Eran boar
Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Eran boar is a large free-standing stone statue of Varaha, the boar avatar (form taken on earth) of Vishnu. It stands at Eran in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, on the Bina river. Eran was an important centre in Gupta times. The statue shows Varaha completely as an animal, and its body is covered with rows of small carved figures. It matters because its inscription is dated to the first year of the Huna king Toramana. This shows that Huna rule had reached central India as Gupta power weakened.
Example
The inscription on the boar's chest records that a local chief, Dhanyavishnu, set up the Varaha temple during Toramana's reign, in the early 6th century CE. The same family had earlier served Gupta kings.
Don't confuse with
- Udayagiri Varaha: a rock-cut relief in the Udayagiri caves (MP) from the time of Chandragupta II. There Varaha has a human body with a boar's head and lifts the earth goddess. The Eran Varaha is a full boar.