Last week was the
jayanti or birth anniversary of one of the greatest saints of the Madhwa
parampare. The saint was a philosopher
par excellence and also a composer of extraordinary ability.
A disciple of
Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha, he was a strident proponent of Madhwa Siddantha
and he is more remembered today for his many steps to streamline the
administration of the Krishna Temple in Udupi.
Having lived for
120 years, he was the first Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana alive. His
Brindavana is in Sode in Sirsi taluk and today draws a large number of people
from all over the world.
This seer is none
other than Vadiraja Theertha, popularly called Rajaru by millions of his devote. Born in 1480 in a small hamlet
set in verdant paddy fields in Hoovinakere, he strode across the earth till
1600 when he entered Brindavana.
Vadiraja is known
for his devotion to Hayagriva, an avatar of Vishnu. Hayagriva is generally
depicted as a God with the head of the horse. Vadiraja has picturised with the horse god eating the prasada or
Hayagreeva, a sweet dish.
What or who is
Hayagreeva and what is his place in Hindu mythology. Let us examine some
aspects related to the Horse God. Interestingly, Hayagriva is not only
mentioned in the Hindu text but in Buddhist works also and he is a god not only
in India but in several
countries of South East Asia, Tibet, Nepal ,
Bhutan , Japan and China
The word Hayagriva
is a Sanskrit term and it is also spelt as Hayagreeva. Considered to be an avatar of Vishnu, Haya in
Sanskrit means horse and Griva neck.
Hayagrīva is
associated with knowledge, learning and wisdom. The horse head is pure white in
colour and the god is seated on a lotus. White represents purity, wisdom
and truth and Hayagriva is invested with
the character of one who swept away
darkness and passion and lit up the world.
Interestingly, it
was not Vadiraja who first spoke or wrote about Hayagriva. The name goes back
to more than 2000 years ago when the Aryans began worshipping many animals
including cow, elephant, horse. The Aryans attributed speed, intelligence and
strength to a horse.
In the Vedas,
particularly Rg Veda, there are numerous references and hymns dedicated to a
horse or a steed. In many of them, the horse is related to the Sun.
Many legends of
the Hayagriva are found in the Mahabharata and the Puranas too. In Devi
Bhagavatha, Hayagriva is a horse demon defeated by Vishnu.
In the Skanda
Purana, the story of Vishnu-Hayagriva is related in chapter 14-15 of
Dharmaranyakhanda. In the Vamana Purana, Prahalada worships Hayagriva at
Asvatheertha near Kanauj. This Purana also speaks of the worship of Hayagriva in different regions
of India , including Assam and in the Krishna
(river) regions. The Nilamata Purana refers to Hayagriva in the Kashmir region.
The Matysa Purana
says Hayagriva avatar preceded Matysa avatar. However, the Vaman Purana
contradicts this and says Hayavadana is the third incarnation of Vishnu. The
Garuda Purana places Hayagriva after Datta.
In the Sanatkumara
Samhita (Sanat Kumara was one of the four spiritual sons of Brahma), Hayagriva
is placed alongside Surya and Chandra .
The Pancharatna
agamas also mention Hayagriva. The agamas are a body of religious-cum-philosophical literature which
trace their origins too the Vedas.
The Visvaksena allots
a northern direction to the world occupied by Lord Hayagriva. This is the
Hayagriva Loka. The Naradiya Samhita also allots a similar world to Hayagriva.
The Hayagriva
Upanishat belongs to the Atharvana Veda. This tells us about the benefits of
chanting mantas relating to Hayagriva.
The Tantras also
mention Hayagriva. The Meru Tantra gives us information on several aspects
relating to Hayagriva. The Yogini Tantra deals with the power of the Hayagriva.
The agamas have an
exclusive work devoted to minor gods and it is called Hayasira Samhita. It is
here that we find mention of Hayagriva, who scholars say, is a minor avatar of
Vishnu. The avatar of Hayagriva is believed to have come about on a full moon
day in August (Shravana-Pournami ) and on the ninth day of Navaratri.
There is a verse
in the Pancharatna Agama that deals with the Hayagriva. It says.....
"jñānānanda
mayaṃ devaṃ nirmala sphaṭikākṛtiṃ
ādhāraṃ sarvavidyānaṃ hayagrīvaṃ upāsmahe."
ādhāraṃ sarvavidyānaṃ hayagrīvaṃ upāsmahe."
This verse is now the prefix to the Hayagriva Stotra of the renowned 13th-century Srivaishnava poet-philosopher Nigamanta Mahadesika popularly known as Vedanta Desika (1268-1370). The Stotra is one of the earliest compositions of Vedanta Desika.
Consisting of 32 slokas, it is a beautiful hymn on the
attributes of Hayagriva. It is said that it was Garuda himself who appeared
before him and taught the Hayagriva Mantra.
He says,
Visheshavitparishadeshu
natha: vidagdhagoshthisamaranganeshu |
Jigishato me
kavitarkikakendran jihvagrasimhasanamabhyupeya. ||
For Vedanta
Desika, his Hayagriva has four lotus
hands, with one bestowing knowledge; another holding books of wisdom. The other
two hands hold the Conch and Discus.
Vadiraja in his Hayagriva
Sampada stotra, says
hayagreeva
hayagreeva hayagreeveti vaadinam |
naram munchanti paapaani daridramiva yoshitah ||1||
naram munchanti paapaani daridramiva yoshitah ||1||
hayagreeva
hayagreeva hayagreeveti yo vadet.
tasya nihsarate vaanee jahnu kanyaapravaahavat ||2||
tasya nihsarate vaanee jahnu kanyaapravaahavat ||2||
hayagreeva
hayagreeva hayagreeveti yo dhvanih |
vishobhate cha vaikunTa kavaatodghaatanakshamaH ||3||
vishobhate cha vaikunTa kavaatodghaatanakshamaH ||3||
shloka trayamidam
punyam hayagreevapadaankitam |
vaadiraaja yatiproktam pathataam sampadaam padam.||4||
vaadiraaja yatiproktam pathataam sampadaam padam.||4||
Itee Shri Madvadiraja
Poojya Charana Virachitha
Hayagreeva Sampada Stotram Sampurnam.
Hayagreeva Sampada Stotram Sampurnam.
Apart from these
two stotras, we can find Hayagriva stotra in the Garuda Purana. This is part of
a chapter on Hayagriva Pooja Vidhi.
The other stotra
is in Skanda Purana and it is part of Brahma Khanda, Hayagriva Upakhyana.
In Buddhism,
Hayagriva is depicted as a fierce and awesome god whose wrath knows no bounds.
In the Mahavairocana-sutra, Hayagriva is described as one wearing a garland of
skulls. Here, he is a Krodha Vighnantaka. For the Buddhists, Hayagriva is an
avatar of Bodhisattava.
It is interesting
to note that Hayagriva transformed from a Brahminical God of knowledge and
purity to a fierce and intimidating God of the Buddhists. This transformation
is traced by Robert H Van Gulik in his work: "Hayagriva: The Mantrayana
aspect of a Horse Cult in China
and Japan
Another Buddhist
work where Hayagriva is mentioned is the Dharma Samgraha-a collection of
ancient Buddhist texts.
Hayagriva is
depicted as a Horse God in several temples of India
The first ever
historical representation of Hayagriva can be found in several sculptures
belonging to the pre-Gupta period. One of the earliest such sculptures can be
seen in the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum in Varanasi
Another pre-Gupta
idol of Hayagriva can be seen in a museum in Mathura
Closer home, we
can see images of Hayagriva in the Hoysala temple at Nuggahalli near Mysore
There are idols
dedicated to Hayagriva in the Ranganatha
Temple
By the way, the
presiding diety of Parkala Matha of Mysore
In Tibet Tibet , thanks to Atisha (980-1054), the Indian
scholar from Bengal who was instrumental in spreading Buddhism in Tibet and other countries such as Sumatra .
Some other temples
dedicated to Hayagrive in India are at Tank Bund Road in Gandhinagar,
Bangalore: lakshmi Hayagriva Temple at Nanganallur in Chennai: Chettypunyam
Hayagriva Temple in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, Hayagriva Temple, North Mada Street,
Tirumala and Lakshmi Hayagriva Temple at Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Of course, who can
forget the famous Hayagriva Madhawa Temple
in Manikuta, Hajo near Guwahati ,
Assam
There are temples
dedicated to Hayagriva in Yadagirigutta and Mahaboob Nagar in Andhra Pradesh, Madurai in Tamil Nadu and there is one in Pondicherry
