Varaha

Varaha in an anthropomorphic form with a boar's head lifts the earth - in the form of the earth goddess Bhudevi - out of the primordial ocean; serpentine demons or servants at his feet. Two of his arms hold typical attributes of Vishnu - club ( gada ) and disc or wheel ( chakra ).

Varaha near the village of Eran (Madhya Pradesh) probably from the 5th or 6th century. Garuda stands opposite him on a pillar.

Udayagiri - Vishnu in his boar incarnation

Varaha ( Sanskrit वराह varāha "boar") is the third incarnation ( avatara ) of the god Vishnu in the form of a boar in Hinduism . The idea of the boar, which by digging in the mud, produces the earth, has been archaeologically attested to in pre-Hindu times (3000 BC) on the Andamans .

Legends

Vishnu lives up to his reputation as the preserver / preserver of the world in the incarnation as Varaha. According to Varaha- Purana, the earth once sank when a new age had dawned in the waters of prehistoric times. Like a mother, whose child has fallen into the water, does not hesitate to jump after it to save it, Vishnu's first thought was to preserve the earth. He took the form of the boar, the mightiest of the swamp animals; as a good swimmer, he dived into the primordial ocean. There he killed the dangerous demon Hiranyaksha , raised the earth on his colossal tusks in the form of the goddess Bhudevi (Bhumi) - an epithet of the Prithivi - and saved her from sinking into prehistoric chaos.

In another version, the demon Hiranyaksha, who had achieved immortality from Brahma, abducted the earth into the depths of the primordial sea.

Another version of the legend reports that during Brahma's act of creation the earth accidentally fell into the primeval ocean , whereupon Brahma asked for the help of Vishnu, who then assumed the shape of a boar.

Representations

Medieval Varaha sculptures are widespread all over India, with two different modes of representation:

fully plastic representations (e.g. Eran , Khajuraho )

the body of the animal-shaped boar is entirely covered with small figures of gods; the goddess Bhudevi ('Goddess who is the earth') - also called Prithivi ('earth') - stands near his head or holds on to the boar's tusks with her hands.

Relief representations (e.g. Udayagiri , Halebid , Mahabalipuram )

Varaha's body is that of a man, his head is that of a boar; one of his legs is raised. Bhudevi / Prthivi is standing or sitting on Varaha's shoulder or arm.

Basically, the fully plastic, animal-shaped representation of Varahas occurs exclusively in northern India ( Madhya Pradesh ); Most of the representations of this kind - around a dozen have survived - are in museums (Delhi, Gwalior, Indore). Varaha reliefs, on the other hand, are more common and spread all over India.

literature

Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: The Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism. DuMont, Cologne 1986, p. 82f, ISBN 3-7701-1347-0
Veronica Ions: Indian Mythology. Hamlyn Publishing, London 1988, p. 49, ISBN 0-600-34285-9

Web links

Commons : Varaha - collection of images, videos and audio files

Varaha Purana - Prthivi legend (Engl.)
Varaha legend (Engl.)

Individual evidence

^ EJ Michael Witzel: The Origins of the World's Mythologies. Oxford University Press, 2011., p. 116.

[1] EJ Michael Witzel: The Origins of the World's Mythologies. Oxford University Press, 2011., p. 116.