One-line: a name shared by Vishnu’s horse-headed form and by the demon that form must kill.
First appears: Book 1, in Book 1 retelling.
Who they are: Hayagriva is a disambiguation trap. In Book 1, a demon named Hayagriva can only be killed by someone horse-headed, so Vishnu becomes the horse-headed Hayagriva after a strange accident with his bow. Book 8 also mentions Hayagriva as a worshipped form in Bhadrashvavarsha.
What they do that matters:
- The demon Hayagriva receives a boon that makes a horse-headed killer necessary.
- Vishnu becomes horse-headed and kills him.
- The name later appears as a divine form in Book 8’s cosmic geography.
Other names: None in this storybook layer.
Family / lineage (when relevant): Two figures share the name: a demon and Vishnu’s horse-headed form.