Harihar
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Harihar ಹರಿಹರ Harihara |
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|---|---|
| City | |
 Harihar
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| Coordinates: 14°30′25″N 75°48′00″E / 14.507°N 75.8°ECoordinates: 14°30′25″N 75°48′00″E / 14.507°N 75.8°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Davanagere district |
| Government | |
| • Body | Harihar City Municipal Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.8 km2 (3.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 539 m (1,768 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 85,000 |
| • Density | 11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 577 601 |
| Telephone code | (91) 08192 |
| Vehicle registration | KA-17 |
| Civic agency | Harihar City Municipal Council |
| Distance from Davangere | 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) |
| Distance from Bangalore | 275 kilometres (171 mi) |
| Website | hariharcity |
| Population growth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1971 | 33,888 |
—
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| 1981 | 52,334 | 54.4% | |
| 1991 | 66,647 | 27.3% | |
| 2001 | 75,042 | 12.6% | |
| 2011 | 77,447 | 3.2% | |
Harihar ([harihər] also called Harihara) is a city in Davanagere District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Harihar Taluk. Harihar is famous for Harihareshwara temple, also known as "Dakshina Kashi", and as the "Industrial Hub of central Karnataka."
Harihara is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, 275 kilometres north of Bangalore. Harihar and Davangere (14 km away) are referred as "twin cities". Harihar is connected by road and railway, and is located on national Highway 4 (Puna – Bangalore). It has a very pleasant climate year round. The major lifeline of this city is the Tungabhadra river, which is being exploited and polluted as a result of heavy industrialization.
Harihar (or Hari-hara) is a syncretic deity in Hinduism, combining the two major gods VishnuVishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). Images of Harihara (also known as Sambhu-Visnu and Sankara-Narayana, variants of the names of the two gods) began to appear in the classical period after sectarian movements, which elevated one god as supreme over the others, had waned sufficiently for efforts at compromise to be attempted. The region of Harihar had been under the control of the Hoysalas from the 11th to 13th centuries AD.
There is a famous temple built in the 12th century during Hoysala's time called Harihareshwara temple (Guharanya Kshetra) – from which the city gets its name – which is also known as "Dakshina Kashi".
The god Harihareshwara is a combination of the gods Shiva and Vishnu. There is a story behind the avatar of this god. In ancient days this place was known as "Guharanya", a dense jungle and habitat of a demon Guhasura. He had a gift that no human or Rakshasa or god can kill him. And he started harassing people around this place. Then Vishnu and Shiva came together in a new avatara called Hari – Hara (Harihara) – and killed demon Guhasura. That is how this place got the name Harihar. Every year the Car festival is celebrated. Harihar also has a famous Ragavendra Mutt located on the banks of Tungabandra.
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Wikipedia