Aum Namah Shivaya.........
In Hinduism, Hayagrīva is also considered an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is worshiped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse's head, brilliant white in colour, with white garments and seated on a white lotus. Symbolically, the story represents the triumph of pure knowledge, guided by the hand of God, over the demonic forces of passion and darkness.
Hayagrīva is a very important deity in the vaishnava tradition. His blessings are sought when beginning study of both sacred and secular subjects. Special worship is conducted on the day of the full moon in August (Śravaṇa-Paurṇamī) (his avatāra-dina) and on Mahanavami, the ninth day of the festival. He is also hailed as "Hayashirasa". Hayaśirṣa means haya=Horse, śhiraṣa=Head.
In IAST
jñānānanda mayaṃ devaṃ nirmala sphaṭikākṛtiṃ
ādhāraṃ sarvavidyānaṃ hayagrīvaṃ upāsmahe
In Devanāgarī
ज्ञानानन्द मयं देवं निर्मल स्फटिकाकृतिं
आधारं सर्वविद्यानं हयग्रीवं उपास्महे
This verse is originally from the Pañcarātra Agamas but is now popularly prefixed to the Hayagrīva Stotram of the 13th century poet-philosopher Vedanta desika. It is very popular among devotees of
Hayagrīva.
Hindu iconography
Vedanta desika's dhyāna-śloka (meditative verse) on Hayagrīva typifies this deity's depiction in Hindu iconography:
He has four lotus hands, with one in the mode of bestowing knowledge an;other holds books of wisdom, and the other two hold the Conch and Discus. His beauty, like fresh cut crystal, is an auspicious brilliance that never decays. May this Lord of speech who showers such cooling rays of grace on me be forever manifest in my heart! In the Mahāvairocana-sūtra [Sūtra of the Great Sun] translated and copied in 1796 by I-hsing it says: “Beneath the buddhas is Hayagrīva. His body is the color of the sun at dawn. He wears flaming effulgence and skulls as a garland. His nails are long and sharp; his face shows a pair of bare tiger’s fangs. His hair is that of a burning lion’s mane. He is awesomely powerful and fierce! This is the fierce Vidyaraja [wrathful vehicle] of the Lotus section. He is just like a horse-jewel of a chakravartin that wanders the four continents, nowhere and never does he rest, having all the great and terrible force of all the buddhas’. This is his nature, and therefore he possesses this terrible and all-mighty light. Amidst the greatest obstacles of death and evil he is without the slightest care for his own welfare, his conspicuous and uncommon gallantry, intrepidity, and wrath is legendary among the gods, and therefore he easily and quickly vanquishes all who oppose him! Many others submit to him at first sight! This is because though he is fierce and terrible; his heart is full of compassion (unbiased, dispassionate understanding).” -- Hayagrīva Stotram, v.32
Later on Hayagriva is referred to as the “Horse necked one”, Defender of faith”, the “Terrible executioner”, the “Excellent Horse”, and the “Aerial horse”.
This said, the Horse god is seen as pulling the sun up to the heavens every day, bringing light to darkness. Marici represents the essence of the power of creation of the cosmos . Hayagriva represents the manifestaion of yin/in as the power and action of the cosmos manifested as action. This is the very definition of tantra, that of action.
In several other sources he is a white horse who pulls the sun into the sky every morning. In others such as the great epic Tārakā-battle where the gods are fallen on and attacked by the dānava’s [demons], Vishnu appears as great ferocious warrior called Hayagriva when he comes to their aid. It says;
“Hayagriva appears in his chariot, drawn by 1,000 powerful steeds, crushing the enemies of the gods beneath him!”
There are many other references to Hayagriva throughout the Mahābhārata. It is said that Vishnu comes from battle as a conqueror in the magnificent mystic from of the great and terrible Hayagriva;
“The great Hayagriva having been praised in this way by the different saints and ascetics, assumes a great white horses head. The verda’s [mantras] made up his shape, his body built of all the great gods; in the middle of his head was Shiva, in his heart was Bhramā [god of heaven]; the rays of sun were his mane, the sun and moon his eyes; the Vashu’s and Sādhya’s were his legs, in all his bones were the gods. Agni was his tongue, the goddess Sa his speech, while his knees were formed by the maruts and varuna. Having assumed this form, a awesome wonder to behold to the gods, he vanquished the asura, and cast them down, with eyes that were red with anger.”
Invariably, Hayagriva is depicted seated, most often with his right hand either blessing the supplicant or in the vyaakhyaa mudraa pose of teaching. The right hand also usually holds a aksha-maalaa (rosary), indicating his identification with meditative knowledge. His left holds a book, indicating his role as a teacher. His face is always serene and peaceful, if not smiling. Unlike his Buddhist counterpart, there is no hint of a fearsome side in the Hindu description of this deity. Indeed, the two deities seem to be totally unrelated to one another.
Hayagriva is sometimes worshipped in a solitary pose of meditation, as in the shri krishna mutt temple of sode paryaya .
This form is known as Yoga-Hayagriva. However, he is most commonly worshipped along with his consort Lakshmi and is known as Lakshmi-Hayagriva.
The Village of navalpakkam near Vandavasi , has been a sacred vedic village where the Idol of Lord Hayagriva has been worshipped in a house where the descendants of Sri Annayarya MahaDesikan Swami were performing the daily rituals . Now the Idol is being worshipped in the navalpakkam Temple
In Sakta mythology
A great devotee named Sri Vadirajaru from Sode mutt and also pontiff of Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt used to offer cooked horse gram (MADDI) to Lord Hayagriva. He used to recite the Hayagriva Shloka and keep the offerings on his head. Lord Hayagriva would come as a beautiful white horse form and would eat the horse gram. As a very staunch devotee, Vadirajatirtha would recite the following sloka -
In Hinduism, Hayagrīva is also considered an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is worshiped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse's head, brilliant white in colour, with white garments and seated on a white lotus. Symbolically, the story represents the triumph of pure knowledge, guided by the hand of God, over the demonic forces of passion and darkness.
Hayagrīva is a very important deity in the vaishnava tradition. His blessings are sought when beginning study of both sacred and secular subjects. Special worship is conducted on the day of the full moon in August (Śravaṇa-Paurṇamī) (his avatāra-dina) and on Mahanavami, the ninth day of the festival. He is also hailed as "Hayashirasa". Hayaśirṣa means haya=Horse, śhiraṣa=Head.
In IAST
jñānānanda mayaṃ devaṃ nirmala sphaṭikākṛtiṃ
ādhāraṃ sarvavidyānaṃ hayagrīvaṃ upāsmahe
In Devanāgarī
ज्ञानानन्द मयं देवं निर्मल स्फटिकाकृतिं
आधारं सर्वविद्यानं हयग्रीवं उपास्महे
This verse is originally from the Pañcarātra Agamas but is now popularly prefixed to the Hayagrīva Stotram of the 13th century poet-philosopher Vedanta desika. It is very popular among devotees of
Hayagrīva.
Hindu iconography
Vedanta desika's dhyāna-śloka (meditative verse) on Hayagrīva typifies this deity's depiction in Hindu iconography:
He has four lotus hands, with one in the mode of bestowing knowledge an;other holds books of wisdom, and the other two hold the Conch and Discus. His beauty, like fresh cut crystal, is an auspicious brilliance that never decays. May this Lord of speech who showers such cooling rays of grace on me be forever manifest in my heart! In the Mahāvairocana-sūtra [Sūtra of the Great Sun] translated and copied in 1796 by I-hsing it says: “Beneath the buddhas is Hayagrīva. His body is the color of the sun at dawn. He wears flaming effulgence and skulls as a garland. His nails are long and sharp; his face shows a pair of bare tiger’s fangs. His hair is that of a burning lion’s mane. He is awesomely powerful and fierce! This is the fierce Vidyaraja [wrathful vehicle] of the Lotus section. He is just like a horse-jewel of a chakravartin that wanders the four continents, nowhere and never does he rest, having all the great and terrible force of all the buddhas’. This is his nature, and therefore he possesses this terrible and all-mighty light. Amidst the greatest obstacles of death and evil he is without the slightest care for his own welfare, his conspicuous and uncommon gallantry, intrepidity, and wrath is legendary among the gods, and therefore he easily and quickly vanquishes all who oppose him! Many others submit to him at first sight! This is because though he is fierce and terrible; his heart is full of compassion (unbiased, dispassionate understanding).” -- Hayagrīva Stotram, v.32
Later on Hayagriva is referred to as the “Horse necked one”, Defender of faith”, the “Terrible executioner”, the “Excellent Horse”, and the “Aerial horse”.
This said, the Horse god is seen as pulling the sun up to the heavens every day, bringing light to darkness. Marici represents the essence of the power of creation of the cosmos . Hayagriva represents the manifestaion of yin/in as the power and action of the cosmos manifested as action. This is the very definition of tantra, that of action.
In several other sources he is a white horse who pulls the sun into the sky every morning. In others such as the great epic Tārakā-battle where the gods are fallen on and attacked by the dānava’s [demons], Vishnu appears as great ferocious warrior called Hayagriva when he comes to their aid. It says;
“Hayagriva appears in his chariot, drawn by 1,000 powerful steeds, crushing the enemies of the gods beneath him!”
There are many other references to Hayagriva throughout the Mahābhārata. It is said that Vishnu comes from battle as a conqueror in the magnificent mystic from of the great and terrible Hayagriva;
“The great Hayagriva having been praised in this way by the different saints and ascetics, assumes a great white horses head. The verda’s [mantras] made up his shape, his body built of all the great gods; in the middle of his head was Shiva, in his heart was Bhramā [god of heaven]; the rays of sun were his mane, the sun and moon his eyes; the Vashu’s and Sādhya’s were his legs, in all his bones were the gods. Agni was his tongue, the goddess Sa his speech, while his knees were formed by the maruts and varuna. Having assumed this form, a awesome wonder to behold to the gods, he vanquished the asura, and cast them down, with eyes that were red with anger.”
Invariably, Hayagriva is depicted seated, most often with his right hand either blessing the supplicant or in the vyaakhyaa mudraa pose of teaching. The right hand also usually holds a aksha-maalaa (rosary), indicating his identification with meditative knowledge. His left holds a book, indicating his role as a teacher. His face is always serene and peaceful, if not smiling. Unlike his Buddhist counterpart, there is no hint of a fearsome side in the Hindu description of this deity. Indeed, the two deities seem to be totally unrelated to one another.
Hayagriva is sometimes worshipped in a solitary pose of meditation, as in the shri krishna mutt temple of sode paryaya .
This form is known as Yoga-Hayagriva. However, he is most commonly worshipped along with his consort Lakshmi and is known as Lakshmi-Hayagriva.
The Village of navalpakkam near Vandavasi , has been a sacred vedic village where the Idol of Lord Hayagriva has been worshipped in a house where the descendants of Sri Annayarya MahaDesikan Swami were performing the daily rituals . Now the Idol is being worshipped in the navalpakkam Temple
In Sakta mythology
In starting of KALIYUGA bramha was meditating lord Vishnu on that time unfortunately two water drops fall from lotus in which bramha resides. Thus these 2 water drops fall in to the earths crust(rasatala)thus daemons were born.
The demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Bramha, and Vishnu then took the Hayagriva form to recover them. The two bodies of Madhu and Kaitabha disintegrated into 2 times 6 — which is twelve pieces (two heads, two torsos, four arms and four legs). These are considered to represent the twelve seismic plates of the Earth. Yet another legend has it that during the creation, Vishnu compiled the Vedas in the Hayagriva form,defeated the daemons and returned Vedas to Brahma which are taken to Rasatala
Some consider Hayagriva to be one of the Dashavatars of Vishnu. He along with Krishna, Rama and Narasimha is considered to be an important avatar of Vishnu.
Lord Hayagreev's Sannithanam is there in Srirangam Temple. Hayagreeva in Srirangam is very famous for children's education. The sannithanam is very beautiful and all rituals done according to vedic principles very strictly.
Hayagriva Mahatyam
Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi MangaLam
Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Paavanam
Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Dhaivatham
Na Hayagrivam Pranipathya Seedhathi!
Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Paavanam
Na HayagrivAth Param Asthi Dhaivatham
Na Hayagrivam Pranipathya Seedhathi!
There is no auspiciousness greater than Hayagrivan. Nothing is more sacred than Sri Hayagrivan to destroy our accumulated sins. No other God is superior to Hayagrivan. No one grieves after performing sarangathi at the sacred feet of Hayagrivan.
Haygriva is listed as one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu in Canto 10 (skandh 10), chapter 40 of the Srimadbhagavatham, and Akrur's prayer contains Hayagriva's name when he had a vision while bathing in Yamuna.
There is a story that more than 500 years ago, a devotee from the Daivajnya Brahmin community was casting an idol of Lord Ganapathi, when it shaped itself in the image of Lord Hayagreeva. Sarvabhowma Sri Vadiraja Guru Swamiji had a dream about this legend which inspired him to approach that devotee and take the idol from him in reverence. He then installed it in Shri Sode Vadiraja Mutt. Since then it has been worshipped there as the originating god of the Daivajnya Brahmin community.
The members of the community who were originally Smartha Brahmins, were instructed in Dwaitha philosophy and received into the fold as Mukhya Shishyas by the revered Sri Vadiraja Teertha. To this day, Daivajna Brahmins continue to make offerings to the Mutt and Lord Hayagriva.
Most of the Daivajnya Brahmins now follow Vaishnav Sampradaya while performing Sandhyavandana and Shodasha Sanskara and apply the Gopichandana with great divine authority and also wear the Sankha, Chakra, Gadha, Padma and Narayana Mudras of Madhwa’s Dwaitha fold.
Hayagreeva Mantra:
Most of the Daivajnya Brahmins now follow Vaishnav Sampradaya while performing Sandhyavandana and Shodasha Sanskara and apply the Gopichandana with great divine authority and also wear the Sankha, Chakra, Gadha, Padma and Narayana Mudras of Madhwa’s Dwaitha fold.
Hayagreeva Mantra:
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