दशकम् 2

हयग्रीव कथा
2 dviteeyadashakah' -
hayagreevakathaa
(Once the devas approached lord Vishnu for help in conducting a
Yajna. Due to the pressure of the bow ., Lord Vishnu’s head got cut
and fell in the sea/ As per the advice of Lord Brahma , the devas
prayed the Goddess. She told them to join a horse’s had on the body
of Vishnu. He woke up and in war killed a dangerous Rakshasa
called Hayagreeva. This occurs in the 5th chapter of first Skanda of
Devi Bhagawatham.)

रणेषु दै त्येषु हतेषु दे व ाः

पुर प्रहृष् ाः सहद तृशव व ाः
यििक्षवो िज्ञपयतिं यवनीत ाः
प्रपेयदरे यवष्णुमनन्तवीिवम् II1II
raneshu daityeshu hateshu devaah'
puraa prahri'sht'aah' sahadaatri'sharvaah' .
yiyakshavo yajnyapatim vineetaah'
prapedire vishnumanantaveeryam .. 2-1..

1.The devas who had killed the asuras in war earlier, the very
happy devas had a desire to conduct a Yagyna. Along with
Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma, with humility approached the
indestructible Lord Vishnu.
This shloka condenses the events described in skanda 1 chap
5 of devi bhagavatham.
Long ago there was a ghastly war between the devas and the
asuras which lasted for 10000 years. The devas won this war.
They were very happy and wanted to perform a yagna with
Vishnu as the chief. Good deeds should be performed
without any delay. The devas along with brahma and siva
went to meet Vishnu.
Vishnu has indestructible courage. The devas went to war
with Vishnu as senapati. That is why the devas won the war.

दृष्व च यनद्र वशगिं प्रभुिं त-

मयिज्यच प ग्र समयपवप्त स्यिं
आश्चिवम पुयववबुि , न कोयप
प्रबोिित् तिं खलु प पभीत्य II2II
dri'sht'vaa cha nidraavashagam prabhum
tamadhijyachaapaagrasamarpitaasyam .
aashcharyamaapurvibudhaa na ko'pi
prabodhayat-tam khalu paapabheetyaa .. 2-2..

2. They were surprised to see the Lord sleeping with his

head(chin) on the string of the bow. Due to the fear of
committing a sin, they did not wake him up.
It was Vishnu who fought the war and won it for the devas.
Though the asuras were destroyed HE too was exhausted. He
dug the bow that he had strung tight, onto the ground
vertically, & rested his chin on it and slept. The string of the
bow got bent due to the weight of vishnu’s head. It was at
this time the devas came to meet him. Yagna without the
presence of Vishnu will be of no use. The yagna could not be
postponed also. Awakening Vishnu was the only option. At
that time Siva said, “it is sinful to awaken a person who is
sleeping”. Afraid of committing a sin no one had the courage
to awaken Vishnu. Looking at him sleeping due to exhaustion
astonished the devas.

हरे स्तद नीमजसृष्वम्र्ि

मुख पवण कुयितच पमौवी
भग्न िनुश्च SSर्ज्ववम प सद्य-
स्तेन भवत् सोSयप यनकृत्तकण्ठाः II3II
harestadaaneemajasri'sht'avamryaa
mukhaarpanaakunchitachaapamaurvee .
bhagnaa dhanushchaarjavamaapa sadya-
stenaabhavatso'pi nikri'ttakant'hah' .. 2-3..

3.The frame of the bow, which was bent due to the pressure
applied by Lord Vishnu’s face, at that time termites created
by Lord Brahma, straightened the bow(the bend was gone).
Due to this,he became one whose neck was cut.
To awaken a person who is sleeping is sin. Suppose he gets
up without being awakened, thought brahma. It is believed
that brahma created termites at this time. According to
brahma’s instruction these beings went and got stuck onto
vishnu’s bow. They started to bite into the bow-string,
causing it to break. The bow straightened. With that vishnu’s
neck got sliced, and his head got thrown. And so brahma’s
idea of awakening Vishnu without calling was a failure.

क ि त् शीरस्तु त्पयततिं मुर रे ाः

पश्यत्सु दे वेषु पप त यसन्धौ
चेताः सुर ण िं कदने यनमग्निं -
ह हे यत शब्दाः सुमह नभूच्च II4II
kaayaachchhirastootpatitam muraareh'
pashyatsu deveshu papaata sindhau .
chetah' suraanaam kadane nimagnam
haaheti shabdah' sumahaanabhoochcha .. 2-4..

4. as the devas kept watching, they saw vishnu’s head

separated from the body, and fall into the ocean. The devas
were drowned in sorrow, and a large sound “Alas,
alas” rose from them.
Vishnu did not awaken when he got up. As soon as the bow
frame straightened his neck got chopped off. His head was
thrown upwards, and eventually fell into the ocean. The
devas were drowned in sorrow. The devas cried loudly. The
world was enveloped in darkness.

यकमत्र कृत्यम् पयतते हरौ नाः

कुमवाः कथिंवेयत यमथो ब्रुव ण न्
दे व न् यवि त SSह भवेन्न क िवम्
क रणिं दै वमहो बलीिाः II5II
kimatra kri'tyam patite harau nah'
kurmah' katham veti mitho bruvaanaan .
devaan vidhaataa''ha bhavenna kaaryama
kaaranam daivamaho baleeyah' .. 2-5..

5. “This is the end of Vishnu, at this moment what can we do?

How will we do something?” Brahma spoke to the devas who
were talking like this amongst themselves, “this cannot
happen without any particular reason. Alas! This is the result
of his past deeds.
For the devas Vishnu was always a friend in distress. When
his head was cut they started talking amongst themselves.
“What to do?” “How to do?”. Even though the head was cut
off, Vishnu was not dead brahma knew. So, he tried to pacify
the devas. Things will not happen without a cause. For his
head to cut and thrown he must have had some previous
karma. Everybody has to face the results of his past karmas

ध्य िेत् दे वीिं करुण द्रव यचत्त म्

ब्रह्म ण्डसृष्ट्य यदकहे तुभूत म्
सव व यण क ि व यण यवि स्यते नाः
स सववशक्त सगुण गुण च II6II
dhyaayeta deveem karunaardrachittaam
brahmaand'asri'sht'yaadikahetubhootaam .
sarvaani kaaryaani vidhaasyate nah'
saa sarvashaktaa sagunaa'gunaa cha .. 2-6..

6.” Pray to that merciful goddess, who is the cause of

creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe. The
all-powerful devi, who is with qualities(sagun) and at the
same time devoid of qualities(nirgun), will guide you to what
to do next.
Thus brahma tried to pacify the dejected and confused
devas. We must meditate in the nirgunna or sagunna form of
devi. Devi is all powerful, she is also the reason for all that
happens, she is compassionate. “what can we do now?” This
was the solution given by brahma to the zombied devas.
It has been mentioned about the all powerful Devi in the 1st
dashaka, 5th shloka. She thus manifests herself like this in this
universe. The nirguna sound explains this Devi. The saguna
devi has a specific form. Meditating on the saguna or nirguna
devi gives the same result. It is to the convenience of the
worshippers that the devi form is accepted.

इत्युचुषाः प्रेरणि यवि तु -

स्त्व मेव वेद नुनुवुाः सुर श्च
यदयव स्थित दे वगण िं स्त्वम त्थ
भद्रिं भवेद् वो हररणेदृशेन् II7II
ityoochushah' preranayaa vidhaatu-
stvaameva vedaa nunuvuh' suraashcha .
divi sthitaa devaganaamstvamaattha
bhadram bhavedvo harinedri'shena .. 2-7..
7. With the advice given by Brahma, the devas and the vedas
started praying to you with specific mantras. Without any
delay Devi manifested herself in the sky and said to the
group of devas,” only good will happen to you with Vishnu’s
head cut”
As per the advice given by brahma the devas started to pray
to devi. The vedas (that were incarnate there in their forms,
for the successful issue of the Deva’s work) started to pray to
devi with their own mantras. Without any delay devi
appeared in the sky and said,” only good will happen to you
all from the Vishnu whose head has been chopped off.”
• Devi bhagvatham skanda 1 chapter 5 slokas 53 to 68
Whoever reads these slokas with devotion will get all
what he desires. Whoever will hear this devotedly
during trisandhya will be free from troubles. This
stotra has been sung by the vedas so it is equivalent to
the vedas.

दै त्यो हिग्रीव इयत प्रयसद्धो

मिैव दत्तेन् वरे ण वीराः
वेद न् मुनीिंश्च यप हि स्यम त्र -
वध्यो भृशिं पीडियत प्रभ व त् II8II
daityo hayagreeva iti prasiddho
mayaiva dattena varena veerah' .
vedaan muneemshchaapi hayaasyamaatra-
vadhyo bhri'sham peed'ayati prabhaavaat .. 2-8..

8.” A famous valorous Rakshasa called Hayagreeva, due to

the power of the boons given by me, that he can be only
killed by one who has a head of a horse, Is
troubling the sages and Vedas due to his own strength.”
The good that is going to happen to the devas is told here.
To make it clear a danger is warned. An asura by the name
hayagreev did penance by chanting the the single syllable
maya bheej mantram ‘hrim’ for many years.and in due course
Devi manifested in front of him. The asura then asked her for
a boon. ”Only someone with the head of a horse can kill me”.
Devi granted him the boon. A person with a head of a horse
can never be born, thinking like this the asura asked the
boon. After getting the boon he knew he was invincible and
immortal, made him arrogant. He started troubling the munis
and the vedas with his strength. He started troubling the
rishis also. If the asura continues like this it was definite that
the devas too would have to bear his atrocities.

दै वेन कृत्तम् हररशीषं अध्य

सिंिोज्यत िं व यजयशरोSस्य क िे
ततो हिग्रीवति मुर ररर्
दै त्यिं हिग्रीवमरिं यनहन्त II9II
daivena kri'ttam harisheershamadya
samyojyataam vaajishiro'sya kaaye .
tato hayagreevatayaa muraarir
daityam hayagreevamaram nihantaa .. 2-9..

9.The head of Lord Vishnu has got cut due to the will of Fate.
So join a horse’s head on his headless body. Then the killer
of Mura, in his form of Hayagreeva, will kill the
Rakshasa called Hayagreeva swiftly.
“May your head fall off” Laxmi had so cursed* Vishnu. That
curse took effect now. vishnu’s head is gone. Now you can fix
a head of a horse onto his body. Then Vishnu will become
‘hayagreevan’ (one with the head of a horse.) he can also
destroy the asura hayagreeva. ‘Let good come to you’ was
said in the previous sloka. The slaying of the vicious wicked
asura hayagreeva is the good.
• Once upon a time , seeing the beautiful face of his dear wife Laxmi
devi hari laughed in her presence. At this laxmi devi came to think
that ”He has seen surely something ugly in my face and therefore
he laughed. Otherwise why my husband would laugh on seeing
me. But what reason can there be to see ugliness in my face after
so long a time. And why should he laugh without seeing
something ugly, without any cause. Or it may be , he has made
some other beautiful woman as my co wife” with these various
arguments in her mind, Mahalaxmi got angry and tamo guna
slowly possessed her & in anger slowly said “Let thy head fall off”.
She cursed without any thought of good or bad causing her own
suffering.

त्वमेवमुक्त्व सदििं यतरोि -

स्त्वष्र कबन्धेSश्वयशरो मुर रे ाः
सिंिोयजतम् पश्ययत दे वसिंघे
हि ननाः श्रीहरररूस्थत्थतोSभूत् II10II
tvamevamuktvaa sadayam tirodhaa
stvasht'raa kabandhe'shvashiro muraareh' .
samyojitam pashyati devasanghe
hayaananah' shreeharirutthito'bhoot .. 2-10..

10.After telling like this you vanished. Thwasthaa (the

sculptor of the heavens) joined a horse’s head onto the
headless body of Lord Vishnu. While the devas were seeing,
Lord Vishnu woke up from deep slumber with the head of a
horse..
After conveying everything to the devas, devi vanished. As
per the instruction of devi, the heavenly sculptor, twashtta,
joined a horses head onto Vishnu’s body. Like this Vishnu
woke up as hayagreeva. ‘Hayam’ means horse, and ‘greeva’
means neck.
*Thwashta-- Vishwakarma; the heavenly builder.
दै त्यिं हिग्रीवमहन् हि स्यो
रणे मुर ररस्त्वदनुग्रहे ण
सद जगन्मिंगळदे त्वदीि ाः
पतन्तु मे मूयनव कृप कट क्ष ाः II11II
daityam hayagreevamahan hayaasyo
rane muraaristvadanugrahena .
sadaa jaganmangalade tvadeeyaah'
patantu me moordhni kri'paakat'aakshaah' .. 2-11..

11. The horse faced Vishnu, with your blessings, in a war,

defeated an asura named hayagreeva. Oh! mother of the
universe! Who does good for the world, may your
compassionate glances, fall always on my head.
Though he got his head cut, nothing happened to Vishnu. It
only turned out to be blessing to the devas. It is due to the
blessings of the Devi everything ended well. That same Devi
brings good to this world. If you get that grace from her no
obstacles will come to you.
The story of Vishnu, transforming into hayagreeva, and killing
of the asura hayagreeva can be found in Devi-bhagvatham
1st skanda chapter 5 one can find this story.

Thus ends the 2nd chapter.

As Indra and other Gods were performing a Sacrifice in the presence of

Brahma and Mahesa, they had all desired Maha Vishnu to preside over
the Function and called on Him. But, Lord Vishnu was in ‘Yoga Nidra’or
the Sleep of Deep Meditation and nobody would dare wake Him. More
over, interruptions of somebody’s speech, the love of a couple, or
waking up a person’s deep sleep are sins equivalent to ‘Brahma hatya’
or killing of a Brahmana.
The Lord was seated in a ‘Padmasana’ posture squatting with His legs
folded and resting His chin on the top of His Bow with an Arrow fully
drawn. As the Sacrifice was to be concluded, Lord Siva advised Lord
Brahma to create a White Ant, ‘Vamri’ and directed it to bite the arrow
gently which should wake up the Lord to consciousness and thus make
the request. The Vamri sensed the delicate situation and requested
Brahma to grant it a return boon for the great risk being undertaken in
disturbing the Yoga Nidra of no less a personality than Maha Vishnu
Himself! Lords Brahma and Siva gave a boon to the Vamri that what
ever trickles from the Sacrificial Offerings of Ghee in the Homa Kunda
(Fire Pit) would spill out could be collected as its share. As commanded
by Brahma, the insect bit the fore-end of the arrow and the tight string
gave way at once and the entire Universe reverberated with horrifying
sound as the earth quaked, mountains were shaken, Oceans rose high,
Sun lost way and Devas got traumatised. Maha Vishnu’s Head was
severed with His Crown and there was no trace as to where it fell! Along
with Devas, Brahma and Siva cried like human beings as there was a
‘Pralaya’-like situation (Universal Dissolution). Then Deva Guru
Brihaspati consoled Indra, Brahma and Siva and encouraged them to
face the grim situation, as such eventualities did happen in the past.

The only recourse that Lords Siva and Brahma, accompanied by Indra
and Demi-Gods, had was that in one voice, they made an intense
appeal to Maha Devi Bhagavati, the Eternal Cause of Causes, the very
Original Energy, the Life Force of entire Creation, the Bindu and
Pranava, the Sourcing Fountain of knowledge and above all the
Embodiment of Charity and Forgiveness. Pleased by the most sincere
prayers of Brahma and Siva, ‘Nirguna’ Maha Devi hinted that there
ought to be a cause for the tragedy. In the company of Maha Lakshmi,
once Maha Vishnu laughed by thinking of something. Lakshmi Devi
failed to understand the possible reason as to what Vishnu was so
amused about. Was it a spot on Her face or was it due to another
woman in His desire? Then as Vishnu did not clarify, Lakshmi assumed
‘Tamasic Guna’ and gave a curse to Him saying that His head should
fall off. Thus happened the resultant tragedy despite Her sincere
repentance.
While this tragedy took place, there was a coincidental incident that a
tough Danava of extraordinary cruelty, named Hayagriva or the
Demon with the neck of a horse, resorted to severe ‘Tapas’ (
Meditation) to Maha Bhagavati for thousands of years by following a
strict regime of Sacrifice and unflinching devotion. Maha Devi
appeared before the Rakshasa and granted him a boon that no Power
in the Universe could cause death to him, except by an Extraordinary
Energy in the form similar to his own viz. Hayagriva form alone could
destroy him. Brahma and Siva hastened with the solution to the
present gravest tragedy and instructed Devata’s own Architect,
Visvakarma to do the needful. The Architect killed a horse at once and
fixed its neck to Lord Vishnu’s severed head and thus emerged Lord
Hayagriva.