Harihara
sk हरिहर harihara from हरि hari “bearing , carrying, one of the names of Vishnu” and हर hara "garland, necklace, one of the names of Shiva".
Harihara represents a syncretic form of Śiva and Viṣṇu. The fusional aspect of the deity derives from philosophical traditions in which Vishnu is said as being the shakti of Shiva, or Shiva is the one-who-knows (jñata) and Vishnu the knowledge (jñāna).
Harihara is often represented in the Khmer iconic tradition as four-armed, anthropomorphic form with the left side of the statue being Hari (Vishnu) with the cylindrical mitre (kirtamukuta), and the right Hara (Shiva) with the high crown of tangled locks (jatamukuta). It has been speculated that Harihara became a popular icon in the 7th-8th centuries as the rulers of the north ("Chenla"), followers of Shiva, wanted to ascertain their territorial aspirations and political aspirations over the south ("Funan"), where Vishnu was widely revered. Paul Lavy, however, argued that this explanation based on the assumption that Saivism and Visnavaism could have been rival sects in ancient Southeast Asia.
Hariharalaya ហរិហរាល័យ was the name of the pre-Angkor capital city founded by Jayavarman II at the end of the 8 th century in the Siem Reap area now called Roluos រលួស, the remains being the royal temples of Preah Ko, Bakong, and Lolei.
Source
- Paul Lavy, "As in Heaven, so on earth: the role of Vishnu, Harihara, and Shiva images in the politics
of Preangkorian Southeast Asia", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 34(1), 2003: 22-23. - Michael Falser, The Pre-Angkorian Temple of Preah Ko. A Sourcebook of the History, Construction and Ornamentation of the Preah Ko Style. Bangkok, White Lotus, 2006, 200 p.
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