Harihara Headgears as A Symbol of Religious Symbiosis during the Majapahit Period (13th to 15th Century) in Java

Abstract

During the era of Hindu-Buddhist Kingdoms in Indonesia, Hinduism flourished, as evidenced by the discovery of temples and statues. While the main sect of that day is Sivaism, there is evidence of the worship of other gods, especially Visnu, as shown by the Harihara or Shankaranarayana statue, which portrays Viṣṇu and Śiva in one body. During the Late Classical era in Indonesia (11^th to 15^th century AD), several depictions of Harihara were found in statues of kings and deities. A major thing that can be recognized from the Harihara statue is the headgear. According to Silpasastra Manasara, Hindu literature that served as canon in the visual portrayal of deities, Harihara is depicted with half jaṭāmukuṭa and half kirīṭamukuṭa to represent the unity of Viṣṇu and Śiva. Nevertheless, in the Harihara statues found in East Java, while there are several variations of headgear, these characteristics are absent. This paper aims to highlight the issue, by focusing on the variations of the headgear and symbols attached to it, by using morphological analysis with an iconographic approach. It is found there are three tendencies in how Harihara statues’ headgears are portrayed during the Late Classical Era: as jaṭāmukuṭa, kirīṭamukuṭa, and the amalgamation of these two headgears, in which jaṭāmukuṭa is represented by the roundel or swirling patterns on the body of a truncated cone-shaped headgear that is resembled. It is concluded that this representation is related to the statue’s function as a manifestation of the Devaraja concept, which is to align the king’s image and characters with the image of the Gods. Harihara is normally used to represent the balance and duality of the king; Visnu’s kirīṭamukuṭa is used to represent the status of the king as the ruler that maintains the order of his kingdom, while Siva’s jaṭāmukuṭa is used to represent the ascetic side. Meanwhile, when the two crowns fusions, it represents that there is no definite segregation between those two roles. It also indicates the rise of the Harihara sect during the era, which can be linked to the political purpose to unify the different beliefs and factions during that tumultuous period.

Keywords: Harihara, Headgears, Iconography, Java, Majapahit

DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/84-05

Publication date: July 31^st 2025