The meeting of Vishnu and Shiva (Sri Sri Hariharmilana)

The union of Vishnu and Shiva is a common trope in Hindu art and iconography; it finds its fullest expression in the syncretic deified form of Hari-Hara, half Vishnu (Hari) and half Shiva (Hara). Here these supreme gods of Hinduism appear with their families, riding an elephant and a bull respectively. The narrative depicted is that of Lakshmi giving alms to a beggar who was Shiva in disguise. Shiva, here fully revealed, holds a begging bowl into which Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance, dispenses alms. The reference to Shiva’s changing appearance underscores the power of devotion. An optical illusion wherein the animals’ heads merge, but both the elephant and the bull can be seen simultaneously, mirrors the concept about the visibility of the divine.