Legend behind the origin of Hayagrīva Mādhava idol

The Yoginī Tantra gives a description about the stone image of Hayagrīva Mādhava.^[1] Śiva narrates to Devī Pārvatī about the ancient legend behind the establishment of the stone image of Hayagrīva Mādhava. A legend goes that, the king of Orissa, Indradyumna wished to create a perfect idol of the Lord Viṣṇu.^[2] Viṣṇu was satisfied by this attitude and appeared before the king in his dream^[3] and advised him to cut one big tree that would come floating at the seashore in the early morning, into seven pieces for making the idol.^[4]

As advised in the dream, the king found the tree on the seashore—

“Vyāharaṇ vaiṣṇavaṃ mantramuktañcaiva tadātmakaṃ/
Prabhātāyāṃ rjanyāstu sa tato’nanyamānasaḥ//
Sa snātvā sāgare ramie yathāsamyag vidhānataḥ/
Taṃ dadarśa mahāvṛkṣaṃ yathā tejasvīnaṃ drumaṃ//
Mohāntakaṃ durārohaṃ puṇyaṃ viphalameva ca/
Mahocchrāyaṃ mahākāyaṃ prasuptañca jalāntike//”^[5]

The king then cut it into seven pieces^[6] from which he was to make the idols. The main part of the tree was established in Orissa as Jagannāth; two pieces of the sacred wood were taken to Kāmarūpa, and one piece was brought over to Maṇikūṭa hill, to be converted later into an image of Hayagrīva Mādhava—

“Odradeśe Mūlabhāgaṃ kalpayāmāsa vai vibhuḥ/
Tadūrddhvakhaṇḍaṃ kāśmīre kavandhākāra ca//
Ādityaṃ taṃ vijānīyāt rāmeṇa sthāpitaṃ ca/
Śoṇādityaṃ tadūrddhvāṅgaṃ śukreṇa sthāpitaṃ priye//
Śīlārūpaṃ maheśāni sthāpitaṃ guruṇā tataḥ/
Bhāgadvayaṃ kāmarūpe bhāgaikaṃ malaye girau//
Maṇikūṭe tatorddhvañca sthāpitaṃ varuṇena hi/
Prācyāṃ nandīśamaiśānye matsyākṣo nāma Mādhavaḥ//
Śilāmayo dārumayaḥ kuvereṇaiva sthāpitaḥ/
Mahāvarāhanāmā ca yo’ṣṭādaśabhujairyutaḥ//”^[7]

All these three idols are made of stony wood. Here an attempt is seen to integrate the Jagannātha temple of Orissa with the Hayagrīva Mādhava of Hājo.

The story about the origin of the stone image of Hayagrīva Mādhava is similar to the account of the wooden images of Kṛṣṇa, Balabhadra and Subhadrā is mentioned in the Brahmapurāṇa. Interestingly, Yoginītantra has been strongly influenced by the Brahmapurāṇa so much so that the ultimate chapter of this tantra runs simply to be copied from this purāṇa. Maheśvara Neog has enlisted the examined ślokas in his article “The worship of Hayagrīva.”^[8] Ramachandra Barpatra also repeats the same story in his work ‘Maṇikūṭa’.^[9]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.221-245.

[2]:

“Pravṛtte ca mahāyajñe prāsāde devanirmmite/
Cintayārtto mahīpālaḥ pratimārthamaharnniśaṃ//
Kenopāyena deveśaṃ sarvveśaṃ lokabhāvanaṃ/
Sargasthityantakarttāraṃ paśyāmi puruṣottamaṃ//
Cintāduḥkhamayo rājā divārātrau na śerate/
Na bhuṅkte vividhān bhogān na ca snānaṃ prasādhanaṃ//
Śailaśṛṅgastarurvāpi praśasto vā mahītale/
Viṣṇoḥ pratimāyogyāya sarvalakṣaṇalakṣitaḥ//” Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.220-223.

[3]:

“Dadarśa sa tu bhūpālo devadevaṃ jagadguruṃ/
Śaṅkhacakradharaṃ devaṃ gadāpadmāgrapāṇinaṃ//
Yugāntādityavarṇābhaṃ nīlavaiduryyasannibhaṃ/
Suparṇa pṛṣṭhamāsīnaṃ ṣoḍaśārddhabhūjaṃ śubhaṃ//
Kratunānena dānena dhiyā bhaktyā ca te nṛpa/
Tuṣṭa’smi te mahīpāla tvayā kimanuśocasi//” Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.227-229.

[4]:

“Yadatra pratimāṃ rājan jagatpūjyāṃ sanātanīṃ/
Sthāpayiṣyasi he dhīra tadupāyaṃ vravīmi te//
Sāgarasya jalasyānte nānādhumavibhūṣite/
Velābhir’nyamānastu na cāsau kampate drumaḥ//
Paraśuhastasthāmādāya ūrmmimantu tato vrajet/
Ekākī viharan rājan satyaṃ paśyasi pādapaṃ//
Iti kañcait samālicya chedayannaviśaṅkitaḥ/
Paścimāyatanaṃ bṛkṣaṃ prātaradbhutadarśanaṃ/
Chitvā tailarasaṃ datvā tadā bhūpāla cānaya//
Kuru tatpratimāṃ divyāṃ jahi cintāṃ vimohinīṃ/
Evamuktvā mahāvāhurgato’darśanaṃ hariḥ//” Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.230-234.

[5]:

ibid.,2.9.236-238.

[6]:

“Paraśunā śātayāmāsa niśātanatayaiva hi/
Saptadhā drumarājantaṃ nipapāta mahītale//” Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.240.

[7]:

Yoginī-tantra, 2.9.21-245.

[8]:

The following ślokas may be examined by Neog: Yoginī-tantra. II.9.168-169 (BraP, 60.23-24); Yoginī-tantra. II.9.174 (BraP, 61.24); Yoginī-tantra. II.9.175 (BraP, 61.25 with change in the first line); Yoginī-tantra, II.9.176 (BraP, 61.26 slight change in the first line); Yoginī-tantra, II.9.177-184 (BraP, 61.27-33, 37, 38); Yoginī-tantra, II.9.185-190 (BraP, 61.39-46 with slight significant changes); Yoginī-tantra, II.9.190-199 (BraP, 61.47-55). Neog. Maheswara: Hayagrīva Worship in Assam. The Journal of Oriental Research. Vol. XXII. p.31.

[9]:

Goswami. Hemachandra: Asamiya Sahityar Chaneki, Vol. II, Part. III, p.844-944.