Sandstone stele with a figure of Harihara From Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, central India, 10th century AD. The composite form of Shiva and Vishnu. By the sixth century AD the sects of both Shiva and Vishnu were well developed. icons such as this synthesised the two deities. Sculptures like this one would have been fitted into a niche in a temple wall. The main four-armed standing figure is divided vertically through the centre, its proper right side (that is, on the left of this picture) being Shiva and the left, Vishnu.The matted locks of Shiva's hair are built up in an elaborate coif and adorned with a serpent and skull. He holds a rosary and a trident symbolic of his ascetic nature and his power. Shiva's third eye has been carefully incised on Shiva's side of the face. The left side of the image balances these attributes perfectly for Vishnu.
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