Category:Harirai Temple, Chamba

Hari Rai Temple, Chamba 

11th-century Vishnu temple in Himachal Pradesh, India
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Location	Chamba, Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India
Maintained by	Archaeological Survey of India, Shimla circle
Heritage designation	Monument of National Importance
32° 33′ 21″ N, 76° 07′ 23.5″ E
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The Hari Rai temple is an 11th-century stone temple in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. It is dedicated to Vaikuntha Vishnu, whose image here is depicted in bronze with four faces – human (Narayana), boar (Varaha), human (Kapila, a Himalayan Vedic rishi), and lion (Narasimha). The style of the artwork is exquisite and its proportions match those recommended in Vishnudharmottara text. The artwork parallels the excellence found in 9th to 10th century Kashmir temples such as the one in Avantipur. For this reason, some scholars have dated this temple a bit earlier, while others suggest that the statue was likely imported from Kashmir.

The Harirai temple has a number of niches with Hindu deities. These reverentially celebrate all major Hindu traditions. For example, one niche has Shiva with Parvati (Shaivism), another has Surya on chariot (Sauraism), and others have Lakshmi and Durga (Shaktism).

The temple is mentioned in Chamba copper plate grants, one of which is of Somavarman who ruled in mid 11th-century.

This is a category about ASI monument number N-HP-8.