God's Transcendental Boar Incarnation - Rescuing the Earth
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is supremely independent and can appear in any form He chooses to protect His devotees and maintain the cosmic order. Śrīla Prabhupāda vividly describes the extraordinary pastimes of Lord Varāhadeva, the boar incarnation, explaining that although He assumed the shape of an animal ordinarily considered impure, His gigantic form is entirely spiritual and composed of the Vedic hymns.
The Transcendental Nature of Lord Varāha
Conditioned souls are forced into specific bodies by the laws of karma, but the Supreme Lord accepts His incarnations by His own internal potency. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that one must never mistake Lord Varāha for an ordinary material hog. The Lord is described as yajñāvayava; His skin, eyes, and hair holes are personifications of the Vedas and the Gāyatrī mantra. Because He is completely transcendental, there is no difference between the sacred Ganges water and the water falling from the hairs of Lord Boar.
- Ordinarily the body of a hog is considered impure, but one should not consider that the hog incarnation assumed by the Lord is also impure. That form of the Lord is the personified Vedas and is transcendental.
- A conditioned soul is forced to accept a particular type of body by the higher authority of material laws, but here (in Srimad Bhagavatam 3.20.8) it is clearly said that the Lord was not forced to accept the form of a boar by the external power.
- Lord Boar's skin, His eyes and His bodily hair holes are all described here (In Srimad Bhagavatam 3.13.35) as different parts of the Vedas. He is therefore the personified form of the Vedic hymns, and specifically the Gayatri mantra.
- Here the Lord is significantly described as yajnavayava. One should not consider the Lord to have the body of an ordinary boar. He can assume any form, and He possesses all such forms eternally.
Rescuing the Earth
The primary mission of Lord Varāha was to save the planet earth from devastation. When the earth was plunged into the filthy depths of the Garbhodaka Ocean, the Lord perfectly played the part of a boar, searching for the earth by smelling the mire. Upon finding it, He effortlessly lifted the entire planet on the tips of His magnificent tusks, just as a sporting elephant plucks a lotus flower from a lake.
- In His incarnation as Lord Boar, He raised the planet earth from the water at the bottom of the universe and kept it on His pointed tusks. May that Lord protect me from rogues on the street.
- The Lord, as maintainer of the whole creation of the material world assumed the gigantic form of a boar with a proportionate snout and picked up the earth from within the water of Garbhodaka.
- Since Krsna can direct the wonderful cosmic manifestation, it is not at all wonderful for Him to assume the gigantic form of a boar and thus deliver the earth from the mire of the water.
- My Lord, as the original boar within this universe, You fought and killed the great demon Hiranyaksa. Then You lifted me (the earth) from the Garbhodaka Ocean on the end of Your tusk, exactly as a sporting elephant plucks a lotus flower from the water.
Two Millenniums, Two Appearances
Vedic history records that the Lord appeared as a boar during two different cosmic devastations. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Varāha appeared in both the Svāyambhuva and Cākṣuṣa millenniums. In the Svāyambhuva millennium, He assumed a white color and lifted the earth, while in the Cākṣuṣa millennium, He assumed a red color and fought a severe battle to kill the formidable demon Hiraṇyākṣa.
- As referred to previously, the boar incarnation was manifested in two millenniums - namely Svayambhuva and Caksusa.
- In the Svayambhuva millennium He (God as a Boar) assumed the color white, and in the Caksusa millennium He assumed the color red. Vidura had already heard about one of them, and he proposed to hear about the other.
- In both millenniums there was a boar incarnation of the Lord, but in the Svayambhuva millennium He lifted the earth from within the water of the universe, whereas in the Caksusa millennium He killed the first demon, Hiranyaksa.
- When delivering the earth from the Garbhodaka Sea, Lord Visnu, in His incarnation as a boar, killed Hiranyaksa, who had appeared before Him. The fight was severe, and the Lord killed Hiranyaksa with great difficulty.
The Vision of the Sages vs. The Ignorance of Demons
The perception of the Lord's form depends entirely on the consciousness of the observer. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that atheists and demons deride the animal incarnations, considering them to be mere beasts or mythological inventions. However, when Lord Varāha roared, the great sages residing on the highest planets (Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka) immediately recognized His voice as the all-auspicious vibration of the Vedas and began to chant His glories.
- Demons cannot understand the incarnations of the Lord; they think that His incarnations as a fish or boar or tortoise are big beasts only. They misunderstand the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even in His human form, and they deride His descent.
- Because of an atheistic mentality, some people think that the tortoise, boar and fish incarnations of the Lord are not very beautiful. They do not know that any form of the Lord is always the fully opulent Personality of Godhead.
- He is never to be misunderstood to be other than the Supreme Lord because of His assuming the form of a boar to lift the earth. That is the understanding of sages and great personalities like Brahma and other residents of the higher planetary system.
- When the great sages and thinkers who are residents of Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka heard the tumultuous voice of Lord Boar, which was the all-auspicious sound of the all-merciful Lord, they chanted auspicious chants from the three Vedas.
Conclusion
The pastimes of Lord Varāhadeva beautifully illustrate that the Supreme Lord is not bound by material limitations or human expectations. By diving into the filthy regions of the universe to rescue the earth, He displayed His boundless mercy and His willingness to do whatever is necessary to protect His creation and His devotees. Anyone who hears and chants the glorious activities of the Lord's boar incarnation is immediately freed from all sinful reactions and elevated to pure transcendental consciousness.
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