Sanskrit

Noun

हयग्रीव • ‎(hayagrīva) m

1. (literary) ‘horse-necked’.
2. N. of a form of Vishnu (manifested according to one legend, in order to recover the वेद carried off by two दैत्यs called मधु and कैटभ).
3. N. of a Daitya (also called ब्रह्म-वेद-प्रहर्तृ, as having carried off the वेदs at the dissolution of the universe caused by ब्रह्म's sleep at the end of the past कल्प ; in order to recover them, विष्णु became incarnate as a मत्स्य or fish, and slew हय-ग्रीव).