Varāhī
The feminine form of Varāha, the boar manifestation of Viṣṇu, is where Varāhī first appeared in the early Śākta and Tantric environment. Varāhī, in contrast to subsequent devotional goddesses, originates mostly from Tantric theology, which views divine power (ḍakti) as independent and active in furious, transitional forms. The Matrika tradition, which personified the powers of important male deities as strong mother goddesses, is where her oldest conceptual roots may be found.
Varāhī is mentioned as a guardian, commander, and initiatory deity in early Tantric works like the Rudrayāmala, Tantrasāra, and related Śākta scriptures. Her origin is strongly associated with ritual practice, mantra, and yogic worship rather than being limited to mythological stories.
Varāhī was well-established as one of the Sapta Mātākās by the early mediaeval era (c. 6th–9th century CE), and he was regularly shown in temple sculpture throughout central and southern India. Archaeological evidence from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu depicts Varāhī standing or sitting with numerous arms, a boar's face, and martial qualities. He is frequently placed next to other Mātækās and Bhairava sculptures.
Varāhī was transformed from a battlefield guardian to a sovereign goddess of command and secrecy during this time, as her function grew within Srīvidyā and advanced Tantric traditions. Her nocturnal disposition, connection to the lunar cycle, and control over mantra-siddhi were progressively highlighted in textual sources.
Ashata Varāhī
The eight aspects of Goddess Varāhī that are described in Tantric and Šākta traditions are referred to as Aṣṭa Varāhī. Rather than a single unified Purāṇic list, these forms can be found in regional upāsanā lineages, ritual manuals, and Tantric compendiums. References to multiple Varāhī forms occur in texts such as the Rudrayāmala, Uḍḍāmara Tantra, Tantrasāra, Śrīvidyā ritual traditions, and South Indian temple practices.
From intense battlefield protection and inner change to dream-consciousness and martial command, each Varāhī represents a distinct form of Shakti. Different cosmic functions are reflected in their mounts, weapons, gestures, and roles. The following are the prominent forms of Varāhī, together referred to as the Aṣṭa Varāhī:
1. Mahā Varāhī
The most significant and potent form of Goddess Varāhī, Mahā Varāhī is worshipped as the head of the celestial feminine energies known as the Śakti Sena. In both Puranic and Tantric traditions, she is revered as a formidable protector, siddhi provider, and symbol of all-powerful divine authority.
She is frequently shown with royal decorations, sitting on a buffalo or a throne, and carrying weapons such a sword, noose, chakra, and plough. Mahā Varāhī, which symbolises disciplined rage directed by inner mastery, is connected to moon and nocturnal forces. She is particularly important in advanced Tantric rituals and Śrīvidyā, and she occupies a major place in the Sapta Mātěkā tradition.
3. Unmatta Vārāhī
Unmatta Varāhī is a graceful and sophisticated representation of Varāhī, characterised by her serene poise and inner brilliance. Even though her name means "ecstatic" or "divinely intoxicated," she represents calm rather than chaos, spiritual absorption rather than physical aggression.
In her upper hands, she is holding a sugarcane stem and a hibiscus flower, which stand for control, sweetness, and vitality. Abhaya and Varada mudrās.Within Varāhī worship traditions, Unmatta Varāhī is a very contemplative form, representing balanced Shakti—gentle but resolute.
5. Swapna Vārāhī
The subconscious and dreams are governed by Svapna Varāhī. In Tantric traditions, she is called upon to disclose hidden truths and lead followers through nocturnal insights and symbolic visions.
She is shown as being calm and reflective, representing the subdued authority of the night. Svapna Varāhī is particularly important in tantric upāsanā that deals with astral, psychic, and dream-consciousness practices because she functions in the transitional states between sleep and awake. She holds a rice crop in her upper two hands, a flower with a parrot perched on it, and two bottom hands in Varada mudra and Abhaya.
7. Aśvārūḍha Varāhī
The image of Aśvārūḍha Varāhī on horseback represents quick decision-making, leadership, and tactical combat. In Tantric and Śrīvidyā narratives, this form is frequently used, especially in the divine campaign against Bhaṇḍāsura.
She is depicted with four arms and a boar's visage, clutching objects like a pestle, noose, plough, and occasionally a daṇḍa. Aśvārūḍha Varāhī, the leader of the horse-mounted army supporting Lalitā Tripurasundarī, is a symbol of disciplined might that eliminates both external and internal barriers while re-establishing cosmic order.
2. Ādi Varāhī
Ādi Varāhī is the primordial manifestation of Goddess Varāhī, described in Tantric scriptures such as the Uḍḍāmara Tantra and Rudrayāmala. She represents the earliest and most archetypal form of Varāhī energy, existing prior to differentiated manifestations. Her presence signifies raw cosmic power restrained through divine order.
She is depicted with a boar’s face, deep blue complexion, jeweled crown, and yellow garments. Typically four-armed, she carries a pestle, plough, skull bowl, and displays the varada mudrā. Worshipped by gods and sages, Ādi Varāhī grants both material prosperity and spiritual liberation, acting as a fierce guardian and remover of existential obstacles.
4. Laghu Vārāhī
Laghu Varāhī, also called Unmatta Bhairavī, is a powerful Mātækā form with great cosmic and physical power. She represents the active strength of Viṣṇu's Varāha avatar, rising the Earth from primordial waters, and is revered as Unmatta Bhairava's consort.
She is cloud-hued, dark, and armed with a mace, sword, plough, bell, and pestle. Her fangs are fierce. In Manidvīpa's Cintāmaṇi Gölha, Laghu Varāhī is venerated and takes part in divine conflicts, such as the fight against Bhaṇḍāsura and the killing of Bāṣkala. In the Pañcadaśākṣarī Mantra tradition, she is Pañcamī's seat.
6. Mahīśārūḍha Varāhī
One of the most popular manifestations of Varāhī is Mahīśārūḍha Varāhī, who is seen riding a buffalo, signifying control over instinct and ignorance. This form is essential to Varāhī upāsanā traditions and temple worship in South India.
She carries weapons like the plough, skull bowl, and noose, and she has a boar-faced body with celestial decorations. Within Šākta and Tantric frameworks, she is revered as a powerful guardian deity who bestows protection, power, and spiritual empowerment while seated atop the buffalo.
8. Siṃhavāhinī Varāhī
Siṃhavāhinī Varāhī is portrayed riding a lion, embodying courage, vigilance, and fierce guardianship. A boar-faced goddess with divine ornaments and weaponry including a plough, pestle, noose, and shield is depicted in her iconography.
This form highlights Varāhī's function as a guardian against adharma and inner turmoil within Šākta and Tantric traditions. The Mātākās view the lion as a stabilising yet terrifying force of protection because it represents unwavering strength and authority.
Varāhī in Vajrayana Traditions
Varāhī emerges in Vajrayāna Buddhism as a tantric modification of the boar-headed feminine principle, most prominently expressed in Vajravārāhī as a form of Vajrayoginī, rather than as a separate Hindu Matrika. In this instance, the boar symbolises transcendent wisdom that penetrates ignorance, especially ignorance based on dualistic perception, rather than just aggression.
Varāhī imagery first appeared in Vajrayāna during the early mediaeval era (7th–9th century CE), when Buddhist tantra flourished in eastern India, particularly in areas like Odisha, Bihar, and Bengal where Buddhist tantric traditions coexisted closely with Śākta. Many Hindu deities and iconographic elements were assimilated, reinterpreted, and recontextualised within Buddhist frameworks at this time.
Read: Vajrayoginī
1. Vajravarahi
A primary form of Vajrayoginī, she has her roots in the late Indian Buddhist Tantra of the Cakrasaṃvara school. In advanced Tantric traditions, she serves as a main completion-stage meditational deity. Vajravārāhī is portrayed as a young, scarlet deity with two heads: a pig and a human. She is frequently depicted in a dynamic dance position, standing atop creatures that symbolise delusion or ego, and appears naked, decorated with bone decorations and a garland of skulls, carrying a curved knife (kartěkā) and a skull cup (kapāla) filled with nectar or blood.
2 Krodhakali
Krodhakālī is a wrathful form of Vajravārāhī within Buddhist Vajrayāna, expressing the most forceful aspect of Vajrayoginī’s awakened energy. She embodies enlightened wrath, where fierce appearance serves immediate clarity rather than destruction. Krodhakālī is depicted in dark blue or black hues, with a terrifying yet lucid expression, emphasizing uncompromising wisdom. She stands in a dynamic, trampling posture, subduing forces of ignorance and obstruction, and holds the curved knife (kartṛkā) and skull cup (kapāla). Adorned with bone ornaments and a garland of skulls, she functions as a completion-stage deity, arising when obstacles must be severed instantly.
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3. Artasiddhi
Within the Buddhist Vajrayāna Tantra, Arthasiddhī is a unique and specialised type of Vārāhī/Vajravārāhī that is linked to achievement and successful realisation. Her scarlet skin and boar's skull highlight her ferocious, transformational qualities. With four arms, Arthasiddhī carries a vajra, goad, noose, and skull bowl, symbols of unwavering determination, mastery over challenges, binding of illusion, and the conversion of impurities into wisdom. Her iconography places her squarely in the context of completion-stage yoginī traditions, where rapid and concrete realisation is achieved through coercive methods rather than gradual advancement.
References and Sources:
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The Cult of the Mother Goddess by R. C. Hazra (Rāmeś Chandra Hazra)
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The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Śākta Tantrism
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Lalitā Sahasranāma (Online translation)
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Tripurā Rahasya (Online translation)
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General reference: Wikipedia
Note:
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