Varaha Dwadashi

Varaha is Krishna appearing in the extraordinary form of a gigantic boar—gigantic enough to carry the Earth on His tusks. Sound amazing? It is. And why should the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead be anything less than supremely amazing?

Koladvipa is an emblem of “pada-sevanam” or rendering devotional service unto the lotus feet of the Lord. This island is also known as Koladvipa parvata. “Kola” means boar and “Dvipa” means island. It is so called because Lord Varahadeva (an incarnation of the Lord who appeared as a boar to kill the demon Hiranyaksa) appeared at this place in Satya Yuga to bless His devotee. This place is even known as Varaha ksetra. It is said that this place is non-different from Giri Govardhan parvat of Sri Vrindavan dham.

In Satya Yuga, there was a great devotee of Lord Varahadeva named Vasudeva, who worshiped a deity of the Lord by various means like offering Ganga water, fruits, food etc. He very humbly begged the Lord to appear before Him. Lord Varaha appeared before him in a boar form. The Lord’s form was very beautiful & gigantic. The Lord instructed him that this place of Navadvipa dham was very holy one. By residing at this place & worshiping the Lord, one attains spiritual benefits multi fold as compared to other places of pilgrimage. The Lord told his devotee that He had appeared at this very place & had killed the demon Hiranyaksa. He further informed that in the age of Kali, He would advent as Sri Gauranga and inaugurate the Sankirtan process and that he (referring to His devotee Vasudeva) would be able to participate with the Lord then.

Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī, the great Vaiṣṇava poet, sang as follows:
vasati daśana-śikhare dharaṇī tava lagnā
śaśini kalaṅka-kaleva nimagnā
keśava dhṛta-śūkara-rūpa
jaya jagadīśa hare

“O Keśava! O Supreme Lord who have assumed the form of a boar! O Lord! The planet earth rested on Your tusks, and it appeared like the moon engraved with spots.”

Such is the symptom of an incarnation of the Lord. The incarnation of the Lord is not the concocted idea of fanciful men who create an incarnation out of imagination. The incarnation of the Lord appears under certain extraordinary circumstances like the above-mentioned occasion, and the incarnation performs a task which is not even imaginable by the tiny brain of mankind. The modern creators of the many cheap incarnations may take note of the factual incarnation of God as the gigantic boar with a suitable snout to carry the planet earth.

When the Lord appeared to pick up the earth, the demon of the name Hiraṇyākṣa tried to create a disturbance in the methodical functions of the Lord, and therefore he was killed by being pierced by the Lord’s tusk. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the demon Hiraṇyākṣa was killed by the hand of the Lord. Therefore, his version is that after being killed by the hand of the Lord, the demon was pierced by the tusk. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura confirms this version.