Hayagrīva

…god of wealth; and especially Hayagriva, a fierce horse-faced god who is powerful in driving off unconverted demonic forces. The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions have also identified local deities as manifestations of various buddhas and bodhisattvas. This process is particularly prominent in Japan, where the identification of buddhas and bodhisattvas…

…terminates in the head of Hayagrīva (Tibetan: Rta-mgrin), the fierce protective deity identified by a horse’s head in the headdress. Other symbols characteristically used to ornament the phur-bu are the knots of immortality, head of a makara (crocodile-like creature), and entwined serpents.