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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 13: Verses 31-41
The Lord's Descent as the Divine Boar
As he was thus reflecting, a tiny boar, just as big as a thumb, emerged all of a sudden The Lord shone most resplendent as He rose lifting up the earth on His tusks out of the depths of the ocean, where it had been lying submerged. While He was yet in those waters, a demon (Hiranyaksa by name) of irresistible prowess assailed Him with his club in order to obstruct His way. This excited His fury, which blazed forth like His discus (Sudarsana) and He playfully disposed of him even as a lion kills an elephant without any exertion. With His temples and snout stained by the demon's blood He presented the appearance of a lordly elephant that had just turned up the earth (of a mound of red ochre). Even as the Lord, who was dark as a Tamala tree, lifted the earth (out of the water) on the ends of His white tusks, like an elephant (carrying a lotus on his tusks), dear Vidura, Brahma (the Creator) and
others recognized Him and, joining palms, waited upon Him with hymns of praise that closely resembled Vedic Mantras. The sages said : "Victory, victory to You, 0 invincible Lord, the Promoter of sacrifices! We make obeisance to You even as You shake Your own (divine) Body, consisting of the three Vedas (in order to free it from moisture). We bow once more to You, who have assumed the form of a boar with a special object (that of rescuing the earth) and in the pores of whose bristles lie hidden the various sacrifices. This form of Yours, O Lord, made up as it is of sacrifices, is one that cannot be easily perceived by the sinful. The various Vedic metres (Gayatri etc.) find a place in Your skin, the (holy) Kusa grass in Your bristles, clarified butter in Your eyes and the functions of the four priests (the Hota and others) in.Your four legs. The Sruk (a sort of large wooden ladle used for pouring clarified butter on a sacrificial fire) is located in Your snout; the Sruva (a smaller ladle used for pouring clarified butter into the Sruk), O almighty Lord, finds a place in Your nostrils; the Ida (a dish or plate from which food is taken at a sacrifice) exists in Your belly; the Camasas (vessels used at sacrifices for drinking the Soma, generally of a square shape, made of wood and furnished with a handle) abide in the cavity of Your ears; the Prasitra (a vessel in which the Brahma's share is poured) exists in Your mouth and the Grahas (ladles or vessels employed for taking up a portion of some fluid, especially of Some, out of a larger vessel) in Your throat. And Your act of chewing, O Lord; constitutes the Agnihotra (pouring oblations into the sacred fire). (36) Your repeated descent (into the world of matter) is what is known as the Diksaniya lsti (the offering of oblations into the sacred fire at the time of consecration for a sacrifice); the three Istis known by the name of Upasads (which precede the Sutya or pressing of the Soma in a Jyotistoma sacrifice) constitute Your neck; the Prayanlya Isti (that which follows the Diksa or consecration) and the Udayaniya Isti (that which is performed at the end of a sacrifice) are Your tusks; the Pravargya (the ceremony called Mahavira performed at the beginning of every Upasad) forms Your tongue; the Sabhya and the Avasathya fires form Your head and the putting of bricks in layers or rows for the preparation of a sacrificial altar constitutes Your vital airs, revealed as You are in the form of a sacrifice. Your generative fluid is the Soma and Your sitting posture constitutes the sacrificial rites performed thrice (in the morning, at midday and in the evening) everyday. The seven constituents of Your body are the seven classes of main sacrifices (viz., Agnistoma, Atyagnistoma, Uktha, Sodasi, Vajapeya, Atiratra and Aptoryama); while the joints of Your body constitute all the Satras (series of sacrifices continued for a number of days). In this way You combine in Your person all the Yajnas (sacrifices in which the Soma is not used) and Kratus (those in which the Soma is used), the tendons of Your body forming the various sacrifices. Hail, hail to You, who represent in Your person all the Mantras (sacred formulas) employed, the deities worshipped and the materials used (by way of oblations etc.) in a sacrifice, as well as all sacrificial acts and other activities. Nay, You also embody the wisdom gained through dispassion, Devotion and self-control, and are our teacher imparting all sorts of knowledge. Hail, hail to You. Borne by You on the pointed ends of Your tusks, O Lord, the earth with its mountains, O Supporter of the globe; shines resplendent like a lotus plant with leaves supported on the tusks of a lordly elephant emerging from water. Again, with the terrestrial globe supported on the tusks, this boar-like form of Yours, which consists of the three Vedas (Rgveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda) looks as charming as the beauty of a huge mountain with a mass of clouds hanging on its summit.
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