Varaaha avatar

Long ago there lived a demon named Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was a mean asura. He wanted to take control of the heavens; he attacked Indra, king of the Gods and others. Even Brahma, the lord who blessed him with powers could not kill him. The Gods fearing Hiranyaksha’s attack took shelter in the caves of the mountain ranges on Earth. When he learnt that the Gods were hiding in Earth, Hiranyaksha forcefully entered Earth also.

At this time Manu and his wife Shatarupa ruled over Earth (Bhu Devi). Manu was a wise king and the kingdom was prosperous. Hiranyaksha wanted to take control of the Earth from Manu, so he snatched Earth and drowned it in the ocean. Earth sank to the bottom of the ocean. Manu and Shatarupa fearing attack on their life, went to Brahma. Brahma decided to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. As Brahma meditated on Lord Vishnu, a tiny Boar came from his nostrils. It grew and grew till it was the size of a large Mountain. With a terrifying roar, Lord Vishnu as Varaaha (Boar) sniffed the air and being a boar, he was able to track the scent of Earth and took one mighty leap into the air and dived to the ocean bed in search of Earth.

Meanwhile Hiranyaksha rushed to the seashore after hearing the terrifying roar. He came across Sage Narada, and Hiranyaksha asked him, "Do you know where Vishnu is?" Narada told him that Lord Vishnu was under the ocean rescuing Earth. Hiranyaksha charged towards the ocean bed.

In the meantime, Varaaha the Boar had just dug his tusk into the ocean bed and having lifted Earth onto it, began rising towards the surface. Hiranyaksha challenged Varaaha to fight with him but Vishnu ignored all his taunts and continued rising to the surface. Seeing this, Hiranyaksha chased him but Varaaha didn't even look back until he put Earth in a safe place. Then, he turned to face Hiranyaksha. They fought for a long time with their maces. Varaaha hit the demon Hiranyaksha hard on his face with his fist and tossed him in the air. Hiranyaksha fell on his head and died on the spot.

Lord Vishnu returned Earth to Manu and Heaven to Indra. The Gods were delighted to get their heaven back and Manu lived to rule Earth for a long time. In this way, Lord Vishnu as Varaaha,the boar killed the Demon Hiranyaksha and brought the Earth in her proper orbit.

Questions 1. What was Hiranyaksha’s mistake? 2. How did Vishnu help the gods and people on earth? 3. What is the moral of the story? 4. What are some unique traits of a boar?