Hindu · India · SITE DOSSIER

Harihareshwara Temple, Harihar

A report-based attribution to Tipu is disputed; the source chain concerns damaged images, plunder and partial conversion, not a securely established total demolition.

Harihar · Karnataka

LAST DOCUMENTED CONDITION

Not established

As documented: date not established

LOCATION PRECISION

Approximate locality

14.5117°, 75.8019° · not a surveyed footprint

How to read this history

Access date is not a field inspection. This selected chronology is not a complete list of all episodes.
Underlying bibliography is available with access status; independent specialist review remains outstanding.

AI-assisted source review: 2026-09-28. Independent specialist review: not completed.

The recorded chronology

Selected episodes. Rebuilding and later changes are distinguished from damage.

Desecration · intentional causeOpen this episode on the map ↗
During Tipu’s campaigns · exact date unresolved
A later quotation of the 1912 Mysore report attributes broken images, removal of temple property and conversion of part of the temple to Tipu.
eventDisputed
A later quotation of the 1912 Mysore report attributes broken images, removal of temple property and conversion of part of the temple to Tipu.
The report is quoted as describing an old document shown by village accountant Srinivasa Sitarama Kulkarni. That document and the specific report page have not been directly inspected in this review. Sil’s shorter description should not be expanded into total demolition.
Compare: alternative account ↗
- Nailing a Lie: Tipu Sultan and the demolition of the Hariharesvara Temple ↗Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
- Tipu Sultan in History: Revisionism Revised ↗Narasingha P. Sil · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
dateUnknown
During Tipu’s campaigns · exact date unresolved
Exact dating remains unresolved.
- Nailing a Lie: Tipu Sultan and the demolition of the Hariharesvara Temple ↗Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
- Tipu Sultan in History: Revisionism Revised ↗Narasingha P. Sil · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
actorDisputed
Tipu Sultan · attribution disputed
- Nailing a Lie: Tipu Sultan and the demolition of the Hariharesvara Temple ↗Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
- Tipu Sultan in History: Revisionism Revised ↗Narasingha P. Sil · Olikara, quotation of Mysore Archaeological Report (1912), p. 22; Sil, religious-policy discussion · Accessed 2026-09-28
extentDisputed
Olikara challenges the Tipu attribution and quotes a temple booklet that assigns an attack and conversion to Bijapur forces.
The booklet was read only through this quotation. It may describe a different episode; its omission of Tipu does not by itself disprove another attack.
Compare: alternative account ↗
- Nailing a Lie: Tipu Sultan and the demolition of the Hariharesvara Temple ↗Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · Onsite verification and quoted Harihara Kshetra Mahathme booklet · Accessed 2026-09-28

Location & last documented condition

locationSupported in consulted sources

Approximate locality; not a surveyed historic footprint.

Harihareshwara Temple, Harihar — Wikipedia article and bibliography ↗Wikipedia contributors · History / damage account; see source context · Accessed 2026-09-28

present conditionUnknown

Present physical condition has not been independently established in this review.

Source context

Tipu Sultan source review: originals, citation chains and disputed accounts ↗

Explore the complete captured Wikipedia bibliography ↗
References are discovery leads unless marked as consulted.

Tipu Sultan in History: Revisionism Revised ↗Narasingha P. Sil · Narasingha P. Sil · 2013
Full scholarly article read, especially the religious-policy discussion and references. Names Harihar, Varahasvami and Odakaraya, citing Kate Brittlebank (1997), pp. 125–126, and Logan. Strongly interpretive secondary treatment, not a new site survey. Brittlebank’s book pages were not directly accessed; its thesis catalogue did not supply a public file. Do not count this citation chain as several independent attestations.
Discovery: Wikipedia reference trail or independent source search · Access: direct
Nailing a Lie: Tipu Sultan and the demolition of the Hariharesvara Temple ↗Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · Nidhin Olikara / The Seringapatam Times · 2014-02-05
Research blog read directly. Quotes the 1912 Mysore report’s reference to an old record shown by a village accountant, and a later temple booklet attributing an attack to Bijapur forces. The author argues against Tipu attribution. The quoted manuscript and booklet were not independently inspected; neither the blog’s title nor the omission in the booklet conclusively resolves responsibility.
Discovery: Wikipedia reference trail or independent source search · Access: direct
Harihareshwara Temple, Harihar — Wikipedia article and bibliography ↗ · Wikipedia contributors
Article text consulted through Jina Reader. Underlying references are inventoried separately; listing a work does not mean it was read. Event attributions based only on this secondary account are labelled attributed.
Discovery: Wikipedia reference trail or independent source search · Access: direct

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