Hayagriva is a celebrated incarnation of Vishnu and is revered as the God of knowledge and wisdom. He is a unique divinity with the head of a horse. 'Haya' means the horse, and 'Griva' means the neck; hence, Hayagriva remains the horse-headed Vishnu Avatar, who represents the mastery of the light of knowledge over the darkness of ignorance. People worship him as the provider of knowledge and wisdom and the Guru of Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning.
Hayagriva Pooja is the ceremonial worship of Hayagriva that seeks his Divine blessings.
Puranas, the Sacred texts and epic Mahabharata speak highly about Vishnu's Hayagriva Avatar. According to them, two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, once carried away the holy Vedas from Brahma. As the Vedas, the treasure house of knowledge and wisdom, were absolutely essential for his function of creation to proceed, Brahma, the creator, sought Vishnu's help to get them back. It was then that Vishnu assumed the form of Hayagriva, fought with and slew the demons, and restored the Vedas to the creator for him to carry on with his function.
Another story is about a horse-headed demon, Hayagriva, protected by a boon that his end could happen only at the hands of one also with the head of a horse, stealing the Vedas. Then Vishnu had to take this Hayagriva form to slay the demon and retrieve the Vedas.
Since he protected and ensured the safety of the book of ancient wisdom, Hayagriva is hailed as the divinity representing Divine knowledge and supreme wisdom.
As knowledge and wisdom in their pristine form stand for purity, Hayagriva is generally represented as a symbol of purity. Brilliant white in complexion, this Vishnu Avatar, with a horse head and human body, has four hands in which he holds the discus, conch, a book or palm leaf manuscripts, and Gnyana Mudra, the posture of wisdom. He is also adorned with white garments and seated on a white lotus.
Priests with years of experience and well-versed in such rituals and worships perform Hayagriva Pooja, following the guidelines laid down in the scriptures, with the chanting of Mantras, propitiating this God for his beneficial grace.
According to scriptures, Hayagriva Pooja can please the Lord, earn his blessings, improve intellect, knowledge, concentration, focus, and memory power, nullify legal issues, litigation, and obstacles, help people succeed in examinations and chosen careers, and excel in academics.
