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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Harshnath
| other_name = Harsh
| nickname =
| settlement_type = mountain
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Rajasthan#India
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Rajasthan, India
| coordinates = {{coord|27.52|N|75.18|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Rajasthan]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Sikar district|Sikar]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 554
| population_total = 608616
| population_as_of = 2001
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[urdu language|Hindi]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate =
| website =
| iso_code = [[ISO 3166-2:IN|RJ-IN]]
| footnotes =

}}
'''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 Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Caste]] and 58 are [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]] people.<ref>[http://www.ceoraj.nic.in/Census2001/DIST_SIKAR_DL006.PDF Delimitation Commission Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194402/http://www.ceoraj.nic.in/Census2001/DIST_SIKAR_DL006.PDF |date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> 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).<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/women/article-65327 Article in Britanica]</ref>

== Origin ==

There is a popular mythological belief which has come down to people through the centuries that in a village Churu, [[Chahamanas of Shakambhari|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.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

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 [[Shiva|Mahadeva]] Temple at Harshagiri (c. 961–973 AD).<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/25152300 Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri]
</ref>

Professor Kielhorn, writing in 1894, summarizes the inscription as under:
{{quote|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 (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.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/25152300 Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri]</ref>}}

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 [[Chahamanas of Shakambhari|Chahamana]] (Chauhan) family who are said to have become illustrious through their devotion to God [[Harsha]].<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/pss/25152300 Some Unpublished Sculpture from Harshagiri]
</ref>

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

<center>
:[[Guvaka I|Guvaka]]
:↓
:[[Chandraraja II|Chandraraja]]
:↓
:[[Guvaka II|Punarguvaka]]
:↓
:[[Chandanaraja|Chandana]]
:↓
:[[Vakpatiraja I|Vakapati]]
:↓
:[[Simharaja|Sinharaja]] - Vatsaraja
:↓
:Chandraraja - [[Govindaraja III|Govindaraja]]
</center>

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 - [[Shakambhari|Sambhar, Rajasthan]]
:Koli Kumikā - [[Kolida]]
:Lāwānā - [[Kochhor]]
:Prativinsā - [[Parasarampuri]]
:Apābrāhakā - [[Palasara]] or [[Akwa, Rajasthan|Akwa]]

The inscription at Harshanath by [[Vigraharaja II]] in samvat 1030 indicates that his father [[Simharaja]] had killed [[Tomara dynasty|Tomara]] hero Salvana.<ref>G.H. Ojha: Rajputane ka Itihasa (Part I), page 155</ref>

== References==
<references/>
*[http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/24/Harasnath.html Google link for Harsh]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194402/http://www.ceoraj.nic.in/Census2001/DIST_SIKAR_DL006.PDF Delimitation Commission Report]
*[http://www.ashanet.org/chicago/village/html/index.html?view_type=villages&state_code=8&district_code=13&tehsil_code=0003 Villages in the Sikar tehsil, Sikar district, Rajasthan]
*http://www.rajasthaninfoline.com/rinfo/jeenmata.htm

[[Category:Villages in Sikar district]]

Harsh Sikar - Revision history

>Paradoctor at 00:00, 22 April 2020