When Lord Vishnu took the Varaha (Boar) incarnation, His height was about 75,000 kilometers and His width around 40,000 kilometers. Such an immense size was necessary considering the size of the Earth itself, which is also approximately 40,000 kilometers in circumference.
According to ancient Hindu scriptures, during this avatar, Lord Vishnu lifted the Earth from a cosmic ocean known as the Garbodaka Sāgara (Cosmic Ocean), described as being one crore yojanas wide — that’s nearly 15 million kilometers. This ocean was so vast that a thousand Earths could fit within it. Such was the magnitude of this divine ocean — something beyond human imagination.
It is in this very ocean that Mahāviṣṇu reclines, infinitely far beyond our physical universe. The specific region of this ocean where He rests is called the Kṣīra Sāgara (Ocean of Milk). Therefore, Lord Vishnu in this form is called Garbodakaśāyī Vishnu — the Lord who lies upon the Garbodaka Ocean.
But an interesting question arises — why did God choose the form of a boar (Varaha)? He could have taken the form of any other creature. The reason is symbolic and scientific.
A boar is a creature that naturally lives in mud and swamps; it has the instinct to dig deep into the earth and find things buried underneath. Its sense of smell is extremely sharp, enabling it to locate hidden things beneath the ground or water.
Thus, to recover the Earth that had sunk to the bottom of the cosmic ocean and was trapped under the rocks by the demon Hiranyaksha, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a Varaha. He sniffed out the Earth’s location, dug through the cosmic depths, and finally lifted the Earth back to safety.
Even the term Bhūgol (भूगोल), used in India since ancient times, is meaningful — Bhū means Earth and Gol means round or spherical. This shows that India already knew that the Earth is round long before modern science claimed it.
In South India, there are many ancient temples — thousands of years old — where the idol of Varaha Deva depicts the Earth as a globe held on His tusks.
Meanwhile, in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church imprisoned Galileo for claiming that the Earth is round and revolves around the Sun — a truth that India had acknowledged in the Vedic age itself.
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This is a very ancient story. There were three great sages their fame spread across all realms and worlds.
Seeing their growing renown, Indra, the king of the gods, became disturbed. Out of jealousy, he called upon Urvashi the most beautiful and accomplished celestial dancer and said,
“On my birthday, these three sages will be my guests. I want you to distract them. Shake their minds. Let their focus and austerity be broken.
The three sages accepted Indra’s invitation and arrived in his heavenly city, Alakā. All the gods and celestial beings gathered to witness the grand celebration.
That night, Urvashi was adorned so exquisitely that even Indra himself was astonished. Her beauty was beyond measure. Then the dance began. Urvashi danced till midnight, enchanting everyone present.
Once upon a time Narada Ji went to meet Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu welcomed him with great honor and devotion. When Narada Ji left, Vishnu Ji said to Goddess Lakshmi, “Clean the place where Narada was sitting with cow dung.”
Narada Ji was still standing outside and heard everything. He immediately returned and asked Lord Vishnu
O Lord, when I arrived, you respected me so much…
Then why did you ask Lakshmi Ji to purify the place where I sat?”
Lord Vishnu replied gently:
“You are Dev Rishi, that is why I honored you.
Yet you have no Guru. You are Nigura.
Wherever a person without a Guru sits, that place becomes impure.”
Hearing this, Narada Ji said:
“O Lord, what you say is true, but whom should I accept as my Guru?
Vishnu Ji smiled and said:
“O Narada, go to Earth. The very first person you meet, accept him as your Guru.”
Narada Ji bowed and went to Earth. The first person he came across was a fisherman catching fish.
Narada Ji rushed back to Vishnu Ji and said:
“O Lord! That fisherman knows nothing! How can I make him my Guru?
The birth of King Dasharatha father of Lord Rama is described in the Purāṇas as a truly miraculous event.
Once, King Aja (Dasharatha’s father) was performing his midday worship and Sandhyā Vandana. At that very moment, Ravana, the king of Lanka, came to challenge him for battle. From a distance, Ravana watched King Aja deeply absorbed in meditation.
King Aja offered water (āchamana) backward instead of forward, which surprised Ravana. Approaching the king, Ravana asked, “O King, it is customary to offer the sacred water forward during worship, not backward. Why did you do so?”
King Aja replied calmly, “While meditating upon Lord Shiva with closed eyes, I saw — through divine vision — a cow grazing one yojana away in the forest. A lion was about to attack her, so to protect the cow, I offered the water backward.”
The Story of Sage Durvasa and the Origin of the Banana Tree (Kandali)
The story of how the banana tree (Kandali) came into existence is deeply fascinating it is linked to the anger of Sage Durvasa. According to legend, the banana tree was born from the ashes of Rishi Durvasa’s wife, Kandali, who was burned to ashes by his curse.
In Hindu tradition, the banana plant holds great spiritual and ritual significance. Its fruit is considered sacred and used as prasada (holy offering); its broad green leaves are used to decorate sacred spaces, and even a banana plant placed near a site makes it worthy of worship. From a health perspective, the banana is a complete and nourishing fruit, and from a spiritual perspective, it is considered pure and auspicious.
It is believed that Lord Vishnu resides in the leaves of the banana plant, and Lord Shiva in its roots, which are therefore called Mool Shankar.
Why was Ved Vyasa sad after writing the Mahabharata?
It is said that when the Mahabharata was finally completed, Maharishi Ved Vyasa was completely exhausted. Although Lord Ganesha was chosen as the scribe to write it down, the enormous effort of compiling, narrating, and shaping the epic weighed heavily on him.
Vyasa earned the title “Veda Vyasa” because he classified and compiled the four Vedas, but his fame spread mainly due to the Mahabharata. Not only that—he was also a witness to all the great events of that age. The creation of the Mahabharata itself carried many deeper meanings.
In the Mahabharata, Vyasa did not merely narrate a great war; he presented the entire journey of existence—from the beginning of creation to the age of Kali. He declared that “What is found here may be found elsewhere, but what is not found here cannot be found anywhere else.” His true intent was not to glorify battles, but to establish eternal values of life.
This episode comes from the Mahābhārata, during the Pāṇḍavas’ exile in the forest.
One day, Arjuna resolved to perform austerities in the Himalayas to please Lord Shiva and obtain celestial weapons from him. He journeyed to Indrakīla, a serene region in the Himalayas, filled with the hermitages of sages. There, he laid down his weapons and began deep meditation before a Shivlinga.
Shiva’s Test
To test Arjuna’s devotion and strength, Lord Shiva assumed the form of a Kirata (hunter) and appeared at Indrakīla.
At that very time, the demon Mukasura took the form of a ferocious wild boar and began wreaking havoc in the sages’ hermitages. The chaos broke Arjuna’s meditation. Seeing the monstrous boar, he swiftly strung an arrow and shot it. At the same instant, another arrow struck the boar—shot by the Kirata. Both arrows pierced the beast, killing it instantly. The boar fell to the ground, revealing its true form as the demon Mukasura.
Arjuna vs. the Kirata
A dispute arose between Arjuna and the Kirata over who had killed the demon. This was Shiva’s divine play. Soon, the quarrel escalated into combat.
•Arjuna shot countless arrows, but the Kirata shattered them all effortlessly.
•Not a scratch appeared on the hunter’s body.