Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: Date, Time, Iconography, History And Significance

The term 'Haya' when translated in English means 'horse', and 'Greeva' means, 'neck'. Together it means, the 'horse-necked one'. Lord Hayagreeva is the horse-headed God, who is indeed a proverbial combination of man and horse forms. He is the presiding deity for education and knowledge, whose worship and vrats are known to enhance the intellect and knowledge. Lord Hayagreeva is a relatively an unknown incarnation of Lord Vishnu who took this form to destroy another demonical entity by the same name.

Hayagreeva is worshipped chiefly by the Madhwa and the Shri Vaishnava sects. He is the eternal favourite of the students, and working professionals, as he instantly blesses prayers for career and academic success. Hayagreeva Jayanti is also celebrated on Mahanavami, the ninth day of Navratri. Let us scroll down the article to know more.

Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: Date And Time

This year Hayagreeva Jayanti will be celebrated on Thursday, 11 August 2022. Hayagriva Puja Muhurat begins at 04:22 pm and continues up to 07:00 pm and lasts for a duration of about 2 hours and 37 minutes. Purnima tithi starts at 10:37 am on 11 August 2022 and on 12 August 2022, it starts at 07:34 am and lasts up to 12 August 2022.

Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: Iconography

Hayagreeva is a bright fair complexioned deity, decked in white robes and seated on a white lotus. Out of his four hands, one hand displays the Varada mudra, whereas the other, holds the holy scriptures. The other two hands are seen to be holding conch and discus, and the countenance, peaceful and calm. He blesses all disciplines, both sacred as well as secular.

Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: Legend

Vadirajaru, a devoted bhakta of Hayagreeva, used to offer cooked horse gram to Lord Hayagreeva. After reciting the Hayagreeva Sloka, he used to keep the prasad on his head, waiting for Lord Hayagreeva to arrive and accept the prasad. Surprisingly, Lord Hayagreeva used to visit him every day in the form of a white stallion and eat the prasad. Vadiraja's devotion was of the highest order, as Lord Hayagreeva was accessible to him, in his original form.

Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: History

According to Shanti Parva in Mahabharata and Puranas, Hayagriva, the divine son of Kashyap Prajapati, performed severe austerities to Goddess Durga to become invincible. Goddess Durga gave him a boon that no god or man will vanquish him in a duel, except for another divine entity bearing the same name. Hayagreeva changed his mind later, started misusing his powers, and caused chaos in the world. Devas lost miserably in their combat with Hayagreeva and this was the last straw.

As a final response to the situation, Lord Vishnu, all of a sudden, severed his own head with the sting of his bow. For the Gods, it was like a bolt out of the blue. Goddess Durga instantly understood the intent behind this and asked Lord Brahma to get Lord Vishnu's head replaced with a horse's head. Thus, as Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a half man and half horse, another Hayagreeva was born. Lord Hayagreeva challenged the demoniacal Hayagreeva for a combat and defeated him in the next instant. As per another legend, Lord Hayagreeva, was responsible for slaying the mighty demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who had stolen the Vedas from Lord Brahma, as they wanted the religious text to be in the sole possession of the demoniacal world.

Hayagreeva Jayanti 2022: Significance

Hayagreeva Jayanti and Upakarma (yagnopavit or sacred thread changing ceremony) coincide, and Brahmins worship him on this day for knowledge, wisdom, and wellbeing. In Assam, you can find a temple for Lord Hayagreeva whose Jayanti is celebrated grandly in Hojo. Another famous temple that draws a lot of devotees, is the Nanganallur Temple, which is otherwise known as Hayagreeva Madhava temple.

The Laxmi Hayagreeva Temple at Bangalore and the Hayagreeva temple at Parakala mutt in Mysore, are very well known and record maximum number of visitors to their premises. The deity especially at the temple in Bangalore has scores of people as living testimonies for his miraculous powers. You can find a very rare combination of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Hayagreeva idols, together installed in a temple called Vaitheeswaran Koil, of Perambur Chennai. As these two deities signify the power of knowledge, this temple is very much popular amongst devotees, who want to excel in academics and various other studies.

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