Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c74.s8.17

v2.c74.s8.17

**Hāra**—though usually regarded as an ornament, can stand for a dress also. It is to decorate not only the neck but also the breast. It has many varieties, some of them being simply superlatively sublime, like Kaustubha, Vajayantī and Vanamālā, associated with grand image of Vāsudeva-Viṣṇu. It is also called Niṣka and Graiveyaka. The earliest form of neck ornaments is to be found in the representations of Śiva-Paśupati’s prototype in Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. Ṛgveda (33rd hymn) describes Rudra as wearing a beautiful niṣka. Bṛhatsaṁhitā describes Sūrya as ‘pralamba-hārī’; here hāra means a torque or a necklace. Śiva is also described in some texts as hārbhārārpito Haraḥ—loaded with the weight of haras.