The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Grey-brown, coarse textured sandstone sculpture of the god Vishnu with a boar head, looking up at his wife Bhu, about half his size and seated on the upper left of his four elbows. Bhu twists her body to look down at Vishnu, a ring behind his head. Her right hand is broken off, same as one of Vishnu's, the second is placed just below the dagger at his waist before the sculpture breaks off.

Varaha, Boar Incarnation of Vishnu

700–800s

Central India, probably Madhya Pradesh

sandstone
Overall: 82 x 68.5 x 33.5 cm (32 5/16 x 26 15/16 x 13 3/16 in.)
Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma 2011.148
Location: 243 Indian and Southeast Asian

Did You Know?

In his two left hands, he hold the conch and discus.

Description

The Hindu god Vishnu took the form of a boar to rescue his wife Bhu (Earth in Sanskrit) from the bottom of the primordial ocean, where she had been hidden by a demon. Here shown with the head of a boar and the powerful lunging body of a warrior, Varaha holds out one of his four elbows as a seat for the earth goddess who he has rescued.
  • (Adrian Maynard Oriental Art, London, UK, sold to John and Maxeen Flower)
    ?-2011
    Dr. John and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928-2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2011-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2010-2011.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 62, 2012, pp. 105–153. Reproduced: p. 121, fig. 18 43677806
  • Reinstallation of “Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan”. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 12, 2024-November 2, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Varaha, Boar Incarnation of Vishnu|url=false|author=|year=700–800s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.148