Varaha Purana

by Anonymous

Also known as: Varāha Purāṇa, Varaha-Purana, The Boar Purana

Varaha Purana cover
Culture:Indian, Hindu
Oral:1-1000 CE
Written:900-1200 CE
Length:10,000 lines, (~16 hours)
Varaha Purana cover
A Vaishnava Purana centered on Vishnu’s boar incarnation, combining cosmology, genealogies, avatara lore, dharma and ritual instructions, and extensive tirtha-mahatmya for sacred sites.

Description

The Varaha Purana, one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, presents teachings framed by Vishnu in his boar form addressing Earth (Prithivi). It blends mythic narrative with didactic sections on cosmogony, manvantaras, royal and priestly duties, vrata observances, and pilgrimage guides to famed north Indian tirthas, notably around Mathura and the Yamuna. Avatara accounts and hymns reinforce a bhakti theology while acknowledging the broader Brahmanical cosmos of gods, sages, and dynasties. Like other Puranas, it interleaves genealogical lists and sacred geography with ritual prescriptions, offering a portable compendium of myth, law-like guidance, and devotional praise that evolved through multiple recensions.

Historiography

Surviving manuscripts show significant variation in chapter order and scope, reflecting layered redaction from a Vaishnava kernel with additional Shaiva and tirtha-mahatmya material. Scholarly estimates place core compilation in the early medieval period, with later accretions adapting local sacred geographies. Printed editions standardize differing chapter counts (c. 200–220+) and verse totals. Modern translations and summaries vary widely, and some pilgrimage sections circulate independently.

Date Notes

Composite text with accretions; Vaishnava core with later Shaiva and pilgrimage sections; chapter counts vary by recension.

Major Characters

  • Varaha
  • Vishnu
  • Bhudevi
  • Brahma

Myths

  • Varaha Lifts the Earth from the Cosmic Ocean
  • Avatars of Viṣṇu and Sacred Geography
  • Creation Cycles and Pilgrimage Lore

Facts

  • Classed among the eighteen Mahapuranas with a Vaishnava orientation.
  • Framed as teachings of Vishnu’s boar avatar to the Earth goddess.
  • Combines cosmology, genealogy, dharma instructions, hymns, and pilgrimage guides.
  • Pilgrimage (tirtha-mahatmya) sections especially extol Mathura and environs.
  • Chapter counts and contents differ substantially across manuscripts and prints.
  • Reflects accretive composition spanning early medieval centuries.
  • Shares narrative motifs and avatara lists with other Vaishnava Puranas.
  • Integrates ritual prescriptions for fasts (vratas) and festival observances.
  • Employs genealogies of Solar and Lunar dynasties to anchor sacred history.
  • Invokes sacred geography linking rivers, mountains, and shrines to merit.