The Indian boar differs from the Central European Boar by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build.

[3] It is slightly taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed.

[2] The animal has interacted with humans in the Indian Subcontinent since the Upper Paleolithic, with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in Bhimbetaka rock shelters,[5] and it occasionally appears in Hindu mythology.

A story present in the Brahmanas says that Indra killing a evil boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods and goddesses and they eat it.

In the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas, another boar, Varaha is an avatar of Vishnu that kills Hiranyaksha and saves Bhumi.