Varaha Dwadashi (Appearance of Lord Varahadeva)

Varaha (Sanskrit: वराह, IAST:Varāha) is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who takes the form of a boar to rescue goddess earth. Varaha is listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.

In a symbolic Hindu mythology, when the demon Hiranyaksha tormented the earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi) and its inhabitants, she sinks into the primordial waters. Vishnu took the form of the Varaha, descended into the depths of the oceans to rescue her. Varaha slew the demon and retrieved the Earth from the ocean, lifting her on his tusks, and restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe.

Varaha may be depicted completely as a boar or in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and human body. The rescued earth lifted by Varaha is often depicted as a young woman called Bhudevi. The earth may be depicted as a mass of land balanced on his tusk.

In the Vishnu Purana, Varaha represents yajna (sacrifice), as the eternal upholder of the earth. Roshen Dalal describes the symbolism of his iconography, in this text as follows: "His feet represent the Vedas (scriptures). His tusks represent sacrificial stakes. His teeth are offerings. His mouth is the altar, tongue is the sacrificial fire. The hair on his head denotes the sacrificial grass. The eyes represent the day and the night. The head represents the seat of all. The mane represents the hymns of the Vedas. His nostrils are the oblation. His joints represent the various ceremonies. The ears are said to indicate rites (voluntary and obligatory)." Thus, states Vishnu Purana, the Varaha is the embodiment of the Supreme Being who brings order amidst chaos in the world by his sacrifice. Varaha symbolizes the resurrection of the earth.

A different interpretation of the Varaha iconography is one that describes the role of warrior king, who goes to the depth to preserve dharma and rescue goddess earth (kingdom) from forces of persecution and evil. He is the protector of the innocent goddess and the weak who have been imprisoned by the demonic forces. The sculpture typically show the symbolic scene of the return of Varaha after he had successfully killed the oppressive demon Hiranyaksha, found and rescued goddess earth (Prithivi, Bhudevi), and the goddess is back safely. Whether in the zoomorphic form or the anthropomorphic form, the victorious hero Varaha is accompanied by sages and saints of Hinduism, all gods including Shiva and Brahma. This symbolizes that just warriors must protect the weak and the bearers of all forms of knowledge and that the gods approve of and cheer on the rescue.