Harsh, Sikar

Harsh is a village in Sikar tehsil in Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. It is a place of religious importance. Harshnath is an old Hindu temple situated in Harsh Village. In 2001 the population of the village was 6016, out of which 772 are Scheduled Caste and 58 are Scheduled Tribe people.[1] Its is at latitude 27.52, longitude 75.18 and 554 meters in altitude. The place is known for Harasnath temple at Mt. Harsha (c. mid-10th century).[2]

Harshnath

Harsh
mountain
Harshnath
Location in Rajasthan, India
Harshnath
Harshnath (India)
Coordinates: 27.52°N 75.18°E / 27.52; 75.18
Country India
StateRajasthan
DistrictSikar
Elevation
554 m (1,818 ft)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total608,616
Languages
 • OfficialHindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeRJ-IN

Origin

There is a popular mythological belief which has come down to people through the centuries that in a village Churu, Shakambhari Chahamana (Chauhan) king Ghangh Singh loved and married an apsara (nymph) on the condition that he would not visit her palace without prior information. King Ghangh Singh got a son called Harsha and a daughter Jeen. Afterwards she again conceived but as chance would have it King Ghangh Singh went to her palace without prior intimation and thus violated solemn vow he had made to the Apsara. Instantly she left the king and fled away with her son Harsha and daughter Jeen, whom she abandoned at the place where presently the temple stands at place known as Jeenmata. The two children here practiced extreme asceticism. Later Chahamana rulers built the temple at that place.

It is an ancient site famous for the ruins of old Shiva temple (10th century) located on the high hills of Aravali. The architectural display of the old temple is breathtaking. It was developed by first Simharaja (Singhraj), the erstwhile king of Ajmer. The original temple was made in 973 AD and was later destroyed by Mugal Emperor Aurangjeb in 1679 AD. In 1718 AD, Rao Shivsingh made a new temple adjacent to the old temple using the ruins of the old temple.

Harshagiri Inscription 961 AD

In a paper read before the Asiatic Society in 1835 Sergeant E. Dean delivered the inglorious epitaph to an extraordinary tenth-century Indian temple which he, along with Dr. G.E. Rankin, had discovered previous year. This site is known as Harshagiri, near the village of Harasnath about 7 miles south of Sikar town. U.P. Shah in his article - "Some medieval Sculpture from Gujarat and Rajasthan" writes of the temple of Harshanatha, which was built in 956 AD and then of sculpture from Harshagiri datable in c. 961–973 AD and finally of the Purana Mahadeva Temple at Harshagiri (c. 961–973 AD).[3]

Professor Kielhorn, writing in 1894, summarizes the inscription as under:

The proper object of the poetical part of inscription, which consists of 48 verses, is to record the erection of Temple of Shiva, worshipped under the name of Harsha, on the Hill Harsha, by the Shaiva ascetic Allata ... the value of the inscription is enhanced by the fact that it yields the names of considerable number of districts and places, and contains several dates, for one of which the corresponding European date may be given with absolute certainty.[4]

The first twelve verses of the inscription are mainly devoted to the glorification of the God Shiva, styled here as Harshadeva, of his place of residence, the mountain Harsha, and of the temple erected to the God on that Hill. After that, the poet in verse 13–27, celebrates a line of princes belonging to Chahamana (Chauhan) family who are said to have become illustrious through their devotion to God Harsha.[5]

The chronology of the Chauhan rulers as per this inscription is as under:

Guvaka
↓
Chandraraja
↓
Punarguvaka
↓
Chandana
↓
Vakapati
↓
Sinharaja - Vatsaraja
↓
Chandraraja - Govindaraja

The places mentioned in inscription with their present names are:

Sinhaprosthā - Singhasan
Kardamā Khātā - Kadma Ka Bas
Chhatradhara - The old or present Harsh village where two rivers meet
Sankarānsakā - Sambhar, Rajasthan
Koli Kumikā - Kolida
Lāwānā - Kochhor
Prativinsā - Parasarampuri
Apābrāhakā - Palasara or Akwa

The inscription at Harshanath by Vigraharaja II in samvat 1030 indicates that his father Simharaja had killed Tomara hero Salvana.[6]

gollark: I don't particularly feel like writing one manually again.
gollark: What is a "good" way to write a "parser" in Rust?
gollark: The secret fifth class of maths people probably.
gollark: I guess it could also be the bottom-right in which case this is true.
gollark: This is silly. Linux is the top-right.

References
  1. Delimitation Commission Report Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Article in Britanica
  3. Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri
  4. Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri
  5. Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri
  6. G.H. Ojha: Rajputane ka Itihasa (Part I), page 155
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