The Horse-headed God: Hayagriva

Hayagriva, the God of knowledge and wisdom, appears with the body of a human and the head of a horse. His pearly white color symbolizes purity and divinity. On the one hand, he is the guru of goddess Saraswati; and on the other hand, one may have known Hayagriva as a demon.

The Vishnu form of Hayagriva along with his consort Lakshmi, Image Source-Vishnu Art - Tumblr

Hayagriva is a God, who is the avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is worshipped as "Gyanaswaroopa," the embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, and spirituality. In various sources, including the Mahabharata, Hayagriva establishes its place. It is stated that, Vishnu takes on the beautiful mystic form of the mighty and terrifying Hayagriva and emerges victoriously from battle of Kurukshetra.

Even though he is one of the lesser-known incarnations of Vishnu, the mythical stories of Hayagriva are fascinating enough to bind you with an unseen spiritual thread. One such tale is inscribed in the Brahma Purana.

During the creation of the cosmos, Brahma piled up all the Vedas for the betterment of human beings. But, they were stolen by two demons named Madhu and Kaitabha to empower their demonic clan. When helpless Brahma approached Lord Vishnu for assistance, Vishnu assumed the form of Hayagriva to free the Vedas from the demons. He slayed the demons and integrated their bodies into 12 parts, giving them a vicious death.

The Mahabharata has reflected the Hayagriva form many times when it mentions, “Having compelled the destruction of the two Asuras and restored the Vedas to Brahma, the Supreme Being dispelled the grief of Brahma." 

However, if we skip this narrative and focus on the legend of the demon Hayagriva, he takes the place of Madhu and Kaitabha and is accused of stealing the Vedas from Brahma.

In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, the demon Hayagriva was born to Kashyap and Danu. Kashyap performed deep penance to get a boon. He prayed to Goddess Durga to bless his son, asking that he could only be killed by another "Hayagriva". This made the demon arrogant, and he began creating havoc in the Devloka.

He stole the Vedas in the absence of Brahma and established terror among every god. This resulted in a long and fierce battle, but Hayagriva remained invincible. So it was time to turn to Vishnu for assistance. Because only another Hayagriva could slay the mighty demon, he assumed the form of a Hayagriva and killed it.

Hayagriva's Mahabharata form is described as having the head of a white horse. "The Vedas composed his structure; his body was made up of all the chief gods; Shiva was in the centre of his head; Brahma was in his heart; the sun's rays were his mane; the sun and moon were his eyes; the Vasus and Sadhyas were his legs; the gods were in all his bones."

Thus, Hayagriva is regarded as a supreme deity in Hinduism. He is revered in several parts of India, including the famous Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam. He is also among the prominent deities in Sri Vaishnavism and Madhwa Brahmin traditions. As he is a manifestation of Lord Vishnu, he is worshipped alongside his wife, Lakshmi, and the form is known as Lakshmi-Hayagriva. However, he is also revered in a solitary form known as Yoga-Hayagriva.

Hayagriva bringing back the Vedas to Brahma, Image Source- Art of Legend India