Varāha Bhūmi Uddhāraṇa

This is the Vana Parva account of how the earth began to sink into the primordial waters after the asura Naraka (Bhaumāsura) was destroyed. The devas were alarmed and ran to Brahmā. Brahmā told them there was nothing to fear: Bhagavān Vishṇu himself was about to lift the earth in the form of Varāha, the cosmic boar. Lomaśa tells this account to Yudhishṭhira.

The earth sinks

Naraka, also called Bhaumāsura, had gathered immense power and cosmic possessions. When he was destroyed, the earth began to tilt and then to sink. No longer held up as before, the great land mass went down toward the primordial ocean that lies beneath the world we see (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 142).

The devas watched the earth go down in alarm. They hurried to Brahmā the creator, gathered around him in worry and told him what was happening. They feared the earth was being destroyed and that everything in the manifest world was coming to an end.

Brahmā’s answer

Brahmā heard the distress of the devas with perfect calm. He told them not to fear. This was not destruction. It was a divine act that Bhagavān Vishṇu himself was performing. The earth was sinking into the waters, and Bhagavān Vishṇu would take a form fit for lifting her back. The devas were told to watch (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 142).

Bhagavān Vishṇu takes the Varāha form

As the devas watched, the form of a great boar rose from the primordial waters. This was the cosmic Varāha, immense beyond any earthly measure. It was Bhagavān Vishṇu appearing as Varāha, the third of his principal avatāras (after Matsya and Kūrma).

Varāha went down into the cosmic waters and found the earth where she had sunk. He lifted her on his tusks, raised her from the depths and set her again in her place in the cosmic order (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 142).

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 142