Varaha, the boar, is the third avatar of Vishnu in the Dashavatara. When the earth had sunk under the waters into Rasatala, the Lord became a boar, went down into the water, raised the earth on his tusks (Bhagavata 3.13; Vishnu Purana 1.4) and slew the daitya Hiranyaksha in battle (Bhagavata 3.18-19).
- In the Dashavatara
- The third avatar
- Form
- A boar; in the Bhagavata (3.13.18-19) from the size of a thumb to that of an elephant in a moment
- When
- According to the Vishnu Purana (1.4), at the beginning of this kalpa; tradition counts it in the Satya yuga
- Others in the story
- The Earth (Bhudevi), Brahma, Svayambhuva Manu, the daitya Hiranyaksha
The story in the Bhagavata
At the beginning of creation Svayambhuva Manu told Brahma that he would care for his people on the earth, but the earth lay sunk in the great ocean: let a way be found to raise it (Bhagavata 3.13.14-15). While Brahma was still thinking, a small boar the size of a thumb came out of his nostril and, as they watched, grew in the sky to the size of an elephant (3.13.18-19).
Lord Varaha roared, the rishis praised him with Vedic hymns, and he plunged into the water (3.13.23-28). Reaching the bottom, he saw the earth in Rasatala and brought her up on his tusks; a daitya who came at him with a mace on the way he killed with ease (3.13.30-32). Later chapters of the Bhagavata (3.17-19) tell of this daitya, Hiranyaksha: his birth, his pride, and his long battle with Lord Varaha and his death.
In the Vishnu Purana
According to the Vishnu Purana (1.4), at the beginning of this kalpa Narayana, in the form of Brahma, knowing the earth lay within the waters, took a new form to raise it: as in earlier kalpas he had taken the form of a fish and a tortoise, this time that of a boar. The form is said to be made of the sacrifices of the Vedas. The Earth praised him, and the boar, vast as the Nila mountain, raised her on his tusks from the lowest regions.
Varaha in the Vedas and in art
According to Wikipedia the seed of the story of the boar who raised the earth from the waters is in the Taittiriya Samhita and the Shatapatha Brahmana, where the boar is named Emusha and in some versions is called Prajapati; in the Puranas the story is tied to Vishnu.
Cave 5 at Udayagiri near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh has a great relief of Varaha with the earth goddess hanging from his tusk. According to Wikipedia it dates from about 400 CE, in the time of Chandragupta II, and is among the most studied reliefs of the Gupta age.
Where the sources differ
- Hiranyaksha: the Bhagavata (3.13, 3.17-19) joins the slaying of Hiranyaksha to the raising of the earth; the Vishnu Purana’s telling (1.4) has only the raising of the earth and the hymns, without Hiranyaksha.
- Who the boar is: the Vedic texts link him to Prajapati (Wikipedia); in the Vishnu Purana he is a form of Narayana in the form of Brahma; in the Bhagavata he is Vishnu, come out of Brahma’s nostril.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the Varaha avatar happen?
To raise the earth, which had sunk through the waters to Rasatala, so that Manu and his people would have a place to live (Bhagavata 3.13.14-17); according to the Bhagavata he also slew the daitya Hiranyaksha at that time.
Where did Lord Varaha appear from?
According to the Bhagavata (3.13.18), from Brahma’s nostril, as a small boar the size of a thumb.
Who was Hiranyaksha?
The younger brother of the daitya Hiranyakashipu, slain in battle by Lord Varaha (Bhagavata 3.17-19). Hiranyakashipu was later slain by Lord Narasimha.
Sources
- Bhagavata Purana 3.13.14-35, 3.17-19 (G. V. Tagare’s English translation, Motilal Banarsidass, archive.org)
- Vishnu Purana 1.4 (H. H. Wilson’s translation, archive.org)
- Varaha Purana 4.2 (Sanskrit text, transliterated from Sanskrit Wikisource, archive.org)
- Wikipedia: “Varaha” (the Vedic roots, Emusha, Udayagiri cave 5)
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