Lord Hayagriva in Sanskrit Literature
by Anindita Adhikari | 2019 | 56,368 words
This page relates ‘Hayagriva in the Mahabharata (Introduction)’ of the study on Lord Hayagriva as found in Sanskrit Literature such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Puranas and Tantras. Hayagriva as an incarnation of Vishnu is worshipped as the supreme Lord of knowledge and wisdom but also symbolizes power and intelligence. His name means “the horse-headed one”.
Hayagrīva in the Mahābhārata (Introduction)
The horse-headed form of Viṣṇu as conceived in the Vedas, transformed in to avatāra in the Epic period. The avatāra[1] is believed to be coming down of God in the mortal world to protect the world from chaos and evil, and to instill righteousness. During the time of the epics, Viṣṇu had already evolved into a deity of greater importance. Not only He is revered as supreme, but there is a vast mythological elaboration in the post Vedic texts like the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas which developed around Viṣṇu. In the post Vedic period Lord Viṣṇu gradually emerged as a prominent and independent deity and a trend to conceive the form of Viṣṇu combining with human and animal is seen. The mythology of the absurd theriomorphic form of Lord Viṣṇu can be evidenced in various parvas of the Mahābhārata. Lord Viṣṇu appears as a lion headed deity as Nrsiṃhāvatāra or a horse-headed deity having the name of Hayagrīvāvatāra.
After dealing with the Vedic circumstance about the origin of the concept of the horse headed deity, we shall discuss now this issue in the Mahābhārata. The incarnation of the half-horse &half-man Viṣṇu was variously known as Hayagrīva, Hayaśiras or Hayaśirṣa, Hayāsya etc as found in the Mahābhārata and some Purāṇas. Amongst them the main mythological narrative of Hayaśiraḥ, the horse headed manifestation of Viṣṇu, finds first mention in the śānti parva of the Mahābhārata, where we learn how the horse-headed Viṣṇu brings back the stolen Vedas and kills the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha. The story of the Mahābhārata symbolizes the triumph of the supreme knowledge being guided by the god of righteousness over the demons of passion and darkness and that led Viṣṇu to become the Lord of learning and wisdom.
We would now discuss about the chronological development of Hayagrīva, understanding of myth and the central myth of Hayaśira Viṣṇu in the Mahābhārata.