Varaha, Boar Incarnation of Vishnu
Unknown Artist
700–800s
Medium
sandstone
Dimensions
82 × 68.5 × 33.5 cm
Classification
Stone
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma
Accession Number
2011.148
About this artwork
The Hindu god Vishnu took the form of a boar to rescue his wife Bhu (Earth in Sanskrit) from the bottom of the primordial ocean, where she had been hidden by a demon. Here shown with the head of a boar and the powerful lunging body of a warrior, Varaha holds out one of his four elbows as a seat for the earth goddess who he has rescued.