The
third incarnation among the Ten Incarnations is Varaha avatara, (Boar
incarnation.) At the beginning of the creation of the universe, Brahma, a
male named Svayambhuva Manu and a female named Satarupa manifested from
his body. By the desire of Brahma, Svayambhuva Manu accepted Satarupa
as his wife for the purpose of creation. Seeing the earth submerged in
the water of annihilation and desiring to seek a dwelling place for the
living beings, Manu approached his father Brahma and prayed to him to
rescue the earth. When Brahma saw the earth submerged in the water, he
thought for a long time about how it could be rescued. He had earlier
established the earth after removing all the water but he could not
understand why the earth had sunk into the water again. He had been
appointed for the work of creation but the earth had become inundated in
a deluge and had sunk down to the Rasatala planetary system.
Even
after much effort, Brahma was not able to think of any solution. At
last, he took shelter of the Supreme Lord Visnu. While Brahma was still
deep in thought, a small boar the size of the tip of a thumb manifested
from his nose. But the most surprising thing is that the small boar
expanded in front of Brahma and within moments, filled the sky and
assumed a form as big as an elephant. Brahma, together with the great
brahmanas like Marici, as well as the Four Kumaras and Svayambhuva Manu
saw the transcendental Varaha form and began to discuss among them. Lord
Brahma thought that this was some denizen of the transcendental world
in disguise; traveling in the form of a boar.
In this way, while
Brahma was deliberating with his associates, Sri Hari roared
tumultuously like the great mountain Giriraja. The omnipotent Sri Hari
enlivened Brahma and the other highly elevated brahmanas by again
roaring with His uncommon voice. The sound of His roar was so sweet that
it destroyed all the miseries of the hearer. Brahma, Svayambhuva Manu,
and other sages who reside on Janaloka, Tapaloka and Satyaloka, chanted
auspicious mantras from the Vedas as offerings to Varahadeva. Lord Visnu
in the form of Varaha accepted the prayers of Brahma and other sages
and for the benefit of the demigods, entered into the waters of
annihilation. Before entering into the water, Lord Varaha rose into the
sky lashing His tail. The Lord raised the hair on His shoulders and
scattered the clouds in the sky with His hooves. With raised hairs and
white tusks, and with luminous effulgence, the Lord's form was
brilliant. This is Sri Hari's unique transcendental pastime. Just the
remembrance of it causes shivering in the body. He was omnipotent and
omniscient, yet like an animal, He searched for the earth by the sense
of smell. His external appearance was fearful; however, He pleased the
sages engaged in offering prayers by glancing over them and entered into
the water. His dive into the water with his thunderbolt-like body
divided the ocean. The ocean prayed to Lord out of fear, "Please protect
me, O Supreme Lord!"
The Lord of all sacrifices penetrated the
water with His hooves, and in the depths of the Rasatala Ocean, He saw
the earth lying there as he carried it in his stomach during the time of
devastation. Lord Varaha lifted the earth on His tusks and appeared
very splendid. At that time, a very powerful demon named Hiranyaksa
challenged Him with a huge mace. An enraged Lord Varaha killed the demon
within the water, just as a lion kills an elephant. The body, head and
face of the Lord became red with the blood of the demon. The Lord, being
thus satisfied with the prayers of the great sages, placed the earth on
the water with His hooves.
