Harihara
Harihara is the fused representation of Vishnu and Shiva from the Hindu tradition. Also known as Shankaranarayana like Brahmanarayana
, Harihara is thus revered by both Vaishnavites and Shaivites as a form of the Supreme God.
Harihara is also sometimes used as a philosophical term to denote the unity of Vishnu and Shiva as different aspects of the same Ultimate Reality called Brahman. This concept of equivalence of various gods as one principle and "oneness of all existence" is discussed as Harihara in the texts of Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.
Some of the earliest sculptures of Harihara, with one half of the image as Vishnu and other half as Shiva, are found in the surviving cave temples of India, such as in the cave 1 and cave 3 of the 6th-century Badami cave temples.
Concept
The diversity within Hinduism encourages a wide variety of beliefs and traditions, of which two important and large traditions are associated with Vishnu and Shiva. Some schools focus on Vishnu as the Supreme God, and others on Shiva. The Puranas and various Hindu traditions treat both Shiva and Vishnu as being different aspects of the one Brahman. Harihara is a symbolic representation of this idea. A similar idea, called Ardhanarishvara or Naranari, fuses masculine and feminine deities as one and equivalent representation in Hinduism.Depending on which scriptures are quoted, evidence is available to support each of the different arguments. In most cases, even if one personality is taken as being superior over the other, much respect is still offered to both Vishnu and Shiva by the other's worshippers.
One and the same
Swami Sivananda maharaj states: "Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same entity. They are essentially one and the same. They are the names given to the different aspects of the all-pervading Supreme Parabrahman the Supreme Being or the Absolute. ‘Sivasya hridayam vishnur-vishnoscha hridayam sivah—Vishnu is the heart of Shiva and likewise Shiva is the heart of Vishnu’."Swaminarayan holds that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of the same God. Notably, the Swaminarayan view is a minority view among Vaishnavites, but the dominant view in contemporary Hinduism which follows the Smarta view in general.
Depiction in art
Harihara is depicted in art as split down the middle, one half representing Shiva, the other half representing Vishnu. The Shiva half will have the matted locks of a yogic master piled high on his head and sometimes will wear a tiger skin, reserved for the most revered ascetics. Shiva's pale skin may be read as ash-covered in his role as an ascetic. The Vishnu half will wear a tall crown and other jewelry, representing his responsibility for maintaining world order. Vishnu's black skin represents holiness. Broadly, these distinctions serve to represent the duality of humble religious influence in the ascetic and authoritative secular power in the king or householder. However, in other aspects Shiva also takes on the authoritative position of householder, a position which is directly at odds with the ascetic position depicted in his Harihara manifestation.Harihara has been part of temple iconography throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia, with some illustrations listed in the following table. In some states, the concept of Harihara appears through alternate names and its progeny; for example, temples incorporating Ayyappan and Shasta deities in Kerala illustrate this Hindu tradition there since at least the 7th century.
| Temple name | Location | Harihara murti date | Reference |
| Badami cave temples | Karnataka | 6th century | |
| Dharmaraja Ratha | Tamil Nadu | 7th century | |
| Birasini temple | Madhya Pradesh | ||
| Harihareshwara Temple | Karnataka | 13th century | |
| Ossian temples | Rajasthan | two from 8th century, one 9th century | |
| Deopani temple | Assam | two from 9th, 10th century | |
| Mukteshvara Temple | Odisha | 9th-10th Century CE | |
| Saugal-tol temple | Nepal | statue: 6th century temple: 12th to 16th century | |
| Purandi temple | Nepal | 11th century | |
| Prasat Andet | Cambodia | late 7th to early 8th century | |
| Candi Simping | Indonesia | 13th or 14th century | |
| Baijnath Temple | Himachal Pradesh | 13th century | |
| Hariharnath Temple | Bihar | Exact dates not known. | Sonpur, Bihar |
Muthappan
Lord Muthappan, worshipped in Kerala is considered as the personification of Vishnu and Shiva.The Muthappan temple at Parassinikadavu, Kannur is one of the main temple dedicated to him.Gaudiya Vaishnavism
In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the Sri Advaita Acharya one of the Pancha Tattva is considered as the combined incarnation or expansion of Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Sadashiva.Nature of Shiva and Vishnu
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Harihara images