The Legend of Harihara

The Gods of Hindu mythology are known to be extraordinary in their powers and capabilities. And it is not every day that two of them come together in a fusion to make greater use of these gifts. So what happens when they do?

Harihara; Source: Medium

Shiva and Vishnu are two of the most powerful Gods in Hindu mythology. They form two-thirds of the revered Holy Trinity in the religious beliefs. In a very unique occurrence, the two came together to form an even more capable deity.

In ancient times, schools emerged within the larger religion of Hinduism that contested over the supremacy of one deity over another. One section believed that Vishnu was more significant in Hindu mythology, while the other believed that Shiva had the higher statue among the two. This attempt at declaring one God more powerful than another God that was previously deemed to be equally important, gave rise to much controversy. Contesting groups would often engage in conflict over this. But how could two deities be pitted against each other?

The concept of a fusion between the two Gods emerged as a solution to this problem, as far back as the 6th-7th century. This was during the classical period.

This fusion is found in a school of thought that believes that Shiva and Vishnu are actually two parts of one brahman (universal truth). The fused is represented as being split down the middle with the right half constituting of Shiva and the left half symbolic of Vishnu. Many representations of this form have been depicted in ancient iconography, including the one found at Ossian Temple in Rajasthan.

According to legend, this form arose when a demon by the name of Guhasura gained a blessing from Lord Brahma that neither Vishnu nor Shiva could defeat him. When the blessing led to the demon becoming a tormentor to Gods and humans alike, a solution was proposed. The two Gods could not defeat the asura on their own, but they could do so by combining into one. Thus, Harihara was born.

In popular images, Shiva is seen holding a trishula (trident) and a small drum in his hands and tiger skin wrapped around his waist. Vishnu holds his iconic chakra (discus) and a conch shell. They depict the generally accepted forms of the two Gods in one combined whole.

The name Harihara is literally a fusion of the names of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This fusion is also known as the Shankarnarayana, where Shankar stands for Shiva and Narayana stands for Vishnu. Shambhu-Vishnu is another title for the same.

It is very rare to see the combined forms of any two Gods, but this one had had its fair share of following back in the day. It is the story of how two sects of religious belief found a unique compromise in an unconventional form. Shaivites and Vaishnavites were united by this theory of the two Gods simply forming two halves of a bigger whole. The worship of Harihara is said to rid the devotees of negative human traits and bring in positive qualities. The practice of this worship continues to this day.

The legend of Harihara is an example of the uniqueness of the Indian landscape, where compromises can be reached in a creative yet respectful way.