Stories From The Varaha Purana

Description

Varaha Purana was originally spoken by Lord Varaha to Bhumi and later repeated by Suta Gosvami to the sager at Naimisaranya. Lord Varaha spoke this Purana to Bhumi after He had lifted her up from the nether regions. This Purana consists of questions by Bhumi, the goddess of the earth, posed to Lord Varaha, the Boar Incarnation of Lord Visnu. For the edition I have selected interesting stories which are told to illustrate the efficacy of various holy places of pilgrimage.

In the course of these narrations there are innumerable instruction dealing with religious principles and codes of conduct. At the end there is an extensive description of the abode of Yamarja givan by Naciketa, a person who appears in some of the Upanisads. As this is one of the sattvika Puranas, it clearly establishes that Lord Visnu is the Supreme Lord, above Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. Interestingly, it is stated that when one faithfully worships Lord Siva throughout thousands of births, he becomes eligible to become a devotee of Lord Visnu.

This Purana is different from many of the others in that we don’t see all of the familiar stories that are told again and again. All of the incidents related here involve persons who we were previously unfamiliar with. There is also a story of Lord Krsna cursing Samba, which certainly cannot be found elsewhere.