Hayagriva is one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. In South India, Hayagriva is regarded as the God of learning and bestower of knowledge by devotees of Vishnu in many places of South India. In Sanskrit, the term `Haya` means `horse` and `Griva` means `neck`. Therefore, this deity is always seen with the face of a horse and the body of a man.

According to a book named `Devi Bhagarata`, a demon (rakshas) named Hayagriva received a boon that he would never be killed by man or animal. So, he started to trouble the gods (devas). The devas then went to the goddess Devi for getting relief from the demon. The goddess advised them to approach Vishnu and request him to be born with the face of a horse and the body of a man to kill this demon. As per the request, Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of half-horse and half-man. He then killed the demon Hayagriva. It is believed that the incarnation of Hayagriva took place to restore the Vedas to Brahma. Hayagriva is worshipped all over India but it is most popular in the southern part of India, especially the Sri Vaishnavas primarily worship this deity.

On a hillock at Tiruvendipuram of the state Tamil Nadu, one of the most important temples for Hayagriva can be seen. In various sculptures of Hayagriva, the god is sometimes portrayed with two or four arms and often with eight or twelve arms. The god is always shown carrying the shankha (conch) and chakra (discus) as he is an incarnation of Vishnu. Again, in some of the sculptures he is also seen with a book, rosary, mace or lotus. He is also called Lakshmi Hayagriva when he is along with his spouse goddess Lakshmi (Sri) and sometimes he is known as `Yoga Hayagriva` when he is in a yogic posture.

His ever gentle nature shown in the sculptures and images perfectly matches as the god of knowledge. The temple at Nuggehalli, Karnataka contains one of the most beautiful sculptures of Hayagriva. There is an inscription written at the bottom of the image, which describes that this figure of Hayagriva was sculpted by Malitamma. This image is one of the rare images of the god. The image here has eight hands, which hold the gada (mace), bana (arrow), chakra (discus), khadga (sword), shankha (conch), khetaka (club or shield), dhanus (bow) and padma (lotus). The demon Hayagriva is represented in a very pathetic condition under the feet of this gracefully embellished deity.