Hayagriva

About Hayagriva

Hayagriva is Vishnu in a horse-headed form, joined to a human body — the only Vishnu avatar with an animal head above the shoulders. The myth that defines him: the demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Brahma, and Vishnu took this form to win the scriptures back. He is shown crystal-clear white, seated on a white lotus, holding a conch, discus, a book, and a rosary. Two hymns anchor his cult — Vedanta Desika's 32-verse Hayagriva Stotram (14th century) and Vadiraja Tirtha's Sampada Stotram (16th century). Students chant his Gayatri before opening a text or sitting for exams.