Hayagriva
Hayagriva South and Central AsiaLiterally, ‘horse-necked’. According to one legend, a demon who stole the scriptures from Brahma's mouth while he was asleep, and was killed by Vishnu as matsya-avatara, the fish incarnation. Another version relates that Vishnu himself assumed this form to recover the stolen Vedas from the demons.
In Tibetan Buddhism Hayagriva became the lord of wrath, the first of eight dreadful gods, the drag-gshhed. The others also derive from Hindu mythology and include Yama, his sister Yami, and Devi. In these deities is evident the Tibetan genius for portraying the terrible aspect of the spiritual powers, a frightening perception that even clouds the usual benevolence of bodhisattvas.
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