Once, the demon Hiranyaksa, younger brother of Hiranyakasipu (see the story of Lord Nrsinghadeva, pictures 14,15,and 16 above) somehow caused the earth to fall into the waters of devastation at the bottom of the universe.
Seeing this, Lord Vishnu decided to come and save the earth. He chose an unlikely form: He decided to come as a great Boar. In this form He is known as Lord Varaha.
Actually the choice of the boar form is logical, since the pig is designed to root about in muddy waters and dirty places to find things.
He also chose an unusual way of appearing: He appeared as a tiny boar from Lord Brahma’s nostril. Then He grew and grew, until He filled the sky of the universe with His glorious powerful form, and roared till all the demigods and sages were terrified and filled with wonder.
Lord Brahma said, “I wonder who this is. I suspect it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He appeared in such a wonderful way.”
Lord Varaha went straight to the ocean at the bottom of the universe, and plunged into the water, where He located the earth planet and lifted it on His tusks. He set the earth planet on the surface of the water, where it floated.
Meanwhile, Hiranyaksa had been searching for a worthy opponent, thinking himself a great fighter, and when he learned that Lord Varaha had come, he enthusiastically came to attack Him. There was a great fight with clubs and other weapons, and Lord Varaha killed the demon.