Varaha killed Hiranyaksha and retrieved the earth goddess from the cosmic ocean, lifting it on his tusks, and restored her to her place in the universe.

[6][7] Later the rain-relationship led the connotation of the term evolve into vara-aharta, which means "bringer of good things" (rain), which also mentioned by Yaska.

[8] The word literally means "the animal that makes a peculiar nasal sound in respiration"; in the Bhagavata Purana, Varaha is referred to Sukara, when he is born from the god Brahma's nostrils.

[26][13][27] In the Taittiriya Samhita (7.1.5), Prajapati - who was roaming as the wind - acquires the form of a "cosmogonic" boar lifting the earth goddess from the primeval waters.

[33][34][35] In the epic Mahabharata, Narayana ("one who lies in the waters", an appellation of Brahma which was later transferred to Vishnu) is praised as the one who rescues the earth as a boar.

The earth, unable to bear the weight of the new mountains and losing her energy, sinks in the waters to the subterranean realm of Rasatala - the abode of the demons.

[60][61] In the first account in the Bhagavata Purana states that in early stages of creation, Brahma creates various beings, however finds the earth under the waters.

[62][63] Varaha (identified with Vishnu, the Lord of sacrifice) emerges as a tiny beast (a size of a thumb) from the nostrils of Brahma, but soon starts to grow.

Varaha's size increases to that of an elephant and then to that of an enormous mountain and later, he becomes larger than the whole earth and raises it to the intrastellar space where Brahma places the created beings on top of.

[72][73][74] The Brahmanda Purana describes that acquiring the boar form composed of Vedic sacrifices, he plunges in waters, finding the earth in the subterranean realm.

[89][90][87][73][91] The Venkatacala Mahatmya and the first account in the Bhagavata Purana mentions only the rescue of the earth by Varaha, omitting the creation activities attributed to him in other texts.

[98][99][100] The Linga Purana continues further: Later, Vishnu discards his boar body and returns to his heavenly abode of Vaikuntha; the earth cannot bear the weight of his tusks.

[104] The Harivamsa narrates that the demons led by Hiranyaksha overpower and imprison the gods, Vishnu assumes the boar form and slays the demon-king with his Sudarshana chakra (discus) after a fierce war.

Vishnu combats with Hiranyaksha for a hundred divine years; finally the demon expands his size and seizing the earth escapes to the netherworld.

[107] A detailed second account in the Bhagavata Purana narrates that Jaya and Vijaya, the doorkeepers of Vishnu's abode Vaikuntha, were cursed by the four Kumaras to be born as demons.

In their first birth, they are born as the daityas Hiranyakashipu (who is slain by another of Vishnu's avatara of Narasimha) and Hiranyaksha as the twin sons of Diti and the sage Kashyapa.

[118][119] In an instance in the Mahabharata after raising the earth, Vishnu as Varaha, shakes his tusk and three balls of mud fall in the South, which he declares as the three pindas (riceballs) to be given to the Pitrs (ancestors).

[128][97] The Agni Purana while narrating tales of the Dashavatara in sequence briefly mentions that the Hiranyaksa, a chief of asuras (demons) defeated the gods and captured Svarga (heaven).

The Lingodbhava icon of the Shiva-worshipping Shaiva sect was aimed to counter the avatara theory of Vishnu that presented him as the Supreme Being.

[157] Like Vishnu's first two avatars – Matsya (fish) and Kurma (turtle) – the third avatara Varaha is depicted either in zoomorphic form as an animal (a wild boar), or anthropomorphically.

[165] The Venkatacala Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana mentions that the boar-faced, four-armed Varaha holds the discus and the conch and makes the gestures of blessing (varadamudra) and assurance.

Often the colossus is decorated by miniature figurines of deities, other celestail beings, sages, anthropomorphic planets, stars, other world creatures appearing all over his body, which signify the whole of creation.

The earth may be portrayed as a globe, a flat stretch of mountainous land or an elaborate forest landscape with buildings, temples, humans, birds, and animals.

Varaha's shakti (energy or consort) is the Matrika (mother goddess) Varahi, who is depicted with a boar head like the god.

[16] The Gupta era (4th–6th century) in Central India temples and archaeological sites have yielded a large number of Varaha sculptures and inscriptions; signifying cult worship of the deity in this period.

[173] In Karnataka, a zoomorphic image of Varaha is found in a carving on a pillar in Aihole, which is interpreted as the Vijayanagara emblem, as it is seen along with signs of a cross marked Sun, a disc and a conch.

[192] 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.

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 spring equinox.

The epithet Kapindra ("Kapi-Lord") may refer to Varaha or Rama avatar, depending the interpretation of the word kapi as boar or monkey respectively.

They include Adi Varaha Perumal shrine Tirukkalvanoor, located in the Kamakshi Amman Temple complex, Kanchipuram and Thiruvidandai, 15 km from Mahabalipuram.