Editing Varaha (section)

==Symbolism==
[[File:The God Vishnu in Three Incarnations. Northern India (Mathura), Gupta period, mid-5th century AD. Boston Museum.jpg|thumb|Varaha as the left head in the [[Vaikuntha Chaturmurti]] icon of Vishnu. Mathura, [[Gupta period]], mid-5th century CE. [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Boston Museum]].]]

Varaha represents [[yajna]] (sacrifice), as the eternal upholder of the earth. Varaha is the embodiment of the Supreme Being who brings order amidst chaos in the world by ritual sacrifice.<ref name="Dalal2011">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA444|access-date=1 January 2013|date=5 October 2011|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|pages=444–5}}</ref>{{sfn|Wilson|1862|pp=63-5}} Various scriptures reiterate Varaha's identification with sacrifice, comparing his various body parts to implements and participants of a sacrifice. According to [[Horace Hayman Wilson|H.H. Wilson]], the legend of Varaha symbolizes the resurrection of the earth from sin by sacred rituals.<ref name="Dalal2011"/>{{sfn|Wilson|1862|pp=59-63}} Vishnu is identified with sacrifice; [[Bhaskara (Kashmiri)|Bhatta Bhaskara]] identifies Varaha with the ''sutya'' day in ''soma'' sacrifices, when the ritual drink of ''[[Soma (drink)|soma]]'' was consumed.{{sfn|Aiyangar|1901|pp=185-6}} A theory suggests that Varaha's identification with Sacrifice streams from the early use of a boar as [[animal sacrifice|sacrificial animal]].{{sfn|Becker|2010|pp=141-2}}

In royal depictions of Varaha, the icon is interpreted to allude to the [[Rajasuya]] sacrifice for royal consecration or [[Ashvamedha]] sacrifice to establish to establish sovereignty.{{sfn|Becker|2010|pp =128, 142}} The Varaha icon describes the role of a warrior king, rescuing goddess earth (kingdom) from a demon who kidnaps her, torments her and the inhabitants. It is a symbolism for the battle between right versus wrong, [[good and evil|good versus evil]], and of someone willing to go to the depths and do what is necessary to rescue the good, the right, the [[dharma]].<ref name="Desai2000p49"/><ref name=mitra1963/><ref name=becker123/><ref name="Stietencron22" /><ref name=williams42/>{{sfn|Becker|2010|pp=127-8|p=}} He is the protector of the innocent goddess and the weak who have been imprisoned by the demonic forces.<ref name=mitra1963/><ref name=becker123/><ref name="Blurton1993"/> 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, Bhumi), and the goddess is back safely.<ref name=becker123/> 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.<ref name=becker123/><ref name="Stietencron22"/><ref name=mitra1963/>

Various holy books state that the boar form was taken to rescue the earth from the primordial waters, as the animal likes to play in the water. Wilson speculates that the legend may be an allusion to a [[Outburst flood|deluge]] or evolution of "[[lake|lacustrine]]" mammals in the earth's early history.{{sfn|Wilson|1862|p=59}}

Another theory associates Varaha with [[tillage|tilling]] of the land for agriculture. When the boar tills the land with its tusk in nature, plants sprouts in the spot quickly.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172560|title=The Mahabharata|last=Rai Promatha Nath Mullick Bahadur|first=Bharat Bani Bhusan|date=1934|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172560/page/n190 183]}}</ref> In the context of agriculture, Roy associates Varaha with the cloud, referring the Vedic etymology of ''varaha'' and similar to the [[Germanic mythology|Germanic]] association of the pig with "cloud, thunder and storm". The boar, as the cloud, ends the demon of summer or drought.{{sfn|Roy|2002|pp=94-5}}

Various theories associate the [[Orion (constellation)|Orion constellation]] with Varaha; though the constellation is also associated with other deities. In autumn, Vishnu or Prajapati (the Sun) enters the southern hemisphere (equated with the netherworld or the ocean), while returns as Orion, the boar, on the [[March equinox|spring equinox]].{{sfn|Roy|2002|pp=96-7}}{{sfn|Aiyangar|1901|pp=190-1}}

In the [[Vaikuntha Chaturmurti]] icon when associated with the [[Chaturvyuha]] concept, Varaha is associated with the hero [[Aniruddha]] and energy.<ref name="DS39">{{cite journal |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Doris |title=Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms |journal=Archives of Asian Art |date=1979 |volume=32 |pages=41, 44 |jstor=20111096 |issn=0066-6637}}</ref>