The embodiment of knowledge
Lord Hayagriva
IT IS the Hindu tradition to put a premium on knowledge. That is why a preceptor is honoured even more than God. One day in a year, Saraswati puja, is set aside to propitiate the Goddess of learning. From Students to masons, everyone offers a thanks to the God for his special skill and renews a pledge to not let it rust. The fervour that marks the festival reminds this writer of the following verse:
God entrusts to all, talents few or many,
None so young and small, that they have not any.
Though the great and wise have a greater number,
Yet my one I prize, and it must not slumber.
In Vaishnavite homes, everyone recites Desika's `Hayagriva Stotram.' Those who cannot recite it in its entirety, will at least recite `Gnananandamayam Devam.' Lord Hayagriva is extolled here as the embodiment of knowledge and bliss.
Hayagriva is another form of Lord Vishnu, in which He appears with the head of a horse and the body of a divine being. The Lord assumed this form to slay Madhu and Kaitabha, the two asuras who stole the Vedas from Brahma.
In Thiruvahindrapuram, Vedanta Desika recited the Garuda Mantra taught to him by his uncle, Kidambi Appular and was initiated into the worship of Hayagriva by Garuda. Desika composed the Hayagriva Stotram in 33 verses. Apart from the `phalasruti' there are 32 verses. There is a reason for Desika writing the Stotram in 32 verses. The Brahma vidyas are 32 in number. His composing the Hayagriva Stotram in 32 verses is to show that Hayagriva is the repository of all vidyas.
Desika says the neighs of Hayagriva are the essence of the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas.
The 32nd verse which is the `dhyana sloka,' speaks of Hayagriva's right lower hand as `vyakhyamudra' - the elucidating pose and the left lower hand holds a book. Desika says that Saraswati, Dakshinamurthy and sages like Vyasa reflect a fraction of Lord Hayagriva's effulgence. Apart from theYoga Hayagrivar in Thiruvahindrapuram, there is another in Chettipunyam, near Chingleput.
The idol, small but bewitching, was brought to Chettipunyam from Thiruvahindrapuram in 1848, and attracts many devotees. Lakshmi Hayagriva is the presiding deity of the Parakala Math in Mysore. There are also sannidhis for Hayagriva in the Desikar temple in Mylapore and also in the Soundarraja Perumal temple in Dadikombu near Dindigul.
As one in traditional manner, lays out one's tools for worship, one should remember that there is more to life than merely eking out a living. The Hayagriva Stotram is a beacon light that guides us as we embark on the spiritual journey. As devotees worship Hayagriva, they also seek His guidance to navigate the labyrinthine paths of the philosophical realm.
SUGANTHY KRISHNAMACHARI
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