srI:

srimathE nigamAntha mahAdEsikAya nama:

Hidden treasure, wisdom beyond measure – 022

Sri Hayavadanan
(Sri U.Ve. VidwAn Desika Bhakta Ratnam, Seva SrinivAsarAghavAchAryar)
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** Please pardon any errors or omissions in the translation of this article **

Srimate Nrusimha TatayArya mahAdesikAya namaha

Sri HayagrIva is one of the avatars of ParavAsudevan. Swamy Sri Desikan revealed
this by blessing us with the words "vAgISAkhyA vAsudevasya mUrti:"

In this article I am submitting before you some of the specialties and the glories
of this avatAram using the extant pramAnams.

Even though the information obtained from pramAnams is unquestionable, is there

anything to beat the fact that the deity of worship of the one who lived and
breathed as a paramaikAnti, Swamy Sri Desikan, is none other than Sri HayagrIvan!
However, this BhagavAn's fame did not spread far and wide unlike the avatArs of
RAma and Krishna. This avatAram did not catch the attention of people by means of
superhuman feats. This delusion must be removed; the subject revealed by the
pramAnas, the pramEyam, should be made clear. The best approach is to learn the
glory of this BhagavAn 'Desika-dattena sakshasha', using Swamy Sri Desikan as the
master.

If we understand the truths that such a one as Swamy Sri Desikan, who had the
sAkshAtkAram of Sri HayagrIvan, has put forth, there can be no further testament
to the glory and superiority of Sri HayagrIvan. Although there are
many records demonstrating the glory of Swamy, just his anusandAnam of
Hayavadanan as 'Hayavadana tejo bhRmhitAscharya shakti:' is enough, isn't it?
Swamy has blessed us with a stotram glorifying HayagrIva; he has also blessed us
with several slokas in granthas such as 'ShatadUshaNi'. Swamy's HayagrIva stotram

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shows us clearly that Swamy has dedicated his jihvAgra ("tip of the tongue") as
simhAsanam for HayagrIvan.

We must pay careful attention to where and in what ways the glory of Sri
HayagrIvan has been extolled. It was Sri HayagrIvan who gave the upadesam of the
Vedas to Brahma. This is indicated by the etymology of the term 'tarati' in the
svetAsvatara Upanishad, in the Upanishad upasamhAra prakaraNam. In the first
mantra of the fourth adhyAya, "sa no buddhya subhaya samyunaktu" brings to us the
mental image of Sri HayagrIvan. The 21st mantra in the 6th chapter describes
SvetAsvatara as VidwAn: "tapah-prabhAvAd deva-prasAdAc ca brahma ha
svetAsvataro 'tha vidvAn"

If it had not been for HayagrIva prasAdam, Brahma would have remained a
simpleton, says Swamy in HayagrIva stotram.

ParakAlan alludes to the fact that it was Sri HayagrIvan who first gave the
upadesam of the vedas to Brahma, in Periya Thirumozhi 5-3-2, in his
mangaLAsAsanam of the EmperumAn of ThiruveLLarai:
"vasaiyil naanmaRai keduththa am malar ayaRku aruLi, mun parimugamAi
isai koL vEda nool enRu ivai payandhavanE enakku aruL puriyE"

("O BhagavAn, You appeared as HayagrIva and gave back the vedas to Brahma!
Please show mercy on me!")

Additionally, in Periya Thirumozhi 7-8-2, performing mangalAsAsanam of

ThErezhundhur Amaruviappan, Alwar has blessed us with the words:

'Mun ivvulagezhum iruL mandi uNNa,

munivarOdu dhAnavargaL thigaippa, vandhu,
pannu kalai nAl vedhapporuLai ellAm
parimugamAi aruLiya yem paraman kAnmin'.

("EmperumAn swallowed the worlds, engulfing them in darkness, and then gave the
four vedas as the horse-faced One")

Nammalwar, enumerating the avatars in ThirvAimozhi 2.8.5, said,"mAvAgi AmaiyAy

mIn Aagi mAnidam Am, thEvAdii thEva perumAnen thIrththanE!" (EmperumAn is Lord
Hayagreev, KoormA, MatsyA, the 'human' avatars of Rama and Krishna, and is the
Chief of all dEvAs, He is the one who purifies me!") Sri Suka in the BhAgavatam
describes as "matsyasva-kacchapa-varaha-"

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 In the 19th sargam of the 5th adhyAya of the Srimad BhAgavatam, Sri Suka has
revealed an esoteric truth, as follows:

"tathā ca bhadraśravā nāma dharma-sutas tat-kula-patayaḥ puruṣā bhadrāśva-varṣe

sākṣād bhagavato vāsudevasya priyāṁ tanuṁ dharmamayīṁ hayaśīrṣābhidhānāṁ
parameṇa samādhinā sannidhāpyedam abhigṛṇanta upadhāvanti"

"In the tract of land known as BhadrAsrava-varsha, all the residents worship Sri
HayagrIva".

Srutis extol the glory of this avatara in several places. The Divine Names of
VAkpati, vAchaspati, MadhusUdhanan, all refer to Sri HayagrIvan. One can bring to
mind Swamy Sri Desikan's words, in total alignment with Sri BhAgavatam, extolling
Sri HayagrIvan as "vAgIsAkyA vAsudEvasya mUrti:"

There is an avatAra called hamsa-avatAr. Sri Suka refers to this as "Nrusimha-

hamsa". PeriyAlwAr (PeriyAlwar Thirumozhi 1.9) also says "andRu annam adhu AnAnE
acchO acchO!" ("Oh You took the graceful, charming Hamsa (swan) avatar)!" )
ParakAlan, praising the dasAvatars in Periya Thirumozhi 11-4-8, says:

“munn ulagangaL yEzhum iruL maNdi uNNa mudhalOdu veeDum ariyaadu

ennidu? Vandhadhu enna imaiyOr thisaippa, ezhil vEdam inri maraiya
pinnaiyum vaanavarkkum munivarkkum nalgi iruL theeernthu ivv vaiyagam magizha
annam athaai irunthu angu ara nool uraittha athu nammai AaLum arasE"

Meaning: “When all the worlds were enveloped by pitch darkness and the celestials
were confused not knowing what to do in the absence of the Vedas, You took the
hamsa avatar!" This pAsuram brings to mind the Hamsa-avatAr.

HayagrIva gAyathri has the usage of 'hamsa-prachOdayAt'. Swamy Sri Desikan

lists the hamsa avatAr in the GuruparamparAsAram as follows: "hamsa matsya
hayagrIva nara nArAyaNa gItAchAryAti avatArangaLAlE thAnE veLi ninRu"

Sri MahAbhAratam has the 'HayashIra upAkhyAnam' in the ShAnti parva, MOksha
dharmam, NArAyaNAkyAnam (357th adhyAyam), containing 96 slokas.

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 Sri Abhinava RanganAtha Brahmatantra ParakAla YatIndra mahAdEsikan has
provided a magnificent, lucid commentary on the Sri HayashIra upAkhyAnam. It is
not an exaggeration if we say that this commentary is a magnificent and
fitting headpiece for Sri HayagrIvan Himself. This commentary contains explanations
to several objections, as well as several amazing utterances.

These are as follows -

1. The HayashIrsha pAncarAtram is the primary one.

2. 'ahaM hayagrIvo bhUtvA samudre pascimottare |

pibAmi suhutaM havyaM kavya~n cha shraddhayAnvitaM
mayA srushta: purA brahma mAmyagnam ayajatIswayam
tatas tasmai varAn prItO dattavAnasmi' ||

From this, we can see that the deity that Brahma worshipped was HayagrIva.

3. HayagrIva has given the upadesa of the vedas, with the kamandalu and the
tridanda in his hands.

The shatadushani refers to Sri HayagrIvan showing Himself in various forms thus:
'hayamukha mukhai: tattad rupai: akarma vinirmitai:'

4. Sri Krishna Himself is HayagrIva.

5. HayagrIva was the One who destroyed Madhu; so He is MadhusUdhana;

MadhusUdhana-katAksham (the sight of Madhusudhana when in the womb) is superior.

6. This is also described in the yagnyAkarahara adhyAya.

VAsudeva says to Narada, 'aham hayashirA bhUtvA yat tad hayashira:' the
references in these two slokas are to the same Hayagriva, but it has been
determined that this is different from the Hayagriva described to be in the form of
a sanyasi. The appellation of Hayagriva as 'kamandalu tridandadruk' refers to
Hayagriva as a paramahamsa.

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 In the HayagrIva Sahasra nAma as expounded in the PAncharAtra, 'paramO hamsa
evAdau pranavam brahmane atishat upAdhishat tatho devAn srimAn hayashirA hari:
tenAsou stavarAjOhi hamsAkhya hayagochara:'

In the Vishwakarma sUktam, the reference to gandharva in 'Vishwakarma

yajanishta deva Adit gandharva abhavat dvitIya:' actually speaks of HayagrIva. In
the Vishwakarma sUktam of the Rig Veda, HayagrIva is referred by 'vAchaspatIm
vishwakarmaNAm Udhaye'.

We can also infer this from 'Vidhya SahayavAn Deva: .... AdikartA' Here,
'Vidhya' refers to 'Lakshmi'.

8. In the exposition of the Hamsa mantra in the Vishnu tilaka samhita, 'hamsO haya
shirA hari:' tells us that both (Hamsa and HayagrIva) are the same. This is also
made very clear in the Harivamsam and the NArAyaNAkhyAnam.

9. The Aditya who appeared with the head of a horse and the form with the vAkdevi,
and gave the upadesam of the sukla yajur veda to Yagnyavalkya is none other than
HayagrIva. Here 'vAkdevi' refers to 'Lakshmi'.

10. Of all the deities to be worshipped for the acquisition of knowledge, HayagrIva is
the superior deity.

11. That Chaturmukha Brahma worshipped HayagrIvan is described in the Srimad

Bhagavatam (2-7-11) thus:

satre mamāsa bhagavān haya-śīraṣātho

sākṣāt sa yajña-puruṣas tapanīya-varṇaḥ

12. Aniruddha is none other than HayagrIva. 'sasmAra shipulam deham hari:
hayashirO mahAn'

13. The NarAyana Upanishad shows the supremacy of HayagrIva.

14. Shankara has based his 'tIrtha kara' sapta vyAkhyAnam on the hayashIra
upAkhyAna vrittAntam and not as described in the Devi Bhagavatam.

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15. 'arkO vAjasani:' refers to HayagrIva.

16. Saraswati gave the deity she worshipped, HayagrIva, to Sri BhAshyakArar.

17. Through Sri BhAshyakArar, this deity of HayagrIva reached KurugaikkAvalappan,

and from him to his great-grandson, PundarIkAkshan, and thence to Swamy Desikan,
becoming Swamy Desikan's deity of worship. In this vein several amazing facts are
presented.

It is now pertinent to review some truths from the HayagrIva stotra which Swamy
Desikan, the 'apara HayagrIvan', has revealed to us.

1. As if to remind us of the 32 brahma vidyas, Swamy has used the term 'sarva
vidya' in 'AdhAram sarva vidyAnAm', and accordingly written 32 slokas. Even though
there may be some divergent opinions on 3 or 4 slokas, today in practice there are 32
slokas, excluding the phala sruti.

2. The use of the term 'svata:siddham' reminds us that the form of HayagrIva is
also svAbhavikam (natural); this term shows that He is self-manifested and not
brought on by the exigencies of a boon or due to a desire to take a specific form. A
complete explanation would make this article too expansive, so adiyen is merely
highlighting this one beautiful aspect.

HeshA halahala:
In the sloka beginning with ‘samAhAra:’ Swamy tells us that HayagrIvan's neighing
dispels the darkness of nescience, and that the neighing sounds like 'halahala'. The
supporting commentary uses the terms "ashwat-dhvani" and 'halahalAkArO
heShArava:' to explain this onomatopoeic usage.

In the previous sloka too, Swamy has blessed us with the words '..trayyantai:
anuvihita heShA halahalaM'. The commentators have used similar linguistic
interpretations here too.

Here adiyen would like to make an observation. Why should Swamy Desikan use the
term 'halahala' to describe the neighing of a horse! It appears to adiyen that there
is an esoteric and tasty explanation for this. Adiyen suggested this in a few vidvat-

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sadas, and learned scholars there concurred with adiyen's suggestion. Adiyen now
feels that it may be appropriate to write about this. Adiyen only seeks Desikan's
benediction and approval on this explanation.

'Halahala' here is not just merely an onomatopoeic usage. The juxtaposition of the
aksharas 'hal' and 'ahal' is relevant here. 'hal' is a consonant. 'ahal' is a vowel,
called a svara. Etymologically, we may explain this as 'halahalalou asmin iti halahala:'
Panini's 14 sutras organizing the phonemes are called 'MAheswara sUtras'.

The sloka that explains these sUtras is

NrttavAsAne NatarAja-rajo nanaAa dhakakAm navapancavAram

UddhartukAma: sankAdisiddhAnetadvimarse sivasUtrajAlam

The BAla-ManOrama explains this sUtra further.

Let us analyze these sUtras. The first four, 'a e oo N ...' are about the svaras.
The next 10 sUtras, starting with 'ha ya va ra t ..' until 'ha la ' are about the
consonants. The consonants are called 'hal'.

The commentators have decreed that these 14 sUtras refer only to letters and do
not have any meaning. The consonants start with 'ka' and end with 'ha'. The
consonants do not have the specific order that the vowels do. One Ushma letter
(sibilant), ha, and three 'antha:stha' letters (semi-vowels), namely, ya, ra, va, are
placed in the fifth sUtra as 'ha- ya- va- ra- t'. The next sUtra is 'la N', which
contains an anthahstham. then varga-antima aksharas then the fourth, then the
third, then the second ,and then the first letter. Then the Ushma letters of sa,
Sha, Sa, and lastly the 'ha'. One should note the careful arrangement of the
antahstha first, then the varga, and then the Ushma in the end.

Some might object to the occurrence of the 'ha' in the pratyAkAram (letter plus
anubandha) of 'hal'; but the explanation for this objection is present in the sAstras.

Here the order of 'ya ra la va' is changed. In the first prAnAksharam,

'akAram Vishnu vAchakam', When the vyanjanam letters begin, one can appreciate
the aptness of hayavara- hayasreshTan. Additionally, here the 'ha' letter is fully

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repeated twice. It is not surprising that the sUtras are the heSha-roopam
(manifestation of the neighing) of Sri HayagrIvan.

'halahala' is the form of the neighing. This is inferred. It is said, 'kAkavaratthAl

kAkAnumAnam,.'; similarly, one can infer the horse from the neighing (heSha -
> asvAnumAnam). It is said, 'nAmaikadEsE nAma grahanam'. In this vein, 'ha'
denotes HayagrIvan, and 'la' denotes Lakshmi, so hala stands for 'Lakshmi
HayagrIvan'. The repeated neighing of the horse instills this tattva of HayagrIva.
Therefore, adiyen submits that this 'halahala' usage is not merely onomatopoeic, but
has this deep meaning. Let this 'halahala heSha' dispel the inner darkness, as Swamy
Desikan beseeches!

Adiyen dares to hope that this explanation will gratify the hearts of kindred souls.

In Gratitude: Commemorative issue celebrating the 120th Thirunakshatra Mahotsavam

of Srimad U.Ve. 'Kaliyuga VaSiShTa' Thirumalai Chaturveda NAvalpAkkam
Valayapettai Swamy Sri SrinivAsa TAtayArya MahAdesikan.

Our Humble Prostrations to: Srimad U.Ve. Thirumalai, Chaturveda NAvalpAkkam

Valayapettai Ramanuja TAtayArya Mahadesikan.

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