Million Year Old Deity of Lord Varaha in Mathura Holds a Flat-earth
BY: MAYESVARA DASA
Jun 13, 2020 — IRELAND (SUN) —
I would like to thank Madhavananda Prabhu for bringing to our attention the panel of Lord Varaha holding the flat-Earth at the Radha Madhava Temple, in Radhanagar (Bangladesh).
Most ancient deities and sculptures of Lord Varaha depict the Earth in her personified form as Goddess Bhumi; it is therefore a pleasant surprise to see the Earth depicted as a landscape, since it informs us of how our predecessors understood the shape of the Earth.
I would like to also thank Gopagana dasa for originally pointing out the flat-Earth on the tusks of Sri Adi-Varaha at Mathura (see image 1 below); and again to Bhakta Dirk who recently reminded me that the Deity is holding a flat-Earth. From what I can perceive from the photo below, it indeed appears that the Earth has a flat-base, and is certainly not globe-shaped. The little figure near the Earth appears to be part of a background panel of figures as shown more clearly in image 2.
[ Image 1 ]
[ Image 2 ]
The temple is also home to a Deity of Sveta-Varaha (white Varaha) who is clearly holding a flat-Earth (see image 3 below). I have not been able to contact the priests for further information about the white Varaha. I would be grateful if anyone has any additional information about the appearance of the white Varaha shown below:
[ Image 3 ]
In chapter 163 of the Varaha Purana, Lord Varaha personally narrates the appearance and history of the Sri Adi-Varaha murti at Mathura. Varaha said:
15. The Mathura region extends over twenty yojanas and is like a lotus with Lord Kesava in its central part.
16. Those who die in this central part get liberation and become gods.
17. Those who see Lord Kesava on the western side will not get any sorrow.
18. Those who see the Lord on the northern side never fall into the cycle of births and deaths again.
19. Those who see the Lord in Visranti on the eastern side certainly gain liberation.
20. On the Southern side there is a divine image of mine.
21. It is long and beautiful and he who sees it delights himself in the company of Brahma.
22. In the Krta-yuga there was a king named Mandhata. I was propitiated by him with a devout mind.
23. Pleased at this, I gave him this image and it was worshipped by him for his own salvation.
24. It was at the time of (Satrughna's) killing Lavana at Mathura, it was installed there. It is holy, divine and resplendent.
25. There was a great sage by name Kapila who was devoted to me.
26. He made by his mind an image of (Visnu in the form of) Varaha and was worshipping it every day.
27. The sage Kapila was propitiated by Indra, and pleased at this, he gave him this divine idol.
28. From then onwards, Indra was worshipping it with devotion and delight. As a result, he attained matchless divine knowledge.
29. Once the demon Ravana went to the world of Indra to conquer heaven by his might.
30. Severe fighting then followed between Ravana and Indra.
31. The gods together with Indra were defeated by Ravana and he then entered Indra's abode.
32. In that splendid house decorated with numerous jewels, he saw the idol of Kapila varaha and prostrated before it.
33. But being deluded by it, he began to pray.
34. "O Lord Madhava, Damodara, Hrslkesa, the holder of Earth, the destroyer of Hiranyaksa, be pleased to save me.
35. I bow to you, the essence of Vedas. I bow to you Vasudeva
I bow to you in your form as the tortoise. I bow to you Narayana.
36. I am not able to see you or ask anything, О abode of all virtues, the destroyer of Madhu and Kaitabha.
37. I bow to you, the Lord of Lords, the refuge of all devotees. I bow to you in all devotion. Be pleased with me."
38. At this prayer of Ravana, the Lord of the worlds adopted a gentle form.
39. Ravana then went near and attempted to raise the idol in order to put it in his Puspakavimana, but he could not.
40. Surprised at this, he exclaimed: "O Lord, I was able to raise Mount Kailasa together with Siva. You are here in such a small form, still I am unable to raise it.
41. I bow to you, god of gods, be pleased to enable me to take you to the great city of Lanka".
Varaha said:
42. Карila (varaha) then told him that being a Raksasa he was not a Vaisnava and he could not have the sort of devotion (necessary to achieve his aim).
43. Ravana said: "O great being, unflinching devotion has dawned on me by your sight. I bow to you. I wish to take you (to my city)".
44. The Lord then assumed a little form and so he was able to lift him and place him in his Puspakavimana.
45. He installed me at Lanka and I stood there for a long time in his house worshipped by him.
46. Rama, the Lord of Ayodhya, then came there and killed Ravana in battle, and installed his brother Vibhlsana on the throne of Lanka.
47. Vibhisana then offered everything to Rama.
Rama said:
48. "O Raksasa Vibhisana, I shall not have anything to do with all this. You may give me that idol alone which was taken here from the city of Indra.
49. If you give me that, I shall take it to Ayodhya and worship it every day".
50. He then gave Rama the Kapila (Varaha) and Rama carried it in the Puspaka.
51. He installed it at Ayodhya and worshipped it there for hundred and ten years.
52. He then sent Satrughna for killing Lavana. Satrughna bowed to him and started with an army with all its four divisions.
53. He then killed the terrific demon Lavana and entered the city of Mathura.
54. He settled there twenty-six thousand Vedic Brahmins who were all equal to me.
55. (Even) a non-Rgvedic Brahmin of Mathura is equal to one who has mastered the four Vedas. To feed one of them is equivalent to feeding a crore of other Brahmins.
56. Thus have I told you about Lavana's killing (by Satrughna).
57. When Rama came to know of the success of Satrughna, he asked him to seek of him any boon he wished.
58. Hearing this, Satrughna said, "O Lord, if you are pleased with me and consider me worthy of receiving a boon, give me this (idol of Kapilavaraha)".
59. Hearing these words of Satrughna, Rama, said, "Take this (idol of) god in the form of Varaha.
60. That whole region is very much blessed, the city of Mathura in particular. The people of Mathura who worship this Kapila (Varaha) are highly blessed.
61. All sins disappear when he is seen, touched, contemplated upon, bathed or anointed.
62. When he is bathed or worshipped every day, he not only removes our sins but grants moksa."
63. О Earth, so saying Rama gave him the idol.
64. Receiving it, Satrughna went to Mathura.
65. He installed it in the middle of the city and worshipped it. In this way the Lord permanently came to be there.
66. By seeing this, the same result is obtained as by offering pinda in Gaya during Puskara in the month of Jyestha.
67. The same result is also obtained in Visranti, Govinda, Hari, Kesava, and Dirghavisnu.
68. My lustre is at Visranti in the morning, Dirghvisnu at noon and Kesava in the evening.
69. This knowledge was kept a secret for a long time. Since you are my devotee and disciple, I imparted this to you.
(The Greatness of Kalpilavaraha Tirta, from the Varaha Purana, chapter 163, verses 15-69)
A question was raised by Bhakta Dirk regarding the small size of Adi-Varaha at Mathura—since people in previous yugas were much bigger than in Kali-yuga, why is the Deity of Adi-Varaha so small in comparison? The question is answered in the above narration: Ravana wanted to worship the Varaha murti at his home, but being unable to lift the Lord who is heavier than the heaviest, Varaha decided to please Ravana by taking a tiny form and allowing Ravana to carry Him:
"The Lord then assumed a little form and so he was able to lift him and place him in his Puspakavimana. He installed me at Lanka and I stood there for a long time in his house worshipped by him" (Verses 44-45)
In the above narration, Sri Varaha states that the Deity appeared from the mind of a great sage called Kapila. Obviously if sage Kapila had considered the Earth to be globe-shaped, he would have depicted it as such. Instead, the Earth as we can all see, appears flat and circular. It is amazing that the Deity was worshipped by both devas (Indra) and asuras (Ravana), and even by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Lord Ramacandra).
Lord Varaha begins his narration by speaking about a King called Mandata who lived in the Krta-yuga (Satya-yuga), According to the Vedic calculation of time, Satya-yuga occurred millions of years ago. I cannot clearly ascertain from the narration if this King Mandata is connected to the lila concerning the Adi-Varaha deity, but in any case, Lord Varaha goes on to say that the Adi-Varaha murti was worshipped by Lord Ramacandra who appeared in Treta-yuga. We have so far passed through 5,000 years of Kali-yuga; before that was Dvapara-yuga which lasted 864,000 years; and before that was Treta-yuga which lasted 1,296,000 years. Lord Ramacandra appeared at some point during the Treta-yuga.
"Lord Ramacandra became King during Treta-yuga (tretayam), but because of His good government, the age was like Satya-yuga. Everyone was religious and completely happy." (SB 9.10.51)
This makes the deity of Adi-Varaha at least almost one million years old, and of course, provides the oldest evidence in support of our argument that the eternal religion (sanatana-dharma) teaches a flat-Earth (Bhu-mandala).
The Western Darwinian time-line cannot accommodate the idea that civilised humans were on the Earth millions of years ago. The Western time-line, however, only demonstrates once again that we are dealing with entirely different world views in respect of the history of the Earth, what to speak of the nature of the size and shape of the Earth itself. Leaving aside most people's difficulty with Vedic history and cosmology, what about Vedic theology, which presents the idea that for a pastime (lila), the Supreme Personality of Godhead took the form of a giant hog (Varaha), and then lifted the Earth after it sunk in a cosmic-sized ocean called Garbhodaka. If one can believe that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can take the form of a boar and lift the Earth, what is the difficulty to believe that the Earth in question is circular rather than globular?
"Lord Brahma said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet Earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiranyaksha] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk." (SB 2.7.1)
"O Lord, as the peaks of great mountains become beautiful when decorated with clouds, Your transcendental body has become beautiful because of Your lifting the Earth (bhu-mandala) on the edge of Your tusks." (SB 3.13.41).
Here the Earth is named as the bhu-mandala:
ca saukaram bhu-mandalenatha data dhrtena te saukaram—the boar; bhu-mandalena—by the earth planet; atha—now; data—by the tusk; dhrtena—sustained by; te—Your
In chapters 16-26 of the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the Bhu-mandala is described as a circular Earth plane with a diameter of 500 million yojanas (4 billion miles). Taking everything into consideration, one who has difficulty with such aspects of Vedic history, cosmology, and theology is perhaps in the wrong place. Conversely, if one accepts Varaha as their worshipful Deity, it is only consistent to believe in the description of the Earth that Sri Varaha raised from the Garbhodaka Ocean. Acceptance of the pastimes of Sri Krishna brings all auspiciousness to one's life.
"O brahmanas, anyone who hears, chants, or takes pleasure in the wonderful narration of the killing of the Hiranyaksha demon by the Lord, who appeared as the first boar in order to deliver the world, is at once relieved of the results of sinful activities, even the killing of a brahmana."
This most sacred narrative confers extraordinary merit, wealth, fame, longevity, and all the objects of one's desire. On the field of battle it promotes the strength of one's vital organs and organs of action. One who listens to it at the last moment of his life is transferred to the supreme abode of the Lord, O dear Saunaka". (SB 3.19.37-38)
The so-called scientists will never understand the transcendental pastimes of Sri Krishna, nor His creation.
"One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God". (SB 18.55)
Sri Krishna personally states that those who doubt the revealed scriptures remain in the cycle of birth and death:
"But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next". (Bg 4.40)
"Even great sages, if they are against Your transcendental topics, must rotate in this material world". (SB 3.9.10)
rishayah—great sages; api—also; deva—O my Lord; yushmat—Your Lordship's; prasanga—topic; vimukhah—turned against; iha—in this (material world); samsaranti—do rotate.
Let us all pray to Sri Sri Bhu-Varaha for understanding.
Varaha Killing the demon Hiranyaksha and Lifting the Earth from the Garbhodaka Ocean
Ascribed to Mahesh of Chamba, 1725-50 (Wikipedia)
