Varaha
| Varaha | |
|---|---|
Embodiment of Sacrifice | |
| Member of Dashavatara | |
 Painting depicting Varaha by Raja Ravi Varma, circa 1930 | |
| Devanagari | वराह |
| Affiliation | Avatara of Vishnu |
| Abode | Vaikuntha |
| Mantra | Om Bhuvarāhāya Vidmahe Hiranyakarabhāya Dhimahi Tanno Krodha Prachodayāt |
| Weapon | Sudarshana Chakra, Kaumodaki (Gada) |
| Symbols | Padma |
| Festivals | Varaha Jayanti |
| Genealogy | |
| Consort | Bhumi |
| Children | Narakasura, Mangala |
| Dashavatara Sequence | |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Kurma |
| Successor | Narasimha |
| Part of a series on |
| Vaishnavism |
|---|
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Varaha (Sanskrit: वराह, Varāha, "boar") is navatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
In legend, when the demon Hiranyaksha steals the earth goddess Bhumi and hides her in the primordial waters, Vishnu appears as Varaha to rescue her. Varaha kills Hiranyaksha and retrieves the earth from the cosmic ocean, lifting her on his tusks, and restores her to her place in the universe.
Varaha is depicted as a boar or in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and the human body. Varaha is often depicted lifting his consort Bhumi, the earth.