South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c10.s2.21

c10.s2.21

³ The *Silpasangraha* says that Vārāhī was born of Yāma, the God of Death. According to Hēmādri the goddess Yāmyā, evidently identical with Vārāhī, rides on the buffalo, holds a staff and drinks blood from a skull. Three other goddesses with sow-face are mentioned in the *Lalitōpākhyāna* and the *Vārāhikalpa*. Dandanātha-Vārāhī is one, seated on the golden lotus. She has eight arms and a staff by her side. Svapna-Vārāhī has the gleaming tusks of a sow and four arms. She rides on a horse. Suddha-Vārāhī also has tusks and four arms. It may be noted that Bārtālī (Battālī) is a Buddhist goddess of similar description, sometimes also referred to in the Hindu *Tantras* (*Mayūrabhanja*, Introduction, p. xcv).