What Is The Significance Of Hayagriva Jayanti?
According to the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures, the Supreme Lord Krishna will descend on the earth whenever irreligious(Adharma) dominates. Likewise, Hayagriva appeared on this planet to destroy Adharma, substantiate dharma, and protect the devotees(saintly persons).
The Appearance of the Lord
Many scriptures have different versions for Hayagriva descending on this earth. Some scriptures say that Lord Hayagriva appeared on this earth to protect the Vedas from the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who not only stole the Vedas but hid them in the middle of the ocean. Since He destroyed the demons and protected the Vedas, He is well known for wisdom and intelligence. He imparted the knowledge of the Vedas to Goddess Sarasvati(in charge of the education) and Lord Brahma(the creator). Hence, Lord Hayagriva sitting on the white lotus, wearing white clothes, gives darshan to the devotees. Many students and devotees worship the Lord and please Him by reciting the Hayagriva mantra to get the benediction of the highest knowledge and intelligence.
Another version from Shanti Parva of Mahabharata describes the other reason for Lord Hayagriva’s descendence and how he attained this unique form. You would have noticed that Lord Hayagriva has a similar structure to Lord Narasimha Dev. Both resemble half-humans, but Lord Narasimha Dev has a lion’s face, whereas Lord Hayagriva has a horse’s face. “Haya” refers to a horse in Sanskrit, and “Griva” means the neck portion of the body.
An asura named Hayagriva was torturing sadhus not to perform yajnas by destroying all the sacrifices and penances. Adharma dominated the earth, and to stop this demon’s atrocious behaviour, Lord Vishnu descended on the planet to kill him. They fought vigorously for thousands of years and looked tired and exhausted. Lord Vishnu went inside a cave and rested his head on the bow. Since the war was not over, the Devatas found the cave where Lord Vishnu was resting and started to pray. But Lord didn’t heed them, so the demigod Indra took the form similar to lice and cut the string at the end. The line released from the bow snapped Lord Vishnu’s head which went into the ocean. All came to a standstill, and soon they realised the boon the demon Hayagriva obtained was that he could be defeated only by a Hayagriva. They fixed Lord Vishnu’s face with the horse face, and the Lord defeated and killed the demon.
This epic correlates with another version from the scripture that in Vaikunta, Lord Vishnu mocked Goddess Lakshmi. The Goddess Lakshmi got angry and uttered that Lord’s face would drown in the ocean. After realising her mistake, the Goddess asked for forgiveness, and the Lord accepted her and gave darshan to the devotees with Goddess Lakshmi sitting on His lap.
Hayagriva Jayanti 2022 remarks on the appearance of the Lord on the earth and falls on “Avni Avittam” or the Shravana Poornima. People praise the Lord with Hayagriva Stotram, which benefits them. The Hayagriva mantra benefits are enormous because of the Goddess Lakshmi’s presence. Those who are praying the Hayagriva mantra have blessings of both the Lord and Goddess Lakshmi.
