Description
Sandstone horse-faced avatar of Vishnu called Vajimuka or Hayagriva.
holding his attributes
Kampong Preah period 8th c, Cambodia
Dim: ht 102 w 40 d 20 cm
In Hinduism, Hayagriva or Hayagreeva is also considered an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is worshiped as the God of knowledge and wisdom,
with a human body and a horse’s head, brilliant white in color, with white garments and seated on a white lotus. Symbolically, the
story represents the triumph of pure knowledge, guided by the hand of God, over the demonic forces of passion and darkness.
There are several stories about this unique avatar of Lord Vishnu.
One of the versions is that Vishnu revealed the Vedas to Brahma at the time of creation. Realizing the power of these Vedas, two demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Brahma and hid them at the bottom of the ocean. When Brahma sought Vishnu’s help to retrieve the sacred texts, Vishnu took the Hayagreeva form, killed the two demons and returned the Vedas to Brahma.
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