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  • 11. Surya

    Description:
    This majestic image of Surya must have once been placed inside the sanctum of a lost Surya shrine. Coupled with multiple other Surya images at the shrine (Surya, Chhaya, etc.), it suggests the maturity of Surya tradition at the hill, which was present at the hill at least from the eight century - much before the emergence of Harshadeva-Shiva as the royal shrine at the hill. He is holding two fully bloomed lotuses in each hand. He is flanked on either side by his companions, Danda and Pingala, immediately near his legs, and the pair of horse-faced Ashvin brothers, at the back. On the above register is an elegant pair of bow holders about to unleash an arrow. Surya is wearing a kirita-mukuta and the halo in the form of a fully bloomed lotus appropriately suits the radiant glow of the majestic Sun God. Image courtesy: Akbari Fort and Museum, Ajmer
    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
    Date Uploaded:
    09-05-2024
    Date Modified:
    09-05-2024
    Rights Statement Tesim:
    In Copyright
    Resource Type:
    Image

  • 12. 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

  • 13. 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

  • 14. 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

  • 15. 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

  • 16. 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

  • 17. 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

  • 18. 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

  • 19. 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

  • 20. 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