinga in active worship, likely contemporary with the main shrine. The temple lacks any super-structure which may have collapsed over the centuries. Stylistically the architecture of the Harshnath Temple falls in the Maha-Maru style but incorporates elements of the Maru-Gurjara style, particularly evident base mouldings and other temple features.
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Sikar
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    08-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    08-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 710. Nayika sculptures adorning the sanctum wall of the Harshnath Temple

    Description:
    Inside the sanctum of the temple are beautiful sculptures of nayikas on the wall. Most of them are inscribed with epithets in the 10th-century kutila script. The two-armed damsel carries a chamara fly whisk.
    Keyword:
    Rajasthan, Temples of India, Shakhambari Chahamanas, Harshnath Temple, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and Sikar
    Creator:
    Temples of India Project Team
    Contributor:
    Anchit Jain
    Owner:
    tushar1.ayyar@jioinstitute.edu.in
    Publisher:
    Jio Institute
    Location:
    Sikar
    Date Uploaded:
    08-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    08-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image