Hayagriva

Hayagriva
knowledge and wisdom
Sanskrit transliteration	Hayagrīva
Affiliation	Avatar of Vishnu
Consort	Lakshmi

Hayagriva, also spelt Hayagreeva (Sanskrit: हयग्रीव, IAST: hayagrīva), is a horse-headed avatar of the Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. In Sanskrit, Hayagrīva means haya=Horse, grīva=Neck(Face?).

In Hinduism, Lord Hayagriva is an avatar of shri Vishnu. He is worshipped as the God of knowledge and wisdom, with a human body and a horse's head, brilliant white in color, 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.

Origins about the worship of Hayagriva have been researched, some of the early evidences dates back to 2,000 BCE, when Indo-Aryan people worshiped the horse for its speed, strength, intelligence. Hayagriva is one of the prominent deity in 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 Navaratri festival. He is also hailed as "Hayasirsa". Hayaśirṣa means haya=Horse, śirṣa=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 Hayagriva Stotram of the 13th-century poet-philosopher Vedanta Desika. It is very popular among devotees of Hayagrīva.

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