The varaha—is the boar and the story goes that earth was in some distress and had sunk to the bottom of a bottomless ocean. In the Taitirya Sanhita, the world is still seen as it was originally believed to be; fluid and a viscous mass. Brahma Prajapati moved over it like the wind. He wondered how one could transform the moving mass into the universe and saw a lotus standing in it—thinking that it must be standing on something, he assumed the form of a boar and dived deep in and found earth below. He broke off a piece and rose to the surface
The story then finds its way into Satapata Brahmana—here the boar has a name. It is called Emusha and the earth was the size of a span until the boar brought it up and spread it through space. The Ramayana has the story in 2 variations—in an older recension (recensions are edited versions) it is Bramha who becomes the boar and in the new one it is Vishnu who in the form of Brahma becomes a boar.
In the Mahabharata, the earth sinks under the weight of religiosity, ritual and her people. She appeals to the god Vishnu who promises to bring her back from the depths of the ocean and thus takes the form of the boar. In the form of the boar he also takes on the task of killing Hiranyaksh—a demon/asura that no god could vanquish and who had decided to acquire Prithvi for himself.
The boar’s tusks hold the earth, keeping her afloat and safe.
Story collected by: Arundhuti Dasgupta
Source: Hindu Mythology, Wilkins, W. J.
Image details: Wikipedia
