A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.185

c5.185

3. Varāha. ‘The boar.’ The old legend of the Brāhmanas concerning the boar which raised the earth from the waters has been appropriated to Vishnu. A demon named Hiranyāksha had dragged the earth to the bottom of the sea. To recover it Vishnu assumed the form of a boar, and after a contest of a thousand years he slew the demon and raised up the earth.