Harihara

(2) A deity seen as a combination of the
gods Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva).
Behind this hybrid deity lay the conviction that both of these divinities were
differing manifestations of the same
divine power.
This underlying unity was represented
in several different ways. One way was to
create a figure whose right half had the
attributes of Shiva, and whose left half
had those of Vishnu. Another method,
found most often in modern poster art,
is to display both Vishnu and Shiva in
their full forms, riding on their respective animal vehicles. Vishnu’s elephant
and Shiva’s bull are conjoined at the
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Harihara
Crowds gather in Haridwar to bathe in the Ganges River.
head, in a way that one can discern the
heads of both animals, but only one can
be perceived at any given moment. Both
the elephant-bull and the divided figure
show that Vishnu and Shiva are manifestations of the same divine energy, and
that the particular deity one perceives
depends on one’s perspective at the
moment. The joint Harihara figure
presents an important religious truth,
but this idea is far too abstract to
become popular or widespread. In
their everyday religious lives people
have tended to worship one or the
other of these deities, rather than their
idealized union.