Avatar 3 of 10 · Satya Yuga
Varaha
The third avatar: Vishnu as a boar, who dived to the bottom of the cosmic ocean and raised the earth, the goddess Bhudevi, on his tusks.
- His form
- The boar
- Satya Yuga
- His day
- Varaha Jayanti
- Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya
The story
The demon Hiranyaksha, made almost unbeatable by a boon of Brahma, grew so proud that he seized the earth and dragged her down to the bottom of the cosmic ocean.
Brahma prayed for help, and a tiny boar, no bigger than a thumb, came out of his nostril. It grew in moments to the size of a mountain and plunged into the waters with a roar.
Deep in the ocean the boar found the earth and lifted her on his tusks. Hiranyaksha attacked him; they fought a fierce battle in the waters, and Varaha killed him. Then he set the earth back in her place, and she became his consort, Bhudevi.
Why he came
To rescue the earth from the depths and destroy the demon Hiranyaksha.
How he is shown
With a boar’s head on a four-armed human body, raising the earth goddess Bhudevi on his tusk or in his arm, one foot on the coils of a serpent.
His verse
वसति दशनशिखरे धरणी तव लग्ना शशिनि कलङ्ककलेव निमग्ना।
केशव धृतशूकररूप जय जगदीश हरे॥
Vasati dashana shikhare dharani tava lagna, shashini kalanka kaleva nimagna;
Keshava dhrita shukara rupa, jaya Jagadisha Hare.
The earth rests on the tip of your tusk like the dark mark sunk in the moon, in the form of a boar. O Keshava, glory to you, Lord of the world, Hari!
पृथ्वी आपके दाँत की नोक पर ऐसे टिकी है जैसे चन्द्रमा में डूबा हुआ काला दाग, वराह के रूप में। हे केशव, आपकी जय, जगत के स्वामी हरि!
His day
Varaha Jayanti
Bhadrapada Shukla Tritiya, the third day of the bright half of Bhadrapada (August or September)
Where he is worshipped
- Bhu Varaha Swamy TempleSrimushnam, Tamil Nadu
- Sri Varaha Swamy TempleTirumala, Andhra Pradesh
- Varaha TempleKhajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Questions
Who was Hiranyaksha?
A demon, the brother of Hiranyakashipu, who dragged the earth to the bottom of the cosmic ocean. Varaha killed him and raised the earth again.
Why is darshan of Varaha first at Tirumala?
By tradition the hill belonged to Varaha, who let Venkateshwara live there; so pilgrims visit the Varaha Swamy temple before going to Venkateshwara.