Harihara

Harihara (Sanskrit हरिहर Harihara ) is a deity of Hinduism. It represents a union of the aspects of Vishnu ( Hari ) and Shiva ( Hara ) represents the nature of this unit is taken differently by different Hindu schools. Harihara is also Shankaranarayana ( "Shankara " for Shiva, and " Narayana " for Vishnu) called. Both Vaishnavites as well Shivaites worship this deity, either as a form of the supreme God or also commonly known as venerable figure. The Nature of Vishnu and Shiva in Hinduism was often the subject of debate various philosophical schools.

The main distribution area of this cult was next to India itself, especially Southeast Asia in the middle of the first millennium. Statues of this deity were common in the field of Khmer (present-day Cambodia and parts of present-day Thailand ) in the pre- Angkor period. Harihara is usually represented in Southeast Asia as a man with four arms, two of which are associated with Shiva, two of which hold the attributes of Vishnu ( conch and chakra -Rad).

The oldest Khmer capital in the area of Angkor was called after the deity Hariharalaya, later, however, Vishnu became the kingdom of God, where the buildings of the classical Angkor period ( as especially Angkor Wat ) were dedicated.

Harihara was also the founder of the kingdom of Vijayanagar in southern India.