Varaha or the boar incarnation of Sri Vishnu is associated with salvaging the Earth, manifested as Bhudevi, from the all-engulfing floods or Pralaya.
Keeping his vow of protecting the earth when it is burdened by the misdeeds of wrongdoers, Bhagawan Vishnu approached the depths of the cosmic ocean and carried Bhudevi to the surface.
Hindu textual traditions describe the majesty of Sri Varaha, whose divine aura as the savior of Earth mesmerized all.
Following the iconography of Sri Varaha murti as mentioned in the ancient Vaishnava text Vaikhanasagama, this Panchaloha Varaha statue is a representation of Sri Vishnu’s boar incarnation as “Bhu-Varaha”.
According to Vaikhanasagama, the statue of Bhu-Varaha should depict Sri Varaha in his chaturbhuja (four-armed) form, with the head of a boar and the body of a celestial man. Three of his hands carry Vishnu’s attributes- Shankha (conch), chakra (discus), and Abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness), while on his primary left hand sits Bhudevi.
The mother goddess has her hands held in the Anjali mudra, a gesture of showing gratitude, and pleasingly gazes at her all-powerful protector. Sri Varaha is adorned with a royal crown, necklaces, Makara-kundala (earrings shaped like Makara, a mythical animal that signifies royalty and beauty), a two-stringed Yajnopavita (sacred thread) on his torso, and a waistbelt.
His fine dhoti is stunningly delineated in this bronze statue, with intricate incised lines all over his legs to mark the softened folds of the garment and the fringes of the garment hanging from his sides gracefully. On the reverse of the statue, details of Sri Bhu-Varaha’s luscious hair and work on his dhoti can be observed to understand the dedication of the attention-oriented makers of this bronze icon.
Bhagwan Varaha dynamically raises his left leg, which is placed on the head of a five-hooded Adi-shesha, who in his zoo-anthropomorphic form, pays adulations to his Lord. The inverted lotus pedestal of which this Panchaloha Bhu-Varaha statue is crafted is delineated exquisitely- each petal marked individually to give the great god a fitting, regal pedestal.
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