Varaha Rescuing the Earth, page from an illustrated Dasavatara series

ca. 1730-1740

This painting of the Varaha story shares several common elements with the two adjacent examples, which offer different solutions to the question of how to depict a fantastic, multi-episode story on a single small page. All three represent the earth as a landmass (rather than a goddess), balanced on Varaha’s head, and all make reference to the battle with the demon Hayagriva, although they signal his defeat in different ways. One artist completely ignores the aquatic setting, while the other two tackle the challenge of depicting water and partially submerged figures.